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If you + don't derive profits, no royalty is due. Royalties are + payable to "Project Gutenberg Association/Carnegie-Mellon + University" within the 60 days following each + date you prepare (or were legally required to prepare) + your annual (or equivalent periodic) tax return. + +WHAT IF YOU *WANT* TO SEND MONEY EVEN IF YOU DON'T HAVE TO? +The Project gratefully accepts contributions in money, time, +scanning machines, OCR software, public domain etexts, royalty +free copyright licenses, and every other sort of contribution +you can think of. Money should be paid to "Project Gutenberg +Association / Carnegie-Mellon University". + +*END*THE SMALL PRINT! FOR PUBLIC DOMAIN ETEXTS*Ver.04.29.93*END* + + + + + +JASMIN Barber, Poet, Philanthropist +by Samuel Smiles, LL.D. + + "Il rasait bien, il chantait. . . . Si la France + possedait dix poetes comme Jasmin, dix poetes de + cette influence, elle n'aurait pas a craindre de + revolutions."--Sainte-Beuve + + +CONTENTS. + +Preface + +CHAPTER I. Agen--Jasmins Boyhood + +Description of Agen +Statue of Jasmin +His 'Souvenirs' +Birth of Jasmin +Poverty of the Family +Grandfather Boe +The Charivari +Jasmin's Father and Mother +His Playfellows +Playing at Soldiers +Agen Fairs +The Vintage +The Spinning Women +School detested +Old Boe carried to the Hospital +Death of Boe + + +CHAPTER II. Jasmin at School + +Sister Boe +Jasmin enters the Seminary +His Progress +His Naughty Trick +Tumbles from a Ladder +His Punishment +Imprisoned +The Preserves +Expelled from the Seminary +His Mother sells her Wedding-ring for Bread +The Abbe Miraben +Jasmin a Helpful Boy + + +CHAPTER III. Barber and Hair-dresser + +Jasmin Apprenticed +Reading in his Garret +His First Books +Florian's Romances +Begins to Rhyme +The Poetic Nature +Barbers and Poetry +Importance of the Barber +Jasmin first Theatrical Entertainment +Under the Tiles +Talent for Recitation +Jasmin begins Business + + +CHAPTER IV. Jasmin and Mariette + +Falls in Love +Marries Mariette Barrere +Jasmin's Marriage Costume +Prosperity in Business +The 'Curl-Papers' +Christened "Apollo" +Mariette dislikes Rhyming +Visit of Charles Nodier +The Pair Reconciled +Mariette encourages her Husband +Jasmin at Home +The "rivulet of silver" +Jasmin buys his House on the Gravier +Becomes Collector of Taxes + + +CHAPTER V. Jasmin and Gascon + +Jasmin first Efforts at Verse-making +The People Conservative of old Dialects +Jasmin's study of Gascon +Langue d'Oc and Langue d'Oil +Antiquity of Languages in Western Europe +The Franks +Language of Modern France +The Gauls +The "Franciman" +Language of the Troubadours +Gascon and Provencal +Jasmin begins to write in Gascon +Uneducated Poets +Jasmin's 'Me cal Mouri' +Miss Costello's translation +The 'Charivari' +Jasmin publishes First Volume of 'The Curl-papers' (Papillotos) + + +CHAPTER VI. Beranger--'Mes Souvenirs'--P. De Musset + +The 'Third of May' +Statue of Henry IV +Nerac +Jasmin's Ode in Gascon approved +A Corporal in the National Guard +Letter to Beranger +His Reply +'Mes Souvenirs' +Recollections of his past Life +Nodier's Eulogy +Lines on the Banished Poles +Saint-Beuve on Jasmin's Poems +Second Volume of the 'Papillotos' published +Interview with Paul de Musset + + +CHAPTER VII. 'The Blind Girl of Castel-cuille' + +A Poetical Legend +Translated into English by Lady Georgiana Fullerton and +Longfellow +Description of Castel-cuille +The Story of Marguerite +The Bridal Procession to Saint-Amans +Presence of Marguerite +Her Death +The Poem first recited at Bordeaux +Enthusiasm excited +Popularity of the Author +Fetes and Banquets +Declines to visit Paris +Picture of Mariette +A Wise and Sensible Wife +Private recitation of his Poems +A Happy Pair +Eloquence of Jasmin + + +CHAPTER VIII. Jasmin as Philanthropist. + +Charity a Universal Duty +Want of Poor-Law in France +Appeals for Help in Times of Distress +Jasmin Recitations entirely Gratuitous +Famine in the Lot-et-Garonne +Composition of the Poem 'Charity' +Respect for the Law +Collection at Tonneins +Jasmin assailed by Deputations +His Reception in the Neighbouring Towns +Appearance at Bergerac +At Gontaud +At Damazan +His Noble Missions + + +CHAPTER IX. Jasmin's 'Franconnette' + +Composition of the Poem +Expostulations of M. Dumon +Jasmin's Defence of the Gascon Dialect +Jasmin and Dante +'Franconnette' dedicated to Toulouse +Outline of the Story +Marshal Montluc +Huguenots +Castle of Estellac +Marcel and Pascal +The Buscou +'The Syren with a Heart of Ice' +The Sorcerer +Franconnette accursed +Festival on Easter Morning +The Crown Piece +Storm at Notre Dame +The Villagers determine to burn Franconnette +Her Deliverance and Marriage + + +CHAPTER X. Jasmin's at Toulouse. + +'Franconnette' Recited first at Toulouse +Received with Acclamation +Academy of Jeux-Floraux +Jasmin Eloquent Declamation +The Fetes +Publication of 'Franconnette' +Sainte-Beuve's Criticism +M. de Lavergne +Charles Nodier +Testimonial to Jasmin +Mademoiselle Gaze +Death of Jasmin's Mother +Jasmin's Acknowledgment +Readings in the Cause of Charity +Increasing Reputation + + +CHAPTER XI. Jasmin's visit to Paris. + +Visits Paris with his Son +Wonders of Paris +Countries Cousins +Letters to Agen +Visit to Sainte-Beuve +Charles Nodier, Jules Janin +Landlord of Jasmin's Hotel +Recitation before Augustin Thierry and Members of the Academy +Career of the Historian +His Blindness +His Farewell to Literature + + +CHAPTER XII. Jasmin's recitations in Paris. + +Assembly at Augustin Thierry's +The 'Blind Girl' Recited +The Girl's Blindness +Interruptions of Thierry +Ampere Observation +Jasmin's love of Applause +Interesting Conversation +Fetes at Paris +Visit to Louis Philippe and the Duchess of Orleans +Recitals before the Royal Family +Souvenirs of the Visit +Banquet of Barbers and Hair-dressers +M. Chateaubriand +Return to Agen + + +CHAPTER XIII. Jasmin's and his English critics. + +Translation of his Poems +The Athenoeum +Miss Costello's Visit to Jasmin +Her Description of the Poet +His Recitations +Her renewed Visit +A Pension from the King +Proposed Journey to England +The Westminster Review +Angus B. Reach's Interview with Jasmin +His Description of the Poet +His Charitable Collections for the Poor +Was he Quixotic? +His Vivid Conversation +His Array of Gifts +The Dialect in which he Composes + + +CHAPTER XIV. Jasmin's tours of philanthropy + +Appeals from the Poor and Distressed +His Journeys to remote places +Carcassone +The Orphan Institute of Bordeaux +'The Shepherd and the Gascon Poet' +The Orphan's Gratitude +Helps to found an Agricultural Colony +Jasmin Letter +His Numerous Engagements +Society of Arts and Literature +His Strength of Constitution +At Marseilles +At Auch +Refusal to shave a Millionaire +Mademoiselle Roaldes +Jasmin Cheerful Help +Their Tour in the South of France +At Marseilles again +Gratitude of Mademoiselle Roaldes +Reboul at Nimes +Dumas and Chateaubriand +Letters from Madame Lafarge + + +CHAPTER XV. Jasmin's Vineyard--'Martha the Innocent' + +Agen +Jasmin buys a little Vineyard, his 'Papilloto' +'Ma Bigno' dedicated to Madame Veill +Description of the Vineyard +The Happiness it Confers +M. Rodiere, Toulouse +Jasmin's Slowness in Composition +A Golden Medal struck in his Honour +A Pension Awarded him +Made Chevalier of the Legion of Honour +Serenades in the Gravier +Honour from Pope Pius IX +'Martha the Innocent' +Description of the Narrative +Jasmin and Martha +Another Visit to Toulouse +The Banquet +Dax, Gers, Condon +Challenge of Peyrottes +Jasmin's Reply +His further Poems +'La Semaine d'um Fil' described +Dedicated to Lamartine +His Reply + + +CHAPTER XVI. The Priest without a Church. + +Ruin of the Church at Vergt +Description of Vergt +Jasmin Appealed to for Help +The Abbe and Poet +Meeting at Perigueux +Fetes and Banquets +Montignac, Sarlat, Nontron, Bergerac +Consecration of the Church +Cardinal Gousset +Jasmin's Poem +'A Priest without a Church' +Assailed by Deputations +St. Vincent de paul +A Priest and his Parishioners +The Church of Vergt again +Another Tour for Offerings +Creche at Bordeaux +Revolution of 1848 +Abbe and Poet recommence their Journeys +Jasmin invited to become a Deputy +Declines, and pursues his Career of Charity + + +CHAPTER XVII. The Church of Vergt again--French Academy-- + Emperor and Empress + +Renewed Journeys Journeys for Church of Vergt +Arcachon +Biarritz +A Troupe of poor Comedians Helped +Towns in the South +Jasmin's Bell-Tower erected +The French Academy +M. Villemain to Jasmin +M. de Montyon's Prize +M. Ancelo to Jasmin +Visit Paris again +Monseigneur Sibour +Banquet by Les Deux Mondes Reviewers +Marquise de Barthelemy, described in 'Chambers' Journal +Description of Jasmin and the Entertainment +Jasmin and the French Academy +Visit to Louis Napoleon +Intercedes for return of M. Baze +Again Visits Paris +Louis Napoleon Emperor, and Empress Eugenie +The Interview +M. Baze Restored to his Family at Agen +The Church of Vergt Finished, with Jasmin Bells + + +CHAPTER XVIII. Jasmin enrolled Maitre-es-Jeux at toulouse + --crowned by Agen + +Jasmin invited to Toulouse +Enrolled as Maitre-es-Jeux +The Ceremony in the Salle des Illustres +Jasmin acknowledgment +The Crowd in the Place de Capitol +Agen awards him a Crown of Gold +Society of Saint Vincent de Paul +The Committee +Construction of the Crown +The Public Meeting +Address of M. Noubel, Deputy +Jasmin's Poem, 'The Crown of My Birthplace' + + +CHAPTER XIX. Last poems--more missions of charity + +His 'New Recollections' +Journey to Albi and Castera +Bordeaux +Montignac, Saint Macaire +Saint Andre, Monsegur +Recitation at Arcachon +Societies of Mutual Help +'Imitation of Christ' Testimony from Bishop of Saint Flour +Jasmin's Self-denial +Collects about a Million and a half of Francs for the Poor +Expenses of his Journey of fifty Days +His Faithful Record +Jasmin at Rodez +Aurillac +Toulouse +His last Recital at Villeneuve-sur-Lot + + +CHAPTER XX. Death of Jasmin--his character. + +Jasmin's Illness from Overwork and Fatigue +Last Poem to Renan +Receives the Last Sacrament +Takes Leave of his Wife +His Death, at Sixty-five +His Public Funeral +The Ceremony +Eulogiums +M. Noubel, Deputy; Capot and Magen +Inauguration of Bronze Statue +Character of Jasmin +His Love of Truth +His Fellow-Feeling for the Poor +His Pride in Agen +His Loyalty and Patience +Charity his Heroic Programme +His long Apostolate + + +APPENDIX + +Jasmin Defence of the Gascon Dialect +The Mason's Son +The Poor Man's Doctor +My Vineyard +Franconnette + + +PREFACE. + +My attention was first called to the works of the poet Jasmin by +the eulogistic articles which appeared in the Revue des Deux +Mondes, by De Mazade, Nodier, Villemain, and other well-known +reviewers. + +I afterwards read the articles by Sainte-Beuve, perhaps the +finest critic of French literature, on the life and history of +Jasmin, in his 'Portraits Contemporains' as well as his +admirable article on the same subject, in the 'Causeries du +Lundi.' + +While Jasmin was still alive, a translation was published by the +American poet Longfellow, of 'The Blind Girl of Castel-Cuille,' +perhaps the best of Jasmin's poems. In his note to the +translation, Longfellow said that "Jasmin, the author of this +beautiful poem, is to the South of France what Burns is to the +South of Scotland, the representative of the heart of the people; +one of those happy bards who are born with their mouths +full of birds (la bouco pleno d'aouvelous). He has written his +own biography in a poetic form, and the simple narrative of his +poverty, his struggles, and his triumphs, is very touching. +He still lives at Agen, on the Garonne; and long may he live +there to delight his native land with native songs." + +I had some difficulty in obtaining Jasmin's poems; but at length +I received them from his native town of Agen. They consisted of +four volumes octavo, though they were still incomplete. But a +new edition has since been published, in 1889, which was +heralded by an interesting article in the Paris Figaro. + +While at Royat, in 1888, I went across the country to Agen, +the town in which Jasmin was born, lived, and died. I saw the +little room in which he was born, the banks of the Garonne which +sounded so sweetly in his ears, the heights of the Hermitage +where he played when a boy, the Petite Seminaire in which he was +partly educated, the coiffeur's shop in which he carried on his +business as a barber and hair-dresser, and finally his tomb in +the cemetery where he was buried with all the honours that his +towns-fellows could bestow upon him. + +From Agen I went south to Toulouse, where I saw the large room +in the Museum in which Jasmin first recited his poem of +'Franconnette'; and the hall in the Capitol, where the poet was +hailed as The Troubadour, and enrolled member of the Academy of +Jeux Floraux--perhaps the crowning event of his life. + +In the Appendix to this memoir I have endeavoured to give +translations from some of Jasmin's poems. Longfellow's +translation of 'The Blind Girl of Castel-Cuille' has not been +given, as it has already been published in his poems, which are +in nearly every library. In those which have been given, I have +in certain cases taken advantage of the translations by Miss +Costello Miss Preston (of Boston, U.S.), and the Reverend Mr. +Craig, D.D., for some time Rector of Kinsale, Ireland. + +It is, however, very difficult to translate French poetry into +English. The languages, especially the Gascon, are very unlike +French as well as English. Hence Villemain remarks, that "every +translation must virtually be a new creation." But, such as they +are, I have endeavoured to translate the poems as literally as +possible. Jasmin's poetry is rather wordy, and requires +condensation, though it is admirably suited for recitation. +When other persons recited his poems, they were not successful; +but when Jasmin recited, or rather acted them, they were always +received with enthusiasm. + +There was a special feature in Jasmin's life which was +altogether unique. This was the part which he played in the +South of France as a philanthropist. Where famine or hunger made +its appearance amongst the poor people--where a creche, +or orphanage, or school, or even a church, had to be helped and +supported Jasmin was usually called upon to assist with his +recitations. He travelled thousands of miles for such purposes, +during which he collected about 1,500,000 francs, and gave the +whole of this hard-earned money over to the public charities, +reserving nothing for himself except the gratitude of the poor +and needy. And after his long journeyings were over, he quietly +returned to pursue his humble occupation at Agen. Perhaps there +is nothing like this in the history of poetry or literature. +For this reason, the character of the man as a philanthropist is +even more to be esteemed than his character as a poet and +a song-writer. + +The author requests the indulgence of the reader with respect to +the translations of certain poems given in the Appendix. +The memoir of Jasmin must speak for itself. + +London, Nov. 1891. + + +JASMIN. + + +CHAPTER I. + +AGEN.--JASMIN'S BOYHOOD. + +Agen is an important town in the South of France, situated on +the right bank of the Garonne, about eighty miles above Bordeaux. +The country to the south of Agen contains some of the most +fertile land in France. The wide valley is covered with +vineyards, orchards, fruit gardens, and corn-fields. + +The best panoramic view of Agen and the surrounding country is +to be seen from the rocky heights on the northern side of the +town. A holy hermit had once occupied a cell on the ascending +cliffs; and near it the Convent of the Hermitage has since been +erected. Far underneath are seen the red-roofed houses of the +town, and beyond them the green promenade of the Gravier. + +From the summit of the cliffs the view extends to a great +distance along the wide valley of the Garonne, covered with +woods, vineyards, and greenery. The spires of village churches +peep up here and there amongst the trees; and in the far +distance, on a clear day, are seen the snow-capped peaks of the +Pyrenees. + +Three bridges connect Agen with the country to the west of the +Garonne--the bridge for ordinary traffic, a light and elegant +suspension bridge, and a bridge of twenty-three arches which +carries the lateral canal to the other side of the river. + +The town of Agen itself is not particularly attractive. +The old streets are narrow and tortuous, paved with pointed +stones; but a fine broad street--the Rue de la Republique--has +recently been erected through the heart of the old town, which +greatly adds to the attractions of the place. At one end of +this street an ideal statue of the Republic has been erected, +and at the other end a life-like bronze statue of the famous +poet Jasmin. + +This statue to Jasmin is the only one in the town erected to an +individual. Yet many distinguished persons have belonged to Agen +and the neighbourhood who have not been commemorated in any +form. Amongst these were Bernard Palissy, the famous potter[1]; +Joseph J. Scaliger, the great scholar and philologist; +and three distinguished naturalists, Boudon de Saint-Aman, +Bory de Saint-Vincent, and the Count de Lacepede. + +The bronze statue of Jasmin stands in one of the finest sites in +Agen, at one end of the Rue de la Republique, and nearly +opposite the little shop in which he carried on his humble trade +of a barber and hairdresser. It represents the poet standing, +with his right arm and hand extended, as if in the act of +recitation. + +How the fame of Jasmin came to be commemorated by a statue +erected in his native town by public subscription, will be found +related in the following pages. He has told the story of his +early life in a bright, natural, and touching style, in one of +his best poems, entitled, "My Recollections" (Mes Souvenirs), +written in Gascon; wherein he revealed his own character with +perfect frankness, and at the same time with exquisite +sensibility. + +Several of Jasmin's works have been translated into English, +especially his "Blind Girl of Castel-Cuille, by Longfellow and +Lady Georgina Fullerton. The elegant translation by Longfellow +is so well known that it is unnecessary to repeat it in the +appendix to this volume. But a few other translations of +Jasmin's works have been given, to enable the reader to form +some idea of his poetical powers. + +Although Jasmin's recitations of his poems were invariably +received with enthusiastic applause by his quick-spirited +audiences in the South of France, the story of his life will +perhaps be found more attractive to English readers than any +rendering of his poems, however accurate, into a language +different from his own. For poetry, more than all forms of +literature, loses most by translation--especially from Gascon +into English. Villemain, one of the best of critics, says: +"Toute traduction en vers est une autre creation que l'original." + +We proceed to give an account--mostly from his own Souvenirs +--of the early life and boyhood of Jasmin. The eighteenth +century, old, decrepit, and vicious, was about to come to an +end, when in the corner of a little room haunted by rats, a +child, the subject of this story, was born. It was on the +morning of Shrove Tuesday, the 6th of March, 1798,--just as +the day had flung aside its black night-cap, and the morning sun +was about to shed its rays upon the earth,--that this son of a +crippled mother and a humpbacked tailor first saw the light. +The child was born in a house situated in one of the old streets +of Agen--15 Rue Fon-de-Rache--not far from the shop on the +Gravier where Jasmin afterwards carried on the trade of a barber +and hairdresser. + +"When a prince is born," said Jasmin in his Souvenirs, +"his entrance into the world is saluted with rounds of cannon, +but when I, the son of a poor tailor made my appearance, I was +not saluted even with the sound of a popgun." Yet Jasmin was +afterwards to become a king of hearts! A Charivari was, however, +going on in front of a neighbour's door, as a nuptial serenade +on the occasion of some unsuitable marriage; when the clamour of +horns and kettles, marrow-bones and cleavers, saluted the +mother's ears, accompanied by thirty burlesque verses, the +composition of the father of the child who had just been born. + +Jacques Jasmin was only one child amongst many. The parents had +considerable difficulty in providing for the wants of the family, +in food as well as clothing. Besides the father's small earnings +as a tailor of the lowest standing, the mother occasionally +earned a little money as a laundress. A grandfather, Boe, formed +one of the family group. He had been a soldier, but was now too +old to serve in the ranks, though France was waging war in Italy +and Austria under her new Emperor. Boe, however, helped to earn +the family living, by begging with his wallet from door to door. + +Jasmin describes the dwelling in which this poor family lived. +It was miserably furnished. The winds blew in at every corner. +There were three ragged beds; a cupboard, containing a few bits +of broken plates; a stone bottle; two jugs of cracked +earthenware; a wooden cup broken at the edges; a rusty +candlestick, used when candles were available; a small +half-black looking-glass without a frame, held against the wall +by three little nails; four broken chairs; a closet without a +key; old Boe's suspended wallet; a tailor's board, with clippings +of stuff and patched-up garments; such were the contents of the +house, the family consisting in all of nine persons. + +It is well that poor children know comparatively little of their +miserable bringings-up. They have no opportunity of contrasting +their life and belongings with those of other children more +richly nurtured. The infant Jasmin slept no less soundly in his +little cot stuffed with larks' feathers than if he had been laid +on a bed of down. Then he was nourished by his mother's milk, +and he grew, though somewhat lean and angular, as fast as any +king's son. He began to toddle about, and made acquaintances +with the neighbours' children. + +After a few years had passed, Jasmin, being a spirited fellow, +was allowed to accompany his father at night in the concerts of +rough music. He placed a long paper cap on his head, like a +French clown, and with a horn in his hand he made as much noise, +and played as many antics, as any fool in the crowd. Though the +tailor could not read, he usually composed the verses for the +Charivari; and the doggerel of the father, mysteriously +fructified, afterwards became the seed of poetry in the son. + +The performance of the Charivari was common at that time in the +South of France. When an old man proposed to marry a maiden less +than half his age, or when an elderly widow proposed to marry a +man much younger than herself, or when anything of a +heterogeneous kind occurred in any proposed union, a terrible +row began. The populace assembled in the evening of the day on +which the banns had been first proclaimed, and saluted the happy +pair in their respective houses with a Charivari. Bells, horns, +pokers and tongs, marrow-bones and cleavers, or any thing that +would make a noise, was brought into requisition, and the noise +thus made, accompanied with howling recitations of the Charivari, +made the night positively hideous. + +The riot went on for several evenings; and when the wedding-day +arrived, the Charivarists, with the same noise and violence, +entered the church with the marriage guests; and at night they +besieged the house of the happy pair, throwing into their +windows stones, brickbats, and every kind of missile. +Such was their honeymoon! + +This barbarous custom has now fallen entirely into disuse. +If attempted to be renewed, it is summarily put down by the +police, though it still exists among the Basques as a Toberac. +It may also be mentioned that a similar practice once prevailed +in Devonshire described by the Rev. S. Baring Gould in his "Red +Spider." It was there known as the Hare Hunt, or +Skimmity-riding. + +The tailor's Charivaris brought him in no money. + +They did not increase his business; in fact, they made him many +enemies. His uncouth rhymes did not increase his mending of old +clothes. However sharp his needle might be, his children's teeth +were still sharper; and often they had little enough to eat. +The maintenance of the family mainly depended on the mother, +and the wallet of grandfather Boe. + +The mother, poor though she was, had a heart of gold under her +serge gown. She washed and mended indefatigably. When she had +finished her washing, the children, so soon as they could walk, +accompanied her to the willows along the banks of the Garonne, +where the clothes were hung out to dry. There they had at least +the benefit of breathing fresh and pure air. Grandfather Boe was +a venerable old fellow. He amused the children at night with his +stories of military life-- + + "Wept o'er his wounds, or, tales of sorrow done, + Shouldered his crutch, and showed how fields were won." + +During the day he carried his wallet from door to door in Agen, +or amongst the farmhouses in the neighbourhood; and when he came +home at eve he emptied his wallet and divided the spoil amongst +the family. If he obtained, during his day's journey, some more +succulent morsel than another, he bestowed it upon his grandson +Jacques, whom he loved most dearly. + +Like all healthy boys, young Jasmin's chief delight was in the +sunshine and the open air. He also enjoyed the pleasures of +fellowship and the happiness of living. Rich and poor, old and +young, share in this glorified gladness. Jasmin had as yet +known no sorrow. His companions were poor boys like himself. +They had never known any other condition. + +Just as the noontide bells began to ring, Jasmin set out with a +hunch of bread in his hand--perhaps taken from his grandfather's +wallet--to enjoy the afternoon with his comrades. Without cap +or shoes he sped' away. The sun was often genial, and he never +bethought him of cold. On the company went, some twenty or +thirty in number, to gather willow faggots by the banks of the +Garonne. + +"Oh, how my soul leapt!" he exclaimed in his Souvenirs, +"when we all set out together at mid-day, singing. 'The Lamb +whom Thou hast given me,' a well known carol in the south. +The very recollection of that pleasure even now enchants me. +'To the Island--to the Island!' shouted the boldest, and then we +made haste to wade to the Island, each to gather together our +little bundle of fagots." + +The rest of the vagrants' time was spent in play. They ascended +the cliff towards the grotto of Saint John. They shared in many +a contest. They dared each other to do things--possible and +impossible. There were climbings of rocks, and daring leaps, +with many perils and escapades, according to the nature of boys +at play. At length, after becoming tired, there was the return +home an hour before nightfall. And now the little fellows +tripped along; thirty fagot bundles were carried on thirty heads; +and the thirty sang, as on setting out, the same carol, +with the same refrain. + +Jasmin proceeds, in his Souvenirs, to describe with great zest +and a wonderful richness of local colour, the impromptu fetes in +which he bore a part; his raids upon the cherry and plum +orchards--for the neighbourhood of Agen is rich in plum-trees, +and prunes are one of the principal articles of commerce in the +district. Playing at soldiers was one of Jasmin's favourite +amusements; and he was usually elected Captain. + +"I should need," he says, "a hundred trumpets to celebrate all +my victories." Then he describes the dancing round the bonfires, +and the fantastic ceremonies connected with the celebration of +St. John's Eve. + +Agen is celebrated for its fairs. In the month of June, one of +the most important fairs in the South of France is held on the +extensive promenade in front of the Gravier. There Jasmin went +to pick up any spare sous by holding horses or cattle, +or running errands, or performing any trifling commission for the +farmers or graziers. When he had filled to a slight extent his +little purse, he went home at night and emptied the whole +contents into his mother's hand. His heart often sank as she +received his earnings with smiles and tears. "Poor child," +she would say, "your help comes just in time." Thus the bitter +thought of poverty and the evidences of destitution were always +near at hand. + +In the autumn Jasmin went gleaning in the cornfields, for it was +his greatest pleasure to bring home some additional help for the +family needs. In September came the vintage--the gathering in +and pressing of the grapes previous to their manufacture into +wine. The boy was able, with his handy helpfulness, to add a +little more money to the home store. Winter followed, and the +weather became colder. In the dearth of firewood, Jasmin was +fain to preserve his bodily heat, notwithstanding his ragged +clothes, by warming himself by the sun in some sheltered nook so +long as the day lasted; or he would play with his companions, +being still buoyed up with the joy and vigour of youth. + +When the stern winter set in, Jasmin spent his evenings in the +company of spinning-women and children, principally for the sake +of warmth. A score or more of women, with their children, +assembled in a large room, lighted by a single antique lamp +suspended from the ceiling. The women had distaffs and heavy +spindles, by means of which they spun a kind of coarse +pack-thread, which the children wound up, sitting on stools at +their feet. All the while some old dame would relate the +old-world ogreish stories of Blue Beard, the Sorcerer, or the +Loup Garou, to fascinate the ears and trouble the dreams of the +young folks. It was here, no doubt, that Jasmin gathered much of +the traditionary lore which he afterwards wove into his poetical +ballads. + +Jasmin had his moments of sadness. He was now getting a big +fellow, and his mother was anxious that he should receive some +little education. He had not yet been taught to read; he had not +even learnt his A B C. The word school frightened him. He could +not bear to be shut up in a close room--he who had been +accustomed to enjoy a sort of vagabond life in the open air. +He could not give up his comrades, his playing at soldiers, +and his numerous escapades. + +The mother, during the hum of her spinning-wheel, often spoke in +whispers to grandfather Boe of her desire to send the boy to +school. When Jasmin overheard their conversation, he could +scarcely conceal his tears. Old Boe determined to do what he +could. He scraped together his little savings, and handed them +over to the mother. But the money could not then be used for +educating Jasmin; it was sorely needed for buying bread. +Thus the matter lay over for a time. + +The old man became unable to go out of doors to solicit alms. +Age and infirmity kept him indoors. He began to feel himself a +burden on the impoverished family. He made up his mind to rid +them of the incumbrance, and desired the parents to put him into +the family arm-chair and have him carried to the hospital. +Jasmin has touchingly told the incident of his removal. + +"It happened on a Monday," he says in his Souvenirs: "I was then +ten years old. I was playing in the square with my companions, +girded about with a wooden sword, and I was king; but suddenly a +dreadful spectacle disturbed my royalty. I saw an old man in an +arm-chair borne along by several persons. The bearers approached +still nearer, when I recognised my afflicted grandfather. +'O God,' said I, 'what do I see? My old grandfather surrounded +by my family.' In my grief I saw only him. I ran up to him in +tears, threw myself on his neck and kissed him. + +"In returning my embrace, he wept. 'O grandfather,' said I, +'where are you going? Why do you weep? Why are you leaving our +home?' 