HUGO’S TOILERS OF THE SEA

NOW NEWLY COMPLETED FROM W. MOY THOMAS’S TRANSLATION INTRODUCTION BY ERNEST RHYS

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TRAVEL · SCIENCE · FICTION THEOLOGY & PHILOSOPHY HISTORY · CLASSICAL FOR YOUNG PEOPLE ESSAYS · ORATORY POETRY & DRAMA BIOGRAPHY REFERENCE ROMANCE

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First Issue of this Edition 1911 Reprinted 1913, 1917, 1920, 1928 Printed in Great Britain

INTRODUCTION

Victor Hugo was thinking much of Æschylus and his Prometheus at the time he conceived the figure of Gilliatt, heroic warrer with the elements. But it is to a creature of the Gothic mind like Byron’s Manfred, and not to any earlier, or classic, type of the eternal rebellion against fate or time or circumstance, that Hugo’s readers will be tempted to turn for the fellow to his Guernsey hero:

“My joy was in the wilderness—to breathe The difficult air of the iced mountain’s top, Where the birds dare not build—nor insects wing Flit o’er the herbless granite; or to plunge Into the torrent, and to roll along On the swift whirl of the new-breaking wave Of river-stream, or ocean, in their flow.”

The island of Guernsey was Gilliatt’s Alp and sea-solitude, where he, too, had his avalanches waiting to fall “like foam from the round ocean of old Hell.” And as Byron figured his own revolt against the bonds in Manfred, so Hugo, being in exile, put himself with lyrical and rhetorical impetuosity into the island marcou and child of destiny that he concocted with “a little sand and a little blood and a deal of fantasy” in the years 1864 and 1865. There is a familiar glimpse of the Hugo household to be had in the first winter of its transference to the Channel Islands, years before Les Travailleurs was written, which betrays the mood from which finally sprang this concrete fable of the man-at-odds. It was the end of November 1852, and a father and his younger son sat in a room of a house of Marine Terrace, Jersey—a plain, unpicturesque house; square, hard in outline, and newly whitewashed,—Methodism, said Hugo, in stones and mortar. Outside its windows the rain fell and the wind blew: the house was like a thing benumbed by the angry noise. The two inmates sat plunged in thought, possibly thinking of the sad significance of these beginnings of winter and of exile which had arrived together. At length the son (François Hugo) asked the father what he meant to do during their exile, which he had already predicted would be long? The father said, “I shall look at the sea.” Then came a silence, broken by a question as to what the son would do? To which he replied that he would translate Shakespeare.

Victor Hugo’s own study or eulogy of Shakespeare was written as a preamble to his son’s translation of the plays. It is not too much to connect the new and ample creative work that followed, including his great novel of Revolution, Les Misérables, and his poems in La Légende des Siècles (first series) with the double artistic stimulus gained from this conditioned solitude and his closer acquaintance with the dramatic mind of that “giant of the great art of the ages,” as he termed our English poet in the book already quoted from.

The Shakespeare book is dated from Hauteville House, 1864. Les Travailleurs from the same quarters, March 1866. The Hugos had perforce suddenly left Jersey for Guernsey in 1855, owing to the gibes and flouts of an unlucky revolutionary Jersey journal, L’Homme, at the two governments: Victor Hugo being already a marked man for his pains. The Guernsey house he inhabited for so many years had a spacious study in its upper story, with a large window, free to the sun and to the sea. Here he wrote, tirelessly, tremendously, as his custom was: beginning betimes in the early morning, and writing on till the time for his déjeuner: standing at a tall desk to write in his sea-tower. You must turn to certain of his poems and to the pages of Les Misérables and Les Travailleurs for the mental colours and phantasmagoria of those days and years.

It would be easy to point out, resuming an immense amount of criticism of his romances and of this story in particular, the defects on the side of dramatic and true life-likeness to be found in Hugo’s prose-narrative. But it is more helpful in turning to a story-book to know what has been said unreservedly in its favour. Hugo’s greatest appreciator was superlative in his praise, and it need hardly be explained that it was Swinburne who brought his tribute to the romance of Gilliatt also, after positing the parallel claims of Hugo’s five chief romances. Of the five, they were not, he said, to be comparatively classified in order of merit. “But I may perhaps be permitted to say without fear of deserved rebuke that none is to me personally a treasure of greater price than Les Travailleurs de la Mer. The splendid energy of the book makes the superhuman energy of the hero seem not only possible but natural, and his triumph over all physical impossibilities not only natural but inevitable.” Swinburne’s love for the Channel Islands, and his poems inspired by them, were mainly due as we know to Hugo’s life and his books lived and written there.

E.R.

