Part 9 (1/2)

It may be here stated that the Pantheon was commenced in 1764 as a church, completed in 1790 as a Walhalla, was a church froain from 1851 until 1885 The interments in it of Mirabeau, Voltaire, Rousseau, and Marat are matters of history, as are also the expulsions which followed Mirabeau's body was publicly expelled by the Terrorists; Marat's by the Anti-Terrorists; and Voltaire's and Rousseau's clandestinely by the Legitimists In 1881 the last French Cha it; but this did not pass through the Senate

Two days after the discussion upon M de la Forge's motion, the _Journal Officiel_ published a series of docu advised President Grevy that an opportunethe wish expressed by the Chainal destination as a burial-place for illustrious French the Pantheon to be henceforth a ratitude of the nation, and the other directing that the body of Victor Hugo should be laid there In the Chamber an order of the day was proposed by the Co the Presidential Decree as a provocation to Catholics and as an act of feebleness; but this was rejected by 388 to 83 Anotherthe Chamber's entire approval of the letter and spirit of the Decree was then subo's fa taken to the Pantheon, but insisted on its being carried in a pauper's hearse from the Arc de Triomphe, where it was to lie in state, to the nationalof the 31st of May the remains of the poet were transferred to the Arc de Trioon-loads of flowers andAll the shops, cafes, and restaurants in the Avenue Victor Hugo, and near the Triu disorderly,' wrote a correspondent, 'and the ih all day the aspect of the Place de l'etoile had been really festive The cenotaph was visible from the Tuileries

The coffin was covered with a silver-spangled pall, which rose froalattained an intellectual and nty over France' Early in the day the crowds of hu to the Place de l'etoile were very dense As evening drew on the aspect was like that of so _Les Chatiends, were offered for sale, as well as medallions and numberless other memorials of the dead

The display of floholly unparalleled At night a flood of electric light poured upon the Place de l'etoile, revealing the coffin with Dalou's powerfullyout the flowers and the nao's works on shi+elds The effect of the Horse Guards with torches and veiled la Twelve schoolboys, relieved every hour, formed a picket in front of the cenotaph, round which there was an outer circle of juvenile guards, and an inner one of Hugo's intilish literature and the fine arts orthily represented in the votive offerings laid at the feet of the great poet Wreaths, flowers, and reat abundance Lord Tennyson wrote under his nae,'

and at the top of his card, '_In Me also was represented, as well as Sir Frederick Leighton, the President of the Royal Acadee, 'In honour of one who honoured man as man' Sir F Burton, director of the National Gallery, wrote, 'Honour to the reat master;' and similar tributes were paid by many men of letters, poets, Royal Academicians, and others

The funeral ceremony took place on the 1st of June, and it was of such a character as to live in the uished the procession in honour of Victor Hugo from the only one comparable with it, that of Gambetta, observed the correspondent of the _Times_, was not only its vast size, which ithout precedent, but also the distinct sentiment which dominated both its members and the crowd It was at once the triumph of the democracy and an illustration of its power In the case of Gambetta, France beheld a statesman cut off in his prime, with all the dreao, it was a veteran in letters entering into his rest 'At the tidings of his death, all France, all parties, seemed to claim him; and it was the loss of the poet, the thinker, the hurees, party claims were put forth The poet and thinker disappeared, and this e to the political weaknesses of his latter years, to the deo, in fact, who hile over his re way, and the people for who him as their especial cha, priest, statesman, or man of letters, Paris and the provinces never before turned out in such vastfrom all parts were placed on twelve cars, drawn by four or six horses each, and they for there were already four rows of spectators assembled on each side of the Champs elysees 'The authorities, with considerable skill and foresight, had directed ht be qualified as seditious banners to ly, at a little before nine o'clock, were ht societies, nearly all of theenteuil, Suresne, Bicetre, Sevres, Puteaux, and other places Soian caps Close by, in the Avenue de la Grande Armee, the proscripts of 1851-52 had also a red banner By ten o'clock there were fifteen red flags close to the Arc de Trioaray, M Martin, and some thirty well-known anarchists had responded to the call of the Revolutionary Committee