'My child,' said the old man, 'I am going to the +hospital,[2] where all the Jasmins die.' He again embraced me, +closed his eyes, and was carried away. We followed him for some +time under the trees. I abandoned my play, and returned home +full of sorrow." + +Grandfather Boe did not survive long in the hospital. He was +utterly worn out. After five days the old man quietly breathed +his last. His wallet was hung upon its usual nail in his former +home, but it was never used again. One of the bread-winners had +departed, and the family were poorer than ever. + +"On that Monday," says Jasmin, "I for the first time knew and +felt that we were very poor." + +All this is told with marvellous effect in the first part of the +Souvenirs, which ends with a wail and a sob. + + +Footnotes to Chapter I. + +[1] It is stated in the Bibliographie Generale de l'Agenais, +that Palissy was born in the district of Agen, perhaps at +La Chapelle Biron, and that, being a Huguenot, he was imprisoned +in the Bastille at Paris, and died there in 1590, shortly after +the massacre of St. Bartholomew. But Palissy seems to have been +born in another town, not far from La Chapelle Biron. The Times +of the 7th July, 1891, contained the following paragraph:-- +"A statue of Bernard Palissy was unveiled yesterday at +Villeneuvesur-Lot, his native town, by M. Bourgeois, Minister of +Education." + +[2] L'hopital means an infirmary or almshouse for old and +impoverished people. + + + +CHAPTER II. + +JASMIN AT SCHOOL. + +One joyful day Jasmin's mother came home in an ecstasy of +delight, and cried, "To school, my child, to school!" +"To school?" said Jasmin, greatly amazed. "How is this? +Have we grown rich?" "No, my poor boy, but you will get your +schooling for nothing. Your cousin has promised to educate you; +come, come, I am so happy!" It was Sister Boe, the +schoolmistress of Agen, who had offered to teach the boy +gratuitously the elements of reading and writing. + +The news of Jacques' proposed scholarship caused no small stir +at home. The mother was almost beside herself with joy. +The father too was equally moved, and shed tears of gratitude. +He believed that the boy might yet be able to help him in writing +out, under his dictation, the Charivari impromptus which, +he supposed, were his chief forte. Indeed, the whole family +regarded this great stroke of luck for Jacques in the light of a +special providence, and as the beginning of a brilliant destiny. +The mother, in order to dress him properly, rummaged the house, +and picked out the least mended suit of clothes, in which to +array the young scholar. + +When properly clothed, the boy, not without fear on his own +part, was taken by his mother to school. + +Behold him, then, placed under the tuition of Sister Boe! +There were some fifty other children at school, mumbling at the +letters of the alphabet, and trying to read their first easy +sentences. Jasmin had a good memory, and soon mastered the +difficulties of the A B C. "'Twixt smiles and tears," he says, +"I soon learnt to read, by the help of the pious Sister." + +In six months he was able to enter the Seminary in the Rue +Montesquieu as a free scholar. He now served at Mass. Having a +good ear for music ,he became a chorister, and sang the Tantum +ergo. He was a diligent boy, and so far everything prospered +well with him. He even received a prize. True, it was only an +old cassock, dry as autumn heather. But, being trimmed up by his +father, it served to hide his ragged clothes beneath. + +His mother was very proud of the cassock. "Thank God," she said, +"thou learnest well; and this is the reason why, each Tuesday, +a white loaf comes from the Seminary. It is always welcome, +for the sake of the hungry little ones." "Yes," he replied, +"I will try my best to be learned for your sake." But Jasmin +did not long wear the cassock. He was shortly after turned out +of the Seminary, in consequence of a naughty trick which he +played upon a girl of the household. + +Jasmin tells the story of his expulsion with great frankness, +though evidently ashamed of the transaction. He was passing +through the inner court one day, during the Shrove Carnival, +when, looking up, he caught sight of a petticoat. He stopped and +gazed. A strange tremor crept through his nerves. What evil +spirit possessed him to approach the owner of the petticoat? +He looked up again, and recognised the sweet and rosy-cheeked +Catherine--the housemaid of the Seminary. She was perched near +the top of a slim ladder leaning against the wall, standing +upright, and feeding the feathery-footed pigeons. + +A vision flashed through Jasmin's mind--"a life all velvet," +as he expressed it,--and he approached the ladder. He climbed +up a few steps, and what did he see? Two comely ankles and two +pretty little feet. His heart burned within him, and he breathed +a loud sigh. The girl heard the sigh, looked down, and huddled +up the ladder, crying piteously. The ladder was too slim to bear +two. It snapped and fell, and they tumbled down, she above and +he below! + +The loud screams of the girl brought all the household to the +spot--the Canons, the little Abbe, the cook, the scullion-- +indeed all the inmates of the Seminary. Jasmin quaintly remarks, +"A girl always likes to have the sins known that she has caused +others to commit." But in this case, according to Jasmin's own +showing, the girl was not to blame. The trick which he played +might be very innocent, but to the assembled household it seemed +very wicked. He must be punished. + +First, he had a terrible wigging from the master; and next, +he was sentenced to imprisonment during the rest of the Carnival. + +In default of a dungeon, they locked him in a dismal little +chamber, with some bread and water. Next day, Shrove Tuesday, +while the Carnival was afoot, Jasmin felt very angry and very +hungry. "Who sleeps eats," says the proverb. "But," said +Jasmin, "the proverb lies: I did not sleep, and was consumed by +hunger." Then he filled up the measure of his iniquity by +breaking into a cupboard! + +It happened that the Convent preserves were kept in the room +wherein he was confined. Their odour attracted him, and he +climbed up, by means of a table and chair, to the closet in +which they were stored. He found a splendid pot of preserves. +He opened it; and though he had no spoon, he used his fingers and +soon emptied the pot. What a delicious treat he enjoyed enough +to make him forget the pleasures of the Carnival. + +Jasmin was about to replace the empty pot, when he heard the +click-clack of a door behind him. He looked round, and saw the +Superior, who had unlocked the door, and come to restore the boy +to liberty. Oh, unhappy day! When the Abbe found the prisoner +stealing his precious preserves, he became furious. "What! +plundering my sweetmeats?" he cried. "Come down, sirrah, come +down! no pardon for you now." He pulled Jasmin from his chair +and table, and the empty jar fell broken at his feet. "Get out, +get out of this house, thou imp of hell!" And taking Jasmin by +the scruff of the neck, he thrust him violently out of the door +and into the street. + +But worse was yet to come. When the expelled scholar reached the +street, his face and mouth were smeared with jam. He was like a +blackamoor. Some urchins who encountered him on his homeward +route, surmised that his disguise was intended as a masque for +the Carnival. He ran, and they pursued him. The mob of boys +increased, and he ran the faster. At last he reached his +father's door, and rushed in, half dead with pain, hunger, +and thirst. The family were all there--father, mother, +and children. + +They were surprised and astonished at his sudden entrance. +After kissing them all round, he proceeded to relate his +adventures at the Seminary. He could not tell them all, but he +told enough. His narrative was received with dead silence. +But he was thirsty and hungry. He saw a pot of kidney-bean +porridge hanging over the fire, and said he would like to allay +his hunger by participating in their meal. But alas! +The whole of it had been consumed. The pot was empty, and yet +the children were not satisfied with their dinner. "Now I know," +said the mother, "why no white bread has come from the Seminary." +Jasmin was now greatly distressed. "Accursed sweetmeats," +he thought. "Oh! what a wretch I am to have caused so much +misery and distress." + +The children had eaten only a few vegetables; and now there was +another mouth to fill. The fire had almost expired for want of +fuel. The children had no bread that day, for the Seminary loaf +had not arrived. What were they now to do? The mother suffered +cruel tortures in not being able to give her children bread, +especially on the home-coming of her favourite scapegrace. + +At last, after glancing at her left hand, she rose suddenly. +She exclaimed in a cheerful voice, "Wait patiently until my +return." She put her Sunday kerchief on her head, and departed. +In a short time she returned, to the delight of the children, +with a loaf of bread under her arm. They laughed and sang, and +prepared to enjoy their feast, though it was only of bread. The +mother apparently joined in their cheerfulness, though a sad pain +gnawed at her heart. Jasmin saw his mother hide her hand; +but when it was necessary for her to cut the loaf, after making +the cross according to custom, he saw that the ring on her left +hand had disappeared. "Holy Cross," he thought, "it is true that +she has sold her wedding-ring to buy bread for her children." + +This was a sad beginning of life for the poor boy. He was now +another burden on the family. Old Boe had gone, and could no +longer help him with his savoury morsels. He was so oppressed +with grief, that he could no longer play with his comrades as +before. But Providence again came to his aid. The good Abbe +Miraben heard the story of his expulsion from the Seminary. +Though a boy may be tricky he cannot be perfect, and the priest +had much compassion on him. Knowing Jasmin's abilities, and the +poverty of his parents, the Abbe used his influence to obtain an +admission for him to one of the town's schools, where he was +again enabled to carry on his education. + +The good Abbe was helpful to the boy in many ways. One evening, +when Jasmin was on his way to the Augustins to read and recite +to the Sisters, he was waylaid by a troop of his old playfellows. +They wished him to accompany them to the old rendezvous in the +square; but he refused, because he had a previous engagement. +The boys then began to hustle him, and proceeded to tear off +his tattered clothes. He could only bend his head before his +assailants, but never said a word. + +At length his good friend Miraben came up and rescued him. +He drove away the boys, and said to Jasmin, "Little one, don't +breathe a word; your mother knows nothing. They won't torment +you long! Take up thy clothes," he said. "Come, poverty is not +a crime. Courage! Thou art even rich. Thou hast an angel on +high watching over thee. Console thyself, brave child, and +nothing more will happen to vex thee." + +The encouragement of the Abbe proved prophetic. No more troubles +of this kind afflicted the boy. + +The aged priest looked after the well-being of himself and +family. He sent them bread from time to time, and kept the wolf +from their door. Meanwhile Jasmin did what he could to help them +at home. During the vintage time he was well employed; and also +at fair times. He was a helpful boy, and was always willing to +oblige friends and neighbours. + +But the time arrived when he must come to some determination as +to his future calling in life. He was averse to being a tailor, +seeing the sad results of his father's trade at home. +After consultation with his mother, he resolved on becoming a +barber and hairdresser. Very little capital was required for +carrying on that trade; only razors, combs, and scissors. + +Long after, when Jasmin was a comparatively thriving man, +he said: "Yes, I have eaten the bread of charity; most of my +ancestors died at the hospital; my mother pledged her nuptial +ring to buy a loaf of bread. All this shows how much misery we +had to endure, the frightful picture of which I have placed in +the light of day in my Souvenirs. But I am afraid of wearying +the public, as I do not wish to be accused of aiming too much at +contrasts. For when we are happy, perfectly happy, there is +nothing further from what I am, and what I have been, as to make +me fear for any such misconstruction on the part of my hearers." + + + +CHAPTER III. + +BARBER AND HAIRDRESSER. + +Jasmin was sixteen years old when he was apprenticed to a barber +and hairdresser at Agen. The barber's shop was near the +Prefecture--the ancient palace of the Bishop. It was situated +at the corner of Lamoureux Street and the alley of the +Prefecture. There Jasmin learnt the art of cutting, curling, +and dressing hair, and of deftly using the comb and the razor. +The master gave him instructions in the trade, and watched him +while at work. Jasmin was willing and active, and was soon able +to curl and shave with any apprentice in Agen. + +After the day's work was over, the apprentice retired to his +garret under the tiles. There he spent his evenings, and there +he slept at night. Though the garret was infested by rats, +he thought nothing of them; he had known them familiarly at home. + +They did him no harm, and they even learnt to know him. +His garret became his paradise, for there he renewed his love of +reading. The solitariness of his life did him good, by throwing +his mind in upon himself, and showing the mental stuff of which +he was made. All the greatest and weightiest things have been +done in solitude. + +The first books he read were for the most part borrowed. +Customers who came to the shop to be shaved or have their hair +dressed, took an interest in the conversation of the bright, +cheerful, dark-eyed lad, and some of them lent him books to +read. What joy possessed him when he took refuge in his garret +with a new book! Opening the book was like opening the door of a +new world. What enchantment! What mystery! What a wonderful +universe about us! + +In reading a new book Jasmin forgot his impoverished boyhood, +his grandfather Boe and his death in the hospital, his expulsion +from the Seminary, and his mother's sale of her wedding-ring to +buy bread for her children. He had now left the past behind, +and a new world lay entrancingly before him. He read, and +thought, and dreamed, until far on in the morning. + +The first books he read were of comparatively little importance, +though they furnished an opening into literature. +'The Children's Magazine'[1] held him in raptures for a time. +Some of his friendly customers lent him the 'Fables of Florian,' +and afterwards Florian's pastoral romance of 'Estelle'--perhaps +his best work. The singer of the Gardon entirely bewitched +Jasmin. 'Estelle' allured him into the rosy-fingered regions of +bliss and happiness. Then Jasmin himself began to rhyme. +Florian's works encouraged him to write his first verses in the +harmonious Gascon patois, to which he afterwards gave such +wonderful brilliancy. + +In his after life Jasmin was often asked how and when he first +began to feel himself a poet. Some think that the poetical gift +begins at some fixed hour, just as one becomes a barrister, +a doctor, or a professor. But Jasmin could not give an answer. + +"I have often searched into my past life," he said, "but I have +never yet found the day when I began my career of rhyming."[2] + +There are certain gifts which men can never acquire by will and +work, if God has not put the seed of them into their souls at +birth; and poetry is one of those gifts. + +When such a seed has been planted, its divine origin is shown by +its power of growth and expansion; and in a noble soul, +apparently insurmountable difficulties and obstacles cannot +arrest its development. The life and career of Jasmin amply +illustrates this truth. Here was a young man born in the depths +of poverty. In his early life he suffered the most cruel needs +of existence. When he became a barber's apprentice, he touched +the lowest rung of the ladder of reputation; but he had at least +learned the beginnings of knowledge. + +He knew how to read, and when we know the twenty-four letters of +the alphabet, we may learn almost everything that we wish to +know. From that slight beginning most men may raise themselves +to the heights of moral and intellectual worth by a persevering +will and the faithful performance of duty. + +At the same time it must be confessed that it is altogether +different with poetical genius. It is not possible to tell what +unforeseen and forgotten circumstances may have given the +initial impulse to a poetic nature. It is not the result of any +fortuitous impression, and still less of any act of the will. + +It is possible that Jasmin may have obtained his first insight +into poetic art during his solitary evening walks along the +banks of the Garonne, or from the nightingales singing overhead, +or from his chanting in the choir when a child. Perhaps the +'Fables of Florian' kindled the poetic fire within him; at all +events they may have acted as the first stimulus to his art of +rhyming. They opened his mind to the love of nature, to the +pleasures of country life, and the joys of social intercourse. + +There is nothing in the occupation of a barber incompatible with +the cultivation of poetry. Folez, the old German poet, was a +barber, as well as the still more celebrated Burchiello, +of Florence, whose sonnets are still admired because of the +purity of their style. Our own Allan Ramsay, author of 'The +Gentle Shepherd,' spent some of his early years in the same +occupation. + +In southern and Oriental life the barber plays an important +part. In the Arabian tales he is generally a shrewd, meddling, +inquisitive fellow. In Spain and Italy the barber is often the +one brilliant man in his town; his shop is the place where +gossip circulates, and where many a pretty intrigue is contrived. + +Men of culture are often the friends of barbers. Buffon trusted +to his barber for all the news of Montbard. Moliere spent many +long and pleasant hours with the barber of Pezenas. Figaro, the +famous barber of Seville, was one of the most perfect prototypes +of his trade. Jasmin was of the same calling as Gil Bias, +inspired with the same spirit, and full of the same talent. +He was a Frenchman of the South, of the same race as Villon and +Marot. + +Even in the prim and formal society of the eighteenth century, +the barber occupied no unimportant part. He and the sculptor, +of all working men, were allowed to wear the sword--that +distinctive badge of gentility. In short, the barber was +regarded as an artist. Besides, barbers were in ancient times +surgeons; they were the only persons who could scientifically +"let blood." The Barber-Surgeons of London still represent the +class. They possess a cup presented to the Guild by Charles II., +in commemoration of his escape while taking refuge in the +oak-tree at Boscobel.[3] + +But to return to the adventures of Jasmin's early life. +He describes with great zest his first visit to a theatre. +It was situated near at hand, by the ancient palace of the +Bishop. After his day's work was over--his shaving, curling, +and hairdressing--he went across the square, and pressed in with +the rest of the crowd. He took his seat. + +"'Heavens!' said he, 'where am I?' The curtain rises! 'Oh, this +is lovely! It is a new world; how beautifully they sing; and how +sweetly and tenderly they speak!' I had eyes for nothing else: +I was quite beside myself with joy. 'It is Cinderella,' I cried +aloud in my excitement. 'Be quiet,' said my neighbour. 'Oh, +sir! why quiet? Where are we? What is this?' 'You gaping +idiot,' he replied, 'this is the Comedy!' + +"Jasmin now remained quiet; but he saw and heard with all his +eyes and ears. 'What love! what poetry!' he thought: 'it is more +than a dream! It's magic. O Cinderella, Cinderella! thou art my +guardian angel!' + +And from this time, from day to day, I thought of being an +actor!" + +Jasmin entered his garret late at night; and he slept so +soundly, that next morning his master went up to rouse him. +"Where were you last night? Answer, knave; you were not back +till midnight?" "I was at the Comedy," answered Jasmin sleepily; +"it was so beautiful!" "You have been there then, and lost your +head. During the day you make such an uproar, singing and +declaiming. You, who have worn the cassock, should blush. +But I give you up; you will come to no good. Change, indeed! +You will give up the comb and razor, and become an actor! +Unfortunate boy, you must be blind. Do you want to die in the +hospital?" + +"This terrible word," says Jasmin, "fell like lead upon my +heart, and threw me into consternation. Cinderella was forthwith +dethroned in my foolish mind; and my master's threat completely +calmed me. I went on faithfully with my work. I curled, and +plaited hair in my little room. As the saying goes, S'il ne +pleut, il bruine (If it does not rain, it drizzles). When I +suffered least, time passed all the quicker. It was then that, +dreaming and happy, I found two lives within me--one in my +daily work, another in my garret. I was like a bird; I warbled +and sang. What happiness I enjoyed in my little bed under the +tiles! I listened to the warbling of birds. Lo! the angel came, +and in her sweetest voice sang to me. Then I tried to make +verses in the language of the shepherd swain. Bright thoughts +came to me; great secrets were discovered. What hours! +What lessons! What pleasures I found under the tiles!" + +During the winter evenings, when night comes on quickly, +Jasmin's small savings went to the oil merchant. He trimmed his +little lamp, and went on till late, reading and rhyming. +His poetical efforts, first written in French, were to a certain +extent successful. While shaving his customers, he often recited +to them his verses. They were amazed at the boy's cleverness, +and expressed their delight. He had already a remarkable talent +for recitation; and in course of time he became eloquent. It was +some time, however, before his powers became generally known. +The ladies whose hair he dressed, sometimes complained that +their curl papers were scrawled over with writing, and, when +opened out, they were found covered with verses. + +The men whom he shaved spread his praises abroad. In so small a +town a reputation for verse-making soon becomes known. +"You can see me," he said to a customer, "with a comb in my hand, +and a verse in my head. I give you always a gentle hand with my +razor of velvet. My mouth recites while my hand works." + +When Jasmin desired to display his oratorical powers, he went in +the evenings to the quarter of the Augustins, where the +spinning-women assembled, surrounded by their boys and girls. +There he related to them his pleasant narratives, and recited +his numerous verses. + +Indeed, he even began to be patronized. His master addressed him +as "Moussu,"--the master who had threatened him with ending +his days in the hospital! + +Thus far, everything had gone well with him. What with shaving, +hairdressing, and rhyming, two years soon passed away. Jasmin +was now eighteen, and proposed to start business on his own +account. This required very little capital; and he had already +secured many acquaintances who offered to patronize him. +M. Boyer d'Agen, who has recently published the works of Jasmin, +with a short preface and a bibliography,[4] says that he first +began business as a hairdresser in the Cour Saint-Antoine, +now the Cour Voltaire. When the author of this memoir was at +Agen in the autumn of 1888, the proprietor of the Hotel du Petit +St. Jean informed him that a little apartment had been placed at +Jasmin's disposal, separated from the Hotel by the entrance to +the courtyard, and that Jasmin had for a time carried on his +business there. + +But desiring to have a tenement of his own, he shortly after +took a small house alongside the Promenade du Gravier; and he +removed and carried on his trade there for about forty years. The +little shop is still in existence, with Jasmin's signboard +over the entrance door: "Jasmin, coiffeur des Jeunes Gens," +with the barber's sud-dish hanging from a pendant in front. +The shop is very small, with a little sitting-room behind, +and several bedrooms above. When I entered the shop during my +visit to Agen, I found a customer sitting before a looking-glass, +wrapped in a sheet, the lower part of his face covered with +lather, and a young fellow shaving his beard. + +Jasmin's little saloon was not merely a shaving and a curling +shop. Eventually it became known as the sanctuary of the Muses. +It was visited by some of the most distinguished people in +France, and became celebrated throughout Europe. But this part +of the work is reserved for future chapters. + + +Footnotes to Chapter III. + +[1] Magasin des Enfants. + +[2] Mes Nouveaux Souvenirs. + +[3] In England, some barbers, and barber's sons, +have eventually occupied the highest positions. Arkwright, +the founder of the cotton manufacture, was originally a barber. +Tenterden, Lord Chief Justice, was a barber's son, intended for +a chorister in Canterbury Cathedral. Sugden, afterwards Lord +Chancellor, was opposed by a noble lord while engaged in a +parliamentary contest. Replying to the allegation that he was +only the son of a country barber, Sugden said: "His Lordship has +told you that I am nothing but the son of a country barber; +but he has not told you all, for I have been a barber myself, +and worked in my father's shop,--and all I wish to say about that + +is, that had his Lordship been born the son of a country barber, +he would have been a barber still!" + +[4] OEUVRES COMPLETES DE JACQUES JASMIN: Preface de l'Edition,, +Essai d'orthographe gasconne d'apres les langues Romane et d'Oc, +et collation de la traduction litterale. Par Boyer d'Agen. +1889. Quatre volumes. + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +JASMIN AND MARIETTE. + +Jasmin was now a bright, vivid, and handsome fellow, a favourite +with men, women, and children. Of course, an attractive young +man, with a pleasant, comfortable home, could not long remain +single. At length love came to beautify his existence. "It was +for her sake," he says, "that I first tried to make verses in +the sweet patois which she spoke so well; verses in which I +asked her, in rather lofty phrases, to be my guardian angel for +life." + +Mariette[1] was a pretty dark-eyed girl. She was an old +companion of Jasmin's, and as they began to know each other +better, the acquaintance gradually grew into affection, +and finally into mutual love. She was of his own class of life, +poor and hardworking. After the day's work was over, they had +many a pleasant walk together on the summer evenings, along the +banks of the Garonne, or up the ascending road toward the +Hermitage and the rocky heights above the town. There they +pledged their vows; like a poet, he promised to love her for +ever. She believed him, and loved him in return. The rest may +be left to the imagination. + +Jasmin still went on dreaming and rhyming! Mariette was a lovely +subject for his rhymes. He read his verses to her; and she could +not but be pleased with his devotion, even though recited in +verse. He scribbled his rhymes upon his curl-papers; and when he +had read them to his sweetheart, he used them to curl the hair +of his fair customers. When too much soiled by being written on +both sides, he tore them up; for as yet, he had not the +slightest idea of publishing his verses. + +When the minds of the young pair were finally made up, their +further courtship did not last very long. They were willing to +be united. + + "Happy's the wooing that's not long a-doing." + +The wedding-day at length arrived! Jasmin does not describe his +bride's dress. But he describes his own. "I might give you," +he says in his Souvenirs, "a picture of our happy nuptial day. +I might tell you at length of my newly dyed hat, my dress coat +with blue facings, and my home-spun linen shirt with calico +front. But I forbear all details. My godfather and godmother +were at the wedding. You will see that the purse did not always +respond to the wishes of the heart." + +It is true that Jasmin's wedding-garment was not very sumptuous, +nor was his bride's; but they did the best that they could, +and looked forward with hope. Jasmin took his wife home to the +pleasant house on the Gravier; and joy and happiness sat down +with them at their own fireside. There was no Charivari, because +their marriage was suitable. Both had been poor, and the wife +was ready and willing to share the lot of her young husband, +whether in joy or sorrow. Their home was small and cosy-- +very different from the rat-haunted house of his lame mother and +humpbacked father. + +Customers came, but not very quickly. The barber's shop was +somewhat removed from the more populous parts of the town. +But when the customers did come, Jasmin treated them playfully +and humorously. He was as lively as any Figaro; and he became +such a favourite, that when his customers were shaved or had +their hair dressed, they invariably returned, as well as +recommended others to patronize the new coiffeur. + +His little shop, which was at first nearly empty, soon became +fuller and fuller of customers. People took pleasure in coming +to the hair-dresser's shop, and hearing him recite his verses. +He sang, he declaimed, while plying his razor or his scissors. +But the chins and tresses of his sitters were in no danger from +his skipping about, for he deftly used his hands as well as his +head. His razor glistened lightly over the stubbly beards, +and his scissors clipped neatly over the locks of his customers. + +Except when so engaged, he went on rhyming. In a little town, +gossip flies about quickly, and even gets into the local papers. + +One day Jasmin read in one of the Agen journals, "Pegasus is a +beast that often carries poets to the hospital." Were the words +intended for him? He roared with laughter. Some gossip had +bewitched the editor. Perhaps he was no poet. His rhymes would +certainly never carry him to the hospital. Jasmin's business was +becoming a little more lucrative.. It is true his house was not +yet fully furnished, but day by day he was adding to the +plenishing. At all events his humble home protected him and his +wife from wind and weather. + +On one occasion M. Gontaud, an amiable young poet, in a chaffing +way, addressed Jasmin as "Apollo!" in former times regarded as +the god of poetry and music. The epistle appeared in a local +journal. Jasmin read it aloud to his family. Gontaud alleged in +his poem that Apollo had met Jasmin's mother on the banks of the +Garonne, and fell in love with her; and that Jasmin, because of +the merits of his poetry, was their son. + +Up flamed the old pair! "What, Catherine?" cried the old man," +is it true that you have been a coquette? How! have I been only +the foster-father of thy little poet?" "No! No!" replied the +enraged mother; "he is all thine own! Console thyself, poor +John; thou alone hast been my mate. And who is this 'Pollo, the +humbug who has deceived thee so? Yes, I am lame, but when I was +washing my linen, if any coxcomb had approached me, I would have +hit him on the mouth with a stroke of my mallet!" "Mother," +exclaimed the daughter, "'Pollo is only a fool, not worth +talking about; where does he live, Jacques?" Jasmin relished the +chaff, and explained that he only lived in the old mythology, +and had no part in human affairs. And thus was Apollo, +the ancient god of poetry and music, sent about his business. + +Years passed on, the married pair settled down quietly, +and their life of happiness went on pleasantly. The honeymoon +had long since passed. Jasmin had married at twenty, and +Mariette was a year younger. + +When a couple live together for a time, they begin to detect +some little differences of opinion. It is well if they do not +allow those little differences to end in a quarrel. This is +always a sad beginning of a married life. + +There was one thing about her husband that Mariette did not like. +That was his verse-making. It was all very well in +courtship, but was it worth while in business? She saw him +scribbling upon curl-papers instead of attending to his +periwigs. She sometimes interrupted him while he was writing; +and on one occasion, while Jasmin was absent on business, +she went so far as to burn his pens and throw his ink into the +fire! + +Jasmin was a good-natured man, but he did not like this +treatment. It was not likely to end in a quiet domestic life. +He expostulated, but it was of little use. He would not give up +his hobby. He went on rhyming, and in order to write down his +verses he bought new pens and a new bottle of ink. Perhaps he +felt the germs of poetic thought moving within him. His wife +resented his conduct. Why could he not attend to the shaving and +hair-dressing, which brought in money, instead of wasting his +time in scribbling verses on his curl-papers? + +M. Charles Nodier, member of the French Academy, paid a visit to +Agen in 1832. Jasmin was then thirty-four years old. He had +been married fourteen years, but his name was quite unknown, save +to the people of Agen. It was well known in the town that he had +a talent for versification, for he was accustomed to recite and +chaunt his verses to his customers. + +One quiet morning M. Nodier was taking a leisurely walk along +the promenade of the Gravier, when he was attracted by a loud +altercation going on between a man and a woman in the barber's +shop. The woman was declaiming with the fury of a Xantippe, +while the man was answering her with Homeric laughter. Nodier +entered the shop, and found himself in the presence of Jasmin +and his wife. He politely bowed to the pair, and said that he +had taken the liberty of entering to see whether he could not +establish some domestic concord between them. + +"Is that all you came for?" asked the wife, at the same time +somewhat calmed by the entrance of a stranger. Jasmin +interposed-- + +"Yes, my dear--certainly; but---" "Your wife is right, sir," +said Nodier, thinking that the quarrel was about some debts he +had incurred. + +"Truly, sir," rejoined Jasmin; "if you were a lover of poetry, +you would not find it so easy to renounce it." + +"Poetry?" said Nodier; "I know a little about that myself." + +"What!" replied Jasmin, "so much the better. You will be able to +help me out of my difficulties." + +"You must not expect any help from me, for I presume you are +oppressed with debts." + +"Ha, ha!" cried Jasmin, "it isn't debts, it's verses, Sir." + +"Yes, indeed," said the wife, "it's verses, always verses! +Isn't it horrible?" + +"Will you let me see what you have written?" asked Nodier, +turning to Jasmin. + +"By all means, sir. Here is a specimen." The verses began: + + "Femme ou demon, ange ou sylphide, + Oh! par pitie, fuis, laisse-moi! + Doux miel d'amour n'est que poison perfide, + Mon coeur a trop souffert, il dort, eloigne-toi. + + "Je te l'ai dit, mon coeur sommeille; + Laisse-le, de ses maux a peine il est gueri, + Et j'ai peur que ta voix si douce a mon oreille + Par un chant d'amour ne l'eveille, + Lui, que l'amour a taut meurtri!" + +This was only about a fourth part of the verses which Jasmin had +composed.[2] Nodier confessed that he was greatly pleased with +them. Turning round to the wife he said, "Madame, poetry knocks +at your door; open it. That which inspires it is usually a noble +heart and a distinguished spirit, incapable of mean actions. +Let your husband make his verses; it may bring you good luck +and happiness." + +Then, turning to the poet, and holding out his hand, he asked, +"What is your name, my friend?" + +"Jacques Jasmin," he timidly replied. "A good name," said +Nodier. "At the same time, while you give fair play to your +genius, don't give up the manufacture of periwigs, for this is +an honest trade, while verse-making might prove only a frivolous +distraction." + +Nodier then took his leave, but from that time forward Jasmin +and he continued the best of friends. A few years later, when +the first volume of the Papillotos appeared, Nodier published +his account of the above interview in Le Temps. He afterwards +announced in the Quotidienne the outburst of a new poet on the +banks of the Garonne--a poet full of piquant charm, of +inspired harmony--a Lamartine, a Victor Hugo, a Gascon Beranger! + +After Nodier's departure, Madame Jasmin took a more favourable +view of the versification of her husband. She no longer chided +him. The shop became more crowded with customers. Ladies came +to have their hair dressed by the poet: it was so original! +He delighted them with singing or chanting his verses. He had a +sympathetic, perhaps a mesmeric voice, which touched the souls +of his hearers, and threw them into the sweetest of dreams. + +Besides attending to his shop, he was accustomed to go out in +the afternoons to dress the hair of four or five ladies. +This occupied him for about two hours, and when he found the +ladies at home, he returned with four or five francs in his +purse. But often they were not at home, and he came home +francless. Eventually he gave up this part of his trade. The +receipts at the shop were more remunerative. Madame encouraged +this economical eform; she was accustomed to call it Jasmin's +coup d'etat. + +The evenings passed pleasantly. Jasmin took his guitar and sang +to his wife and children; or, in the summer evenings they would +walk under the beautiful elms in front of the Gravier, where +Jasmin was ready for business at any moment. Such prudence, such +iligence, could not but have its effect. When Jasmin's first +volume of the Papillotos was published, it was received with +enthusiasm. + +"The songs, the curl-papers," said Jasmin, "brought in such a +rivulet of silver, that, in my poetic joy, I broke into morsels +and burnt in the fire that dreaded arm-chair in which my +ancestors had been carried to the hospital to die." + +Madame Jasmin now became quite enthusiastic. Instead of breaking +the poet's pens and throwing his ink into the fire, she bought +the best pens and the best ink. She even supplied him with a +comfortable desk, on which he might write his verses. "Courage, +courage!" she would say. "Each verse that you write is another +tile to the roof and a rafter to the dwelling; therefore make +verses, make verses!" + +The rivulet of silver increased so rapidly, that in the course +of a short time Jasmin was enabled to buy the house in which he +lived--tiles, rafters, and all. Instead of Pegasus carrying +him to the hospital, it carried him to the office of the Notary, +who enrolled him in the list of collectors of taxes. He was now +a man of substance, a man to be trusted. The notary was also +employed to convey the tenement to the prosperous Jasmin. +He ends the first part of his Souvenirs with these words: + + "When Pegasus kicks with a fling of his feet, + He sends me to curl on my hobby horse fleet; + I lose all my time, true, not paper nor notes, + I write all my verse on my papillotes."[3] + + +Footnotes to chapter IV. + +[1] In Gascon Magnounet; her pet name Marie, or in French +Mariette. Madame Jasmin called herself Marie Barrere. + +[2] The remaining verses are to be found in the collected +edition of his works--the fourth volume of Las Papillotos, +new edition, pp. 247-9, entitled A une jeune Voyayeuse. + +[3] Papillotes, as we have said, are curl-papers. +Jasmin's words, in Gascon, are these: + + "Quand Pegazo reguiuno, et que d'un cot de pe + Memboyo friza mas marotos, + Perdi moun ten, es bray, mais noun pas moun pape, + Boti mous beis en papillotos!" + + + +CHAPTER V. + +JASMIN AND GASCON.