The following is a list of the chief publications of Victor Hugo:—

Poetical Works:—Nouvelles Odes, 1824; Odes et Poésies Diverses, 1822; Odes et Ballades, 1826; Les Orientales, 1829; Feuilles d’Automne, 1831; Les Chants du Crépuscule, 1835; Les Voix Intérieures, 1837; Les Rayons et les Ombres, 1840; Odes sur Napoléon, 1840; Les Châtiments, 1853; Les Contemplations, 1856; La Légende des Siècles (1st part), 1859; Les Chansons des Rues et des Bois, 1865; L’Année Terrible, 1872; La Légende des Siècles (2nd part), 1877; L’Art d’être Grand-père, 1877; Le Pape, 1878; La Pitié Suprême, 1879; L’Âne, 1880; Religion et Religions, 1880; Les Quatre Vents de l’Esprit, 1881; La Légende des Siècles (3rd part), 1883.

Dramatic Works:—Cromwell, 1827; Amy Robsart, 1828; Hernani, 1830; Marion Delorme, 1831; Le Roi s’amuse, 1832; Lucrèce Borgia, 1833; Marie Tudor, 1833; Angelo, Tyran de Padoue, 1835; La Esmeralda (libretto for Opera), 1836; Ruy Blas, 1838; Burgraves, 1843; Torquemada, 1882.

Novels and other Prose Works:—Hans d’Islande, 1823; Bug-Jargal (enlarged for book form), 1826; Le Dernier Jour d’un Condamné, 1829; Notre-Dame de Paris, 1831; Étude sur Mirabeau, 1834; Claude Gueux, 1834; Le Rhin, 1842; Napoléon le Petit, 1852; Les Misérables, 1862; Littérature et Philosophie mélées, 1864; William Shakespeare, 1864; Les Travailleurs de la Mer, 1866; L’Homme qui rit, 1869; Actes et Paroles, 1872; Quatre-Vingt-Treize, 1873; Histoire d’un Crime, 1877; Discours pour Voltaire, 1878; Le Domaine public payant, 1878; L’Archipel de la Manche, 1883.

Hugo left a mass of manuscripts, of which some have been published since his death:—Le Théatre en Liberté, La Fin de Satan, Dieu, Choses Vues, Tonte la Lyre, Océan, En Voyage, Postscriptum de ma Vie.

An Edition Définitive of his works in 48 volumes was published 1880-5.

Translations:—Of novels, 28 vols., 1895, 1899, etc.; of dramas, by I.G. Burnham, 1895. Separate translations of prose and poetical works.

Life:—Among the biographies and appreciations are:—Sainte-Beuve, Biographie des Contemporains, vol. iv., 1831; Portraits Contemporains, vol. i., 1846; Victor Hugo raconté par un témoin de sa vie (Madame Hugo), 1863; A. Barbou, 1880 (trans. 1881); E. Biré, Victor Hugo avant 1830, 1883; après 1830, 1891; après 1852, 1894; F.W.H. Myers, Essays, 1883; Paul de Saint Victor, 1885, 1892; Alfred Asseline, Victor Hugo intime, 1885; G.B. Smith, 1885; J. Cappon, A Memoir and a Study, 1885; A.C. Swinburne, A Study of Victor Hugo, 1886; E. Dupuy, Victor Hugo, l’homme et le poète, 1886; F.T. Marzials (Great Writers), 1888; Charles Renouvier, Victor Hugo le Poète, 1892; L. Mabilleau, 1893; J.P. Nichol, 1893; C. Renouvier, Victor Hugo le Philosophe, 1900; E. Rigal, 1900; G.V. Hugo, Mon Grand-père, 1902; Juana Lesclide, Victor Hugo intime, 1902; Theophile Gautier, 1902; F. Gregh, Étude sur Victor Hugo, 1905; P. Stapfers, Victor Hugo à Guernsey, 1905.

PREFACE

Religion, Society, and Nature! these are the three struggles of man. They constitute at the same time his three needs. He has need of a faith; hence the temple. He must create; hence the city. He must live; hence the plough and the ship. But these three solutions comprise three perpetual conflicts. The mysterious difficulty of life results from all three. Man strives with obstacles under the form of superstition, under the form of prejudice, and under the form of the elements. A triple ἁναγκη weighs upon us. There is the fatality of dogmas, the oppression of human laws, the inexorability of nature. In Notre Dame de Paris the author denounced the first; in the Misérables he exemplified the second; in this book he indicates the third. With these three fatalities mingles that inward fatality—the supreme ἁναγκη, the human heart.

Hauteville House,

March, 1866.

I DEDICATE THIS BOOK TO THE ROCK OF HOSPITALITY AND LIBERTY TO THAT PORTION OF OLD NORMAN GROUND INHABITED BY THE NOBLE LITTLE NATION OF THE SEA TO THE ISLAND OF GUERNSEY SEVERE YET KIND, MY PRESENT ASYLUM PERHAPS MY TOMB.

