221 - [HUGO (Adèle) 1830–1915].

[HUGO (Adèle) 1830–1915]. Autograph copy of Victor Hugo’s statement refusing Napoleon III’s amnesty. [Hauteville House, 1859 or shortly thereafter]. 1 p. square 8vo (150 x 155 mm) in ink on a single sheet. On the reverse, a fragment of musical notation in pencil on verses from *Les Burgraves*. (Minor marginal wear.) An interesting autograph copy, in the hand of Adèle Hugo, of the famous declaration in which her father refused Napoleon III’s amnesty, with on the reverse an attempt to set a passage from *Les Burgraves* to music. After the coup d’état of December 2, 1851, Victor Hugo chose exile, first in Brussels, then in Jersey, and finally in Guernsey, where he settled at Hauteville House in 1856. On August 16, 1859, Napoleon III issued a general amnesty allowing, among other things, the return of political exiles. Hugo refused to avail himself of this measure: two days later, on August 18, 1859, he drafted a brief statement at Hauteville House that would become one of the most famous declarations of principle of his exile. The text was included in *Actes et paroles. During Exile.” Adèle provides the full text here: “No one should expect me to give even a moment’s thought to what is called amnesty. / In the situation in which France finds itself, protest—absolute, unyielding, eternal—that is my duty. Faithful to the commitment I have made to my conscience, I will share in the exile of liberty to the very end. When freedom returns, I will return.” She follows the text with the signature: “Guernsey, Haute-Ville / House, August 18, 59 / Victor Hugo (Constitutionnel[sic])”. The notation “Constitutionnel,” which is absent from the known original text of the declaration, likely refers to the newspaper *Le Constitutionnel*, either as the source of the transcription or as an indication of its circulation; however, we have not been able to establish with certainty the meaning of this notation. The identification of Adèle Hugo’s handwriting is supported by a comparison with authentic autograph copies she made of her father’s writings. This activity as a copyist was, in fact, not unusual for Adèle: during her years in exile, she transcribed and preserved her father’s lyrics, letters, and texts, while also keeping her diary. The reverse side provides particularly interesting evidence supporting this attribution. There, Adèle has sketched out a few staves and musical notes in pencil, accompanied by the lyrics of the second verse of Count Lupus’s song in *Les Burgraves*, Part One, Scene V: “I am damned, my mother is dead, my priest gives me a hundred sermons. Let’s love, what does it matter / (repeat) / let’s love.” This notation is particularly consistent with the musical activities of Adèle Hugo, a pianist and composer who set several of her father’s texts to music herself. Her autograph scores, preserved in the collections associated with Hauteville House, include, in particular, melodies set to poems and texts by Victor Hugo; several of these manuscripts have survived only as fragments. Given the significance of the copied text—one of the most iconic statements from Victor Hugo’s exile—and the musical sketch on the reverse side, this sheet offers a particularly evocative testament to Adèle’s place in her father’s life: Involved in his literary and political work, she was also a musician and composer—before her obsessive passion for Albert Pinson, her departure for America, and her subsequent confinement—tragic episodes with which her name remains primarily associated today.