--FIRST VOLUME OF "PAPILLOTES." + +Jasmin's first efforts at verse-making were necessarily +imperfect. He tried to imitate the works of others, rather than +create poetical images of his own. His verses consisted mostly +of imitations of the French poems which he had read. +He was overshadowed by the works of Boileau, Gresset, Rousseau, +and especially by Beranger, who, like himself, was the son of a +tailor. + +The recollections of their poetry pervaded all his earlier +verses. His efforts in classical French were by no means +successful. It was only when he had raised himself above the +influence of authors who had preceded him, that he soared into +originality, and was proclaimed the Poet of the South. + +Jasmin did not at first write in Gascon. In fact, he had not yet +mastered a perfect knowledge of this dialect. Though familiarly +used in ancient times, it did not exist in any written form. +It was the speech of the common people; and though the Gascons +spoke the idiom, it had lost much of its originality. It had +become mixed, more or less, with the ordinary French language, +and the old Gascon words were becoming gradually forgotten. + +Yet the common people, after all, remain the depositories of old +idioms and old traditions, as well as of the inheritances of the +past. They are the most conservative element in society. +They love their old speech, their old dress, their old manners +and customs, and have an instinctive worship of ancient memories. + +Their old idioms are long preserved. Their old dialect continues +the language of the fireside, of daily toil, of daily needs, and +of domestic joys and sorrows. It hovers in the air about them, +and has been sucked in with their mothers' milk. Yet, when a +primitive race such as the Gascons mix much with the people of +the adjoining departments, the local dialect gradually dies out, +and they learn to speak the language of their neighbours. + +The Gascon was disappearing as a speech, and very few of its +written elements survived. Was it possible for Jasmin to revive +the dialect, and embody it in a written language? He knew much +of the patois, from hearing it spoken at home. But now, desiring +to know it more thoroughly, he set to work and studied it. +He was almost as assiduous as Sir Walter Scott in learning +obscure Lowland words, while writing the Waverley Novels. Jasmin +went into the market-places, where the peasants from the country +sold their produce; and there he picked up many new words and +expressions. He made excursions into the country round Agen, +where many of the old farmers and labourers spoke nothing but +Gascon. He conversed with illiterate people, and especially with +old women at their spinning-wheels, and eagerly listened to +their ancient tales and legends. + +He thus gathered together many a golden relic, which he +afterwards made use of in his poetical works. He studied Gascon +like a pioneer. He made his own lexicon, and eventually formed a +written dialect, which he wove into poems, to the delight of the +people in the South of France. For the Gascon dialect--such is +its richness and beauty--expresses many shades of meaning +which are entirely lost in the modern French. + +When Jasmin first read his poems in Gascon to his townspeople at +Agen, he usually introduced his readings by describing the +difficulties he had encountered in prosecuting his enquiries. is +hearers, who knew more French than Gascon, detected in his +poems many comparatively unknown words,--not indeed of his own +creation, but merely the result of his patient and +long-continued investigation of the Gascon dialect. Yet they +found the language, as written and spoken by him, full of +harmony--rich, mellifluous, and sonorous. Gascon resembles the +Spanish, to which it is strongly allied, more than the Provencal, +the language of the Troubadours, which is more allied to the +Latin or Italian. + +Hallam, in his 'History of the Middle Ages,' regards the sudden +outburst of Troubadour poetry as one symptom of the rapid +impulse which the human mind received in the twelfth century, +contemporaneous with the improved studies that began at the +Universities. It was also encouraged by the prosperity of +Southern France, which was comparatively undisturbed by internal +warfare, and it continued until the tremendous storm that fell +upon Languedoc during the crusade against the Albigenses, +which shook off the flowers of Provencal literature.[1] + +The language of the South-West of France, including the Gascon, +was then called Langue d'Oc; while that of the south-east of +France, including the Provencal, was called Langue d'Oil. +M. Littre, in the Preface to his Dictionary of the French +language, says that he was induced to begin the study of the +subject by his desire to know something more of the Langue +d'Oil--the old French language.[2] + +In speaking of the languages of Western Europe, M. Littre says +that the German is the oldest, beginning in the fourth century; +that the French is the next, beginning in the ninth century; +and that the English is the last, beginning in the fourteenth +century. It must be remembered, however, that Plat Deutsch +preceded the German, and was spoken by the Frisians, Angles, +and Saxons, who lived by the shores of the North Sea. + +The Gaelic or Celtic, and Kymriac languages, were spoken in the +middle and north-west of France; but these, except in Brittany, +have been superseded by the modem French language, which is +founded mainly on Latin, German, and Celtic, but mostly on +Latin. The English language consists mostly of Saxon, Norse, +and Norman-French with a mixture of Welsh or Ancient British. +That language is, however, no test of the genealogy of a people, +is illustrated by the history of France itself. In the fourth +and fifth centuries, the Franks, a powerful German race, +from the banks of the Rhine, invaded and conquered the people +north of the Somme, and eventually gave the name of France to the +entire country. The Burgundians and Visigoths, also a German +race, invaded France, and settled themselves in the south-east. +In the year 464, Childeric the Frank took Paris. + +The whole history of the occupation of France is told by +Augustin Thierry, in his 'Narratives of the Merovingian Times.' +"There are Franks," he says in his Preface, "who remained pure +Germans in Gaul; Gallo-Romans, irritated and disgusted by the +barbarian rule; Franks more or less influenced by the manners +and customs of civilised life; and 'Romans more or less +barbarian in mind and manners.' The contrast may be followed in +all its shades through the sixth century, and into the middle of +the seventh; later, the Germanic and Gallo-Roman stamp seemed +effaced and lost in a semi-barbarism clothed in theocratic +forms." + +The Franks, when they had completed the conquest of the entire +country, gave it the name of Franken-ric--the Franks' kingdom. +Eventually, Charles the Great, or Charlemagne, descended from +Childeric the Frank, was in 800 crowned Emperor of the West. +Towards the end of his reign, the Norsemen began to devastate +the northern coast of Franken-ric. Aix-la-Chapelle was +Charlemagne's capital, and there he died and was buried. +At his death, the Empire was divided among his sons. The Norse +Vikingers continued their invasions; and to purchase repose, +Charles the Simple ceded to Duke Rollo a large territory in the +northwest of France, which in deference to their origin, +was known by the name of Normandy. + +There Norman-French was for a long time spoken. Though the +Franks had supplanted the Romans, the Roman language continued +to be spoken. In 996 Paris was made the capital of France; +and from that time, the language of Paris became, with various +modifications, the language of France; and not only of France, +but the Roman or Latin tongue became the foundation of the +languages of Italy, Spain, and Portugal. + +Thus, Gaulish, Frankish, and Norman disappeared to give place to +the Latin-French. The Kymriac language was preserved only in +Brittany, where it still lingers. And in the south-west of +France, where the population was furthest removed from the +invasions of the Gauls, Ostrogoths, and Visigoths, the Basques +continued to preserve their language,--the Basques, who are +supposed by Canon Isaac Taylor to be the direct descendants of +the Etruscans. + +The descendants of the Gauls, however, constitute the mass of +the people in Central France. The Gauls, or Galatians, +are supposed to have come from the central district of Asia +Minor. They were always a warlike people. In their wanderings +westward, they passed through the north of Italy and entered +France, where they settled in large numbers. Dr. Smith, in his +Dictionary of the Bible, says that "Galatai is the same word as +Keltici," which indicates that the Gauls were Kelts. It is +supposed that St. Paul wrote his Epistle to the Galatians soon +after his visit to the country of their origin. "Its abruptness +and severity, and the sadness of its tone, are caused by their +sudden perversion from the doctrine which the Apostle had taught +them, and which at first they had received so willingly. It is +no fancy, if we see in this fickleness a specimen of that 'esprit +impretueux, ouvert a toutes les impressions,' and that 'mobilite +extreme,' which Thierry marks as characteristic of the Gaulish +race." At all events, the language of the Gauls disappeared in +Central France to make way for the language or the Capital-- +the modern French, founded on the Latin. The Gaulish race, +nevertheless, preserved their characteristics--quickness, +lightness, mobility, and elasticity--qualities which enabled +them quickly to conceive new ideas, and at the same time to +quickly abandon them. The Franks had given the country the name +it now bears--that of France. But they were long regarded as +enemies by the Central and Southern Gauls. In Gascony, the +foreigner was called Low Franciman, and was regarded with +suspicion and dislike. + +"This term of Franciman," says Miss Costello, who travelled +through the country and studied the subject, "evidently belongs +to a period of the English occupation of Aquitaine, when a +Frenchman was another word for an enemy."[3] But the word has +probably a more remote origin. When the Franks, of German +origin, burst into Gaul, and settled in the country north of the +Loire, and afterwards carried their conquests to the Pyrenees, +the Franks were regarded as enemies in the south of France. + +"Then all the countries," says Thierry, "united by force to the +empire of the Franks, and over which in consequence of this +union, the name of France had extended itself, made unheard-of +efforts to reconquer their ancient names and places. Of all the +Gallic provinces, none but the southern ones succeeded in this +great enterprise; and after the wars of insurrection, which, +under the sons of Charlemagne, succeeded the wars of conquest, +Aquitaine and Provence became distinct states. Among the South +Eastern provinces reappeared even the ancient name of Gaul, +which had for ever perished north of the Loire. The chiefs of +the new Kingdom of Aries, which extended from the Jura to the +Alps, took the title of Gaul in opposition to the Kings of +France."[4] + +It is probable that this was the cause of the name of +"Franciman" being regarded as an hereditary term of reproach in +the Gaulish country south of the Loire. Gascon and Provencal +were the principal dialects which remained in the South, though +Littre classes them together as the language of the Troubadours. + +They were both well understood in the South; and Jasmin's +recitations were received with as much enthusiasm at Nimes, +Aries, and Marseilles, as at Toulouse, Agen, and Bordeaux. + +Mezzofanti, a very Tower of Babel in dialects and languages, +said of the Provencal, that it was the only patois of the Middle +Ages, with its numerous derivations from the Greek, the Arabic, +and the Latin, which has survived the various revolutions of +language. The others have been altered and modified. +They have suffered from the caprices of victory or of fortune. +Of all the dialects of the Roman tongue, this patois alone +preserves its purity and life. It still remains the sonorous +and harmonious language of the Troubadours. The patois has the +suppleness of the Italian, the sombre majesty of the Spanish, +the energy and preciseness of the Latin, with the "Molle atque +facetum, le dolce de, l'Ionic; which still lives among the +Phoceens of Marseilles. The imagination and genius of Gascony +have preserved the copious richness of the language. + +M. de Lavergne, in his notice of Jasmin's works, frankly admits +the local jealousy which existed between the Troubadours of +Gascony and Provence. There seemed, he said, to be nothing +disingenuous in the silence of the Provencals as to Jasmin's +poems. They did not allow that he borrowed from them, any more +than that they borrowed from him. These men of Southern France +are born in the land of poetry. It breathes in their native air. +It echoes round them in its varied measures. Nay, the rhymes +which are its distinguishing features, pervade their daily talk. + +The seeds lie dormant in their native soil, and when trodden +under foot, they burst through the ground and evolve their odour +in the open air. Gascon and Provencal alike preserve the same +relation to the classic romance--that lovely but short-lived +eldest daughter of the Latin--the language of the Troubadours. + +We have said that the Gascon dialect was gradually expiring when +Jasmin undertook its revival. His success in recovering and +restoring it, and presenting it in a written form, was the +result of laborious investigation. He did not at first realize +the perfect comprehension of the idiom, but he eventually +succeeded by patient perseverance, When we read his poems, +we are enabled to follow, step by step, his lexicological +progress. + +At first, he clung to the measures most approved in French +poetry, especially to Alexandrines and Iambic tetrameters, +and to their irregular association in a sort of ballad metre, +which in England has been best handled by Robert Browning in his +fine ballad of 'Harve; Riel.' + +Jasmin's first rhymes were written upon curl papers, and then +used on the heads of his lady customers. When the spirit of +original poetry within him awoke, his style changed. Genius +brought sweet music from his heart and mind. Imagination +spiritualised his nature, lifted his soul above the cares of +ordinary life, and awakened the consciousness of his affinity +with what is pure and noble. Jasmin sang as a bird sings; +at first in weak notes, then in louder, until at length his voice +filled the skies. Near the end of his life he was styled the +Saint Vincent de Paul of poetry. + +Jasmin might be classed among the Uneducated Poets. +But what poet is not uneducated at the beginning of his career? +The essential education of the poet is not taught in the schools. + +The lowly man, against whom the asperities of his lot have closed +the doors of worldly academies, may nevertheless have some +special vocation for the poetic life. Academies cannot shut him +out from the odour of the violet or the song of the nightingale. +He hears the lark's song filling the heavens, as the happy bird +fans the milk-white cloud with its wings. He listens to the +purling of the brook, the bleating of the lamb, the song of the +milkmaid, and the joyous cry of the reaper. Thus his mind is +daily fed with the choicest influences of nature. He cannot but +appreciate the joy, the glory, the unconscious delight of living. +"The beautiful is master of a star." This feeling of beauty is +the nurse of civilisation and true refinement. Have we not our +Burns, who + + "in glory and in joy + Followed his plough along the mountain side;" + +Clare, the peasant boy; Bloomfield, the farmer's lad; Tannahill, +the weaver; Allan Ramsay, the peruke-maker; Cooper, the +shoemaker; and Critchley Prince, the factory-worker; but greater +than these was Shakespeare,--though all were of humble origin. + +France too has had its uneducated poets. Though the ancient +song-writers of France were noble; Henry IV., author of +Charmante Gabrielle; Thibault, Count of Champagne; Lusignan, +Count de la Marche; Raval, Blondel, and Basselin de la Vive, +whose songs were as joyous as the juice of his grapes; yet some +of the best French poets of modem times have been of humble +origin--Marmontel, Moliere, Rousseau, and Beranger. There were +also Reboul, the baker; Hibley, the working-tailor; Gonzetta, +the shoemaker; Durand, the joiner; Marchand, the lacemaker; +Voileau, the sail-maker; + +Magu, the weaver; Poucy, the mason; Germiny, the cooper;[5] and +finally, Jasmin the barber and hair dresser, who was not the +least of the Uneducated Poets. + +The first poem which Jasmin composed in the Gascon dialect was +written in 1822, when he was only twenty-four years old. It was +entitled La fidelitat Agenoso, which he subsequently altered to +Me cal Mouri (Il me fait mourir), or "Let me die." It is a +languishing romantic poem, after the manner of Florian, Jasmin's +first master in poetry. It was printed at Agen in a quarto form, +and sold for a franc. Jasmin did not attach his name to the +poem, but only his initials. + +Sainte-Beuve, in his notice of the poem, says, "It is a pretty, +sentimental romance, showing that Jasmin possessed the +brightness and sensibility of the Troubadours. As one may say, +he had not yet quitted the guitar for the flageolet; and Marot, +who spoke of his flageolet, had not, in the midst of his playful +spirit, those tender accents which contrasted so well with his +previous compositions. And did not Henry IV., in the midst of +his Gascon gaieties and sallies, compose his sweet song of +Charmante Gabrielle? Jasmin indeed is the poet who is nearest +the region of Henry IV."[6] Me cal Mouri was set to music by +Fourgons, and obtained great popularity in the south. It was +known by heart, and sung everywhere; in Agen, Toulouse, +and throughout Provence. It was not until the publication of +the first volume of his poems that it was known to be the work +of Jasmin. + +Miss Louisa Stuart Costello, when making her pilgrimage in the +South of France, relates that, in the course of her journey," +A friend repeated to me two charming ballads picked up in +Languedoc, where there is a variety in the patois. I cannot +resist giving them here, that my readers may compare the +difference of dialect. I wrote them clown, however, merely by +ear, and am not aware that they have ever been printed. +The mixture of French, Spanish, and Italian is very curious."[7] + +As the words of Jasmin's romance were written down by Miss +Costello from memory, they are not quite accurate; but her +translation into English sufficiently renders the poet's +meaning. The following is the first verse of Jasmin's poem in +Gascon-- + + "Deja la ney encrumis la naturo, + Tout es tranquille et tout cargo lou dol; + Dins lou clouche la brezago murmuro, + Et lou tuquet succedo al rossignol: + Del mal, helas! bebi jusq'a la ligo, + Moun co gemis sans espouer de gari; + Plus de bounhur, ey perdut moun amigo, + Me cal mouri! me cal mouri!" + +Which Miss Costello thus translates into English: + + "Already sullen night comes sadly on, + And nature's form is clothed with mournful weeds; + Around the tower is heard the breeze's moan, + And to the nightingale the bat succeeds. + Oh! I have drained the cup of misery, + My fainting heart has now no hope in store. + Ah! wretched me! what have I but to die? + For I have lost my love for evermore!" + +There are four verses in the poem, but the second verse may also +be given + + "Fair, tender Phoebe, hasten on thy course, + My woes revive while I behold thee shine, + For of my hope thou art no more the source, + And of my happiness no more the sign. + Oh! I have drained the cup of misery, + My fainting heart has now no bliss in store. + Ah! wretched me! what have I but to die? + Since I have lost my love for evermore!" + +The whole of the poem was afterwards translated into modem +French, and, though somewhat artificial, it became as popular in +the north as in the south. + +Jasmin's success in his native town, and his growing popularity, +encouraged him to proceed with the making of verses. His poems +were occasionally inserted in the local journals; but the +editors did not approve of his use of the expiring Gascon +dialect. They were of opinion that his works might be better +appreciated if they appeared in modern French. Gascon was to a +large extent a foreign language, and greatly interfered with +Jasmin's national reputation as a poet. + +Nevertheless he held on his way, and continued to write his +verses in Gascon. They contained many personal lyrics, tributes, +dedications, hymns for festivals, and impromptus, scarcely +worthy of being collected and printed. Jasmin said of the last +description of verse: "One can only pay a poetical debt by means +of impromptus, and though they may be good money of the heart, +they are almost always bad money of the head." + +Jasmin's next poem was The Charivari (Lou Charibari), +also written in Gascon. It was composed in 1825, when he was +twenty-seven years old; and dedicated to M. Duprount, the +Advocate, who was himself a poetaster. The dedication contained +some fine passages of genuine beauty and graceful versification. +It was in some respects an imitation of the Lutrin of Boileau. +It was very different from the doggerel in which he had taken +part with his humpbacked father so long ago. Then he had blown +the cow-horn, now he spoke with the tongue of a trumpet. +The hero of Jasmin's Charivari was one Aduber, an old widower, +who dreamt of remarrying. It reminded one of the strains of +Beranger; in other passages of the mock-heroic poem of Boileau. + +Though the poem when published was read with much interest, +it was not nearly so popular as Me cal Mouri. This +last-mentioned poem, his first published work, touched the harp +of sadness; while his Charivari displayed the playfulness of joy. +Thus, at the beginning of his career, Jasmin revealed himself as +a poet in two very different styles; in one, touching the springs +of grief, and in the other exhibiting brightness and happiness. +At the end of the same year he sounded his third and deepest note +in his poem On the Death of General Foy--one of France's +truest patriots. Now his lyre was complete; it had its three +strings--of sadness, joy, and sorrow. + +These three poems--Me cal Mouri, the Charivari, and the ode On +the Death of General Foy, with some other verses--were +published in 1825. What was to be the title of the volume? +As Adam, the carpenter-poet of Nevers, had entitled his volume of +poetry 'Shavings,' so Jasmin decided to name his collection +'The Curl-papers of Jasmin, Coiffeur of Agen.' The title was a +good one, and the subsequent volumes of his works were known as +La Papillotos (the Curl-papers) of Jasmin. The publication of +this first volume served to make Jasmin's name popular beyond the +town in which they had been composed and published. His friend +M. Gaze said of him, that during the year 1825 he had been +marrying his razor with the swan's quill; and that his hand of +velvet in shaving was even surpassed by his skill in +verse-making. + +Charles Nodier, his old friend, who had entered the barber's +shop some years before to intercede between the poet and his +wife, sounded Jasmin's praises in the Paris journals. +He confessed that he had been greatly struck with the Charivari, +and boldly declared that the language of the Troubadours, which +everyone supposed to be dead, was still in full life in France; +that it not only lived, but that at that very moment a poor +barber at Agen, without any instruction beyond that given by the +fields, the woods, and the heavens, had written a serio-comic +poem which, at the risk of being thought crazy by his colleagues +of the Academy, he considered to be better composed than the +Lutrin of Boileau, and even better than one of Pope's +masterpieces, the Rape of the Lock. + +The first volume of the Papillotes sold very well; and the +receipts from its sale not only increased Jasmin's income, +but also increased his national reputation. Jasmin was not, +however, elated by success. He remained simple, frugal, honest, +and hard-working. He was not carried off his feet by eclat. +Though many illustrious strangers, when passing through Agen, +called upon and interviewed the poetical coiffeur, he quietly +went back to his razors, his combs, and his periwigs, +and cheerfully pursued the business that he could always depend +upon in his time of need. + + +Footnotes to Chapter V. + +[1]Hallam's 'Middle Ages,' iii. 434. 12th edit. (Murray.) + +[2] His words are these: "La conception m'en fut suggeree par +mes etudes sur la vieille langue francaise ou langue d'oil. +Je fus si frappe des liens qui unissent le francais moderne au +francais ancien, j'apercus tant de cas ou les sens et des +locutions du jour ne s'expliquent que par les sens et les +locutions d'autrefois, tant d'exemples ou la forme des mots +n'est pas intelligible sans les formes qui ont precede, qu'il me +sembla que la doctrine et meme l'usage de la langue restent mal +assis s'ils ne reposent sur leur base antique." (Preface, ii.) + +[3] 'Bearn and the Pyrenees,' i. 348. + +[4] THIERRY--'Historical Essays,' No. XXIV. + +[5] Les Poetes du Peuple an xix. Siecle. Par Alphonse Viollet. +Paris, 1846. + +[6] Portraits contemporains, ii. 61 (ed. 1847). + +[7] 'Pilgrimage to Auvergne,' ii. 210. + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +MISCELLANEOUS VERSES--BERANGER--'MES SOUVENIRS'--PAUL DE MUSSET. + +During the next four years Jasmin composed no work of special +importance. He occasionally wrote poetry, but chiefly on local +subjects. In 1828 he wrote an impromptu to M. Pradel, who had +improvised a Gascon song in honour of the poet. The Gascon +painter, Champmas, had compared Jasmin to a ray of sunshine, +and in 1829 the poet sent him a charming piece of verse in return +for his compliment. + +In 1830 Jasmin composed The Third of May, which was translated +into French by M. Duvigneau. It appears that the Count of Dijon +had presented to the town of Nerac, near Agen, a bronze statue +of Henry IV., executed by the sculptor Raggi--of the same +character as the statue erected to the same monarch at Pau. +But though Henry IV. was born at Pau, Nerac was perhaps more +identified with him, for there he had his strong castle, +though only its ruins now remain. + +Nerac was at one time almost the centre of the Reformation in +France. Clement Marot, the poet of the Reformed faith, lived +there; and the house of Theodore de Beze, who emigrated to +Geneva, still exists. The Protestant faith extended to Agen and +the neighbouring towns. When the Roman Catholics obtained the +upper hand, persecutions began. Vindocin, the pastor, was burned +alive at Agen. J. J. Scaliger was an eye-witness of the burning, +and he records the fact that not less than 300 victims perished +for their faith. + +At a later time Nerac, which had been a prosperous town, +was ruined by the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes; for the +Protestant population, who had been the most diligent and +industrious in the town and neighbourhood, were all either +"converted," hanged, sent to the galleys, or forced to emigrate +to England, Holland, or Prussia. Nevertheless, the people of +Nerac continued to be proud of their old monarch. + +The bronze statue of Henry IV. was unveiled in 1829. On one side + +of the marble pedestal supporting the statue were the words +"Alumno, mox patri nostro, Henrico quarto," and on the reverse +side was a verse in the Gascon dialect: + + "Brabes Gascons! + A moun amou per bous aou dibes creyre; + Benes! Benes! ey plaze de bous beyre! + Approucha-bous!" + +The words were assumed to be those of; Henry IV., and may be +thus translated into English: + + "Brave Gascons! + You may well trust my love for you; + Come! come! I leave to you my glory! + Come near! Approach!"[1] + +It is necessary to explain how the verse in Gascon came to be +engraved on the pedestal of the statue. The Society of +Agriculture, Sciences, and Arts, of Agen, offered a prize of 300 +francs for the best Ode to the memory of Henry the Great. Many +poems were accordingly sent in to the Society; and, after some +consideration, it was thought that the prize should be awarded to +M. Jude Patissie. But amongst the thirty-nine poems which had +been presented for examination, it was found that two had been +written in the Gascon dialect. The committee were at first of +opinion that they could not award the prize to the author of any +poem written in the vulgar tongue. At the same time they +reported that one of the poems written in Gascon possessed such +real merit, that the committee decided by a unanimous vote that a +prize should be awarded to the author of the best poem written in +the Gascon dialect. Many poems were accordingly sent in and +examined. Lou Tres de May was selected as the best; and on the +letter attached to the poem being opened, the president +proclaimed the author to be "Jasmin, Coiffeur." After the +decision of the Society at Agen, the people of Nerac desired to +set their seal upon their judgment, and they accordingly caused +the above words to be engraved on the reverse side of the +pedestal supporting the statue of Henry IV. Jasmin's poem was +crowned by the Academy of Agen; and though it contained many fine +verses, it had the same merits and the same defects as the +Charivari, published a few years before. + +M. Rodiere, Professor of Law at Toulouse, was of opinion that +during the four years during which Jasmin produced no work of +any special importance, he was carefully studying Gascon; for it +ought to be known that the language in which Godolin wrote his +fine poems is not without its literature. "The fact," says +Rodiere, "that Jasmin used some of his time in studying the +works of Godolin is, that while in Lou Charibari there are some +French words ill-disguised in a Gascon dress, on the other hand, +from the year 1830, there are none; and the language of Jasmin +is the same as the language of Godolin, except for a few +trifling differences, due to the different dialects of Agen and +Toulouse." + +Besides studying Gascon, Jasmin had some military duties to +perform. He was corporal of the third company of the National +Guard of Agen; and in 1830 he addressed his comrades in a series +of verses. One of these was a song entitled 'The Flag of +Liberty' (Lou Drapeou de la Libertat); another, 'The Good +All-merciful God!' (Lou Boun Diou liberal); and the third was Lou +Seromen. + +Two years later, in 1832, Jasmin composed The Gascons, which he +improvised at a banquet given to the non-commissioned officers +of the 14th Chasseurs. Of course, the improvisation was +carefully prepared; and it was composed in French, as the +non-commissioned officers did not understand the Gascon dialect. + +Jasmin extolled the valour of the French, and especially of the +Gascons. The last lines of his eulogy ran as follows:-- + + "O Liberty! mother of victory, + Thy flag always brings us success! + Though as Gascons we sing of thy glory, + We chastise our foes with the French!" + +In the same year Jasmin addressed the poet Beranger in a +pleasant poetical letter written in classical French. Beranger +replied in prose; his answer was dated the 12th of July, 1832. +He thanked Jasmin for his fervent eulogy. While he thought that +the Gascon poet's praise of his works was exaggerated, he +believed in his sincerity. + +"I hasten," said Beranger, "to express my thanks for the +kindness of your address. Believe in my sincerity, as I believe +in your praises. Your exaggeration of my poetical merits makes +me repeat the first words of your address, in which you assume +the title of a Gascon[2] poet. It would please me much better +if you would be a French poet, as you prove by your epistle, +which is written with taste and harmony. The sympathy of our +sentiments has inspired you to praise me in a manner which I am +far from meriting, Nevertheless, sir, I am proud of your +sympathy. + +"You have been born and brought up in the same condition as +myself. Like me, you appear to have triumphed over the absence +of scholastic instruction, and, like me too, you love your +country. You reproach me, sir, with the silence which I have for +some time preserved. At the end of this year I intend to publish +my last volume; I will then take my leave of the public. +I am now fifty-two years old. I am tired of the world. +My little mission is fulfilled, and the public has had enough of +me. I am therefore making arrangements for retiring. Without +the desire for living longer, I have broken silence too soon. +At least you must pardon the silence of one who has never +demanded anything of his country. I care nothing about power, +and have now merely the ambition of a morsel of bread and repose. + +"I ask your pardon for submitting to you these personal details. +But your epistle makes it my duty. I thank you again for the +pleasure you have given me. I do not understand the language of +Languedoc, but, if you speak this language as you write French, +I dare to prophecy a true success in the further publication of +your works.--BERANGER."[3] + +Notwithstanding this advice of Beranger and other critics, +Jasmin continued to write his poems in the Gascon dialect. +He had very little time to spare for the study of classical +French; he was occupied with the trade by which he earned his +living, and his business was increasing. His customers were +always happy to hear him recite his poetry while he shaved their +beards or dressed their hair. + +He was equally unfortunate with M. Minier of Bordeaux. +Jasmin addressed him in a Gascon letter full of bright poetry, +not unlike Burns's Vision, when he dreamt of becoming a +song-writer. The only consolation that Jasmin received from M. +Minier was a poetical letter, in which the poet was implored to +retain his position and not to frequent the society of +distinguished persons. + +Perhaps the finest work which Jasmin composed at this period of +his life was that which he entitled Mous Soubenis, or +'My Recollections.' In none of his poems did he display more of +the characteristic qualities of his mind, his candour, his +pathos, and his humour, than in these verses. He used the rustic +dialect, from which he never afterwards departed. He showed that +the Gascon was not yet a dead language; and he lifted it to the +level of the most serious themes. His verses have all the +greater charm because of their artless gaiety, their delicate +taste, and the sweetness of their cadence. + +Jasmin began to compose his 'Recollections' in 1830, but the +two first cantos were not completed until two years later. +The third canto was added in 1835, when the poem was published +in the first volume of his 'Curl-Papers' (Papillotes). These +recollections, in fact, constitute Jasmin's autobiography, +and we are indebted to them for the description we have already +given of the poet's early life. + +Many years later Jasmin wrote his Mous noubels Soubenis-- +'My New Recollections'; but in that work he returned to the +trials and the enjoyments of his youth, and described few of the +events of his later life. "What a pity," says M. Rodiere, "that +Jasmin did not continue to write his impressions until the end of +his life! What trouble he would have saved his biographers! +For how can one speak when Jasmin ceases to sing?" + +It is unnecessary to return to the autobiography and repeat the +confessions of Jasmin's youth. His joys and sorrows are all +described there--his birth in the poverty-stricken dwelling in +the Rue Fon de Rache, his love for his parents, his sports with +his playfellows on the banks of the Garonne, his blowing the +horn in his father's Charivaris, his enjoyment of the tit-bits +which old Boe brought home from his begging-tours, the decay of +the old man, and his conveyance to the hospital, "where all the +Jasmins die;" then his education at the Academy, his toying with +the house-maid, his stealing the preserves, his expulsion from +the seminary, and the sale of his mother's wedding-ring to buy +bread for her family. + +While composing the first two cantos of the Souvenirs he seemed +half ashamed of the homeliness of the tale he had undertaken to +relate. Should he soften and brighten it? Should he dress it +up with false lights and colours? For there are times when +falsehood in silk and gold are acceptable, and the naked +new-born truth is unwelcome. But he repudiated the thought, +and added:- + + "Myself, nor less, nor more, I'll draw for you, + And if not bright, the likeness shall be true." + +The third canto of the poem was composed at intervals. It took +him two more years to finish it. It commences with his +apprenticeship to the barber; describes his first visit to the +theatre, his reading of Florian's romances and poems, his +solitary meditations, and the birth and growth of his +imagination. Then he falls in love, and a new era opens in his +life. He writes verses and sings them. He opens a barber's shop +of his own, marries, and brings his young bride home. +"Two angels," he says, "took up their abode with me." +His newly-wedded wife was one, and the other was his rustic +Muse--the angel of homely pastoral poetry: + + "Who, fluttering softly from on high, + Raised on his wing and bore me far, + Where fields of balmiest ether are; + There, in the shepherd lassie's speech + I sang a song, or shaped a rhyme; + There learned I stronger love than I can teach. + Oh, mystic lessons! Happy time! + And fond farewells I said, when at the close of day, + Silent she led my spirit back whence it was borne away!" + +He then speaks of the happiness of his wedded life; he shaves +and sings most joyfully. A little rivulet of silver passes into +the barber's shop, and, in a fit of poetic ardour, he breaks +into pieces and burns the wretched arm-chair in which his +ancestors were borne to the hospital to die. His wife no longer +troubles him with her doubts as to his verses interfering with +his business. She supplies him with pen, paper, ink, and a +comfortable desk; and, in course of time, he buys the house in +which he lives, and becomes a man of importance in Agen. +He ends the third canto with a sort of hurrah-- + + "Thus, reader, have I told my tale in cantos three: + Though still I sing, I hazard no great risk; + For should Pegasus rear and fling me, it is clear, + However ruffled all my fancies fair, + I waste my time, 'tis true; though verses I may lose, + The paper still will serve for curling hair."