THE PROCREATION OF GENIUS 167 



eclipsing his literary model. We believe the poet 

 owed his genius to his father. Major Hugo, although 

 a soldier by profession, appears to have been a some- 

 what erratic personage, with a taste for music and 

 drawing, and especially for dabbling in literary work. 

 As a soldier he contrived to lose the confidence of his 

 chiefs. While stationed at Marseilles, shortly after 

 the birth of Victor Hugo, he fell into disgrace of 

 some kind. " II eut des ennuis " is Victor Hugo's 

 own record of the incident. What these diffi- 

 culties were we have no means of knowing. They 

 resulted, however, in Major Hugo's retirement, and 

 although subsequently made an honorary general, 

 he never recovered his military credit. Not many 

 years after their marriage, mrreover, Madame Hugo 

 was constrained to apply for and obtained a separa- 

 tion from her husband. It is not uncharitable to 

 suppose that the poet's father was one of those persons 

 who are said to have a bee in their bonnet. At his 

 death a large number of manuscripts were found in 

 his desk, in the shape of stories, plays, and memoirs, 

 proving him to have hterary aptitudes of a somewhat 

 extravagant kind.' The cacoethes scribendi of the 

 father became the brilliant poetic genius of the son. 



^ Les Ascendants de Victor Hugo, by Mac6 de Challes. 



