The Man Who Laughs (Estes and Lauriat 1869)

For other English-language translations of this work, see The Man Who Laughs.
The Man Who Laughs (1869)
by Victor Hugo, translated by Anonymous

The Man Who Laughs (French: L'Homme qui rit) is a historical novel set in 17th-century England. This English-language edition was made anonymously, and was published in Boston the same year as the first French edition.

Victor Hugo2375510The Man Who Laughs1869Anonymous

International Limited Edition


THE

MAN WHO LAUGHS

IN TWO VOLUMES


BY VICTOR HUGO

WITH ILLUSTRATIONS

BOSTON

ESTES AND LAURIAT

PUBLISHERS

PREFACE.

IN England, everything is great, even what is not good,—even Oligarchy. The English Patriciate is the patriciate in the absolute sense of the word. No more illustrious, more terrible, or more vigorous feudality exists. Let us add that this feudality has been useful at times. It is in England that the phenomenon of Seigneurie must be studied, as in France the phenomenon of Royalty must be studied.

The true title of this book should be "Aristocracy." Another book that will follow may, perhaps, be entitled "Monarchy." These two books, if it is given to the author to finish his task, will precede and introduce another, to be called "Ninety-Three."

Hauteville House, 1869.

Ursus and Homo.

Photo-Etching.—From Drawing by G. Rochegrosse.


CONTENTS.


Vol. I.




PART I.—THE SEA AND THE NIGHT.
I.—TWO PRELIMINARY CHAPTERS.
Page
I. Ursus 1
II. The Comprachicos 24
BOOK I.—Night not so black as Man.
Chapter
I. Portland Bill 40
II. Left Alone 47
III. Alone 51
IV. Questions 57
V. The Tree of Human Invention 60
VI. Struggle between Death and Night 66
VII. The North Point of Portland 73
BOOK II.—The Hooker at Sea.
I. Superhuman Laws 78
II. Our first Rough Sketches filled in 82
III. Troubled Men on the Troubled Sea 88
IV. A Cloud different from the Others enters on the Scene 93
V. Hardquanonne 103
VI. They think that Help is at Hand 106
VII. Superhuman Horrors 108
VIII. Nix et Nox 112
IX. The Charge confided to a Raging Sea 116
X. The Colossal Savage, the Storm 118
XI. The Caskets 123
XII. Face to Face with the Rock 126
XIII. Face to Face with Night 130
XIV. Ortach 132
XV. Portentosum Mare 134
XVI. The Problem suddenly works in Silence 140
XVII. The Last Resource 143
XVIII. The Highest Resource 147
BOOK III.—The Child in the Shadow.
I. Chesil 155
II. The Effect of Snow 161
III. A Burden makes a Rough Road rougher 166
IV. Another Kind of Desert 171
V. Misanthropy Plays its Pranks 176
VI. The Awaking 192




PART II.—BY ORDER OF THE KING.
BOOK I.—The Everlasting Presence of the Past—Man reflects Man.
I. Lord Clancharlie 196
II. Lord David Dirry-Moir 210
III. The Duchess Josiana 218
IV. The Leader of Fashion 229
V. Queen Anne 238
VI. Barkilphedro 247
VII. Barkilphedro gnaws his Way 254
VIII. Inferi 260
IX. Hate is as Strong as Love 263
X. The Flame which would be seen if Man were transparent 271
XI. Barkilphedro in Ambuscade 280
XII. Scotland, Ireland, and England 285
BOOK II.—Gwynplaine and Dea.
I. Wherein we see the Face of him of whom we have hitherto seen only the acts 295
II. Dea 301
III. "Oculos non habet, et videt" 304
IV. Well-matched Lovers 307
V. The Blue Sky through the Black Cloud 311
VI. Ursus as Tutor, and Ursus as Guardian 315
VII. Blindness gives Lessons in Clairvoyance 320
VIII. Not only Happiness, but Prosperity 324
IX. Absurdities which Folks without Taste call Poetry 330
X. An Outsider's View of Men and Things 337
XI. Gwynplaine thinks Justice, and Ursus speaks Truth 343
XII. Ursus the Poet drags on Ursus the Philosopher 353


CONTENTS.


Vol. II.




BOOK III.—The Beginning of the Fissure.
Chapter Page
I. The Tadcaster Inn 1
II. Open-air Eloquence 6
III. Where the Passer-by reappears 12
IV. Contraries fraternize in Hate 19
V. The Wapentake 25
VI. The Mouse examined by the Cats 30
VII. Why should a Gold Piece Lower Itself by mixing with a Heap of Pennies? 40
VIII. Symptoms of Poisoning 48
IX. Abyssus Abyssum vocat 53
BOOK IV.—The Cell of Torture.
I. The Temptation of Saint Gwynplaine 63
II. From Gay to Grave 72
III. Lex, Rex, Fex 80
IV. Ursus plays the Spy on the Police 84
V. A Fearful Place 90
VI. The Kind of Magistracy under the Wigs of Former Days 93
VII. Shuddering 98
VIII. Lamentation 100
BOOK V.—The Sea and Fate are moved by the same Breath.
I. The Durability of Fragile Things 116
II. The Waif knows its Own Course 127
III. An Awakening 141
IV. Fascination 145
V. We think we remember; we forget 153
BOOK VI.—Ursus under Different Aspects.
I. What the Misanthrope said 161
II. What he did 166
III. Complications 180
IV. Mœnibus Surdis Campana Muta 184
V. State Policy deals with Little Matters as well as with Great 191
BOOK VII.—The Titaness.
I. The Awakening 202
II. The Resemblance of a Palace to a Wood 206
III. Eve 211
IV. Satan 220
V. They recognize, but do not know, Each Other 234
BOOK VIII.—The Capitol and Things around it.
I. Analysis of Majestic Matters 238
II. Impartiality 254
III. The Old Hall 264
IV. The Old Chamber 271
V. Aristocratic Gossip 278
VI. The High and the Low 288
VII. Storms of Men are Worse than Storms of Oceans 293
VIII. He would be a Good Brother, were he not a Good Son 314
BOOK IX.—In Ruins.
I. It is through Excess of Greatness that Man reaches Excess of Misery 320
II. The Dregs 325
CONCLUSION.—The Night and the Sea.
I. A Wolf may prove a Guardian Angel 346
II. Barkilphedro, having aimed at the Eagle, brings down the Dove 351
III. Paradise regained Below 360
IV. Nay; on High! 367

At the Green Box.

Etched by J. Massard.—From drawing
by François Flameng.

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.


VOL. I.


Page
Ursus and Homo Frontispiece
The Storm 55
The Child at the Gallows 71
"Let us throw our crimes into the sea" 147
Lord David Dirry-Moir 216
Amusements of the Mohawk Club 233
Dea 301


VOL. II.


Page
At the Green Box Frontispiece
In the Torture Chamber 103
The Funeral Procession 188
Lord Clancharlie's Speech 297
Gwynplaine breaking into Tadcaster Inn 324

INTERNATIONAL LIMITED EDITION.

Limited to One Thousand Copies.

No. 672

TYPOGRAPHY, ELECTROTYPING, AND
PRINTING BY JOHN WILSON AND SON,
UNIVERSITY PRESS, CAMBRIDGE, U.S.A.

This work was published before January 1, 1929, and is in the public domain worldwide because the author died at least 100 years ago.

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