[4] + +Robert Nicoll, the Scotch poet, said of his works: +"I have written my heart in my poems; and rude, unfinished, +and hasty as they are, it can be read there." Jasmin might have +used the same words. "With all my faults," he said, "I desired +to write the truth, and I have described it as I saw it." + +In his 'Recollections' he showed without reserve his whole heart. +Jasmin dedicated his 'Recollections,' when finished, +to M. Florimond de Saint-Amand, one of the first gentlemen who +recognised his poetical talents. This was unquestionably the +first poem in which Jasmin exhibited the true bent of his +genius. He avoided entirely the French models which he had +before endeavoured to imitate; and he now gave full flight to +the artless gaiety and humour of his Gascon muse. It is +unfortunate that the poem cannot be translated into English. +It was translated into French; but even in that kindred language +it lost much of its beauty and pathos. The more exquisite the +poetry that is contained in one language, the more difficulty +there is in translating it into another. + +M. Charles Nodier said of Lou Tres de May that it contains +poetic thoughts conveyed in exquisite words; but it is +impossible to render it into any language but its own. In the +case of the Charivari he shrinks from attempting to translate it. +There is one passage containing a superb description of the +rising of the sun in winter; but two of the lines quite puzzled +him. In Gascon they are + + "Quand l'Auroro, fourrado en raoubo de sati, + Desparrouillo, san brut, las portos del mati.' + +Some of the words translated into French might seem vulgar, +though in Gascon they are beautiful. In English they might be +rendered: + + "When Aurora, enfurred in her robe of satin, + Unbars, without noise, the doors of the morning." + +"Dream if you like," says Nodier, "of the Aurora of winter, and +tell me if Homer could have better robed it in words. The Aurora +of Jasmin is quite his own; 'unbars the doors of the morning'; +it is done without noise, like a goddess, patient and silent, +who announces herself to mortals only by her brightness of +light. It is this finished felicity of expression which +distinguishes great writers. The vulgar cannot accomplish it." + +Again Nodier says of the 'Recollections': "They are an ingenuous +marvel of gaiety, sensibility, and passion! I use," he says, +"this expression of enthusiasm; and I regret that I cannot be +more lavish in my praises. There is almost nothing in modem +literature, and scarcely anything in ancient, which has moved me +more profoundly than the Souvenirs of Jasmin. + +Happy and lovely children of Guienne and Languedoc, read and +re-read the Souvenirs of Jasmin; they will give you painful +recollections of public schools, and perhaps give you hope of +better things to come. You will learn by heart what you will +never forget. You will know from this poetry all that you ought +to treasure." + +Jasmin added several other poems to his collection before his +second volume appeared in 1835. Amongst these were his lines on +the Polish nation--Aux debris de la Nation Polonaise, and Les +Oiseaux Voyageurs, ou Les Polonais en France--both written in +Gascon. Saint-beuve thinks the latter one of Jasmin's best +works. "It is full of pathos," he says, "and rises to the +sublime through its very simplicity. It is indeed difficult to +exaggerate the poetic instinct and the unaffected artlessness of +this amiable bard. At the same time," he said," Jasmin still +wanted the fire of passion to reach the noblest poetic work. +Yet he had the art of style. If Agen was renowned as 'the eye of +Guienne,' Jasmin was certainly the greatest poet who had ever +written in the pure patois of Agen." + +Sainte-Beuve also said of Jasmin that he was "invariably sober." +And Jasmin said of himself, "I have learned that in moments of +heat and emotion we are all eloquent and laconic, alike in +speech and action--unconscious poets in fact; and I have also +learned that it is possible for a muse to become all this +willingly, and by dint of patient toil." + +Another of his supplementary poems consisted of a dialogue +between Ramoun, a soldier of the Old Guard, and Mathiou, +a peasant. It is of a political cast, and Jasmin did not shine +in politics. He was, however, always a patriot, whether under +the Empire, the Monarchy, or the Republic. He loved France above +all things, while he entertained the warmest affection for his +native province. If Jasmin had published his volume in classical +French he might have been lost amidst a crowd of rhymers; but as +he published the work in his native dialect, he became forthwith +distinguished in his neighbourhood, and was ever after known as +the Gascon poet. + +Nor did he long remain unknown beyond the district in which he +lived. When his second volume appeared in 1835, with a preface +by M. Baze, an advocate of the Royal Court of Agen, it created +considerable excitement, not only at Bordeaux and Toulouse, +but also at Paris, the centre of the literature, science, and +fine arts of France. There, men of the highest distinction +welcomed the work with enthusiasm. + +M. Baze, in his preface, was very eulogistic. "We have the +pleasure," he said, "of seeing united in one collection the +sweet Romanic tongue which the South of France has adopted, +like the privileged children of her lovely sky and voluptuous +climate; and her lyrical songs, whose masculine vigour and +energetic sentiments have more than once excited patriotic +transports and awakened popular enthusiasm. For Jasmin is above +all a poet of the people. He is not ashamed of his origin. +He was born in the midst of them, and though a poet, still +belongs to them. For genius is of all stations and ranks of +life. He is but a hairdresser at Agen, and more than that, he +wishes to remain so. His ambition is to unite the razor to the +poet's pen." + +At Paris the work was welcomed with applause, first by his +poetic sponsor, Charles Nodier, in the Temps, where he +congratulated Jasmin on using the Gascon patois, though still +under the ban of literature. "It is a veritable Saint +Bartholomew of innocent and beautiful idioms, which can scarcely +be employed even in the hours of recreation." He pronounced +Jasmin to be a Gascon Beranger, and quoted several of his lines +from the Charivari, but apologised for their translation into +French, fearing that they might lose much of their rustic +artlessness and soft harmony. + +What was a still greater honour, Jasmin was reviewed by the +first critic of France--Sainte-Beuve in the leading critical +journal, the Revue des deux Mondes. The article was afterwards +republished in his Contemporary Portraits.[5] He there gives a +general account of his poems; compares him with the English and +Scotch poets of the working class; and contrasts him with +Reboul, the baker of Nimes, who writes in classical French, +after the manner of the 'Meditations of Lamartine.' He proceeds +to give a brief account of Jasmin's life, taken from the +Souvenirs, which he regards as a beautiful work, written with +much artlessness and simplicity. + +Various other reviews of Jasmin's poems appeared, in Agen, +Bordeaux, Toulouse, and Paris, by men of literary mark--by +Leonce de Lavergne, and De Mazude in the Revue des deux Mondes +--by Charles Labitte, M. Ducuing, and M. de Pontmartin. +The latter classed Jasmin with Theocritus, Horace, and La +Fontaine, and paid him the singular tribute, "that he had made +Goodness as attractive as other French writers had made Badness." +Such criticisms as these made Jasmin popular, not only in his +own district, but throughout France. + +We cannot withhold the interesting statement of Paul de Musset +as to his interview with Jasmin in 1836, after the publication +of his second volume of poems. Paul de Musset was the author of +several novels, as well as of Lui et Elle, apropos of his +brother's connection with George Sand. Paul de Musset thus +describes his visit to the poet at Agen.[6] + +"Let no one return northward by the direct road from Toulouse. +Nothing can be more dreary than the Lot, the Limousin, and the +interminable Dordogne; but make for Bordeaux by the plains of +Gascony, and do not forget the steamboat from Marmande. You will +then find yourself on the Garonne, in the midst of a beautiful +country, where the air is vigorous and healthy. The roads are +bordered with vines, arranged in arches, lovely to the eyes of +travellers. The poets, who delight in making the union of the +vine with the trees which support it an emblem of marriage, can +verify their comparisons only in Gascony or Italy. It is usually +pear trees that are used to support them.... + +"Thanks to M. Charles Nodier, who had discovered a man of modest +talent buried in this province, I knew a little of the verses of +the Gascon poet Jasmin. Early one morning, at about seven, the +diligence stopped in the middle of a Place, where I read this +inscription over a shop-door, 'Jasmin, Coiffeur des jeunes +gens.' We were at Agen. I descended, swallowed my cup of coffee +as fast as I could, and entered the shop of the most lettered of +peruke-makers. On a table was a mass of pamphlets and some of +the journals of the South. + +"'Monsieur Jasmin?' said I on entering. 'Here I am, sir, at your +service,' replied a handsome brown-haired fellow, with a +cheerful expression, who seemed to me about thirty years of age. + +"'Will you shave me?' I asked. 'Willingly, sir,' he replied, +I sat down and we entered into conversation. 'I have read your +verses, sir,' said I, while he was covering my chin with lather. + +'Monsieur then comprehends the patois?' 'A little,' I said; 'one +of my friends has explained to me the difficult passages. +But tell me, Monsieur Jasmin, why is it that you, who appear to +know French perfectly, write in a language that is not spoken in +any chief town or capital.' + +"'Ah, sir, how could a poor rhymer like me appear amongst the +great celebrities of Paris? I have sold eighteen hundred copies +of my little pieces of poetry (in pamphlet form), and certainly +all who speak Gascon know them well. Remember that there are at +least six millions of people in Languedoc.' + +"My mouth was covered with soap-suds, and I could not answer him +for some time. Then I said, 'But a hundred thousand persons at +most know how to read, and twenty thousand of them can scarcely +be able to enjoy your works.' + +"'Well, sir, I am content with that amount. Perhaps you have at +Paris more than one writer who possesses his twenty thousand +readers. My little reputation would soon carry me astray if I +ventured to address all Europe. The voice that appears sonorous +in a little place is not heard in the midst of a vast plain. +And then, my readers are confined within a radius of forty +leagues, and the result is of real advantage to an author.' + +"'Ah! And why do you not abandon your razor?' I enquired of +this singular poet. 'What would you have?' he said. 'The Muses +are most capricious; to-day they give gold, to-morrow they refuse +bread. The razor secures me soup, and perhaps a bottle of +Bordeaux. Besides, my salon is a little literary circle, where +all the young people of the town assemble. When I come from one +of the academies of which I am a member, I find myself among the +tools which I can manage better than my pen; and most of the +members of the circle usually pass through my hands.' + +"It is a fact that M. Jasmin shaves more skilfully than any +other poet. After a long conversation with this simple-minded +man, I experienced a certain confusion in depositing upon his +table the amount of fifty centimes which I owed him on this +occasion, more for his talent than for his razor; and I +remounted the diligence more than charmed with the modesty of +his character and demeanour." + + + +Footnotes for Chapter VI. + +[1] M. Duvigneau thus translated the words into French: +he begins his verses by announcing the birth of Henry IV.:- + + "A son aspect, mille cris d'allegresse + Ebranlent le palais et montent jusqu'au ciel: + Le voila beau comme dans sa jeunesse, + Alors qu'il recevait le baiser maternel. + A ce peuple charme qui des yeux le devore + Le bon Roi semble dire encore: + 'Braves Gascons, accourez tous; + A mon amour pour vous vous devez croire; + Je met a vous revoir mon bonheur et ma gloire, + Venez, venez, approchez-vous!'" + +[2] Gascon or Gasconade is often used as implying boasting or +gasconading. + +[3] This letter was written before Jasmin had decided to +publish the second volume of his Papillotes, which appeared in +1835. + +[4] The following are the lines in Gascon:-- + + "Atai boudroy dan bous fini ma triplo paouzo; + Mais anfin, ey cantat, n'hazardi pas gran caouzo: + Quand Pegazo reguinno, et que d'un cot de pe + M'emboyo friza mas marotos, + Perdi moun ten, es bray, mais noun pas moun pape; + Boti mous bers en papillotos!" + +[5] 'Portraits Contemporains,' ii. 50. Par C. A. Sainte-Beuve, +Membre de l'Academie Francaise. 1847. + +[6] 'Perpignan, l'Ariege et le poete Jasmin' (Journal politique +et litteraire de Lot-et-Garonne). + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +'THE BLIND GIRL OF CASTEL-CUILLE.' + +Jasmin was now thirty-six years old. He was virtually in the +prime of life. He had been dreaming, he had been thinking, +for many years, of composing some poems of a higher order than +his Souvenirs. He desired to embody in his work some romantic +tales in verse, founded upon local legends, noble in conception, +elaborated with care, and impressive by the dignity of simple +natural passion. + +In these new lyrical poems his intention was to aim high, +and he succeeded to a marvellous extent. He was enabled to show +the depth and strength of his dramatic powers, his fidelity in +the description of romantic and picturesque incidents, his +shrewdness in reading character and his skill in representing it, +all of which he did in perfect innocence of all established +canons in the composition of dramatic poetry. + +The first of Jasmin's poetical legends was 'The Blind Girl of +Castel-Cuille' (L'Abuglo). It was translated into English, +a few years after its appearance, by Lady Georgiana Fullerton, +daughter of the British ambassador at Paris,[1] and afterwards +by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, the American poet. Longfellow +follows the rhythm of the original, and on the whole his +translation of the poem is more correct, so that his version is +to be preferred. He begins his version with these words-- + + "Only the Lowland tongue of Scotland might + Rehearse this little tragedy aright; + Let me attempt it with an English quill, + And take, O reader, for the deed the will." + +At the end of his translation Longfellow adds:-- Jasmin, the +author of this beautiful poem, is to the South of France what +Burns is to the South of Scotland, the representative of the +heart of the people,--one of those happy bards who are born +with their mouths full of birds (la bouco pleno d'auuvelous). +He has written his own biography in a poetic form, and the simple +narrative of his poverty, his struggles, and his triumphs, is +very touching. He still lives at Agen, on the Garonne, and long +may he live there to delight his native land with native songs!" +It is unnecessary to quote the poem, which is so well-known by +the numerous readers of Longfellow's poems, but a compressed +narrative of the story may be given. + +The legend is founded on a popular tradition. Castel-Cuille +stands upon a bluff rock in the pretty valley of Saint-Amans, +about a league from Agen. The castle was of considerable +importance many centuries ago, while the English occupied +Guienne; but it is now in ruins, though the village near it +still exists. In a cottage, at the foot of the rock, lived the +girl Marguerite, a soldier's daughter, with her brother Paul. +The girl had been betrothed to her lover Baptiste; but during +his absence she was attacked by virulent small-pox and lost her +eyesight. Though her beauty had disappeared, her love remained. +She waited long for her beloved Baptiste, but he never returned. +He forsook his betrothed Marguerite, and plighted his troth to +the fairer and richer Angele. It was, after all, only the old +story. + +Marguerite heard at night the song of their espousals on the eve +of the marriage. She was in despair, but suppressed her grief. +Wednesday morning arrived, the eve of St. Joseph. The bridal +procession passed along the village towards the church of +Saint-Amans, singing the bridal song. The fair and fertile +valley was bedecked with the blossoms of the apple, the plum, +and the almond, which whitened the country round. Nothing could +have seemed more propitious. Then came the chorus, which was no +invention of the poet, but a refrain always sung at rustic +weddings, in accordance with the custom of strewing the bridal +path with flowers: + + "The paths with buds and blossoms strew, + A lovely bride approaches nigh; + For all should bloom and spring anew, + A lovely bride is passing by!"[2] + +Under the blue sky and brilliant sunshine, the joyous young +people frisked along. The picture of youth, gaiety, and beauty, +is full of truth and nature. The bride herself takes part in the +frolic. With roguish eyes she escapes and cries: "Those who +catch me will be married this year!" And then they descend the +hill towards the church of Saint-Amans. Baptiste, the +bridegroom, is out of spirits and mute. He takes no part in the +sports of the bridal party. He remembers with grief the blind +girl he has abandoned. + +In the cottage under the cliff Marguerite meditates a tragedy. +She dresses herself, and resolves to attend the wedding at +Saint-Amans with her little brother. While dressing, she slips a +knife into her bosom, and then they start for the church. +The bridal party soon arrived, and Marguerite heard their +entrance. + +The ceremony proceeded. Mass was said. The wedding-ring was +blessed; and as Baptiste placed it on the bride's finger, +he said the accustomed words. In a moment a voice cried: "It is +he! It is he;" and Marguerite rushed through the bridal party +towards him with a knife in her hand to stab herself; +but before she could reach the bridegroom she fell down dead-- +broken-hearted! The crime which she had intended to commit +against herself was thus prevented. + +In the evening, in place of a bridal song, the De Profundis was +chanted, and now each one seemed to say:-- + + "The roads shall mourn, and, veiled in gloom, + So fair a corpse shall leave its home! + Should mourn and weep, ah, well-away, + So fair a corpse shall pass to-day!"[3] + +This poem was finished in August 1835; and on the 26th of the +same month it was publicly recited by Jasmin at Bordeaux, at the +request of the Academy of that city. + +There was great beauty, tenderness, and pathos in the poem. +It was perfectly simple and natural. The poem might form the +subject of a drama or a musical cantata. The lamentations of +Marguerite on her blindness remind one of Milton's heart-rending +words on the same subject: + + "For others, day and joy and light, + For me, all darkness, always night."[4] + +Sainte-Beuve, in criticising Jasmin's poems, says that "It was +in 1835 that his talent raised itself to the eminence of writing +one of his purest compositions--natural, touching and +disinterested--his Blind Girl of Castel-Cuille, in which he makes +us assist in a fete, amidst the joys of the villagers; and at the +grief of a young girl, a fiancee whom a severe attack of smallpox +had deprived of her eyesight, and whom her betrothed lover had +abandoned to marry another. + +"The grief of the poor abandoned girl, her changes of colour, +her attitude, her conversation, her projects--the whole +surrounded by the freshness of spring and the laughing +brightness of the season--exhibits a character of nature and +of truth which very few poets have been able to attain. +One is quite surprised, on reading this simple picture, +to be involuntarily carried back to the most expressive poems +of the ancient Greeks--to Theocritus for example--for the +Marguerite of Jasmin may be compared with the Simetha of the +Greek poet. This is true poetry, rich from the same sources, +and gilded with the same imagery. In his new compositions Jasmin +has followed his own bias; this man, who had few books, +but meditated deeply in his heart and his love of nature; +and he followed the way of true art with secret and persevering +labour in what appeared to him the most eloquent, easy, and happy +manner... + +"His language," Sainte-Beuve continues, "is always the most +natural, faithful, transparent, truthful, eloquent, and sober; +never forget this last characteristic. He is never more happy +than when he finds that he can borrow from an artizan or labourer +one of those words which are worth ten of others. It is thus +that his genius has refined during the years preceding the time +in which he produced his greatest works. It is thus that he has +become the poet of the people, writing in the popular patois, +and for public solemnities, which remind one of those of the +Middle Ages and of Greece; thus he finds himself to be, in short, +more than any of our contemporaries, of the School of Horace, +of Theocritus, or of Gray, and all the brilliant geniuses who +have endeavoured by study to bring each of their works to +perfection."[5] + +The Blind Girl was the most remarkable work that Jasmin had up +to this time composed. There is no country where an author is so +popular, when he is once known, as in France. When Jasmin's poem +was published he became, by universal consent, the Poet Laureate +of the South. Yet some of the local journals of Bordeaux made +light of his appearance in that city for the purpose of reciting +his as yet unknown poem. "That a barber and hairdresser of +Agen," they said, "speaking and writing in a vulgar tongue, +should attempt to amuse or enlighten the intelligent people of +Bordeaux, seemed to them beneath contempt." + +But Jasmin soon showed them that genius is of no rank or +condition of life; and their views shortly underwent a sudden +change. His very appearance in the city was a triumph. Crowds +resorted to the large hall, in which he was to recite his new +poem of the Blind Girl of Castel-Cuille. The prefect, the mayor, +the members of the Academy, and the most cultivated people of +the city were present, and received him with applause. + +There might have been some misgivings as to the success of the +poem, but from the moment that he appeared on the platform and +began his recitation, every doubt disappeared. He read the poem +with marvellous eloquence; while his artistic figure, his mobile +countenance, his dark-brown eyebrows, which he raised or lowered +at will, his expressive gesticulation, and his passionate +acting, added greatly to the effect of his recital, and soon won +every heart. When he came to the refrain, + + "The paths with buds and blossoms strew," + +he no longer declaimed, but sang after the manner of the +peasants in their popular chaunt. His eyes became suffused with +tears, and those who listened to the patois, even though they +only imperfectly understood it, partook of the impression, +and wept also. + +He was alike tender and impressive throughout the piece, +especially at the death of the blind girl; and when he had +ended, a storm of applause burst from the audience. There was a +clapping of hands and a thunderous stamping of feet that shook +the building almost to its foundations. + +It was a remarkable spectacle, that a humble working man, +comparatively uneducated, should have evoked the tumultuous +applause of a brilliant assembly of intelligent ladies and +gentlemen. It was indeed something extraordinary. Some said +that he declaimed like Talma or Rachel, nor was there any note of +dissonance in his reception. The enthusiasm was general and +unanimous amongst the magistrates, clergy, scientific men, +artists, physicians, ship-owners, men of business, and working +people. They all joined in the applause when Jasmin had +concluded his recitation. + +From this time forward Jasmin was one of the most popular men at +Bordeaux. He was entertained at a series of fetes. He was +invited to soirees by the prefect, by the archbishop, by the +various social circles, as well as by the workmen's associations. +They vied with each other for the honour of entertaining him. +He went from matinees to soirees, and in ten days he appeared at +thirty-four different entertainments. + +At length he became thoroughly tired and exhausted by this +enormous fete-ing. He longed to be away and at home with his +wife and children. He took leave of his friends and admirers +with emotion, and, notwithstanding the praises and acclamations +he had received at Bordeaux, he quietly turned to pursue his +humble occupation at Agen. + +It was one of the most remarkable things about Jasmin, +that he was never carried off his feet by the brilliant ovations +he received. Though enough to turn any poor fellow's head, +he remained simple and natural to the last. As we say in this +country, he could "carry corn" We have said that "Gascon" is +often used in connection with boasting or gasconading. But the +term was in no way applicable to Jasmin. He left the echo of +praises behind him, and returned to Agen to enjoy the comforts +of his fireside. + +He was not, however, without tempters to wean him from his home +and his ordinary pursuits. In 1836, the year after his triumphal +reception at Bordeaux, some of his friends urged him to go to +Paris--the centre of light and leading--in order to "make his +fortune." + +But no! he had never contemplated the idea of leaving his native +town. A rich wine merchant of Toulouse was one of his tempters. +He advised Jasmin to go to the great metropolis, where genius +alone was recognised. Jasmin answered him in a charming letter, +setting forth the reasons which determined him to remain at home, +principally because his tastes were modest and his desires were +homely. + +"You too," he said, "without regard to troubling my days and my +nights, have written to ask me to carry my guitar and my +dressing-comb to the great city of kings, because there, you +say, my poetical humour and my well-known verses will bring +torrents of crowns to my purse. Oh, you may well boast to me of +this shower of gold and its clinking stream. You only make me +cry: 'Honour is but smoke, glory is but glory, and money is only +money!' I ask you, in no craven spirit, is money the only thing +for a man to seek who feels in his heart the least spark of +poetry? In my town, where everyone works, leave me as I am. +Every summer, happier than a king, I lay up my small provision +for the winter, and then I sing like a goldfinch under the shade +of a poplar or an ash-tree, only too happy to grow grey in the +land which gave me birth. One hears in summer the pleasant zigo, +ziou, ziou, of the nimble grasshopper, or the young sparrow +pluming his wings to make himself ready for flight, he knows not +whither; but the wise man acts not so. I remain here in my home. +Everything suits me--earth, sky, air--all that is necessary for +my comfort. To sing of joyous poverty one must be joyful and +poor. I am satisfied with my rye-bread, and the cool water from +my fountain." + +Jasmin remained faithful to these rules of conduct during his +life. Though he afterwards made a visit to Paris, it was only +for a short time; but his native town of Agen, his home on the +Gravier, his shop, his wife and his children, continued to be +his little paradise. His muse soared over him like a guardian +angel, giving him songs for his happiness and consolation for +his sorrows. He was, above all things, happy in his wife. +She cheered him, strengthened him, and consoled him. +He thus portrayed her in one of his poems: + + "Her eyes like sparkling stars of heavenly blue; + Her cheeks so sweet, so round, and rosy; + Her hair so bright, and brown, and curly; + Her mouth so like a ripened cherry; + Her teeth more brilliant than the snow." + +Jasmin was attached to his wife, not only by her beauty, but by +her good sense. She counselled and advised him in everything. +He gave himself up to her wise advice, and never had occasion to +regret it. It was with her modest marriage-portion that he was +enabled to establish himself as a master hairdresser. + +When he opened his shop, he set over the entrance door this +sign: "L'Art embellit La Nature: Jasmin, Coiffeur des Jeunes +Gens." As his family grew, in order to increase his income, +he added the words, " Coiffeur des Dames." This proved to be a +happy addition to his business. Most of the ladies of Agen +strove for the honour of having their hair dressed by the +poetical barber. While dressing their hair he delighted them +with his songs. He had a sympathetic voice, which touched their +souls and threw them into the sweetest of dreams. + +Though Jasmin was always disposed to rhyme a little, his wise +wife never allowed him to forget his regular daily work. +At the same time she understood that his delicate nature could +not be entirely absorbed by the labours of an ordinary workman. +She was no longer jealous of his solitary communions with his +muse; and after his usual hours of occupation, she left him, or +sat by him, to enable him to pursue his dear reveries in quiet. + +Mariette, or Marie, as she was usually called, was a thoroughly +good partner for Jasmin. Though not by any means a highly +educated woman, she felt the elevating effects of poetry even on +herself. She influenced her husband's mind through her practical +wisdom and good sense, while he in his turn influenced hers by +elevating her soul and intellect. + +Jasmin, while he was labouring over some song or verse, found it +necessary to recite it to some one near him, but mostly to his +wife. He wandered with her along the banks of the Garonne, and +while he recited, she listened with bated breath. She could even +venture to correct him; for she knew, better than he did, +the ordinary Gascon dialect. She often found for him the true +word for the picture which he desired to present to his reader. +Though Jasmin was always thankful for her help, he did not +abandon his own words without some little contention. +He had worked out the subject in his mind, and any new word, +or mode of description, might interrupt the beauty of the verses. + +When he at length recognised the justice of her criticism, +he would say, "Marie, you are right; and I will again think over +the subject, and make it fit more completely into the Gascon +idiom." In certain cases passages were suppressed; in others +they were considerably altered. + +When Jasmin, after much labour and correction, had finished his +poem, he would call about him his intimate friends, and recite +the poem to them. He had no objection to the most thorough +criticism, by his wife as well as by his friends. When the poem +was long and elaborate, the auditors sometimes began to yawn. +Then the wife stepped in and said: "Jasmin, you must stop; leave +the remainder of the poem for another day." Thus the recital +ceased for the time. + +The people of Agen entertained a lively sympathy for their poet. +Even those who might to a certain extent depreciate his talent, +did every justice to the nobility of his character. Perhaps some +might envy the position of a man who had risen from the ranks +and secured the esteem of men of fortune and even of the leaders +of literary opinion. Jasmin, like every person envied or perhaps +detracted, had his hours of depression. But the strong soul of +his wife in these hours came to his relief, and assuaged the +spirit of the man and the poet. + +Jasmin was at one time on the point of abandoning verse-making. +Yet he was encouraged to proceed by the demands which were made +for his songs and verses. Indeed, no fete was considered +complete without the recitations of Jasmin. It was no doubt very +flattering; yet fame has its drawbacks. His invitations were +usually unceremonious. + +Jasmin was no doubt recognised as a poet, and an excellent +reciter; yet he was a person who handled the razor and the +curling-tongs. When he was invited to a local party, it was +merely that he might recite his verses gratuitously. He did not +belong to their social circle, and his wife was not included. +What sympathy could she have with these distinguished personages? +At length Jasmin declined to go where his wife could not be +invited. He preferred to stay at home with his family; and all +further invitations of this sort were refused. + +Besides, his friend Nodier had warned him that a poet of his +stamp ought not to appear too often at the feasts of the lazy; +that his time was too precious for that; that a poet ought, +above all, not to occupy himself with politics, for, by so doing, +he ran the risk of injuring his talent. + +Some of his local critics, not having comprehended the inner +life of Jasmin, compared his wife to the gardener of Boileau and +the maid-servant of Moliere. But the comparison did not at all +apply. Jasmin had no gardener nor any old servant or +housekeeper. Jasmin and Marie were quite different. They lived +the same lives, and were all in all to each other. They were +both of the people; and though she was without culture, and had +not shared in the society of the educated, she took every +interest in the sentiments and the prosperity of her admirable +husband. + +One might ask, How did Jasmin acquire his eloquence of +declamation--his power of attracting and moving assemblies of +people in all ranks of life? It was the result, no doubt, partly +of the gifts with which the Creator had endowed him, and partly +also of patience and persevering study. He had a fine voice, and +he managed it with such art that it became like a perfectly tuned +instrument in the hands of a musician. + +His voice was powerful and pathetic by turns, and he possessed +great sweetness of intonation,--combined with sympathetic +feeling and special felicity of emphasis. And feeling is the +vitalising principle of poetry. Jasmin occasionally varied his +readings by singing or chaunting the songs which occurred in +certain parts of his poems. This, together with his eloquence, +gave such immense vital power to the recitations of the Agenaise +bard. + +And we shall find, from the next chapter, that Jasmin used his +pathetic eloquence for very noble,--one might almost say, for +divine purposes. + + +Footnotes for Chapter VII. + +[1] The translation appeared in 'Bentley's Miscellany' for March +1840. It was published for a charitable purpose. Mrs. Craven, +in her 'Life of Lady Georgiana Fullerton,' says: "It was put in +at once, and its two hundred and seventy lines brought to the +author twelve guineas on the day on which it appeared. +Lady Fullerton was surprised and delighted. All her long years +of success, different indeed in degree, never effaced the memory +of the joy." + +[2] The refrain, in the original Gascon, is as follows: + "Las carreros diouyon flouri, + Tan belo nobio bay sourti; + Diouyon flouri, diouyon graua, + Tan belo nobio bay passa!" + +[3] In Gascon: + "Las carreros diouyon gemi, + Tan belo morto bay sourti! + Diouyon gemi, diouyon ploura, + Tan belo morto bay passa!" + +[4] in Gascon: + "Jour per aoutres, toutjour! et per jou, malhurouzo, + Toutjour ney,toutjour ney! + Que fay negre len d'el! Oh! que moun amo es tristo!" + +[5] Sainte-Beuve: 'Causeries du Lundi,' iv. 240-1 (edit. 1852); +and 'Portraits Contemporains,' ii. 61 (edit, 1847). + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +JASMIN AS PHILANTHROPIST. + +It is now necessary to consider Jasmin in an altogether +different character--that of a benefactor of his species. +Self-sacrifice and devotion to others, forgetting self while +spending and being spent for the good of one's fellow creatures, +exhibit man in his noblest characteristics. But who would have +expected such virtues to be illustrated by a man like Jasmin, +sprung from the humblest condition of life? + +Charity may be regarded as a universal duty, which it is in +every person's power to practise. Every kind of help given