Hugo
VICOMTE VICTOR MARIE (ü-gō), a distinguished French poet, politician, and man of letters; born in Besançon, France, Feb. 26, 1802. His VICTOR HUGO father was a colonel in the French army.
He received a classical education in a religious house, and, in 1822, brought out the first volume of his "Odes and Ballads"; his tales "Hans of Iceland," and "Bug Jargal," were also written about this time. In 1826 he published a second volume of the "Odes and Ballads," and HUGO in 1827 he composed his drama "Cromwell." In 1829 he published his "Last Days of a Condemned Criminal." Hugo prepared a further attack on the classical style of French dramatic literature in his "Hernani," first played at the Théatrê Français in 1830, when it caused a scene of riotous confusion.
Shortly after the revolution of July, 1830, his "Marion de Lorme," which had been suppressed by the censorship under the Restoration, was performed with success. "The King Amuses Himself" was also performed at the Théatrê Français in January, 1832, but was interdicted by the Government the day after. His lyrical poems, "The Orientals," published in 1828, and "Autumn Leaves," which appeared in 1832, were received with enthusiasm.
Hugo, who published afterward a number of dramatic pieces of various merit, was, after much opposition, admitted into the Academy in 1841, and was created a peer of France by by Louis Philippe. In 1849 he was chosen president of the Peace Congress of which he had been a leading member. On the coup d'état of Dec. 2, 1851, Hugo, then a member of the legislative assembly, was among those deputies who vainly attempted to assert the rights of the assembly and to propose the constitution. His conduct led to his proscription. He took refuge in the island of Jersey, and subsequently in that of Guernsey, having steadfastly refused to avail himself of the general amnesties issued in 1859 and in 1869. He wrote much after he had left France. His very trenchant satire, "Napoleon the Little," appeared at Brussels in 1852, and was rigorously suppressed in France, into which country it had been smuggled. "The Chastisements" was brought out in 1852, also in Brussels; and in 1856 he published, under the title "Contemplations," a collection of lyrical and personal poems which are among his best performances. Hugo's admirable romance, "Notre Dame de Paris," is known in England and the United States under the title of "The Hunchback of Notre Dame." His social romance, "Les Misérables" (The Wretched), appeared in 1862. On the fall of the empire in 1870 he returned to France, was elected to the National Assembly, but soon resigned and repaired to Brussels, whence he was expelled by the Government on account of the violence of his political writings and his sympathy with the Communists. Returning to Paris, he was (1876) elected a senator for six years. Of his later works may be mentioned "The Man Who Laughs," "The History of a Crime," and HUGUENOT "The Four Winds of the Spirit," a volume containing some of his most charming lyrics. He died in Paris, May 22, 1885, and was buried in the Pantheon.
HUGUENOT (huge-not), a nickname formerly applied by the Roman Catholics to the Protestants of France, who were nearly all Calvinists, and who converted the appellation into one of honor instead of reproach. D'Aubigné believed that the Reformation began in France in A. D. 1512, while that of Switzerland commenced in 1516, and that of Germany in 1517. For a time France seemed as likely as the other two countries to adopt Protestantism. Though Margaret, the sister of Francis I., had favored it, yet that king had been strongly against it, as were Francis II. and Henry II.
It arose among the people, and through their sympathy became so formidable that when, in 1561, a year after the accession of Charles IX., the Huguenots were prohibited from preaching, they took up arms to achieve religious liberty.
The struggle went on for the next century and a quarter. Its two most notable incidents were the Massacre of St. Bartholomew and the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes. See BARTHOLOMEW, MASSACRE OF ST.: EDICT OF NANTES.
HUGUENOT SOCIETY OF AMER- ICA, a patriotic organization having for its purpose the promotion of Huguenot principles, the celebration of events in the history of the Huguenots, and the collection and preservation of documents having relation to the arrival and record of Huguenots in America. The society was organized in New York in 1883 and incorporated in 1885. Membership is in the main confined to descendants of Huguenot families who came to America before the Edict of Toleration of 1787.
The principal office of the society is in New York, where the archives are stored, and whence is issued its chief publication. Members are entitled to wear insignia consisting of a badge bearing a device of Margarite de Valois, pendant from a gold dove with wings outspread, and bearing on the reverse the name and society number of the wearer. There are branches of the society in nearly all the States.
HUIA BIRD (Heteralocha acutirostris), a remarkable New Zealand starling, now restricted to a few wooded and mountainous regions. The plumage is black, except on the white tips of the tail feathers; there is a wattle at the corner of the mouth; the bill of the female is strikingly different from that of her mate, being long, much curved, and HUMANE ASSOCIATION pliant, instead of straight and strong as in the male.
HULL. See KINGSTON-ON-HULL.
Quebec, Canada, on the Ottawa river, op-