Days during which little Victor stayed with his father; Victor missed mother and often sat in a corner and cried. His father hired a governess who tried to please Victor and took him for walks. Victor disliked her. He called her cattiva (nasty) because she did not know any French !

Victor Hugo had a generous heart for all. He spent at least a third of his household expenses on charity. He provided financial aid for his fellow exile, Hennet de Kesler, who always lived, above his means. Victor ended up giving him a permanent hospitality at his house. Victor Hugo supplied a solid weekly meal to 40 Guernsey children. His diaries are full of details about assistance given to unfortunate ones. Juliette was under heavy debts. Hugo cleared them throughout.

Victor Hugo wanted to abolish the capital punishment. He realized the morbidity of it and composed Le Dermier Four d' un Condamnč. He published it anonymously as a piece of writing found in a prison cell, written by a man to be hanged in a few hours.

Hugo had a great heart to list youngsters. Whenever an admirer wrote to him, he replied, "I don't at all know whether I am a poet, but I am quite sure that you are."

There is a famous story about the publication of the first volume of Les Miserables in 1861. Hugo sent a telegram to his publisher. It simply said,
" ? "
The answer that came was,
" ! "