to +another, on proper motives, is an act of charity; and there is +scarcely any man in such a straitened condition as that he may +not, on certain occasions, assist his neighbour. The widow that +gives her mite to the treasury, the poor man that brings to the +thirsty a cup of cold water, perform their acts of charity, +though they may be of comparatively little moment. Wordsworth, +in a poetic gem, described the virtue of charity: + + "... Man is dear to man; the poorest poor + Long for some moments in a weary life + When they can know and feel that they have been, + Themselves, the fathers and the dealers out + Of some small blessings, have been kind to such + As needed kindness, for the single cause + That we have all of us one human heart." + +This maxim of Wordsworth's truly describes the life and deeds of +Jasmin. It may be said that he was first incited to exert +himself on behalf of charity to his neighbours, by the absence +of any Poor Law in France such as we have in England. In the +cases of drought, when the crops did not ripen; or in the +phylloxera blights, when the grapes were ruined; or in the +occasional disastrous floods, when the whole of the agricultural +produce was swept away; the small farmers and labourers were +reduced to great distress. The French peasant is usually very +thrifty; but where accumulated savings were not available for +relief, the result, in many cases, was widespread starvation. + +Jasmin felt that, while himself living in the midst of blessings, +he owed a duty, on such occasions, to the extreme necessities of +his neighbours. The afflicted could not appeal to the +administrators of local taxes; all that they could do was to +appeal to the feelings of the benevolent, and rely upon local +charity. He believed that the extremely poor should excite our +liberality, the miserable our pity, the sick our assistance, +the ignorant our instruction, and the fallen our helping hand. + +It was under such circumstances that Jasmin consented to recite +his poems for the relief of the afflicted poor. His fame had +increased from year to year. His songs were sung, and his poems +were read, all over the South of France. When it was known that +he was willing to recite his poems for charitable purposes +he was immediately assailed with invitations from far and near. + +When bread fell short in winter-time, and the poor were famished; +when an hospital for the needy was starving for want of funds; +when a creche or infants' asylum had to be founded; when a +school, or an orphanage, had to be built or renovated, and money +began to fail, an appeal was at once made to Jasmin's charitable +feelings. + +It was not then usual for men like Jasmin to recite their poems +in public. Those who possessed his works might recite them for +their own pleasure. But no one could declaim them better than he +could, and his personal presence was therefore indispensable. + +It is true, that about the same time Mr. Dickens and Mr. +Thackeray were giving readings from their works in England and +America. Both readers were equally popular; but while they made +a considerable addition to their fortunes,[1] Jasmin realised +nothing for himself; all that was collected at his recitations +was given to the poor. + +Of course, Jasmin was received with enthusiasm in those towns +and cities which he visited for charitable purposes. When it was +known that he was about to give one of his poetical recitals, +the artisan left his shop, the blacksmith his smithy, the servant +her household work; and the mother often shut up her +house and went with her children to listen to the marvelous poet. +Young girls spread flowers before his pathway; and lovely women +tore flowers from their dresses to crown their beloved minstrel +with their offerings. + +Since his appearance at Bordeaux, in 1835, when he recited his +Blind Girl for a charitable purpose, he had been invited to many +meetings in the neighbourhood of Agen, wherever any worthy +institution had to be erected or assisted. He continued to write +occasional verses, though not of any moment, for he was still +dreaming of another masterpiece. + +All further thoughts of poetical composition were, however, +dispelled, by the threatened famine in the Lot-et-Garonne. +In the winter of 1837 bread became very dear in the South of +France. The poor people were suffering greatly, and the usual +appeal was made to Jasmin to come to their help. A concert was +advertised to be given at Tonneins, a considerable town to the +north-west of Agen, when the local musicians were to give their +services, and Jasmin was to recite a poem. + +For this purpose he composed his 'Charity' (La Caritat). +It was addressed to the ladies and musicians who assisted at the +entertainment. Charity is a short lyrical effusion, not so much +a finished poem as the utterings of a tender heart. Though of +some merit, it looks pale beside The Blind Girl. But his choice +of the subject proved a forecast of the noble uses which Jasmin +was afterwards enabled to make of his poetical talents. + +Man, he said in his verses, is truly great, chiefly through his +charity. The compassionate man, doing his works of benevolence, +though in secret, in a measure resembles the Divine Author of +his being. The following is the introductory passage of the +poem:- + + "As we behold at sea great ships of voyagers + Glide o'er the waves to billows white with spray, + And to another world the hardy travellers convey; + Just as bold savants travel through the sky + To illustrate the world which they espy, + Men without ceasing cry, 'How great is man!' + But no! Great God! How infinitely little he! + Has he a genius? 'Tis nothing without goodness! + Without some grace, no grandeur do we rate. + It is the tender-hearted who show charity in kindness. + Unseen of men, he hides his gift from sight, + He does all that he owes in silent good, + Like the poor widow's mite; + Yet both are great, + Great above all--great as the Grace of God." + +This is, of course, a very feeble attempt to render the words of +Jasmin. He was most pathetic when he recounted the sorrows of +the poor. While doing so, he avoided exciting their lower +instincts. He disavowed all envy of the goods of others. +He maintained respect for the law, while at the same time he +exhorted the rich to have regard for their poorer brethren. +"It is the glory of the people," he said at a meeting of workmen, +"to protect themselves from evil, and to preserve throughout +their purity of character." + +This was the spirit in which Jasmin laboured. He wrote some +other poems in a similar strain--'The Rich and Poor,' +'The Poor Man's Doctor,' 'The Rich Benefactor' (Lou Boun Riche); +but Jasmin's own Charity contained the germ of them all. He put +his own soul into his poems. At Tonneins, the emotion he excited +by his reading of Charity was very great, and the subscriptions +for the afflicted poor were correspondingly large. + +The municipality never forgot the occasion; and whenever they +became embarrassed by the poverty of the people, they invariably +appealed to Jasmin, and always with the same success. On one +occasion the Mayor wrote to him: "We are still under the charm of +your verses; and I address you in the name of the poor people of +Tonneins, to thank you most gratefully for the charitable act +you have done for their benefit. The evening you appeared here, +sir, will long survive in our memory. It excited everywhere the +most lively gratitude. The poor enjoyed a day of happiness, +and the rich enjoyed a day of pleasure, for nothing can be more +blessed than Charity!" + +Jasmin, in replying to this letter, said: "Christ's words were, +'Ye have the poor always with you'; in pronouncing this fact, +he called the world to deeds of charity, and instituted this +admirable joint responsibility (solidarite), in virtue of which +each man should fulfil the duty of helping his poorer neighbours. +It is this responsibility which, when the cry of hunger or +suffering is heard, is most instrumental in bringing all generous +souls to the front, in order to create and multiply the resources +of the poor." + +Jasmin's success at Tonneins led to numerous invitations of a +like character. "Come over and help us," was the general cry +during that winter of famine. The barber's shop was invaded by +numerous deputations; and the postman was constantly delivering +letters of invitation at his door. He was no longer master of +his time, and had considerable difficulty in attending to his +own proper business. Sometimes his leisure hours were +appropriated six months beforehand; and he was often +peremptorily called upon to proceed with his philanthropic work. + +When he could find time enough to spare from his business, +he would consent to give another recitation. When the distance +was not great he walked, partly for exercise, and partly to save +money. There were few railways in those days, and hiring a +conveyance was an expensive affair. Besides, his desire always +was, to hand over, if possible, the whole of the receipts to the +charitable institutions for whose benefit he gave his +recitations. + +The wayfaring poet, on his approach to the town in which he was +to appear, was usually met by crowds of people. They received +him with joy and acclamation. The magistrates presented him with +a congratulatory address. Deputations from neighbouring towns +were present at the celebration. At the entrance to the town +Jasmin often passed under a triumphal arch, with "Welcome, +Jasmin! our native poet!" inscribed upon it. He was conveyed, +headed by the local band, to the hall where he was to give his +recitation. + +Jasmin's appearance at Bergerac was a great event. Bergerac is a +town of considerable importance, containing about fourteen +thousand inhabitants, situated on the right or north bank of the +river Dordogne. But during that terrible winter the poor people +of Bergerac were in great distress, and Jasmin was summoned to +their help. The place was at too great a distance from Agen for +him to walk thither, and accordingly he was obliged to take a +conveyance. He was as usual met by a multitude of people, +who escorted him into the town. + +The magistrates could not find a place sufficiently large to +give accommodation to the large number of persons who desired to +hear him. At length they found a large building which had been +used as a barn; and there they raised a platform for the poet. +The place was at once filled, and those who could not get +admission crowded about the entrance. Some of the people raised +ladders against the walls of the building, and clambered in at +the windows. Groups of auditors were seen at every place where +they could find a footing. Unfortunately the weather was rainy, +and a crowd of women filled the surrounding meadow, sheltered by +their umbrellas. + +More than five hundred persons had not been able to find +admission, and it was therefore necessary for Jasmin to give +several more readings to satisfy the general enthusiasm. All the +receipts were given over by Jasmin for the benefit of the poor, +and the poet hurried home at once to his shaving and +hair-dressing. + +On another occasion, at Gontaud, the weather was more +satisfactory. The day was fine and sunny, and the ground was +covered with flowers. About the time that Jasmin was expected, +an open carriage, festooned with flowers, and drawn by four +horses, was sent to the gate of the town, escorted by the +municipal council, to wait for the poet. When he arrived on foot +for the place was at no great distance from Agen twelve young +girls, clothed in white, offered him a bouquet of flowers, and +presented him with an address. He then entered the carriage and +proceeded to the place where he was to give his recitation. All +went well and happily, and a large offering was collected and +distributed amongst the poor. + +Then at Damazan, where he gave another reading for the same +purpose, after he had entered the carriage which was to convey +him to the place of entertainment, a number of girls preceded +the carriage in which the poet sat, and scattered flowers in his +way, singing a refrain of the country adapted to the occasion. +It resembled the refrain sung before the bride in The Blind Girl +of Castel-Cuille: + + "The paths with flowers bestrew, + So great a poet comes this way; + For all should flower and bloom anew, + So great a poet comes to-day."[2] + +These are only specimens of the way in which Jasmin was received +during his missions of philanthropy. He went from north +to south, from east to west, by river and by road, sleeping +where he could, but always happy and cheerful, doing his noble +work with a full and joyous heart. He chirruped and sang from +time to time as if his mouth was full of nightingales. And he +was never without enthusiastic multitudes to listen to his +recitals, and to share their means with the poor and afflicted. +We might fill this little story with a detailed account of his +journeyings; but a summary account is all that is at present +necessary. We shall afterwards return to the subject. + + +Footnotes to Chapter VIII. + +[1] Mr. George Dolby, in his work 'Charles Dickens as I knew +him,' tells "the story of the famous 'reading tours,' the most +brilliantly successful enterprises that were ever undertaken." +Chappell and Co. paid him 1500 sterling for thirty readings +in London and the provinces, by which they realised 5000 +sterling. Arthur Smith and Mr. Headland were his next managers, +and finally Mr. George Dolby. The latter says that Mr. Dickens +computed the money he netted under the Smith and Headland +management at about 12,000 sterling; and under Dolby's management +"he cleared nearly 33,000 sterling." + +[2] In Gascon: + "Las carreros diouyon fleuri, + Tan gran poete bay sourti; + Diouyon fleuri, diouyon graua, + Tan gran poete bay passa." + + + +CHAPTER IX. + +JASMIN'S 'FRANCONNETTE.' + +Jasmin published no further poems for three or four years. +His time was taken up with his trade and his philanthropic +missions. +Besides, he did not compose with rapidity; he elaborated his +poems by degrees; he arranged the plot of his story, and then he +clothed it with poetical words and images. While he walked and +journeyed from place to place, he was dreaming and thinking of +his next dramatic poem--his Franconnette, which many of his +critics regard as his masterpiece. + +Like most of his previous poems, Jasmin wrote Franconnette in +the Gascon dialect. Some of his intimate friends continued to +expostulate with him for using this almost dead and virtually +illiterate patois. Why not write in classical French? M. Dumon, +his colleague at the Academy of Agen, again urged him to employ +the national language, which all intelligent readers could +understand. + +"Under the reign of our Henry IV.," said M. Dumon, "the Langue +d'Oil became, with modifications, the language of the French, +while the Langue d'Oc remained merely a patois. Do not therefore +sing in the dialect of the past, but in the language of the +present, like Beranger, Lamartine, and Victor Hugo. + +"What," asked M. Dumon, "will be the fate of your original +poetry? It will live, no doubt, like the dialect in which it is +written; but is this, the Gascon patois, likely to live? Will it +be spoken by our posterity as long as it has been spoken by our +ancestors? I hope not; at least I wish it may be less spoken. +Yet I love its artless and picturesque expressions, its lively +recollections of customs and manners which have long ceased to +exist, like those old ruins which still embellish our landscape. +But the tendency which is gradually effacing the vestiges of our +old language and customs is but the tendency of civilisation +itself. + +"When Rome fell under the blows of the barbarians, she was +entirely conquered; her laws were subjected at the same time as +her armies. The conquest dismembered her idiom as well as her +empire.... The last trace of national unity disappeared in +this country after the Roman occupation. It had been Gaul, +but now it became France. The force of centralisation which has +civilised Europe, covering this immense chaos, has brought to +light, after more than a hundred years, this most magnificent +creation the French monarchy and the French language. Let us +lament, if you will, that the poetical imagination and the +characteristic language of our ancestors have not left a more +profound impression. But the sentence is pronounced; even our +Henry IV. could not change it. Under his reign the Langue d'Oil + +became for ever the French language, and the Langue d'Oc +remained but a patois. + +"Popular poet as you are, you sing to posterity in the language +of the past. This language, which you recite so well, you have +restored and perhaps even created; yet you do not feel that it +is the national language; this powerful instrument of a new era, +which invades and besieges yours on all sides like the last +fortress of an obsolete civilisation." + +Jasmin was cut to the quick by this severe letter of his friend, +and he lost not a moment in publishing a defence of the language +condemned to death by his opponent. He even displayed the force +and harmony of the language which had been denounced by M. Dumon +as a patois. He endeavoured to express himself in the most +characteristic and poetical style, as evidence of the vitality +of his native Gascon. He compared it to a widowed mother who +dies, and also to a mother who does not die, but continues +young, lovely, and alert, even to the last. Dumon had published +his protest on the 28th of August, 1837, and a few days later, +on the 2nd of September, Jasmin replied in the following poem:- + + "There's not a deeper grief to man + Than when his mother, faint with years, + Decrepit, old, and weak and wan, + Beyond the leech's art appears; + + When by her couch her son may stay, + And press her hand, and watch her eyes, + And feel, though she revives to-day, + Perchance his hope to-morrow dies. + + It is not thus, believe me, sir, + With this enchantress--she will call + Our second mother: Frenchmen err, + Who, cent'ries since, proclaimed her fall! + Our mother-tongue--all melody-- + While music lives can never die. + + Yes! she still lives, her words still ring; + Her children yet her carols sing; + And thousand years may roll away + Before her magic notes decay. + + The people love their ancient songs, and will + While yet a people, love and keep them still: + These lays are as their mother; they recall + Fond thoughts of mother, sister, friends, and all + The many little things that please the heart, + The dreams, the hopes, from which we cannot part. + These songs are as sweet waters, where we find + Health in the sparkling wave that nerves the mind. + In ev'ry home, at ev'ry cottage door, + By ev'ry fireside, when our toil is o'er, + These songs are round us--near our cradles sigh, + And to the grave attend us when we die. + + Oh, think, cold critics! 'twill be late and long, + Ere time shall sweep away this flood of song! + There are who bid this music sound no more, + And you can hear them, nor defend--deplore! + You, who were born where its first daisies grew, + Have fed upon its honey, sipp'd its dew, + + Slept in its arms, and wakened to its kiss, + Danced to its sounds, and warbled to its tone-- + You can forsake it in an hour like this! + Yes, weary of its age, renounce--disown-- + And blame one minstrel who is true--alone!"[1] + +This is but a paraphrase of Jasmin's poem, which, as we have +already said, cannot be verbally translated into any other +language. Even the last editor of Jasmin's poems--Boyer d'Agen +--does not translate them into French poetry, but into French +prose. Much of the aroma of poetry evaporates in converting +poetical thoughts from one language into another. + +Jasmin, in one part of his poem, compares the ancient patois to +one of the grand old elms in the Promenade de Gravier, which, +having in a storm had some of its branches torn away, was +ordered by the local authorities to be rooted up. The labourers +worked away, but their pick-axes became unhafted. They could not +up-root the tree; they grew tired and forsook the work. When the +summer came, glorious verdure again clothed the remaining +boughs; the birds sang sweetly in the branches, and the +neighbours rejoiced that its roots had been so numerous and the +tree had been so firmly planted. + +Jasmin's description of his mother-tongue is most touching. +Seasons pass away, and, as they roll on, their echoes sound in +our ears; but the loved tongue shall not and must not die. +The mother-tongue recalls our own dear mother, sisters, friends, +and crowds of bygone associations, which press into our minds +while sitting by the evening fire. This tongue is the language +of our toils and labours; she comes to us at our birth, she +lingers at our tomb. + +"No, no--I cannot desert my mother-tongue!" said Jasmin. +"It preserves the folk-lore of the district; it is the language +of the poor, of the labourer, the shepherd, the farmer and +grape-gatherers, of boys and girls, of brides and bridegrooms. +The people," he said to M. Dumon, "love to hear my songs in +their native dialect. You have enough poetry in classical +French; leave me to please my compatriots in the dialect which +they love. I cannot give up this harmonious language, our second +mother, even though it has been condemned for three hundred +years. Why! she still lives, her voice still sounds; like her, +the seasons pass, the bells ring out their peals, and though a +hundred thousand years may roll away, they will still be +sounding and ringing!" + +Jasmin has been compared to Dante. But there is this immense +difference between them. Dante was virtually the creator of the +Italian language, which was in its infancy when he wrote his +'Divine Comedy' some six hundred years ago, while Jasmin was +merely reviving a gradually-expiring dialect. Drouilhet de +Sigalas has said that Dante lived at the sunrise of his +language, while Jasmin lived at its sunset. Indeed, Gascon was +not a written language, and Jasmin had to collect his lexicon, +grammar, and speech mostly from the peasants who lived in the +neighbourhood of Agen. Dante virtually created the Italian +language, while Jasmin merely resuscitated for a time the Gascon +dialect. + +Jasmin was not deterred by the expostulations of Dumon, +but again wrote his new epic of Franconnette in Gascon. +It took him a long time to clothe his poetical thoughts in words. +Nearly five years had elapsed since he recited The Blind Girl of +Castel-Cuille to the citizens of Bordeaux; since then he had +written a few poetical themes, but he was mainly thinking and +dreaming, and at times writing down his new epic Franconnette. +It was completed in 1840, when he dedicated the poem to the city +of Toulouse. + +The story embodied in the poem was founded on an ancient +tradition. The time at which it occurred was towards the end of +the sixteenth century, when France was torn to pieces by the +civil war between the Huguenots and the Catholics. Agen was then +a centre of Protestantism. It was taken and retaken by both +parties again and again. The Huguenot captain, Truelle, occupied +the town in April 1562; but Blaize de Montluc, "a fierce +Catholic," as he is termed by M. Paul Joanne, assailed the town +with a strong force and recaptured it. On entering the place, +Montluc found that the inhabitants had fled with the garrison, +and "the terrible chief was greatly disappointed at not finding +any person in Agen to slaughter."[2] Montluc struck with a heavy +hand the Protestants of the South. In the name of the God of +Mercy he hewed the Huguenots to pieces, and, after spreading +desolation through the South, he retired to his fortress at +Estellac, knelt before the altar, took the communion, and was +welcomed by his party as one of the greatest friends of the +Church. + +The civil war went on for ten years, until in August 1572 the +massacre of Saint Bartholomew took place. After that event the +word "Huguenot" was abolished, or was only mentioned with +terror. Montluc's castle of Estellac, situated near the pretty +village of Estanquet, near Roquefort--famous for its cheese-- +still exists; his cabinet is preserved, and his tomb and statue +are to be seen in the adjoining garden. The principal scenes of +the following story are supposed to have occurred at Estanquet, +a few miles to the south of Agen. + +Franconnette, like The Blind Girl of Castel-Cuille, is a story +of rivalry in love; but, though more full of adventure, it ends +more happily. Franconnette was a village beauty. Her brilliant +eyes, her rosy complexion, her cherry lips, her lithe and +handsome figure, brought all the young fellows of the +neighbourhood to her feet. Her father was a banished Huguenot, +but beauty of person sets differences of belief at defiance. + +The village lads praised her and tried to win her affections; +but, like beauties in general, surrounded by admirers, she was a +bit of a flirt. + +At length two rivals appeared--one Marcel, a soldier under +Montluc, favoured by Franconnette's grandmother, and Pascal, +the village blacksmith, favoured by the girl herself. One Sunday +afternoon a number of young men and maidens assembled at the +foot of Montluc's castle of Estellac on the votive festival of +St. Jacques at Roquefort. Franconnette was there, as well as +Marcel and Pascal, her special admirers. Dancing began to the +music of the fife; but Pascal, the handsomest of the young men, +seemed to avoid the village beauty. Franconnette was indignant +at his neglect, but was anxious to secure his attention and +devotion. She danced away, sliding, whirling, and pirouetting. +What would not the admiring youths have given to impress two +kisses on her lovely cheek![3] + +In these village dances, it is the custom for the young men to +kiss their partners, if they can tire them out; but in some +cases, when the girl is strong; and an accomplished dancer, +she declines to be tired until she wishes to cease dancing. +First one youth danced with Franconnette, then another; +but she tired them all. Then came Marcel, the soldier, wearing +his sabre, with a cockade in his cap--a tall and stately fellow, +determined to win the reward. But he too, after much whirling +and dancing, was at last tired out: he was about to fall with +dizziness, and then gave in. On goes the dance; Franconnette +waits for another partner; Pascal springs to her side, and takes +her round the waist. Before they had made a dozen steps, +the girl smiles and stops, and turns her blushing cheeks to +receive her partner's willing kisses. + +Marcel started up in a rage, and drawing himself to his full +height, he strode to Pascal. "Peasant!" he said, "thou hast +supplied my place too quickly," and then dealt him a thundering +blow between the eyes. Pascal was not felled; he raised his arm, +and his fist descended on Marcel's head like a bolt. The soldier +attempted to draw his sabre. When Pascal saw this, he closed +with Marcel, grasped him in his arms, and dashed him to the +ground, crushed and senseless. + +Marcel was about to rise to renew the duel, when suddenly +Montluc, who happened to be passing with the Baron of Roquefort, +stepped forward and sternly ordered the combatants to separate. +This terrible encounter put an end to the fete. The girls fled +like frightened doves. The young men escorted Pascal to his home +preceded by the fifers. Marcel was not discouraged. +On recovering his speech, he stammered out, grinding his teeth: +"They shall pay clearly for this jesting; Franconnette shall +have no other husband than myself." + +Many months passed. The harvest was gathered in. There were no +more out-door fetes or dances. The villagers of Estanquet +assembled round their firesides. Christmas arrived with it games +and carol-singing. Then came the Feast of Lovers, called the +Buscou,[4] on the last day of the year, where, in a large +chamber, some hundred distaffs were turning, and boys and girls, +with nimble fingers, were winding thread of the finest flax. +Franconnette was there, and appointed queen of the games. +After the winding was over, the songs and dances began to the +music of a tambourin. The queen, admired by all, sang and danced +like the rest. + +Pascal was not there; his mother was poor, and she endeavoured +to persuade him to remain at home and work. After a short +struggle with himself, Pascal yielded. He turned aside to his +forge in silent dejection; and soon the anvil was ringing and +the sparks were flying, while away down in the village the +busking went merrily on. "If the prettiest were always the most +sensible," says Jasmin, "how much my Franconnette might have +accomplished;" but instead of this, she flitted from place to +place, idle and gay, jesting, singing, dancing, and, as usual, +bewitching all. + +Then Thomas, Pascal's friend, asked leave to sing a few verses; +and, fixing his keen eyes upon the coquette, he began in tones +of lute-like sweetness the following song, entitled 'The Syren +with a Heart of Ice.' We have translated it, as nearly as +possible, from the Gascon dialect. + + "Faribolo pastouro, + Sereno al co de glas, + Oh! digo, digo couro + Entendren tinda l'houro + Oun t'amistouzaras. + Toutjour fariboulejes, + Et quand parpailloulejes + La foulo que mestrejes, + Sur toun cami set met + + Et te siet. + Mais res d'acos, maynado, + Al bounhur pot mena; + Qu'es acos d'estre aymado, + Quand on sat pas ayma?" + + "Wayward shepherd maid, + Syren with heart of ice, + Oh! tell us, tell us! when + We listen for the hour + When thou shalt feel + Ever so free and gay, + And when you flutter o'er + The number you subdue, + Upon thy path they fall + At thy feet. + But nothing comes of this, young maid, + To happiness it never leads; + What is it to be loved like this + If you ne'er can love again?" + +Such poetry however defies translation. The more exquisite the +mastery of a writer over his own language, the more difficult it +is to reproduce it in another. But the spirit of the song is in +Miss Costello's translation,[5] as given in Franconnette at the +close of this volume. + +When reciting Franconnette, Jasmin usually sang The Syren to +music of his own composition. We accordingly annex his music. + +All were transported with admiration at the beautiful song. +When Thomas had finished, loud shouts were raised for the name of +the poet. "Who had composed this beautiful lay?" "It is +Pascal," replied Thomas. "Bravo, Pascal! Long live Pascal! "was +the cry of the young people. Franconnette was unwontedly touched +by the song. "But where is Pascal?" she said. "If he loves, why +does he not appear?" "Oh," said Laurent, another of his rivals, +in a jealous and piqued tone, "he is too poor, he is obliged to +stay at home, his father is so infirm that he lives upon alms!" +"You lie," cried Thomas. "Pascal is unfortunate; he has been +six months ill from the wounds he received in defence of +Franconnette, and now his family is dependent upon him; but he +has industry and courage, and will soon recover from his +misfortunes." + +Franconnette remained quiet, concealing her emotions. Then the +games began. They played at Cache Couteau or Hunt the Slipper. +Dancing came next; Franconnette was challenged by Laurent, +and after many rounds the girl was tired, and Laurent claimed the +kisses that she had forfeited. Franconnette flew away like a +bird; Laurent ran after her, caught her, and was claiming the +customary forfeit, when, struggling to free herself, Laurent +slipped upon the floor, fell heavily, and broke his arm. + +Franconnette was again unfortunate. Ill-luck seems to have +pursued the girl. The games came to an end, and the young people +were about to disperse when, at this unlucky moment, the door +was burst open and a sombre apparition appeared. It was the +Black Forest sorcerer, the supposed warlock of the neighbourhood. + +"Unthinking creatures," he said, "I have come from my gloomy +rocks up yonder to open your eyes. You all adore this +Franconnette. Behold, she is accursed! While in her cradle her +father, the Huguenot, sold her to the devil. He has punished +Pascal and Laurent for the light embrace she gave them. +He warned in time and avoid her. The demon alone has a claim to +her." + +The sorcerer ended; sparks of fire surrounded him, and after +turning four times round in a circle he suddenly disappeared! +Franconnette's friends at once held aloof from her. They called +out to her," Begone!" All in a maze the girl shuddered and +sickened; she became senseless, and fell down on the floor in a +swoon. The young people fled, leaving her helpless. And thus +ended the second fete which began so gaily. + +The grossest superstition then prevailed in France, as +everywhere. Witches and warlocks were thoroughly believed in, +far more so than belief in God and His Son. The news spread +abroad that the girl was accursed and sold to the Evil One, and +she was avoided by everybody. She felt herself doomed. At +length she reached her grandmother's house, but she could not +work, she could scarcely stand. The once radiant Franconnette +could neither play nor sing; she could only weep. + +Thus ended two cantos of the poem. The third opens with a lovely +picture of a cottage by a leafy brookside in the hamlet of +Estanquet. The spring brought out the singing-birds to pair and +build their nests. They listened, but could no longer hear the +music which, in former years, had been almost sweeter than their +own. The nightingales, more curious than the rest, flew into the +maid's garden; they saw her straw hat on a bench, a rake and +watering-pot among the neglected jonquils, and the rose branches +running riot. Peering yet further and peeping into the cottage +door, the curious birds discovered an old woman asleep in her +arm-chair, and a pale, quiet girl beside her, dropping tears +upon her lily hands. "Yes, yes, it is. Franconnette," says the +poet. "You will have guessed that already. A poor girl, weeping +in solitude, the daughter of a Huguenot, banned by the Church +and sold to the devil! Could anything be more frightful?" + +Nevertheless her grandmother said to her, "My child, it is not +true; the sorcerer's charge is false. He of good cheer, you are +more lovely than ever." One gleam of hope had come to +Franconnette; she hears that Pascal has defended her everywhere, +and boldly declared her to be the victim of a brutal plot. She +now realised how great was his goodness, and her proud spirit +was softened even to tears. The grandmother put in a good word +for Marcel, but the girl turned aside. Then the old woman said, +"To-morrow is Easter Day; go to Mass, pray as you never prayed +before, and take the blessed bread, proving that you are +numbered with His children for ever." + +The girl consented, and went to the Church of Saint Peter on +Easter morning. She knelt, with her chaplet of beads, among the +rest, imploring Heaven's mercy. But she knelt alone in the midst +of a wide circle. All the communicants avoided her. The +churchwarden, Marcel's uncle, in his long-tailed coat, +with a pompous step, passed her entirely by, and refused her the +heavenly meal. Pascal was there and came to her help. He went +forward to the churchwarden and took from the silver plate the +crown piece[6] of the holy element covered with flowers, +and took and presented two pieces of the holy bread to +Franconnette--one for herself, the other for her grandmother. + +From that moment she begins to live a new life, and to +understand the magic of love. She carries home the blessed bread +to the ancient dame, and retires to her chamber to give herself +up, with the utmost gratefulness, to the rapturous delight of +loving. "Ah," says Jasmin in his poem, "the sorrowing heart aye +loveth best!" + +Yet still she remembers the fatal doom of the sorcerer that she +is sold for a price to the demon. All seem to believe the +hideous tale, and no one takes her part save Pascal and her +grandmother. She kneels before her little shrine and prays to +the Holy Virgin for help and succour. + +At the next fete day she repaired to the church of Notre Dame de +bon Encontre,[7] where the inhabitants of half a dozen of the +neighbouring villages had assembled, with priests and crucifixes, +garlands and tapers, banners and angels. The latter, girls about +to be confirmed, walked in procession and sang the Angelus at +the appropriate hours. The report had spread abroad that +Franconnette would entreat the Blessed Virgin to save her +from the demon. The strangers were more kind to her than her +immediate neighbours, and from many a pitying heart the prayer +went up that a miracle might be