CONTENTS

PART I

SIEUR CLUBIN

Book I.—The History of a Bad Reputation

CHAP. PAGE

I.A Word written on a White Page1

II.The Bû de la Rue3

III.For your Wife: when you Marry7

IV.An Unpopular Man9

V.More Suspicious Facts about Gilliatt18

VI.The Dutch Sloop20

VII.A Fit Tenant for a Haunted House25

VIII.The Gild-Holm-’Ur Seat27

Book II.—Mess Lethierry

I.A Troubled Life, but a Quiet Conscience30

II.A Certain Predilection32

III.The Old Sea Language33

IV.One is Vulnerable where one Loves35

Book III.—Durande and Déruchette

I.Prattle and Smoke37

II.The Old Story of Utopia39

III.Rantaine41

IV.Continuation of the Story of Utopia44

V.The Devil Boat46

VI.Lethierry’s Exaltation50

VII.The same Godfather and the same Patron Saint52

VIII.“Bonnie Dundee”54

IX.The Man who discovered Rantaine’s Character57

X.Long Yarns58

XI.Matrimonial Prospects60

XII.An Anomaly in the Character of Lethierry61

XIII.Thoughtlessness adds a Grace to Beauty65

Book IV.—The Bagpipe

I.Streaks of Fire on the Horizon67

II.The Unknown unfolds itself by Degrees69

III.The Air “Bonnie Dundee” finds an Echo on the Hill71

IV.“A serenade by night may please a lady fair, But of uncle and of guardian let the troubadour beware.” Unpublished Comedy72

V.A Deserved Success has always its Detractors74

VI.The Sloop Cashmere saves a Shipwrecked Crew75

VII.How an Idler had the Good Fortune to be seen by a Fisherman77

Book V.—The Revolver

I.Conversations at the Jean Auberge80

II.Clubin observes Someone86

III.Clubin carries away Something and brings back Nothing88

IV.Pleinmont91

V.The Birds’-nesters96

VI.The Jacressade108

VII.Nocturnal Buyers and Mysterious Sellers114

VIII.A “Cannon” off the Red Ball and the Black117

IX.Useful Information for Persons who expect or fear the Arrival of Letters from beyond Sea125

Book VI.—The Drunken Steersman and the Sober Captain

I.The Douvres130

II.An Unexpected Flask of Brandy132

III.Conversations interrupted135

IV.Captain Clubin displays all his great Qualities142

V.Clubin reaches the Crowning-point of Glory147

VI.The Interior of an Abyss suddenly revealed151

VII.An Unexpected Dénouement158

Book VII.—The Danger of Opening a Book at Random

I.The Pearl at the Foot of a Precipice162

II.Much Astonishment on the Western Coast169

III.A Quotation from the Bible173

PART II

MALICIOUS GILLIATT

Book I.—The Rock

I.The Place which is difficult to reach, and difficult to leave181

II.A Catalogue of Disasters186

III.Sound; but not Safe188

IV.A Preliminary Survey190

V.A Word upon the Secret Co-operations of the Elements192

VI.A Stable for the Horse196

VII.A Chamber for the Voyager198

VIII.Importunæque Volucres205

IX.The Rock, and how Gilliatt used it207

X.The Forge210

XI.Discovery214

XII.The Interior of an Edifice under the Sea217

XIII.What was seen there; and what perceived dimly219

Book II.—The Labour

I.The Resources of one who has nothing225

II.Wherein Shakespeare and Æschylus meet227

III.Gilliatt’s Masterpiece comes to the Rescue of that of Lethierry229

IV.Sub Re232

V.Sub Umbra237

VI.Gilliatt places the Sloop in readiness242

VII.Sudden Danger244

VIII.Movement rather than Progress247

IX.A Slip between Cup and Lip250

X.Sea-warnings252

XI.A Word to the Wise is enough255

Book III.—The Struggle

I.Extremes meet258

II.The Ocean Winds259

III.The Noises explained262

IV.Turba Turma265

V.Gilliatt’s Alternatives267

VI.The Combat268

Book IV.—Pitfalls in the Way

I.He who is Hungry is not Alone280

II.The Monster296

III.Another Kind of Sea-combat297

IV.Nothing is hidden; Nothing lost299

V.The Fatal Difference between Six Inches and Two Feet302

VI.De Profundis ad Altum306

VII.The Appeal is heard311

PART III

DÉRUCHETTE

Book I.—Night and the Moon

I.The Harbour Bell315

II.The Harbour Bell again327

Book II.—Gratitude and Despotism

I.Joy surrounded by Tortures335

II.The Leathern Trunk343

Book III.—The Departure of the “Cashmere”

I.The Havelet near the Church346

II.Despair confronts Despair348

III.The Forethought of Self-sacrifice355

IV.For your Wife: when you Marry359

V.The Great Tomb362

TOILERS OF THE SEA