They seeroup of anarchists tried to unfurl a red flag, but being so closely watched, they had not ti were both captured By half-past ten the anarchists, having already lost two flags, abandoned the Rue Brunel A little before eleven o'clock a Commissioner of Police, in plain clothes, accompanied by half-a-dozen policemen and a company of Republican Guards,the bearer of every red flag that seemed at all objectionable, lifted his hat, and deh disturbances had been feared none occurred The Red Republicans and anarchists (whoo had more than once condemned) were but as a drop in the bucket, compared with the myriads of other citizens asseh soreatness of the whole occasion dwarfed their significance, and thecredit upon the French nation

Vivid descriptions were penned of the cereht at the foot of the Arc de Triorey sky, the roll of the muffled drums, the mournful strains of Chopin's _Funeral March_, combined with the hushed tones of conversation, helped to iht red robes of the judges and the soowns of the barristersdress of the n Diplomatic Corps, who sat in the round the glitter of cuirassier ar of the representatives of the arave tone and vivacity to the scene Much interest was manifested at the presence of the French Cabinet, of both Houses, and of the English A side by side with M de Mohrenhei family had taken their places, Ministers went to pay them their condolences The funeral addresses were then delivered from a tribune erected on the left of the catafalque The first speaker, M

Le Royer, President of the Senate, described Victor Hugo as the most illustrious senator, whose Olympian forehead, bowed on his breast in an anticipated posture of ie froues He never mounted the tribune but to support a cause always dear to him--the Amnesty Amidst apparent hesitations, he had all his life consistently pursued a high ideal of justice and humanity, and his moral action on France was immense He unmasked the sophisms of crowned criht notions of moral lahich had been momentarily obscured

The speech of the day, however, was delivered by M Floquet, President of the Chamber of Deputies In tones which could be distinctly heard throughout the vast arena, and with esture, the orator said: 'What can equal the grandeur of the spectacle before us, which history will record! Under this arch, constellated with the legendary names of so many heroes, who have lorious, we see to-day the e, of the great led for her liberty We see here around us the most eminent men in arts and sciences, the representatives of the French people, the delegates of our departments and communes, voluntary and spontaneous ambassadors, andthe knee before hiht and a betrayed Republic, a persevering protector of all the weak and oppressed, and the chosen defender of humanity in our century In the name of the nation we salute hi, but with all the pride of glorification This is not a funeral, but an apotheosis We weep for the one, but we acclaim the i froe, will conduct the world to the definite conquest of liberty, equality, and fraternity

This iiant would have been ill at ease in the solitude and obscurity of subterranean crypts We have elevated hirand sun which illuust conscience Whole peoples realize the poetical dreaenius May this coffin, covered with the flowers of the grateful inhabitants of Paris, which Victor Hugo loved to call the _Cite Mere_, and of which he was the respectful son and faithful servant, teach the ad multitude duty, concord, and peace'

M Floquet concluded by reciting the verses beginning '_Je hais l'oppression d'une haine profonde_' ('I hate oppression with a profound hatred') This address, which elicited enthusiastic approval, was followed by one from M Goblet, Minister of Public Instruction The Minister said that Victor Hugo, while living, figured in the glorious pleiad of great poets--with Corneille, Moliere, Racine, and Voltaire He would always rehest personification of the nineteenth century, the history of which, with its contradictions, its doubts, its ideas, and aspirations, had been best reflected in his works The speaker laid stress upon the profoundly huo, who represented in France the spirit of toleration and peace M eier, who appeared in the uniforreat poet that France has lost vouchsafed me a place in his friendshi+p

Hence the honour I have to be chosen by the Acade to that of the whole nation To the sovereign poet France renders sovereign honours She is not prodigal of the surnae of conquerors; but one preceding poet was universally called the Great Corneille, and henceforth we shall say the Great Victor Hugo His long-acquired renown is now called glory, and posterity co a funeral, but a coronation' M Michelin, President of the Municipal Council of Paris, delivered the last speech of the day

On the conclusion of the addresses, the drums beat the salute, and then the band of the Republican Guard struck up the _Marseillaise_ Just as they had reached the chorus of the stirring French national antheht out fro through the grey clouds, threw a ray of brilliant light on the o had eed Now the march commenced, the school battalions and the representatives of the Press taking the lead, a of hands