wrought in favour of the +beautiful maiden. She felt their sympathy, and it gave her +confidence. The special suppliants passed up to the altar one by +one--Anxious mothers, disappointed lovers, orphans and +children. They kneel, they ask for blessings, they present their +candles for the old priest to bless, and then they retire. + +Now came the turn of Franconnette. Pascal was in sight and +prayed for her success. She went forward in a happy frame of +mind, with her taper and a bouquet of flowers. She knelt before +the priest. He took the sacred image and presented it to her; +but scarcely had it touched the lips of the orphan when a +terrible peal of thunder rent the heavens, and a bolt of +lightning struck the spire of the church, extinguishing her +taper as well as the altar lights. This was a most unlucky +coincidence for the terrified girl; and, cowering like a lost +soul, she crept out of the church. The people were in +consternation. "It was all true, she was now sold to the devil! +Put her to death, that is the only way of ending our +misfortunes!" + +The truth is that the storm of thunder and lightning prevailed +throughout the neighbourhood. It is a common thing in southern +climes. The storm which broke out at Notre Dame destroyed the +belfry; the church of Roquefort was demolished by a bolt of +lightning, the spire of Saint Pierre was ruined. The storm was +followed by a tempest of hail and rain. Agen was engulfed by the +waters; her bridge was destroyed,[8] and many of the +neighbouring vineyards were devastated. And all this ruin was +laid at the door of poor Franconnette! + +The neighbours--her worst enemies--determined to burn the +daughter of the Huguenot out of her cottage. The grandmother +first heard the cries of the villagers: "Fire them, let them +both burn together." Franconnette rushed to the door and pleaded +for mercy. "Go back," cried the crowd, "you must both roast +together." They set fire to the rick outside and then proceeded +to fire the thatch of the cottage. "Hold, hold!" cried a stern +voice, and Pascal rushed in amongst them. "Cowards! would you +murder two defenceless women? Tigers that you are, would you +fire and burn them in their dwelling?" + +Marcel too appeared; he had not yet given up the hope of winning +Franconnette's love. He now joined Pascal in defending her and +the old dame, and being a soldier of Montluc, he was a powerful +man in the neighbourhood. The girl was again asked to choose +between the two. At last, after refusing any marriage under +present circumstances, she clung to Pascal. "I would have died +alone," she said, "but since you will have it so, I resist no +longer. It is our fate; we will die together." Pascal was +willing to die with her, and turning to Marcel he said: "I have +been more fortunate than you, but you are a brave man and you +will forgive me. I have no friend, but will you act as a squire +and see me to my grave?" After struggling with his feelings, +Marcel at last said: "Since it is her wish, I will be your +friend." + +A fortnight later, the marriage between the unhappy lovers took +place. Every one foreboded disaster. The wedding procession +went down the green hill towards the church of Notre Dame. There +was no singing, no dancing, no merriment, as was usual on such +occasions. The rustics shuddered at heart over the doom of +Pascal. The soldier Marcel marched at the head of the +wedding-party. At the church an old woman appeared, Pascal's +mother. She flung her arms about him and adjured him to fly from +his false bride, for his marriage would doom him to death. +She even fell at the feet of her son and said that he should pass +over her body rather than be married. Pascal turned to Marcel +and said: "Love overpowers me! If I die, will you take care of +my mother?" + +Then the gallant soldier dispelled the gloom which had +overshadowed the union of the loving pair. "I can do no more," +he said; "your mother has conquered me. Franconnette is good, +and pure, and true. I loved the maid, Pascal, and would have +shed my blood for her, but she loved you instead of me. + +"Know that she is not sold to the Evil One. In my despair I +hired the sorcerer to frighten you with his mischievous tale, +and chance did the rest. When we both demanded her, she +confessed her love for you. It was more than I could bear, +and I resolved that we should both die. + +"But your mother has disarmed me; she reminds me of my own. +Live, Pascal, for your wife and your mother! You need have no +more fear of me. It is better that I should die the death of a +soldier than with a crime upon my conscience." + +Thus saying, he vanished from the crowd, who burst into cheers. +The happy lovers fell into each other's arms. "And now," said +Jasmin, in concluding his poem, "I must lay aside my pencil. +I had colours for sorrow; I have none for such happiness as +theirs!" + + +Footnotes to Chapter IX. + +[1] The whole of Jasmin's answer to M. Dumon will be found in +the Appendix at the end of this volume. + +[2]'Gascogne et Languedoc,' par Paul Joanne, p. 95 (edit. 1883). + +[3] The dance still exists in the neighbourhood of Agen. +When there a few years ago, I was drawn by the sound of a fife +and a drum to the spot where a dance of this sort was going on. +It was beyond the suspension bridge over the Garonne, a little to +the south of Agen. A number of men and women of the +working-class were assembled on the grassy sward, and were +dancing, whirling, and pirouetting to their hearts' content. +Sometimes the girls bounded from the circle, were followed by +their sweethearts, and kissed. It reminded one of the dance so +vigorously depicted by Jasmin in Franconnette. + +[4] Miss Harriet Preston, of Boston, U.S., published part of a +translation of Franconnette in the 'Atlantic Monthly' for +February, 1876, and adds the following note: "The buscou, or +busking, was a kind of bee, at which the young people assembled, +bringing the thread of their late spinning, which was divided +into skeins of the proper size by a broad and thin plate of +steel or whalebone called a busc. The same thing, under +precisely the same name, figured in the toilets of our +grandmothers, and hence, probably, the Scotch use of the verb to +busk, or attire." + +[5] Miss Louisa Stuart Costello in 'Bearn and the Pyrenees.' + +[6] A custom which then existed in certain parts of France. +It was taken by the French emigrants to Canada, where it existed +not long ago. The crown of the sacramental bread used to be +reserved for the family of the seigneur or other communicants of +distinction. + +[7] A church in the suburbs of Agen, celebrated for its legends +and miracles, to which numerous pilgrimages are made in the +month of May. + +[8] A long time ago the inhabitants of the town of Agen +communicated with the other side of the Garonne by means of +little boats. The first wooden bridge was commenced when +Aquitaine was governed by the English, in the reign of Richard +Coeur-de-lion, at the end of the twelfth century. The bridge was +destroyed and repaired many times, and one of the piles on which +the bridge was built is still to be seen. It is attributed to +Napoleon I. that he caused the first bridge of stone to be +erected, for the purpose of facilitating the passage of his +troops to Spain. The work was, however, abandoned during his +reign, and it was not until the Restoration that the bridge was +completed. Since that time other bridges, especially the +suspension bridge, have been erected, to enable the inhabitants +of the towns on the Garonne to communicate freely with each +other. + + + +CHAPTER X. + +JASMIN AT TOULOUSE. + +It had hitherto been the custom of Jasmin to dedicate his poems +to one of his friends; but in the case of Franconnette he +dedicated the poem to the city of Toulouse. His object in making +the dedication was to express his gratitude for the banquet +given to him in 1836 by the leading men of the city, at which +the President had given the toast of "Jasmin, the adopted son of +Toulouse." + +Toulouse was the most wealthy and prosperous city in the South +of France. Among its citizens were many men of literature, art, +and science. Jasmin was at first disposed to dedicate +Franconnette to the city of Bordeaux, where he had been so +graciously received and feted on the recitation of his Blind +Girl of Castel-Cuille; but he eventually decided to dedicate the +new poem to the city of Toulouse, where he had already achieved +a considerable reputation. + +Jasmin was received with every honour by the city which had +adopted him. It was his intention to read the poem at Toulouse +before its publication. If there was one of the towns or cities +in which his language was understood--one which promised by +the strength and depth of its roots to defy all the chances of +the future--that city was Toulouse, the capital of the Langue +d'Oc. + +The place in which he first recited the poem was the Great Hall +of the Museum. When the present author saw it about two years +ago, the ground floor was full of antique tombs, statues, and +monuments of the past; while the hall above it was crowded with +pictures and works of art, ancient and modern. + +About fifteen hundred persons assembled to listen to Jasmin in +the Great Hall. "It is impossible," said the local journal,[1] +"to describe the transport with which he was received." The vast +gallery was filled with one of the most brilliant assemblies +that had ever met in Toulouse. Jasmin occupied the centre of the +platform. At his right and left hand were seated the Mayor, +the members of the Municipal Council, the Military Chiefs, +the members of the Academy of Jeux-Floraux,[2] and many +distinguished persons in science, literature, and learning. +A large space had been reserved for the accommodation of ladies, +who appeared in their light summer dresses, coloured like the +rainbow; and behind them stood an immense number of the citizens +of Toulouse. + +Jasmin had no sooner begun to recite his poem than it was clear +that he had full command of his audience. Impressed by his +eloquence and powers of declamation, they were riveted to their +seats, dazzled and moved by turns, as the crowd of beautiful +thoughts passed through their minds. The audience were so much +absorbed by the poet's recitation that not a whisper was heard. +He evoked by the tones and tremor of his voice their sighs, +their tears, their indignation. He was by turns gay, melancholy, +artless, tender, arch, courteous, and declamatory. As the drama +proceeded, the audience recognised the beauty of the plot and +the poet's knowledge of the human heart. He touched with grace +all the cords of his lyre. His poetry evidently came direct from +his heart: it was as rare as it was delicious. + +The success of the recitation was complete, and when Jasmin +resumed his seat he received the most enthusiastic applause. +As the whole of the receipts were, as usual, handed over by +Jasminto the local charities, the assembly decided by acclamation +that a subscription should be raised to present to the poet, who +had been adopted by the city, some testimony of their admiration +for his talent, and for his having first recited to them and +dedicated to Toulouse his fine poem of Franconnette. + +Jasmin handed over to the municipality the manuscript of his +poem in a volume beautifully bound. The Mayor, in eloquent +language, accepted the work, and acknowledged the fervent thanks +of the citizens of Toulouse. + +As at Bordeaux, Jasmin was feted and entertained by the most +distinguished people of the city. At one of the numerous +banquets at which he was present, he replied to the speech of +the chairman by an impromptu in honour of those who had so +splendidly entertained him. But, as he had already said: +"Impromptus may be good money of the heart, but they are often +the worst money of the head."[3] + +On the day following the entertainment, Jasmin was invited to a +"grand banquet" given by the coiffeurs of Toulouse, where they +presented him with "a crown of immortelles and jasmines," +and to them also he recited another of his impromptus.[4] + +Franconnette was shortly after published, and the poem was +received with almost as much applause by the public as it had +been by the citizens of Toulouse. Sainte-beuve, the prince of +French critics, said of the work:-- + +"In all his compositions Jasmin has a natural, touching idea; +it is a history, either of his invention, or taken from some +local tradition. With his facility as an improvisatore, aided +by the patois in which he writes,... when he puts his dramatis +personae into action, he endeavours to depict their thoughts, +all their simple yet lively conversation, and to clothe them in +words the most artless, simple, and transparent, and in a +language true, eloquent, and sober: never forget this latter +characteristic of Jasmin's works."[5] + +M. de Lavergne says of Franconnette, that, of all Jasmin's work, +it is the one in which he aimed at being most entirely popular, +and that it is at the same time the most noble and the most +chastened. He might also have added the most chivalrous. +"There is something essentially knightly," says Miss Preston, +"in Pascal's cast of character, and it is singular that at the +supreme crisis of his fate he assumes, as if unconsciously, +the very phraseology of chivalry. + +"Some squire (donzel) should follow me to death. +It is altogether natural and becoming in the high-minded smith." + +M. Charles Nodier--Jasmin's old friend--was equally complimentary +in his praises of Franconnette. When a copy of the poem was sent +to him, with an accompanying letter, Nodier replied:-- + +"I have received with lively gratitude, my dear and illustrious +friend, your beautiful verses, and your charming and +affectionate letter. I have read them with great pleasure and +profound admiration. A Although ill in bed, I have devoured +Franconnette and the other poems. I observe, with a certain +pride, that you have followed my advice, and that you think in +that fine language which you recite so admirably, in place of +translating the patois into French, which deprives it of its +fullness and fairness. I thank you a thousand times for your +very flattering epistle. I am too happy to expostulate with you +seriously as to the gracious things you have said to me; my name +will pass to posterity in the works of my friends; the glory of +having been loved by you goes for a great deal." + +The time at length arrived for the presentation of the +testimonial of Toulouse to Jasmin. It consisted of a branch of +laurel in gold. The artist who fashioned it was charged to put +his best work into the golden laurel, so that it might be a chef +d'oeuvre worthy of the city which conferred it, and of being +treasured in the museum of their adopted poet. The work was +indeed admirably executed. The stem was rough, as in nature, +though the leaves were beautifully polished. It had a ribbon +delicately ornamented, with the words "Toulouse a Jasmin." + +When the work was finished and placed in its case, the Mayor +desired to send it to Jasmin by a trusty messenger. He selected +Mademoiselle Gasc, assisted by her father, advocate and member +of the municipal council, to present the tribute to Jasmin. +It ought to have been a fete day for the people of Agen, when +their illustrious townsman, though a barber, was about to receive +so cordial an appreciation of his poetical genius from the +learned city of Toulouse. It ought also to have been a fete day +for Jasmin himself. + +But alas! an unhappy coincidence occurred which saddened the day +that ought to have been a day of triumph for the poet. +His mother was dying. When Mademoiselle Gasc, accompanied by +her father, the Mayor of Agen, and other friends of Jasmin, +entered the shop, they were informed that he was by the bedside +of his mother, who was at death's door. The physician, who was +consulted as to her state, said that there might only be +sufficient time for Jasmin to receive the deputation. + +He accordingly came out for a few moments from his mother's +bed-side. M. Gasc explained the object of the visit, and read to + +Jasmin the gracious letter of the Mayor of Toulouse, concluding +as follows:-- + +"I thank you, in the name of the city of Toulouse, for the fine +poem which you have dedicated to us. This branch of laurel will +remind you of the youthful and beautiful Muse which has inspired +you with such charming verses." + +The Mayor of Agen here introduced Mademoiselle Gasc, who, +in her turn, said:-- + +"And I also, sir, am most happy and proud of the mission which +has been entrusted to me." + +Then she presented him with the casket which contained the +golden laurel. Jasmin responded in the lines entitled 'Yesterday +and To-day,' from which the following words may be quoted:-- + +"Yesterday! Thanks, Toulouse, for our old language and for my +poetry. Your beautiful golden branch ennobles both. And you who +offer it to me, gracious messenger--queen of song and queen of +hearts--tell your city of my perfect happiness, and that I +never anticipated such an honour even in my most golden dreams. + +"To-day! Fascinated by the laurel which Toulouse has sent me, +and which fills my heart with joy, I cannot forget, my dear +young lady, the sorrow which overwhelms me--the fatal illness +of my mother--which makes me fear that the most joyful day of +my life will also be the most sorrowful." + +Jasmin's alarms were justified. His prayers were of no avail. +His mother died with her hand in his shortly after the +deputation had departed. Her husband had preceded her to the +tomb a few years before. He always had a firm presentiment that +he should be carried in the arm-chair to the hospital, "where all +the Jasmins die." But Jasmin did his best to save his father +from that indignity. He had already broken the arm-chair, and +the old tailor died peacefully in the arms of his son. + +Some four months after the recitation of Franconnette at +Toulouse, Jasmin resumed his readings in the cause of charity. +In October 1840 he visited Oleron, and was received with the +usual enthusiasm; and on his return to Pau, he passed the +obelisk erected to Despourrins, the Burns of the Pyrenees. +At Pau he recited his Franconnette to an immense audience amidst +frenzies of applause. It was alleged that the people of the +Pyrenean country were prosaic and indifferent to art. But M. +Dugenne, in the 'Memorial des Pyrenees,' said that it only +wanted such a bewitching poet as Jasmin--with his vibrating +and magical voice--to rouse them and set their minds on fire. + +Another writer, M. Alfred Danger, paid him a still more delicate +compliment. + +"His poetry," he said, "is not merely the poetry of illusions; +it is alive, and inspires every heart. His admirable delicacy! +His profound tact in every verse! What aristocratic poet could +better express in a higher degree the politeness of the heart, +the truest of all politeness."[6] + +Jasmin did not seem to be at all elated by these eulogiums. +When he had finished his recitations, he returned to Agen, +sometimes on foot, sometimes in the diligence, and quietly +resumed his daily work. His success as a poet never induced him +to resign his more humble occupation. Although he received some +returns from the sale of his poems, he felt himself more +independent by relying upon the income derived from his own +business. + +His increasing reputation never engendered in him, as is too +often the case with self-taught geniuses who suddenly rise into +fame, a supercilious contempt for the ordinary transactions of +life. "After all," he said, "contentment is better than riches." + + +Footnotes to Chapter X. + +[1] Journal de Toulouse, 4th July, 1840. + +[2] The Society of the Jeux-Floraux derives its origin from the +ancient Troubadours. It claims to be the oldest society of the +kind in Europe. It is said to have been founded in the +fourteenth century by Clemence Isaure, a Toulousian lady, +to commemorate the "Gay Science." A meeting of the society is +held every year, when prizes are distributed to the authors of +the best compositions in prose and verse. It somewhat resembles +the annual meeting of the Eisteddfod, held for awarding prizes to +the bards and composers of Wales. + +[3] The following was his impromptu to the savants of Toulouse, +4th July, 1840:-- + "Oh, bon Dieu! que de gloire! Oh, bon Dieu! que d'honneurs! + Messieurs, ce jour pour ma Muse est bien doux; + Mais maintenant, d'etre quitte j'ai perdu l'esperance: + Car je viens, plus fier que jamais, + Vous payer ma reconnaissance, + Et je m'endette que plus!" + +[4] This is the impromptu, given on the 5th July, 1840: + "Toulouse m'a donne un beau bouquet d'honneur; + Votre festin, amis, en est une belle fleur; + Aussi, clans les plaisirs de cette longue fete, + Quand je veux remercier de cela, + Je poursuis mon esprit pour ne pas etre en reste + Ici, l'esprit me nait et tombe de mon coeur!" + +[5] 'Causeries du Lundi,' iv. 240 (edit. 1852). + +[6] "La politesse du coeur," a French expression which can +scarcely be translated into English; just as "gentleman" has no +precise equivalent in French. + + + +CHAPTER XI. + +JASMIN'S VISIT TO PARIS. + +Jasmin had been so often advised to visit Paris and test his +powers there, that at length he determined to proceed to the +capital of France. It is true, he had been eulogized in the +criticisms of Sainte-Beuve, Leonce de Lavergne, Charles Nodier, +and Charles de Mazade; but he desired to make the personal +acquaintance of some of these illustrious persons, as well as to +see his son, who was then settled in Paris. It was therefore in +some respects a visit of paternal affection as well as literary +reputation. He set out for Paris in the month of May 1842. + +Jasmin was a boy in his heart and feelings, then as always. +Indeed, he never ceased to be a boy--in his manners, +his gaiety, his artlessness, and his enjoyment of new pleasures. + +What a succession of wonders to him was Paris--its streets, +its boulevards, its Tuileries, its Louvre, its Arc de Triomphe +--reminding him of the Revolution and the wars of the first +Napoleon. + +Accompanied by his son Edouard, he spent about a week in +visiting the most striking memorials of the capital. +They visited together the Place de la Concorde, the Hotel de +Ville, Notre Dame, the Madeleine, the Champs Elysees, and most of +the other sights. At the Colonne Vendome, Jasmin raised his +head, looked up, and stood erect, proud of the glories of France. +He saw all these things for the first time, but they had long +been associated with his recollections of the past. + +There are "country cousins" in Paris as well as in London. +They are known by their dress, their manners, their amazement +at all they see. When Jasmin stood before the Vendome Column, +he extended his hand as if he were about to recite one of his +poems. "Oh, my son," he exclaimed, "such glories as these are +truly magnificent!" The son, who was familiar with the glories, +was rather disposed to laugh. He desired, for decorum's sake, +to repress his father's exclamations. He saw the people standing +about to hear his father's words. "Come," said the young man, +"let us go to the Madeleine, and see that famous church." +"Ah, Edouard," said Jasmin, "I can see well enough that you are +not a poet; not you indeed!" + +During his visit, Jasmin wrote regularly to his wife and friends +at Agen, giving them his impressions of Paris. His letters were +full of his usual simplicity, brightness, boyishness, and +enthusiasm. "What wonderful things I have already seen," he said +in one of his letters, "and how many more have I to see to-morrow +and the following days. M. Dumon, Minister of Public Works" +(Jasmin's compatriot and associate at the Academy of Agen), +"has given me letters of admission to Versailles, Saint-Cloud, +Meudon in fact, to all the public places that I have for so long +a time been burning to see and admire." + +After a week's tramping about, and seeing the most attractive +sights of the capital, Jasmin bethought him of his literary +friends and critics. The first person he called upon was +Sainte-Beuve, at the Mazarin Library, of which he was director. +"He received me like a brother," said Jasmin, "and embraced me. +He said the most flattering things about my Franconnette, +and considered it an improvement upon L'Aveugle. 'Continue,' +he said, 'my good friend' and you will take a place in the +brightest poetry of our epoch.' In showing me over the shelves +in the Library containing the works of the old poets, which are +still read and admired, he said, 'Like them, you will never +die.'" + +Jasmin next called upon Charles Nodier and Jules Janin. +Nodier was delighted to see his old friend, and after a long +conversation, Jasmin said that "he left him with tears in his +eyes." Janin complimented him upon his works, especially upon +his masterly use of the Gascon language. "Go on," he said, +"and write your poetry in the patois which always appears to me +so delicious. You possess the talent necessary for the purpose; +it is so genuine and rare." + +The Parisian journals mentioned Jasmin's appearance in the +capital; the most distinguished critics had highly approved of +his works; and before long he became the hero of the day. +The modest hotel in which he stayed during his visit, was crowded +with visitors. Peers, ministers, deputies, journalists, +members of the French Academy, came to salute the author of the +'Papillotos.' + +The proprietor of the hotel began to think that he was +entertaining some prince in disguise--that he must have come +from some foreign court to negotiate secretly some lofty +questions of state. But when he was entertained at a banquet by +the barbers and hair-dressers of Paris, the opinions of +"mine host" underwent a sudden alteration. He informed Jasmin's +son that he could scarcely believe that ministers of state would +bother themselves with a country peruke-maker! The son laughed; +he told the maitre d'hotel that his bill would be paid, and that +was all he need to care for. + +Jasmin was not, however, without his detractors. Even in his own +country, many who had laughed heartily and wept bitterly while +listening to his voice, feared lest they might have given vent +to their emotions against the legitimate rules of poetry. +Some of the Parisian critics were of opinion that he was +immensely overrated. They attributed the success of the Gascon +poet to the liveliness of the southerners, who were excited by +the merest trifles; and they suspected that Jasmin, instead of +being a poet, was but a clever gasconader, differing only from +the rest of his class by speaking in verse instead of prose. + +Now that Jasmin was in the capital, his real friends, who knew +his poetical powers, desired him to put an end to these +prejudices by reciting before a competent tribunal some of his +most admired verses. He would have had no difficulty in +obtaining a reception at the Tuileries. He had already received +several kind favours from the Duke and Duchess of Orleans while +visiting Agen. The Duke had presented him with a ring set in +brilliants, and the Duchess had given him a gold pin in the +shape of a flower, with a fine pearl surrounded by diamonds, +in memory of their visit. It was this circumstance which induced +him to compose his poem 'La Bago et L'Esplingo' (La Bague et +L'Epingle) which he dedicated to the Duchess of Orleans. + +But Jasmin aimed higher than the Royal family. His principal +desire was to attend the French Academy; but as the Academy did +not permit strangers to address their meetings, Jasmin was under +the necessity of adopting another method. The Salons were open. + +M. Leonce de Lavergne said to him: "You are now classed among +our French poets; give us a recitation in Gascon." Jasmin +explained that he could not give his reading before the members +of the Academy. "That difficulty," said his friend, "can soon +be got over: I will arrange for a meeting at the salon of one of +our most distinguished members." + +It was accordingly arranged that Jasmin should give a reading at +the house of M. Augustin Thierry, one of the greatest of living +historians. The elite of Parisian society were present on the +occasion, including Ampere, Nizard, Burnouf, Ballanche, +Villemain, and many distinguished personages of literary +celebrity. + +A word as to Jasmin's distinguished entertainer, M. Augustin +Thierry. He had written the 'History of the Conquest of England +by the Normans'--an original work of great value, though since +overshadowed by the more minute 'History of the Norman +Conquest,' by Professor Freeman. Yet Thierry's work is still of +great interest, displaying gifts of the highest and rarest kind +in felicitous combination. It shows the careful plodding of the +antiquary, the keen vision of the man of the world, the +passionate fervour of the politician, the calm dignity of the +philosophic thinker, and the grandeur of the epic poet. Thierry +succeeded in exhuming the dry bones of history, clothing them +for us anew, and presenting almost visibly the "age and body of +the times" long since passed away. + +Thierry had also written his 'Narratives of the Merovingian +Times,' and revived almost a lost epoch in the early history of +France. In writing out these and other works--the results of +immense labour and research--he partly lost his eyesight. He +travelled into Switzerland and the South of France in the company +of M. Fauriel. He could read no more, and towards the end of +the year the remains of his sight entirely disappeared. +He had now to read with the eyes of others, and to dictate +instead of writing. In his works he was assisted by the +friendship of M. Armand Carrel, and the affection and judgment +of his loving young wife. + +He proceeded with courage, and was able to complete the +fundamental basis of the two Frankish dynasties. He was about to +follow his investigations into the history of the Goths, Huns, +and Vandals, and other races which had taken part in the +dismemberment of the empire. "However extended these labours," +he says,[1] "my complete blindness could not have prevented my +going through them; I was resigned as much as a courageous man +can be: I had made a friendship with darkness. But other trials +came: acute sufferings and the decline of my health announced a +nervous disease of the most serious kind. I was obliged to +confess myself conquered, and to save, if it was still time, +the last remains of my health." + +The last words of Thierry's Autobiographical Preface are most +touching. "If, as I delight in thinking, the interest of science +is counted in the number of great national interests, I have +given my country all that the soldier mutilated on the field of +battle gives her. Whatever may be the fate of my labours, this +example I hope will not be lost. I would wish it to serve to +combat the species of moral weakness which is the disease of the +present generation; to bring back into the straight road of life +some of those enervated souls that complain of wanting faith, +that know not what to do, and seek everywhere, without finding +it, an object of worship and admiration. Why say, with so much +bitterness, that in this world, constituted as it is, there is +no air for all lungs, no employment for all minds? Is there not +opportunity for calm and serious study? and is not that a +refuge, a hope, a field within the reach of all of us? With it, +evil days are passed over without their weight being felt; every +one can make his own destiny; every one can employ his life +nobly. This is what I have done, and would do again if I had to +recommence my career: I would choose that which has brought me +to where I am. Blind, and suffering without hope, and almost +without intermission, I may give this testimony, which from me +will not appear suspicious; there is something in this world +better than sensual enjoyments, better than fortune, better than +health itself: it is devotion to science." + + +Footnotes for Chapter XI. + +[1] Autobiographical Preface to the 'Narratives of the +Merovingian Times.' + + + +CHAPTER XII. + +JASMIN'S RECITATIONS IN PARIS. + +It was a solemn and anxious moment for Jasmin when he appeared +before this select party of the most distinguished literary men +in Paris: he was no doubt placed at a considerable disadvantage, +for his judges did not even know his language. He had frequently +recited to audiences who did not know Gascon; and on such +occasions he used, before commencing his recitation, to give in +French a short sketch of his poem, with, an explanation of some +of the more difficult Gascon words. This was all; his mimic +talent did the rest. His gestures were noble and well-marked. +His eyes were flashing, but they became languishing when he +represented tender sentiments. Then his utterance changed +entirely, often suddenly, following the expressions of grief and +joy. There were now smiles, now tears in his voice. + +It was remarkable that Jasmin should first recite before the +blind historian The Blind Girl of Castel-Cuille. It may be that +he thought it his finest poem, within the compass of time +allotted to him, and that it might best please his audience. +When he began to speak in Gascon he was heard with interest. +A laugh was, indeed, raised by a portion of his youthful hearers, +but Jasmin flashed his penetrating eye upon them; and there was +no more laughter. When he reached the tenderest part he gave way +to his emotion, and wept. Tears are as contagious as smiles; +and even the academicians, who may not have wept with Rachel, +wept with Jasmin. It was the echo of sorrow to sorrow; the words +which blind despair had evoked from the blind Margaret. + +All eyes were turned to Thierry as Jasmin described the girl's +blindness. The poet omitted some of the more painful lines, +which might have occasioned sorrow to his kind entertainer. +These lines, for instance, in Gascon: + + "Jour per aoutres, toutjour! et per jou, malhurouzo, + Toutjour ney! toutjour ney! + Que fay negre len d'el! Oh! que moun amo es tristo! + Oh! que souffri, moun Diou! Couro ben doun, Batisto!" + +or, as translated by Longfellow: + + "Day for the others ever, but for me + For ever night! for ever night! + When he is gone, 'tis dark! my soul is sad! + I suffer! O my God! come, make me glad." + +When Jasmin omitted this verse, Thierry, who had listened with +rapt attention, interrupted him. "Poet," he said, "you have +omitted a passage; read the poem as you have written it." +Jasmin paused, and then added the omitted passage. "Can it be?" +said the historian: "surely you, who can describe so vividly the +agony of those who cannot see, must yourself have suffered +blindness!" The words of Jasmin might have been spoken by +Thierry himself, who in his hours of sadness often said, +"I see nothing but darkness today." + +At the end of his recital Jasmin was much applauded. Ampere, +who had followed him closely in the French translation of his +poem, said: "If Jasmin had never written verse, it would be worth +going a hundred leagues to listen to his prose." What charmed +his auditors most was his frankness. He would even ask them to +listen to what he thought his best verses. "This passage," +he would say, "is very fine." Then he read it afresh, and was +applauded. He liked to be cheered. "Applaud! applaud!" he said +at the end of his reading, "the clapping of your hands will be +heard at Agen." + +After the recitation an interesting conversation took place. +Jasmin was asked how it was that he first began to write poetry; +for every one likes to know the beginnings of self-culture. +He thereupon entered into a brief history of his life; how he had +been born poor; how his grandfather had died at the hospital; +and how he had been brought up by charity. He described his +limited education and his admission to the barber's shop; +his reading of Florian; his determination to do something of a +similar kind; his first efforts, his progress, and eventually +his success. He said that his object was to rely upon nature and +truth, and to invest the whole with imagination and sensibility +--that delicate touch which vibrated through all the poems he +had written. His auditors were riveted by his sparkling and +brilliant conversation. + +This seance at M. Thierry's completed the triumph of Jasmin at +Paris. The doors of the most renowned salons were thrown open to +him. The most brilliant society in the capital listened to him +and +feted him. Madame de Remusat sent him a present of a golden pen, +with the words: "I admire your beautiful poetry; I never forget +you; accept this little gift as a token of my sincere +admiration." Lamartine