Autographed letter signed to a Minister.
Beautiful letter from Hugo, as a member of parliament, requesting a decoration for a bailiff of the National Assembly following his devotion during the June Days of 1848.
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Victor Hugo (1802.1885)
Autographed letter signed to a Minister.
One octavo page on a brown bifolium. Traces of sun fading around the edges.
(Paris) June 30, 1849
A beautiful letter from Hugo, as a member of parliament, requesting a decoration for a bailiff of the National Assembly following his devotion during the June Days of 1848.
Mr. Minister and dear colleague, a bailiff of the Assembly behaved with great courage , before my very eyes and before the eyes of our colleague, Mr. Galy-Cazalat, during the June Days of 1848. This bailiff, named Danau, received no reward at that time. Medals were, however, awarded to two employees of the Assembly for their conduct on May 15th; Bailiff Danau's conduct in June was no less commendable and seems to me to merit the same distinction. Please allow me, to fully enlighten you, to show you the letter he wrote to me on this subject. I would be delighted if the bailiff were to receive from you, such a good judge, the reward for his honorable conduct. Please accept, Mr. Minister, the assurance of my highest regards. Victor Hugo.
Elected on May 13, 1849 – a month before this letter – to the Legislative Assembly, Victor Hugo would deliver before this same Chamber, on July 9, 1849, one of his most famous speeches, The Speech on Poverty : “ I am not, gentlemen, one of those who believe that suffering can be eliminated in this world; suffering is a divine law; but I am one of those who think and who affirm that poverty can be destroyed…”