Chopin's _Marche Funebre_ was theof the ceremonial After this came in slow movement the strains of the _Marseillaise_, which were soon followed by the _Chant du Depart_, and then by the Girondins' celebrated chant, _Mourir pour la Patrie_

Faithful to the stipulation of his will, Victor Hugo's body was conveyed to its last resting-place in the poor man's hearse--that is to say, the cheapest hearse which the Po removed from the cenotaph every head was uncovered The artillery of the Invalides and of Mont Valerian boomed out a farewell salute 'The procession,' wrote a correspondent of the _Daily News_, 'had for vanguard a squadron of endarmes, followed by General Saussier, the Governor of Paris, and the Cuirassiers, with band playing; twelve crown-laden cars, the band of the Republican Guard, the delegates of Besancon carrying a white crown, the French and foreign journalists, the Society of Draates of the National and other theatres The cars were surrounded by the children of the school battalion There was no crown on the pauper's hearse The friends of the deceased held the cords of the pall, and Georges Hugo walked alone, behind He was in evening dress, and looked a young uished His mother, sister, and different ladies and other friends of the family walked at a short distance behind hi round the Arch of Triumph, and in the Champs elysees' side-ways the s, balconies, house-roofs, and even the chimney-tops were crowded'

The very trees sees; and the crowd of spectators in the streets was so deep and serried that it was impossible for any wearied senator, savant, or other venerable person to get out if once i the route of the procession heads were religiously uncovered as the hearse passed The school battalion guarded it, and then came many companies of boyish militia Gymnastic societies in white, blue, and red flannel shi+rts, hite trousers, gaiters, and caps; delegations of the learned societies, political clubs, printers, publishers, newspapers, foreign Radicals, literati, philanthropical societies, fire brigades, humane societies, trades unions, caroup was distinctly separated from the other Down the broad Chareat facility, as all carriages had been cleared away before eight o'clock in the -roo; but the ht was presented at the Place de la Concorde The corner froe alled off by the troops, so that an innumerable multitude was able to collect at this point Not content with this, the banks of the Seine, down to the water's edge, on both sides of the bridge, were thickly studded with people, and every floating barge or boat was dangerously loaded with spectators Far up the broad stretch of the Avenue the procession, with its thousand crowns and banners, could be seen slowly descending Many groups had not yet left the Arc de Triomphe when the head of the procession reached the Pantheon A dense athered in and around the Place de la Concorde; but perhaps no portion of the route was so crowded as the Rue Soufflot, which leads from the Boulevard St Michel to the Pantheon Windows, ladders, roofs, and chier to witness the passing of the procession Shortly after half-past one the head of the procession reached the steps of the Pantheon, and at two o'clock the coffin was brought up the front steps, and placed on the catafalque The representatives of the family, of Government, and the various authorities took their places on either side of the rand spectacle was offered by the artistic grouping of crowns, flowers, uniforms, and colours under the ain delivered, and these continued while the procession, with, bands and banners, filed past The working-class corporations followed in their various order, and these were succeeded by the Secular Technical School for Girls, the Republican Socialist Alliance, the Comedians of Paris, the Monte Society, the Radical Socialist Club, and many other bodies 'A few minutes after six o'clock,' remarked the _Times_ correspondent, 'the last crowns and banners passed by, and after a short interval the troops representing the Aroons, Republican Guard, and Line were in their turn acclaimed by the ht tread after the fatigues of the day Then came the blare of the Artillery truoons, and at precisely a quarter to seven the last soldier o A statue of Hugo in his famous posture of reverie fronted the Pantheon This papier- procession that did him honour It was a trifle; but there was a touch of tender thoughtfulness in this reet the rave'

Thus ended a funeral pageant worthy, on the whole, of the poet and the nation--a pageant in which were to be found representatives of all classes of the French colory of French literature, now sleeps in the Pantheon While he differed fro neither the wit of Rabelais nor Moliere, the classic dignity of Corneille, nor the philosophic depth of Voltaire, he had a greatness, though of a different kind, equal to their own He therefore joins theiven to French literature a new departure; for every book he has written, while ith human tears, is yet stamped with the terrible earnestness which possessed his spirit, and enius

CHAPTER XXI

GENIUS AND CHARACTERISTICS