described Jasmin, perhaps with some +exaggeration, as the truest and most original of modern poets. + +Much of Jasmin's work was no doubt the result of intuition, +for "the poet is born, not made." He was not so much the poet of +art as of instinct. Yet M. Charles de Mazede said of him: +"Left to himself, without study, he carried art to perfection." +His defect of literary education perhaps helped him, by leaving +him to his own natural instincts. He himself said, with respect +to the perusal of books: "I constantly read Lafontaine, +Victor Hugo, Lamartine and Beranger." It is thus probable that +he may have been influenced to a considerable extent by his study +of the works of others. + +Before Jasmin left Paris he had the honour of being invited to +visit the royal family at the palace of Neuilly, a favourite +residence of Louis Philippe. The invitation was made through +General de Rumigny, who came to see the poet at his hotel for +the purpose. Jasmin had already made the acquaintance of the +Duke and Duchess of Orleans, while at Agen a few years before. +His visit to Neuilly was made on the 24th of May, 1842. He was +graciously received by the royal family. The Duchess of Orleans +took her seat beside him. She read the verse in Gascon which had +been engraved on the pedestal of the statue at Nerac, erected to +the memory of Henry IV. The poet was surprised as well as +charmed by her condescension. "What, Madame," he exclaimed, +"you speak the patois?" "El jou tabe" (and I also), said Louis +Philippe, who came and joined the Princess and the poet. Never +was Jasmin more pleased than when he heard the words of the King +at such a moment. + +Jasmin was placed quite at his ease by this gracious reception. +The King and the Duchess united in desiring him to recite some +of his poetry. He at once complied with their request, +and recited his Caritat and L'Abuglo ('The Blind Girl'). +After this the party engaged in conversation. +Jasmin, by no means a courtier, spoke of the past, of Henry IV., +and especially of Napoleon--" L'Ampereur," as he described him. +Jasmin had, in the first volume of his 'Papillotos,' written +some satirical pieces on the court and ministers of Louis +Philippe. His friends wished him to omit these pieces from the +new edition of his works, which was about to be published; but he +would not consent to do so. "I must give my works," he said, +"just as they were composed; their suppression would be a +negation of myself, and an act of adulation unworthy of any +true-minded man." Accordingly they remained in the 'Papillotos.' + +Before he left the royal party, the Duchess of Orleans presented +Jasmin with a golden pin, ornamented with pearls and diamonds; +and the King afterwards sent him, as a souvenir of his visit to +the Court, a beautiful gold watch, ornamented with diamonds. +Notwithstanding the pleasure of this visit, Jasmin, as with a +prophetic eye, saw the marks of sorrow upon the countenance of +the King, who was already experiencing the emptiness of human +glory. Scarcely had Jasmin left the palace when he wrote to his +friend Madame de Virens, at Agen: "On that noble face I could +see, beneath the smile, the expression of sadness; so that from +to-day I can no longer say: 'Happy as a King.'" + +Another entertainment, quite in contrast with his visit to the +King, was the banquet which Jasmin received from the barbers and +hair-dressers of Paris. He there recited the verses which he had +written in their honour. M. Boisjoslin[1] says that half the +barbers of Paris are Iberiens. For the last three centuries, +in all the legends and anecdotes, the barber is always a Gascon. +The actor, the singer, often came from Provence, but much oftener +from Gascony: that is the country of la parole. + +During Jasmin's month at Paris he had been unable to visit many +of the leading literary men; but he was especially anxious to +see M. Chateaubriand, the father of modern French literature. +Jasmin was fortunate in finding Chateaubriand at home, at 112 +Rue du Bac. He received Jasmin with cordiality. "I know you +intimately already," said the author of the 'Genius of +Christianity;' "my friends Ampere and Fauriel have often spoken +of you. They understand you, they love and admire you. They +acknowledge your great talent,' though they have long since bade +their adieu to poetry; you know poets are very wayward," he +added, with a sly smile. "You have a happy privilege, my dear +sir: when our age turns prosy, you have but to take your lyre, +in the sweet country of the south, and resuscitate the glory of +the Troubadours. They tell me, that in one of your recent +journeys you evoked enthusiastic applause, and entered many +towns carpeted with flowers. Ah, mon Dieu, we can never do that +with our prose!" + +"Ah, dear sir," said Jasmin, "you have achieved much more glory +than I. Without mentioning the profound respect with which all +France regards you, posterity and the world will glorify you." + +"Glory, indeed," replied Chateaubriand, with a sad smile. +"What is that but a flower that fades and dies; but speak to me +of your sweet south; it is beautiful. I think of it, as of +Italy; indeed it sometimes seems to me better than that glorious +country!" + +Notwithstanding his triumphant career at Paris, Jasmin often +thought of Agen, and of his friends and relations at home. +"Oh, my wife, my children, my guitar, my workshop, my papillotos, +my pleasant Gravier, my dear good friends, with what pleasure I +shall again see you." That was his frequent remark in his +letters to Agen. He was not buoyed up by the praises he had +received. He remained, as usual, perfectly simple in his +thoughts, ways, and habits; and when the month had elapsed, +he returned joyfully to his daily work at Agen. + +Jasmin afterwards described the recollections of his visit in +his 'Voyage to Paris' (Moun Bouyatage a Paris). It was a happy +piece of poetry; full of recollections of the towns and +departments through which he journeyed, and finally of his +arrival in Paris. Then the wonders of the capital, the crowds in +the streets, the soldiers, the palaces, the statues and columns, +the Tuileries where the Emperor had lived. + + "I pass, and repass, not a soul I know, + Not one Agenais in this hurrying crowd; + No one salutes or shakes me by the hand." + +And yet, he says, what a grand world it is! how tasteful! +how fashionable! There seem to be no poor. They are all ladies +and gentlemen. Each day is a Sabbath; and under the trees the +children play about the fountains. So different from Agen! +He then speaks of his interview with Louis Philippe and the +royal family, his recital of L'Abuglo before "great ladies, +great writers, lords, ministers, and great savants;" and he +concludes his poem with the words: "Paris makes me proud, +but Agen makes me happy." + +The poem is full of the impressions of his mind at the time-- +simple, clear, naive. It is not a connected narrative, +nor a description of what he saw, but it was full of admiration +of Paris, the centre of France, and, as Frenchmen think, of +civilisation. It is the simple wonder of the country cousin +who sees Paris for the first time--the city that had so long been +associated with his recollections of the past. And perhaps he +seized its more striking points more vividly than any regular +denizen of the capital. + + +Footnotes for Chapter XII. + +[1] 'Les Peuples de la France: Ethnographie Nationale.' (Didier.) + + + +CHAPTER XIII. + +JASMIN AND HIS ENGLISH CRITICS. + +Jasmin's visit to Paris in 1842 made his works more extensively +known, both at home and abroad. His name was frequently +mentioned in the Parisian journals, and Frenchmen north of the +Loire began to pride themselves on their Gascon poet. His Blind +Girl had been translated into English, Spanish, and Italian. +The principal English literary journal, the Athenaeum, called +attention to his works a few months after his appearance in +Paris.[1] The editor introduced the subject in the following +words: + +"On the banks of the Garonne, in the picturesque and ancient +town of Agen, there exists at this moment a man of genius of the +first order--a rustic Beranger, a Victor Hugo, a Lamartine-- +a poet full of fire, originality, and feeling--an actor +superior to any now in France, excepting Rachel, whom he +resembles both in his powers of declamation and his fortunes. +He is not unknown--he is no mute inglorious Milton; for the first +poets, statesmen, and men of letters in France have been to +visit him. His parlour chimney-piece, behind his barber's shop, +is covered with offerings to his genius from royalty and rank. +His smiling, dark-eyed wife, exhibits to the curious the tokens +of her husband's acknowledged merit; and gold and jewels shine +in the eyes of the astonished stranger, who, having heard his +name, is led to stroll carelessly into the shop, attracted by a +gorgeous blue cloth hung outside, on which he may have read the +words, Jasmin, Coiffeur." + +After mentioning the golden laurels, and the gifts awarded to +him by those who acknowledged his genius, the editor proceeds to +mention his poems in the Gascon dialect--his Souvenirs his +Blind Girl and his Franconnette--and then refers to his +personal appearance. "Jasmin is handsome in person, with eyes +full of intelligence, of good features, a mobility of expression +absolutely electrifying, a manly figure and an agreeable address; +but his voice is harmony itself, and its changes have an effect +seldom experienced on or off the stage. The melody attributed +to Mrs. Jordan seems to approach it nearest. Had he been an +actor instead of a poet, he would have 'won all hearts his +way'... On the whole, considering the spirit, taste, pathos, and +power of this poet, who writes in a patois hitherto confined to +the lower class of people in a remote district--considering the +effect that his verses have made among educated persons, both +French and foreign, it is impossible not to look upon him as +one of the remarkable characters of his age, and to award him, +as the city of Clemence Isaure has done, the Golden Laurel, +as the first of the revived Troubadours, destined perhaps to +rescue his country from the reproach of having buried her poetry +in the graves of Alain Chartier and Charles of Orleans, +four centuries ago." + +It is probable that this article in the Athenaeum was written by +Miss Louisa Stuart Costello, who had had an interview with the +poet, in his house at Agen, some years before. While making her +tour through Auvergne and Languedoc in 1840,[2] she states that +she picked up three charming ballads, and was not aware that +they had ever been printed. She wrote them down merely by ear, +and afterwards translated Me cal Mouri into English (see page +57). The ballad was very popular, and was set to music. She did +not then know the name of the composer, but when she ascertained +that the poet was "one Jasmin of Agen," she resolved to go out +of her way and call upon him, when on her journey to the +Pyrenees about two years later.[3] She had already heard much +about him before she arrived, as he was regarded in Gascony as +"the greatest poet in modern times." She had no difficulty in +finding his shop at the entrance to the Promenade du Gravier, +with the lines in large gold letters, "Jasmin, Coiffeur" + +Miss Costello entered, and was welcomed by a smiling dark-eyed +woman, who informed her that her husband was busy at that moment +dressing a customer's hair, but begged that she would walk into +his parlour at the back of the shop. Madame Jasmin took +advantage of her husband's absence to exhibit the memorials +which he had received for his gratuitous services on behalf of +the public. There was the golden laurel from the city of +Toulouse; the golden cup from the citizens of Auch, the gold +watch with chain and seals from "Le Roi" Louis Philippe, the ring +presented by the Duke of Orleans, the pearl pin from the Duchess, +the fine service of linen presented by the citizens of Pau, +with other offerings from persons of distinction. + +At last Jasmin himself appeared, having dressed his customer's +hair. Miss Costello describes his manner as well-bred and +lively, and his language as free and unembarrassed. He said, +however, that he was ill, and too hoarse to read. He spoke in a +broad Gascon accent, very rapidly and even eloquently. He told +the story of his difficulties and successes; how his grandfather +had been a beggar, and all his family very poor, but that now he +was as rich as he desired to be. His son, he said, was placed in +a good position at Nantes, and he exhibited his picture with +pride. Miss Costello told him that she had seen his name +mentioned in an English Review. Jasmin said the review had been +sent to him by Lord Durham, who had paid him a visit; and then +Miss Costello spoke of Me cal Mouri, as the first poem of his +that she had seen. "Oh," said he, "that little song is not my +best composition: it was merely my first." + +His heart was now touched. He immediately forgot his hoarseness, +and proceeded to read some passages from his poems. "If I were +only well," said he, "and you would give me the pleasure of your +company for some time, I would kill you with weeping: I would +make you die with distress for my poor Margarido, my pretty +Franconnette." He then took up two copies of his Las Papillotos, +handed one to Miss Costello, where the translation was given in +French, and read from the other in Gascon. + +"He began," says the lady, "in a rich soft voice, and as we +advanced we found ourselves carried away by the spell of his +enthusiasm. His eyes swam in tears; he became pale and red; +he trembled; he recovered himself; his face was now joyous, +now exulting, gay, jocose; in fact, he was twenty actors in one; +he rang the changes from Rachel to Bouffe; and he finished by +relieving us of our tears, and overwhelming us with astonishment. +He would have been a treasure on the stage; for he is still, +though his youth is past, remarkably good-looking and striking; +with black, sparkling eyes of intense expression; a fine ruddy +complexion; a countenance of wondrous mobility; a good figure, +and action full of fire and grace: he has handsome hands, +which he uses with infinite effect; and on the whole he is the +best actor of the kind I ever saw. I could now quite understand +what a Troubadour or jongleur he might be; and I look upon Jasmin +as a revived specimen of that extinct race." + +Miss Costello proceeded on her journey to Bearn and the Pyrenees, +and on her return northwards she again renewed her acquaintance +with Jasmin and his dark-eyed wife. "I did not expect," she +says, "that I should be recognised; but the moment I entered the +little shop I was hailed as an old friend. 'Ah' cried Jasmin, +'enfin la voila encore!' I could not but be flattered by this +recollection, but soon found that it was less on my own account +that I was thus welcomed, than because circumstances had occurred +to the poet that I might perhaps explain. He produced several +French newspapers, in which he pointed out to me an article +headed 'Jasmin a Londres,' being a translation of certain notices +of himself which had appeared in a leading English literary +journal the Athenaeum .... I enjoyed his surprise, while I +informed him that I knew who was the reviewer and translator; and +explained the reason for the verses giving pleasure in an English +dress, to the superior simplicity of the English language over +modern French, for which he had a great contempt, as unfitted for +lyrical composition.[4] He inquired of me respecting Burns, +to whom he had been likened, and begged me to tell him something +about Moore. + +"He had a thousand things to tell me; in particular, that he had +only the day before received a letter from the Duchess of +Orleans, informing him that she had ordered a medal of her late +husband to be struck, the first of which should be sent to him. +He also announced the agreeable news of the King having granted +him a pension of a thousand francs. He smiled and wept by turns +as he told all this; and declared that, much as he was elated at +the possession of a sum which made him a rich man for life +(though it was only equal to 42 sterling), the kindness of the +Duchess gratified him still more. + +"He then made us sit down while he read us two new poems; both +charming, and full of grace and naivete; and one very affecting, +being an address to the King, alluding, to the death of his son. + +"As he read, his wife stood by, and fearing that we did not +comprehend the language, she made a remark to that effect, to +which he answered impatiently, 'Nonsense! don't you see they are +in tears?' This was unanswerable; we were allowed to hear the +poem to the end, and I certainly never listened to anything more +feelingly and energetically delivered. + +"We had much conversation, for he was anxious to detain us; and +in the course of it, he told me that he had been by some accused +of vanity. 'Oh!' he exclaimed, 'what would you have? I am a +child of nature, and cannot conceal my feelings; the only +difference between me and a man of refinement is, that he knows +how to conceal his vanity and exaltation at success, while I let +everybody see my emotions.' + +"His wife drew me aside, and asked my opinion as to how much +money it would cost to pay Jasmin's expenses, if he undertook a +journey to England. 'However,' she added, 'I dare say he need be +at no charge, for of course your Queen has read that article in +his favour, and knows his merit. She probably will send for him, +pay all the expenses of his journey, and give him great fetes in +London!" Miss Costello, knowing the difficulty of obtaining +Royal recognition of literary merit in England, unless it +appears in forma pauperis, advised the barber-poet to wait till +he was sent for--a very good advice, for then it would be never! +She concludes her recollections with this remark: "I left the +happy pair, promising to let them know the effect that the +translation of Jasmin's poetry produced in the Royal mind. +Indeed, their earnest simplicity was really entertaining." + +A contributor to the Westminster Review[5] also gave a very +favourable notice of Jasmin and his poetry, which, he said, was +less known in England than it deserved to be; nor was it well +known in France since he wrote in a patois. Yet he had been +well received by some of the most illustrious men in the capital, +where unaided genius, to be successful, must be genius indeed; +and there the Gascon bard had acquired for himself a fame of +which any man might well be proud. + +The reviewer said that the Gascon patois was peculiarly +expressive and heart-touching, and in the South it was held in +universal honour. Jasmin, he continued, is what Burns was to the +Scottish peasantry; only he received his honours in his lifetime. +The comparison with Burns, however, was not appropriate. +Burns had more pith, vigour, variety, and passion, than Jasmin +who was more of a descriptive writer. In some respects Jasmin +resembled Allan Ramsay, a barber and periwig-maker, like himself, +whose Gentle Shepherd met with as great a success as Jasmin's +Franconnette. Jasmin, however, was the greater poet of the two. + +The reviewer in the Westminster, who had seen Jasmin at Agen, +goes on to speak of the honours he had received in the South and +at Paris--his recitations in the little room behind his shop +--his personal appearance, his hearty and simple manners--and +yet his disdain of the mock modesty it would be affectation to +assume. The reviewer thus concludes: "From the first +prepossessing, he gains upon you every moment; and when he is +fairly launched into the recital of one of his poems, his rich +voice does full justice to the harmonious Gascon. The animation +and feeling he displays becomes contagious. Your admiration +kindles, and you become involved in his ardour. You forget the +little room in which he recites; you altogether forget the +barber, and rise with him into a superior world, an experience +in a way you will never forget, the power exercised by a true +poet when pouring forth his living thoughts in his own verses.... + +"Such is Jasmin--lively in imagination, warm in temperament, +humorous, playful, easily made happy, easily softened, +enthusiastically fond of his province, of its heroes, of its +scenery, of its language, and of its manners. He is every inch a +Gascon, except that he has none of that consequential +self-importance, or of the love of boasting and exaggeration, +which, falsely or not, is said to characterise his countrymen. + +"Born of the people, and following a humble trade, he is proud +of both circumstances; his poems are full of allusions to his +calling; and without ever uttering a word in disparagment of +other classes, he everywhere sings the praises of his own. +He stands by his order. It is from it he draws his poetry; +it is there he finds his romance. + +"And this is his great charm, as it is his chief distinction. +He invests virtue, however lowly, with the dignity that belongs +to it. He rewards merit, however obscure, with its due honour. +Whatever is true or beautiful or good, finds from him an +immediate sympathy. The true is never rejected by him because it +is commonplace; nor the beautiful because it is everyday; nor +the good because it is not also great. He calls nothing unclean +but vice and crime, He sees meanness in nothing but in the sham, +the affectation, and the spangles of outward show. + +"But while it is in exalting lowly excellence that Jasmin takes +especial delight, he is not blind, as some are, to excellence in +high places. All he seeks is the sterling and the real. +He recognises the sparkle of the diamond as well as that of the +dewdrop. But he will not look upon paste. + +"He is thus pre-eminently the poet of nature; not, be it +understood, of inanimate nature only, but of nature also, as it +exists in our thoughts, and words, and acts of nature as it is +to be found living and moving in humanity. But we cannot paint +him so well as he paints himself. We well remember how, in his +little shop at Agen, he described to us what he believed to be +characteristic of his poetry; and we find in a letter from him +to M. Leonce de Lavergne the substance of what he then said to +us: + +"'I believe,' he said, 'that I have portrayed a part of the +noble sentiments which men and women may experience here below. +I believe that I have emancipated myself more than anyone has +ever done from every school, and I have placed myself in more +direct communication with nature. My poetry comes from my heart. +I have taken my pictures from around me in the most humble +conditions of men; and I have done for my native language all +that I could.'" + +A few years later Mr. Angus B. Reach, a well-known author, +and a contributor to Punch in its earlier days, was appointed a +commissioner by the Morning Chronicle to visit, for industrial +purposes, the districts in the South of France. His reports +appeared in the Chronicle; but in 1852, Mr. Reach published a +fuller account of his journeys in a volume entitled 'Claret and +Olives, from the Garonne to the Rhone.'[6] In passing through +the South of France, Mr. Reach stopped at Agen. "One of my +objects," he says, "was to pay a literary visit to a very +remarkable man--Jasmin, the peasant-poet of Provence and +Languedoc--the 'Last of the Troubadours,' as, with more truth +than is generally to be found in ad captandum designations, he +terms himself, and is termed by the wide circle of his admirers; +for Jasmin's songs and rural epics are written in the patois of +the people, and that patois is the still almost unaltered Langue +d'Oc--the tongue of the chivalric minstrelsy of yore. + +"But Jasmin is a Troubadour in another sense than that of merely +availing himself of the tongue of the menestrels. He publishes, +certainly, conforming so far to the usages of our degenerate +modern times; but his great triumphs are his popular recitations +of his poems. Standing bravely up before an expectant assembly +of perhaps a couple of thousand persons--the hot-blooded and +quick-brained children of the South--the modern Troubadour +plunges over head and ears into his lays, evoking both himself +and his applauding audiences into fits of enthusiasm and +excitement, which, whatever may be the excellence of the poetry, +an Englishman finds it difficult to conceive or account for. + +"The raptures of the New Yorkers and Bostonians with Jenny Lind +are weak and cold compared with the ovations which Jasmin has +received. At a recitation given shortly before my visit to Auch, +the ladies present actually tore the flowers and feathers out of +their bonnets, wove them into extempore garlands, and flung them +in showers upon the panting minstrel; while the editors of the +local papers next morning assured him, in floods of flattering +epigrams, that humble as he was now, future ages would +acknowledge the 'divinity' of a Jasmin! + +There is a feature, however, about these recitations which is +still more extraordinary than the uncontrollable fits of popular +enthusiasm which they produce. His last entertainment before I +saw him was given in one of the Pyrenean cities, and produced +2,000 francs. Every sous of this went to the public charities; +Jasmin will not accept a stiver of money so earned. With a +species of perhaps overstrained, but certainly exalted, +chivalric feeling, he declines to appear before an audience to +exhibit for money the gifts with which nature has endowed him. + +"After, perhaps, a brilliant tour through the South of France, +delighting vast audiences in every city, and flinging many +thousands of francs into every poor-box which he passes, +the poet contentedly returns to his humble occupation, and to +the little shop where he earns his daily bread by his daily toil +as a barber and hair-dresser. It will be generally admitted that +the man capable of self-denial of so truly heroic a nature as +this, is no ordinary poetaster. + +"One would be puzzled to find a similar instance of perfect and +absolute disinterestedness in the roll of minstrels, from Homer +downwards; and, to tell the truth, there does seem a spice of +Quixotism mingled with and tinging the pure fervour of the +enthusiast. Certain it is, that the Troubadours of yore, upon +whose model Jasmin professes to found his poetry, were by no +means so scrupulous. 'Largesse' was a very prominent word in +their vocabulary; and it really seems difficult to assign any +satisfactory reason for a man refusing to live upon the exercise +of the finer gifts of his intellect, and throwing himself for +his bread upon the daily performance of mere mechanical drudgery. + +"Jasmin, as may be imagined, is well known in Agen. I was +speedily directed to his abode, near the open Place of the town, +and within earshot of the rush of the Garonne; and in a few +moments I found myself pausing before the lintel of the modest +shop inscribed Jasmin, Perruquier, Coiffeur des jeunes Gens. +A little brass basin dangled above the threshold; and looking +through the glass I saw the master of the establishment shaving +a fat-faced neighbour. Now I had come to see and pay my +compliments to a poet, and there did appear to me to be +something strangely awkward and irresistibly ludicrous in having +to address, to some extent, in a literary and complimentary +vein, an individual actually engaged in so excessively prosaic +and unelevated a species of performance. + +"I retreated, uncertain what to do, and waited outside until the +shop was clear. Three words explained the nature of my visit, +and Jasmin received me with a species of warm courtesy, which +was very peculiar and very charming; dashing at once, with the +most clattering volubility and fiery speed of tongue, into a +sort of rhapsodical discourse upon poetry in general, and the +patois of it, spoken in Languedoc, Provence, and Gascony in +particular. + +"Jasmin is a well-built and strongly limbed man of about fifty, +with a large, massive head, and a broad pile of forehead, +overhanging two piercingly bright black-eyes, and features which +would be heavy, were they allowed a moment's repose from the +continual play of the facial muscles, sending a never-ending +series of varying expressions across the dark, swarthy visage. +Two sentences of his conversation were quite sufficient to stamp +his individuality. + +"The first thing which struck me was the utter absence of all +the mock-modesty, and the pretended self-underrating, +conventionally assumed by persons expecting to be complimented +upon their sayings or doings. Jasmin seemed thoroughly to +despise all such flimsy hypocrisy. 'God only made four Frenchmen +poets,' he burst out with, 'and their names are, Corneille, +Lafontaine, Beranger, and Jasmin!' + +"Talking with the most impassioned vehemence, and the most +redundant energy of gesture, he went on to declaim against the +influences of civilisation upon language and manners as being +fatal to all real poetry. If the true inspiration yet existed +upon earth, it burned in the hearts and brains of men far +removed from cities, salons, and the clash and din of social +influences. Your only true poets were the unlettered peasants, +who poured forth their hearts in song, not because they wished +to make poetry, but because they were joyous and true. + +"Colleges, academies, schools of learning, schools of literature, +and all such institutions, Jasmin denounced as the curse and the +bane of true poetry. They had spoiled, he said, the very +French language. You could no more write poetry in French now +than you could in arithmetical figures. The language had been +licked and kneaded, and tricked out, and plumed, and dandified, +and scented, and minced, and ruled square, and chipped-- +(I am trying to give an idea of the strange flood of epithets +he used)--and pranked out, and polished, and muscadined--until, +for all honest purposes of true high poetry, it was mere +unavailable and contemptible jargon. + +"It might do for cheating agents de change on the Bourse-- +for squabbling politicians in the Chambers--for mincing dandies +in the salons--for the sarcasm of Scribe-ish comedies, or the +coarse drolleries of Palais Royal farces, but for poetry the +French language was extinct. All modern poets who used it were +faiseurs de phrase--thinking about words and not feelings. +'No, no,' my Troubadour continued, 'to write poetry, you must get +the language of a rural people--a language talked among fields, +and trees, and by rivers and mountains--a language never +minced or disfigured by academies and dictionary-makers, +and journalists; you must have a language like that which your +own Burns, whom I read of in Chateaubriand, used; or like the +brave, old, mellow tongue--unchanged for centuries--stuffed with +the strangest, quaintest, richest, raciest idioms and odd solemn +words, full of shifting meanings and associations, at once +pathetic and familiar, homely and graceful--the language which +I write in, and which has never yet been defiled by calculating +men of science or jack-a-dandy litterateurs.' "The above +sentences may be taken as a specimen of the ideas with which +Jasmin seemed to be actually overflowing from every pore in his +body--so rapid, vehement, and loud was his enunciation of +them. Warming more and more as he went on, he began to sketch +the outlines of his favourite pieces. Every now and then +plunging into recitation, jumping from French into patois, +and from patois into French, and sometimes spluttering them out, +mixed up pell-mell together. Hardly pausing to take breath, he +rushed about the shop as he discoursed, lugging out, from old +chests and drawers, piles of old newspapers and reviews, +pointing out a passage here in which the estimate of the writer +pleased him, a passage there which showed how perfectly the +critic had mistaken the scope of his poetic philosophy, and +exclaiming, with the most perfect naivete, how mortifying it was +for men of original and profound genius to be misconceived and +misrepresented by pigmy whipper-snapper scamps of journalists. + +"There was one review of his works, published in a London +'Recueil,' as he called it, to which Jasmin referred with great +pleasure. A portion of it had been translated, he said, in the +preface to a French edition of his works; and he had most of the +highly complimentary phrases by heart. The English critic, +he said, wrote in the Tintinum, and he looked dubiously at me +when I confessed that I had never heard of the organ in question. + +'Pourtant,' he said, 'je vous le ferai voir,' and I soon +perceived that Jasmin's Tintinum was no other than the Athenaeum! + +"In the little back drawing-room behind the shop, to which the +poet speedily introduced me, his sister [it must have been his +wife], a meek, smiling woman, whose eyes never left him, +following as he moved with a beautiful expression of love and +pride in his glory, received me with simple cordiality. The +walls were covered with testimonials, presentations, and +trophies, awarded by critics and distinguished persons, literary +and political, to the modern Troubadour. Not a few of these are +of a nature to make any man most legitimately proud. Jasmin +possesses gold and silver vases, laurel branches, snuff-boxes, +medals of honour, and a whole museum of similar gifts, inscribed +with such characteristic and laconiclegends as 'Au Poete, Les +Jeunes filles de Toulouse reconnaissantes!' &c. + +"The number of garlands of immortelles, wreaths of ivy-jasmin +(punning upon the name), laurel, and so forth, utterly +astonished me. Jasmin preserved a perfect shrubbery of such +tokens; and each symbol had, of course, its pleasant associative +remembrance. One was given by the ladies of such a town; another +was the gift of the prefect's wife of such a department. +A handsome full-length portrait had been presented to the poet by +the municipal authorities of Agen; and a letter from M. +Lamartine, framed, above the chimney-piece, avowed the writer's +belief that the Troubadour of the Garonne was the Homer of the +modern world. M. Jasmin wears the ribbon of the Legion of +Honour, and has several valuable presents which were made to him +by the late ex-king and different members of the Orleans family. + +"I have been somewhat minute in giving an account of my +interview with M. Jasmin, because he is really the popular poet +--the peasant poet of the South of France--the Burns of Limousin, +Provece, and Languedoc. His songs are in the mouths of all who +sing in the fields and by the cottage firesides. Their subjects +are always rural, naive, and full of rustic pathos and +rustic drollery. To use his words to me, he sings what the +hearts of the people say, and he can no more help it than can +the birds in the trees. Translations into French of his main +poems have appeared; and compositions more full of natural and +thoroughly unsophisticated pathos and humour it would be +difficult to find. + +"Jasmin writes from a teeming brain and a beaming heart; +and there is a warmth and a glow, and a strong, happy, triumphant +march of song about his poems, which carry you away in the +perusal as they carried away the author in the writing. I speak, + +of course, from the French translations, and I can well conceive +that they give but a comparatively faint transcript of the pith +and power of the original. The patois in which these poems are +written is the common peasant language of the South-west of +France. It varies in some slight degree in different districts, +but not more than the broad Scotch of Forfarshire differs from +that of Ayrshire. As for the dialect itself, it seems in the +main to be a species of cross between old French and Spanish-- +holding, however, I am assured, rather to the latter tongue than +to the former, and constituting a bold, copious, and vigorous +speech, very rich in its colouring, full of quaint words and +expressive phrases, and especially strong in all that relates to +the language of the passions and affections. + +"I hardly know how long my interview with Jasmin might have +lasted, for he seemed by no means likely to tire of talking, and +his talk was too good and too curious not to be listened to with +interest; but the sister [or wife] who had left us for a moment, +coming back with the intelligence that there was quite a +gathering of customers in the shop, I hastily took my leave, +the poet squeezing my hand like a vice, and immediately +thereafter dashing into all that appertains to curling-irons, +scissors, razors, and lather, with just as much apparent energy +and enthusiasm as he had flung into his rhapsodical discourse on +poetry and language!" + +It is scarcely necessary to apologise for the length of this +extract, because no author that we know of--not even any +French author--has given so vivid a description of the man as +he lived, moved, and talked, as Mr. Reach; and we believe the +reader will thank us for quoting from an almost entirely +forgotten book, the above graphic description of the Gascon Poet. + + +Footnotes for Chapter XIII. + +[1] The Athenaeum, 5th November, 1842. 