AUTOGRAPH LETTER FROM JULIETTE DROUET TO HER DAUGHTER CLAIRE 144 VICTOR HUGO 160 CARICATURE OF MLLE. GEORGE, BY VICTOR HUGO 176 PORTRAIT OF VICTOR HUGO BY HIMSELF 176 AUTOGRAPH AND DRAWING BY JULIETTE DROUET 192 THE BRIDGE OF MARNE 208 A DEDICATION BY VICTOR HUGO TO JULIETTE DROUET 224 JULIETTE DROUET IN 1846 232 VICTOR HUGO, RÉPUBLICAIN 240 DRAWING BY VICTOR HUGO, SIGNED "TOTO" 256 THE FLOWER AND THE BUTTERFLY 256 JULIETTE DROUET'S HAND 272 VICTOR HUGO, BY RODIN 288 JULIETTE DROUET ABOUT 1877 296 THE DEATHBED OF VICTOR HUGO 304 A DEDICATION BY VICTOR HUGO TO JULIETTE DROUET 304 BOOK-PLATE DESIGNED FOR JULIETTE DROUET BY VICTOR HUGO 312 [Illustration: THE CHÂTEAU OF FOUGÈRES IN 1836. Unpublished drawing by Victor Hugo.] JULIETTE DROUET'S LOVE-LETTERS TO VICTOR HUGO PART I _BIOGRAPHICAL_ CHAPTER I JULIENNE GAUVAIN An irregular outline, sombre colouring, a tangle of towers, steeples, high gables and ramparts, steep passages built in the form of steps: such was the town of Fougères at the beginning of the nineteenth century. The principal features of its surroundings were a turbulent river waging unceasing conflict with numerous mills, uncultivated wastes, more footpaths than lanes, and more lanes than high-roads. This former hot-bed of _chouans_ was an appropriate birthplace for a heroine of romance--and there, on April 10th, 1806, was born Julienne Joséphine Gauvain, subsequently known as Mademoiselle Juliette, and later still, as Madame Drouet.[1] Her father was a humble tailor living in a suburb of the town, on the road between Fougères and Autrain; her mother kept the little home. Madame Drouet was somewhat proud of her humble origin; she wrote: "I am of the people," as others might boast "I am well born"; she wished thereby to explain and excuse her taste for independence, her fiery temper, and her impulsive nature. She might equally have attributed these to the neglect she suffered in early infancy.