'The Curl-papers of +Jasmin, the Barber of Agen.' ('Las Papillotos de Jasmin, +Coiffeur.') + +[2] 'A Pilgrimage to Auvergne, from Picardy to Velay.' 1842. + +[3] 'Bearn and the Pyrenees.' 1844. + +[4] "There are no poets in France now", he said to Miss Costello. +"There cannot be. The language does not admit of it. +Where is the fire, the spirit, the expression, the tenderness, +the force, of the Gascon? French is but the ladder to reach the +first floor of the Gascon; how can you get up to a height except +by means of a ladder?" + +[5] Westminster Review for October, 1849. + +[6] Published by David Bogue, Fleet Street. 1852. Mr. Reach +was very particular about the pronunciation of his name. Being a +native of Inverness, the last vowel was guttural. One day, +dining with Douglas Jerrold, who insisted on addressing him as +Mr. Reek or Reech, "No," said the other; "my name is neither Reek +nor Reech,but Reach," "Very well," said Jerrold, "Mr. Reach +will you have a Peach?" + + + +CHAPTER XIV. + +JASMIN'S TOURS OF PHILANTHROPY. + +The poet had no sooner returned from his visit to Paris than he +was besieged with appeals to proceed to the relief of the poor +in the South of France. Indeed, for more than thirty years he +devoted a considerable part of his time to works of charity and +benevolence. He visited successively cities and towns so far +remote from each other, as Bayonne and Marseilles, Bagneres and +Lyons. He placed his talents at the service of the public from +motives of sheer benevolence, for the large collections which +were made at his recitations were not of the slightest personal +advantage to himself. + +The first place he visited on this occasion was Carcassonne, +south-east of Toulouse,--a town of considerable importance, +and containing a large number of poor people. M. Dugue, prefect +of the Aude, wrote to Jasmin: "The crying needs of this winter +have called forth a desire to help the poor; but the means are +sadly wanting. Our thoughts are necessarily directed to you. +Will you come and help us?" Jasmin at once complied. He was +entertained by the prefect. + +After several successful recitations, a considerable sum of +money was collected for the relief of the poor of Carcassonne. +To perpetuate the recollection of Jasmin's noble work, and to +popularise the genius of the poet, the Prefect of the Aude +arranged that Jasmin's poems should be distributed amongst all +the schools of his department, and for this purpose a portion of +the surplus funds was placed at the disposal of the +Council-general. + +Bordeaux next appealed to the poet. He had a strong love for +Bordeaux. It was the place where he had first recited his Blind +Girl, where he had first attracted public attention, and where +he was always admired and always feted. The Orphan Institution +of the city was in difficulties; its funds were quite exhausted; +and who should be invited to come to their help but their old +friend Jasmin? He was again enthusiastically received. +The Franklin Rooms were crowded, and money flowed quickly into +the orphans' treasury. Among the poems he recited was the +following:-- + +THE SHEPHERD AND THE GASCON POET.[1] + +Aux Bordelais, au jour de ma grande Seance au Casino. + + In a far land, I know not where, + Ere viol's sigh; or organ's swell, + Had made the sons of song aware + That music! is a potent spell: + A shepherd to a city came, + Play'd on his pipe, and rose to fame. + He sang of fields, and at each close, + Applause from ready hands arose. + + The simple swain was hail'd and crown'd, + In mansions where the great reside, + And cheering smiles and praise he found, + And in his heart rose honest pride. + All seem'd with joy and rapture gleaming, + He trembled lest he was but dreaming. + + But, modest still, his soul was moved; + Yet of his hamlet was his thought-- + Of friends at home, and her he loved, + When back his laurel branch he brought. + And pleasure beaming in his eyes, + Enjoyed their welcome and surprise. + 'Twas thus with me when Bordeaux deigned + To listen to my rustic song: + Whose music praise and honour gain'd + More than to rural strains belong. + + Delighted, charm'd, I scarcely knew + Whence sprung this life so fresh and new, + And to my heart I whispered low, + When to my fields returned again, + "Is not the Gascon Poet now + As happy as the shepherd swain?" + + The minstrel never can forget, + The spot where first success he met; + But he, the shepherd who, of yore, + Has charm'd so many a list'ing ear, + Came back, and was beloved no more. + He found all changed and cold and drear + A skilful hand had touch'd the flute; + His pipe and he were scorn'd--were mute. + + But I, once more I dared appear, + And found old friends so true and dear. + The mem'ry of my ancient lays + Lived in their hearts, awoke their praise. + Oh! they did more. I was their guest; + Again was welcomed and caress't, + And, twined with their melodious tongue, + Again my rustic carol rung; + And my old language proudly found + Her words had list'ners pressing round. + Thus, though condemn'd the shepherd's skill, + The Gascon Poet triumph'd still. + +At the end of the recital a pretty little orphan girl came +forward and presented Jasmin with a laurel adorned with a ruby, +with these words in golden letters, + +To Jasmin, with the orphans' gratitude." Jasmin finally +descended from the rostrum and mixed with the audience, +who pressed round him and embraced him. The result was the +collection of more than a thousand francs for the orphans' fund. + +No matter what the institution was, or where it was situated, +if it was in difficulties, and Jasmin was appealed to, provided +it commended itself to his judgment, he went far and near to give +his help. A priest at a remote place in Perigord had for some +time endeavoured to found an agricultural colony for the benefit +of the labourers, and at last wrote to Jasmin for assistance. +The work had been patronised by most of the wealthy people of +the province; but the colony did not prosper. There remained no +one to help them but the noble barber of Agen. Without appealing +any more to the rich for further aid, the priest applied to +Jasmin through a mutual friend, one of the promoters of the +undertaking, who explained to him the nature of the enterprise. +The following was Jasmin's answer:-- + +"MY DEAR SIR,--I have already heard of the Pious Work of the +curate of Vedey, and shall be most happy to give him my services +for one or two evenings, though I regret that I must necessarily +defer my visit until after the month of February next. In May I +have promised to go twice to the help of the Albigenses, in aid +of their hospital and the poor of Alba. I start to-morrow for +Cahors, to help in a work equally benevolent, begun long ago. +I am engaged for the month of August for Foix and Bagneres de +Luchon, in behalf of a church and an agricultural society. +All my spare time, you will observe, is occupied; and though I +may be tired out by my journeys, I will endeavour to rally my +forces and do all that I can for you. Tell the curate of Vedey, +therefore, that as his labour has been of long continuance, +my Muse will be happy to help his philanthropic work during one +or two evenings at Perigueux, in the month of March next. + +"Yours faithfully, + +"J. JASMIN." + +In due time Jasmin fulfilled his promise, and a considerable sum +was collected in aid of the agricultural colony, which, to his +great joy, was eventually established and prospered. On another +and a very different occasion the Society of Arts and Literature +appealed to him. Their object was to establish a fund for the +assistance of the poorer members of their craft--something +like the Royal Literary Fund of London. The letter addressed to +him was signed by Baron Taylor, Ingres, Ambroise Thomas, Auber, +Meyerbeer, Adolphe Adam, Jules Simon, Zimmermann, Halevy, and +others. It seemed extraordinary that men of such distinction in +art and literature should appeal to a man of such humble +condition, living at so remote a place as Agen. + +"We ask your help," they said, "for our work, which has only +been begun, and is waiting for assistance. We desire to have the +encouragement and powerful support of men of heart and +intelligence. Do not be surprised, sir, that we address this +demand to you. We have not yet appealed to the part of France in +which you live; but we repose our hopes in your admirable +talent, inspired as it is with Christian charity, which has +already given birth to many benefactions, for the help of +churches, schools, and charitable institutions, and has spread +amongst your compatriots the idea of relieving the poor and +necessitous." Incited by these illustrious men, Jasmin at once +took the field, and by his exertions did much towards the +foundation of the proposed institution. + +The strength of his constitution seemed to be inexhaustible. +On one occasion he went as far as Marseilles. He worked, he +walked, he travelled, he recited almost without end. Though he +sometimes complained of being over-tired, he rallied, and went on +as before. At Marseilles, for instance, he got up early in the +morning, and at 8 A.M. he was present at a private council in a +school. At 11 he presided at a meeting of the Society of Saint +Francis Xavier, where he recited several of his poems before two +thousand persons. At 2 o'clock he was present at a banquet given +in his honour. In the evening he had another triumphant +reception. In the morning he spoke of country, religion, and +work to the humbler classes, and in the evening he spoke of love +and charity to a crowded audience of distinguished ladies. He +was entertained at Marseilles like a prince, rather than like a +poet. + +He sometimes gave as many as three hundred recitations of this +sort in a year; visiting nearly every town from Bordeaux to +Marseilles for all kinds of charitable institutions. Of course +his travels were enlivened by many adventures, and some people +were unwilling to allow him to forget that he was a barber. +When at Auch, a town several miles to the south of Agen, he +resided with the mayor. The time for the meeting had nearly +arrived; but the mayor was still busy with his toilet. The +prefect of Gers was also waiting. Fearing the impatience of his +guests, the mayor opened the door of his chamber to apologise, +showing his face covered with lather. + +"Just a moment," he said; "I am just finishing my shaving." + +"Oh," said Jasmin, "why did you not perform your toilet sooner? +But now let me help you." Jasmin at once doffed his coat, +gave the finishing touch to his razor, and shaved the mayor in a +twinkling, with what he called his "hand of velvet." In a few +minutes after, Jasmin was receiving tumultuous applause for his +splendid recitations. + +Thus, as time was pressing, it was a pleasure to Jasmin to make +himself useful to his friend the mayor. But on another occasion +he treated a rich snob in the way he deserved. Jasmin had been +reciting for the benefit of the poor. At the conclusion of the +meeting, the young people of the town improvised a procession of +flambeaux and triumphantly escorted him to his hotel. + +Early next morning, while Jasmin was still asleep, he was +awakened by some one knocking at his chamber door. He rose, +opened it, and found himself in presence of one of the most +opulent persons of the town. There are vulgar people everywhere, +and this person had more wealth than courtesy. Like Jasmin, +he was a man of the people; but he had neither the grace nor the +politeness of the Gascon barber. He was but a parvenu, and his +riches had only produced an accumulation of snobbishness. +He pushed into the room, installed himself without invitation in +a chair, and, without further ceremony, proceeded:-- + +"My dear Jasmin," he said, "I am a banker--a millionaire, +as you know; I wish you to shave me with your own hand. +Please set to work at once, for I am pressed for time. +You can ask what you like for your trouble." + +"Pardon me, sir," said Jasmin, with some pride, "I only shave for +pay at home." + +"What do you say?" + +"It is true, sir; I only shave for pay at home." + +"Come, come--you are jesting! I cannot be put off. Make your +charge as much as you like--but shave me." + +"Again I say, sir, it is impossible." + +"How impossible? It seems to me that it is your trade!" + +"It is so; but at this moment I am not disposed to exercise it." + +The banker again pleaded; Jasmin was firm; and the millionaire +went away unshaved! + +During one of his recitations at Toulouse, he was introduced to +Mdlle. Roaldes, a young and beautiful lady, with whose father, +a thriving stockbroker, he stayed while in that city. His house +was magnificent and splendidly furnished. Many persons of +influence were invited to meet Jasmin, and, while there, he was +entertained with much hospitality. But, as often happens with +stockbrokers, M. Roaldes star fell; he suffered many losses, +and at length became poor and almost destitute. + +One day, while Jasmin was sharpening his razors in his shop in +Agen, who should appear but Mdlle. Therese Roaldes, sad and +dejected. It was the same young lady who had charmed him, not +only by her intellectual converse, but by her admirable musical +ability. She had sung brilliantly at the entertainment given at +her father's house, and now she came to lay her case before the +Agenaise barber! She told her whole story, ending with the +present destitution of her father--formerly the rich stockbroker. + +"What can we do now?" asked Jasmin; "something must be done at +once." + +Mdlle. Roaldes judged rightly of the generous heart of Jasmin. +He was instantly ready and willing to help her. They might not +restore her father's fortunes, but they might rescue him from +the poverty and humiliations in which his sudden reverse of +fortune had involved him. The young lady had only her voice and +her harp, but Jasmin had his "Curl-papers." Mdlle. Roaldes was +beautiful; could her beauty have influenced Jasmin? For beauty +has a wonderful power in the world. But goodness is far better, +and it was that and her filial love which principally influenced +Jasmin in now offering her his assistance. + +The two made their first appearance at Agen. They gave their +performance in the theatre, which was crowded, The name of +Mdlle. Roaldes excited the greatest sympathy, for the +misfortunes of her father were well known in the South. For this +beautiful girl to descend from her brilliant home in Toulouse to +the boards of a theatre at Agen, was a sad blow, but her courage +bore her up, and she excited the sympathetic applause of the +audience. In the midst of the general enthusiasm, Jasmin +addressed the charming lady in some lines which he had prepared +for the occasion. Holding in his hand a bouquet of flowers, +he said-- + +"Oh well they bloom for you! Mothers and daughters, +Throw flowers to her, though moistened with your tears. + +These flowers receive them, for +They bear the incense of our hearts. + +Daughter of heaven, oh, sing! your name shines bright, +The earth applauds, and God will bless you ever." + +At the conclusion of his poem, Jasmin threw his wreath of +flowers to the young lady, and in an instant she was covered +with flowers by the audience. Mdlle. Roaldes was deeply moved. +She had faced a public audience for the first time; she had been +received with applause, and from that moment she felt confidence +in her performances as well as in her labour of love. + +The poet, with the singer and harpist, made a tour in the +southern provinces, and the two muses, poetry and music, +went from town to town, enlivening and enlightening the way. +Every heart praised the poet for giving his services to his young +and beautiful friend. They applauded also the lovely woman who +made her harp-chords vibrate with her minstrel's music. +The pair went to Montauban, Albi, Toulouse, and Nimes; +they were welcomed at Avignon, the city of Petrarch and the +Popes. Marseilles forgot for a time her harbour and her ships, +and listened with rapture to the musician and the poet. + +At Marseilles Jasmin felt himself quite at home. In the +intervals between the concerts and recitals, he made many new +friends, as well as visited many old ones. His gay and genial +humour, his lively sallies, his brilliant recitals, brought him +friends from every circle. M. Merv, in a political effusion, +welcomed the Gascon poet. He was invited to a fete of +l'Athenee-Ouvier (the Workman's Athenaeum); after several +speeches, Jasmin rose and responded: + +"I am proud," he said, "of finding myself among the members of +this society, and of being welcomed by men who are doubly my +brethren--by the labour of the hands and by the labour of the +head. You have moved me and astonished me, and I have incurred +to l'Athenee-Ouvier a poetical debt which my muse can only repay +with the most tender recollections." + +Many pleasant letters passed between Jasmin and Mdlle. de +Roaldes. The lady entertained the liveliest gratitude to the +poet, who had helped her so nobly in her misfortunes. On the +morning after her first successful appearance at Agen, she +addressed to him a letter full of praise and thankfulness. She +ended it thus: "Most amiable poet, I adore your heart, and I do +homage to your genius." In a future letter she confessed that +the rays of the sun were not less welcome than the rays of his +genius, and that her music would have been comparatively +worthless but for his poetry. + +Towards the end of their joint entertainment she again wrote to +him: "You have become, my dear poet, my shower of gold, my +heaven-sent manna, while you continue your devotion to my +personal interests.... As a poet, I give you all the glory; +as a friend, I owe you the affection of my filial heart, the +hopes of a better time, and the consolation of my future days... +Let it be remembered that this good deed on your part is due +to your heart and will. May it protect you during your life, +and make you blest in the life which is to come!" + +While at Nimes, the two poet-artisans met--Reboul the baker +and Jasmin the barber. Reboul, who attended the +music-recitation, went up to Jasmin and cordially embraced him, +amidst the enthusiastic cheers of three thousand people. +Jasmin afterwards visited Reboul at his bakery, where they had a +pleasant interview with respect to the patois of Provence and +Gascony. At the same time it must be observed that Reboul did +not write in patois, but in classical French. + +Reboul had published a volume of poems which attracted the +notice and praise of Lamartine and Alexandre Dumas. Perhaps the +finest poem in the volume is entitled The Angel and Child. +Reboul had lost his wife and child; he sorrowed greatly at their +death, and this poem was the result. The idea is simple and +beautiful. An angel, noticing a lovely child in its cradle, +and deeming it too pure for earth, bears its spirit away to +Heaven. The poem has been admirably translated by Longfellow. + +Dumas, in 'Pictures of Travel in the South of France,' relates +an interview with the baker-poet of Nimes. + +"What made you a poet?" asked Dumas. + +"It was sorrow," replied Reboul--"the loss of a beloved wife +and child. I was in great grief; I sought solitude, and, finding +no one who could understand me, poured forth my grief to the +Almighty." + +"Yes," said Dumas, "I now comprehend your feelings. It is thus +that true poets become illustrious. How many men of talent only +want a great misfortune to become men of genius! You have told +me in a word the secret of your life; I know it now as well as +you do." And yet Jasmin, the contemporary of Reboul, had written +all his poetry without a sorrow, and amidst praise and +joyfulness. + +Chateaubriand, when in the South of France, called upon Reboul. +The baker met him at the door. + +"Are you M. Reboul?" inquired the author of 'The Martyrs.' + +"Which, sir--the baker or the poet?" + +"The poet, of course." + +"Then the poet cannot be seen until mid-day. At present the +baker is working at the oven." + +Chateaubriand accordingly retired, but returned at the time +appointed, and had a long and interesting conversation with +Reboul. + +While at Montpellier Jasmin received two letters from Madame +Lafarge, then in prison. The circumstances connected with her +case were much discussed in the journals of the time. She had +married at seventeen a M. Lafarge, and found after her marriage +that he had deceived her as to his property. Ill-feeling arose +between the unhappy pair, and eventually she was tried for +poisoning her husband. She was condemned with extenuating +circumstances, and imprisoned at Montpellier in 1839. +She declared that she was innocent of the crime imputed to her, +and Jasmin's faith in the virtue of womanhood led him to believe +her. +Her letters to Jasmin were touching. + +"Many pens," she said, "have celebrated your genius; let mine +touch your heart! Oh, yes, sir, you are good, noble, and +generous! I preserve every word of yours as a dear consolation; +I guard each of your promises as a holy hope. Voltaire has saved +Calas. Sing for me, sir, and I will bless your memory to the day +of my death. I am innocent!... For eight long years I have +suffered; and I am still suffering from the stain upon my honour. +I grieve for a sight of the sun, but I still love life. Sing for +me." + +She again wrote to Jasmin, endeavouring to excite his interest +by her appreciation of his poems. + +"The spirit of your work," she said, "vibrates through me in +every form. What a pearl of eulogy is Maltro! What a great work +is L'Abuglo! In the first of these poems you reach the sublime +of love without touching a single chord of passion. What purity, +and at the same time what ease and tenderness! It is not only +the fever of the heart; it is life itself, its religion, its +virtue. This poor lnnuocento does not live to love; she loves +to live.... Her love diffuses itself like a perfume--like the +scent of a flower.... In writing Maltro your muse becomes +virgin and Christian; and to dictate L'Abuglo is a crown of +flowers, violets mingled with roses, like Tibullus, Anacreon, +and Horace." + +And again: "Poet, be happy; sing in the language of your mother, +of your infancy, of your loves, your sorrows. The Gascon songs, +revived by you, can never be forgotten. Poet, be happy! The +language which you love, France will learn to admire and read, +and your brother-poets will learn to imitate you.... Spirit +speaks to spirit; genius speaks to the heart. Sing, poet, sing! +Envy jeers in vain; your Muse is French; better still, it is +Christian, and the laurel at the end of your course has two +crowns--one for the forehead of the poet and the other for the +heart of the man. Grand actions bring glory; good deeds bring +happiness." + +Although Jasmin wrote an interesting letter to Madame Lafarge, +he did not venture to sing or recite for her relief from prison. +She died before him, in 1852. + + +Footnotes for Chapter XIV. + +[1] We adopt the translation of Miss Costello. + + + +CHAPTER XV. + +JASMIN'S VINEYARD--'MARTHA THE INNOCENT.' + +Agen, with its narrow and crooked streets, is not altogether a +pleasant town, excepting, perhaps, the beautiful promenade of +the Gravier, where Jasmin lived. Yet the neighbourhood of Agen +is exceedingly picturesque, especially the wooded crags of the +Hermitage and the pretty villas near the convent of the +Carmelites. From these lofty sites a splendid view of the +neighbouring country is to be seen along the windings of the +Garonne, and far off, towards the south, to the snowy peaks of +the Pyrenees. + +Down beneath the Hermitage and the crags a road winds up the +valley towards Verona, once the home of the famous Scaligers.[1] +Near this place Jasmin bought a little vineyard, and established +his Tivoli. In this pretty spot his muse found pure air, +liberty, and privacy. He called the place--like his volume of +poems--his "Papillote," his "Curlpaper." Here, for nearly +thirty years, he spent some of his pleasantest hours, in +exercise, in reflection, and in composition. In commemoration of +his occupation of the site, he composed his Ma Bigno--'My +Vineyard'--one of the most simple and graceful of his +poems. + +Jasmin dedicated Ma Bigno to Madame Louis Veill, of Paris. +He told her of his purchase of Papillote, a piece of ground which +he had long desired to have, and which he had now been able to +buy with the money gained by the sale of his poems. + +He proceeds to describe the place: + +"In this tiny little vineyard," he says, "my only chamber is a +grotto. Nine cherry trees: such is my wood! I have six rows of +vines, between which I walk and meditate. The peaches are mine; +the hazel nuts are mine! I have two elms, and two fountains. +I am indeed rich! You may laugh, perhaps, at my happiness. +But I wish you to know that I love the earth and the sky. +It is a living picture, sparkling in the sunshine. Come," +he said, "and pluck my peaches from the branches; put them +between your lovely teeth, whiter than the snow. Press them: +from the skin to the almond they melt in the mouth--it is honey!" +He next describes what he sees and hears from his grotto: +the beautiful flowers, the fruit glowing in the sun, +the luscious peaches, the notes of the woodlark, the zug-zug of +the nightingale, the superb beauty of the heavens. +"They all sing love, and love is always new." + +He compares Paris, with its grand ladies and its grand opera, +with his vineyard and his nightingales. "Paris," he says, "has +fine flowers and lawns, but she is too much of the grande dame. +She is unhappy, sleepy. Here, a thousand hamlets laugh by the +river's side. Our skies laugh; everything is happy; everything +lives. From the month of May, when our joyous summer arrives, +for six months the heavens resound with music. A thousand +nightingales sing all the night through.... Your grand opera +is silent, while our concert is in its fullest strain." + +The poem ends with a confession on the part of the poet of +sundry pilferings committed by himself in the same place when a +boy--of apple-trees broken, hedges forced, and vine-ladders +scaled, winding up with the words: + +"Madame, you see I turn towards the past without a blush; +will you? What I have robbed I return, and return with usury. +I have no door to my vineyard; only two thorns bar its threshold. +When, through a hole I see the noses of marauders, instead of +arming myself with a cane, I turn and go away, so that they may +come back. He who robbed when he was young, may in his old age +allow himself to be robbed too." A most amicable sentiment, +sure to be popular amongst the rising generation of Agen. + +Ma Bigno is written in graceful and felicitous verse. We have +endeavoured to give a translation in the appendix; but the +rendering of such a work into English is extremely difficult. +The soul will be found wanting; for much of the elegance of the +poem consists in the choice of the words. M. de Mazade, editor +of the Revue des Deux Mondes, said of Ma Bigno that it was one +of Jasmin's best works, and that the style and sentiments were +equally satisfactory to the poetical mind and taste. + +M. Rodiere, of Toulouse, in his brief memoir of Jasmin,[2] says +that "it might be thought that so great a work as Franconnette +would have exhausted the poet. When the aloe flowers, it rests +for nearly a hundred years before it blooms again. But Jasmin +had an inexhaustible well of poetry in his soul. Never in fact +was he more prolific than in the two years which followed the +publication of Franconnette. Poetry seemed to flow from him like +a fountain, and it came in various forms. His poems have no +rules and little rhythm, except those which the genius of the +poet chooses to give them; but there is always the most +beautiful poetry, perfectly evident by its divine light and its +inspired accents." + +Jasmin, however, did not compose with the rapidity described by +his reviewer. He could not throw off a poem at one or many +sittings; though he could write an impromptu with ready +facility. When he had an elaborate work in hand, such as +The Blind Girl of Castel-Cuille, Franconnette, or Martha the +Innocent, he meditated long over it, and elaborated it with +conscientious care. He arranged the plan in his mind, and waited +for the best words and expressions in which to elaborate his +stanzas, so as most clearly to explain his true meaning. +Thus Franconnette cost him two years' labour. Although he wrote +of peasants in peasants' language, he took care to avoid +everything gross or vulgar. Not even the most classical poet +could have displayed inborn politeness--la politesse du coeur--in +a higher degree. At the same time, while he expressed passion in +many forms, it was always with delicacy, truth, and beauty. + +Notwithstanding his constant philanthropic journeys, he beguiled +his time with the germs of some forthcoming poem, ready to be +elaborated on his return to Agen and his vineyard. + +His second volume of poems was published in 1842, and in a few +months it reached its third edition. About 20,000 copies of his +poems had by this time been issued. The sale of these made him +comparatively easy in his circumstances; and it was mainly by +their profits that he was enabled to buy his little vineyard +near Verona. + +It may also be mentioned that Jasmin received a further increase +of his means from the Government of Louis Philippe. Many of his +friends in the South of France were of opinion that his +philanthropic labours should be publicly recognised. While +Jasmin had made numerous gifts to the poor from the collections +made at his recitations; while he had helped to build schools, +orphanages, asylums, and even churches, it was thought that some +recompense should be awarded to him by the State for his +self-sacrificing labours. + +In 1843 the Duchess of Orleans had a golden medal struck in his +honour; and M. Dumon, when presenting it to Jasmin, announced +that the Minister of Instruction had inscribed his name amongst +the men of letters whose works the Government was desirous of +encouraging; and that consequently a pension had been awarded to +him of 1,000 francs per annum. This welcome news was shortly +after confirmed by the Minister of Instruction himself. +"I am happy," said M. Villemain,"to bear witness to the merit +of your writings, and the originality of your poetry, as well +as to the loyalty of your sentiments." + +The minister was not, however, satisfied with conferring this +favour. It was ordered that Jasmin should be made a Chevalier of +the Legion of Honour, at the same time that Balzac, Frederick +Soulie, and Alfred de Musset, were advanced to the same role of +honour. The minister, in conveying the insignia to Jasmin, said: + +"Your actions are equal to your works; you build churches; +you succour indigence; you are a powerful benefactor; +and your muse is the sister of Charity." + +These unexpected honours made no difference in the poet's daily +life. He shaved and curled hair as before. He lived in the same +humble shop on the Gravier. He was not in the least puffed up. +His additional income merely enabled him to defray his expenses +while on his charitable journeys on behalf of his poorer +neighbours. He had no desire to be rich; and he was now more +than comfortable in his position of life. + +When the news arrived at Agen that Jasmin had been made a +Chevalier of the Legion of Honour, his salon was crowded with +sympathetic admirers. In the evening, a serenade was performed +before his door on the Gravier by the Philharmonic Society of +Agen. Indeed, the whole town was filled with joy at the +acknowledged celebrity of their poet. A few years later Pope +Pius IX. conferred upon Jasmin the honour of Chevalier of the +Order of St. Gregory the Great. The insignia of the Order was +handed to the poet by Monseigneur de Vezins, Bishop of Agen, in +Sept. 1850. Who could have thought that the barber-poet would +have been so honoured by his King, and by the Head of his Church? + +Jasmin's next important poem, after the production of +Franconnette was Martha the Innocent.--[In Gascon, Maltro +l'Innoucento; French, Marthe la Folle]. It is like The Blind +Girl, a touching story of disappointment in love. Martha was an +orphan living at Laffitte, on the banks of the Lot. She was +betrothed to a young fellow, but the conscription forbade their +union. The conscript was sent to the wars of the first Napoleon, +which were then raging. The orphan sold her little cottage in +the hope of buying him off, or providing him with a substitute. +But it was all in vain. He was compelled to follow his regiment. +She was a good and pious girl, beloved by all. She was also +beautiful,--tall, fair, and handsome, with eyes of blue-- +"the blue of heaven," according to Jasmin: + + "With grace so fine, and air so sweet, + She was a lady amongst peasants." + +The war came to an end for a time. The soldier was discharged, +and returned home. + +Martha went out to meet him; but alas! like many other fickle +men, he had met and married another. It was his wife who +accompanied him homewards. Martha could not bear the terrible +calamity of her blighted love. She became crazy--almost an +idiot. + +She ran away from her home at Laffitte, and wandered about the +country. Jasmin, when a boy, had often seen the crazy woman +wandering about the streets of Agen with a basket on her arm, +begging for bread. Even in her rags she had the remains of +beauty. The children ran after her, and cried, "Martha, a +soldier!" then she ran off, and concealed herself. + +Like other children of his age Jasmin teased her; and now, after +more than thirty years, he proposed to atone for his childish +folly by converting her sad story into a still sadder poem. +Martha the Innocent is a charming poem, full of grace, harmony, +and beauty. Jasmin often recited it, and drew tears from many +eyes. In the introduction he related his own part in her +history. "It all came back upon him," he said," and now he +recited the story of this martyr of love."[3] + +After the completion of Martha, new triumphs awaited Jasmin in +the South of France. In 1846 he again went to Toulouse on a +labour of love. He recited his new poem in the Room of the +Illustrious at the Capitol. A brilliant assembly was present. +Flowers perfumed the air. The entire audience rose and applauded +the poet. The ladies smiled and wept by turns. Jasmin seemed to + +possess an electric influence. His clear, harmonious, and +flexible voice, gave emphasis by its rich sympathetic tones to +the artistic elements of his story. + +The man who thus evoked such rapture from his audience was not +arrayed in gorgeous costume. He was a little dark-eyed man of +the working class, clothed in a quiet suit of black. + +At the close of the recitation, the assembly, ravished with his +performance, threw him a wreath of flowers and laurels--more +modest, though not less precious than the golden branch which +they had previously conferred upon him. Jasmin thanked them most +heartily for their welcome. "My Muse," he said, "with its +glorious branch of gold, little dreamt of gleaning anything more +from Toulouse; but Toulouse has again invited me to this day's +festival, and I feel more happy than a king, because my poem is +enthroned in the midst of the Capitol. Your hands have applauded +me throughout, and you have concluded by throwing this crown of +flowers at my feet." + +It was then resolved to invite Jasmin to a banquet. Forty +ladies,the cream of Toulousian society, organised the +proceedings, and the banquet was given at the palace of M. de +Narbonne. At the end of the proceedings a young lady stepped +forward, and placed upon the poet's head a crown of immortelles +and violets joined together by a ribbon with golden threads, +on which was inscribed in letters of gold, "Your thoughts are +immortal!" Was not this enough to turn any poor poet's head? +The ladies clapped their hands. What could Jasmin say? +"It is enough," he said "to make angels jealous!" The dinner +ended with a toast to the author of Martha, who still wore the +crown upon his brow. + +It is impossible to describe the enthusiasm with which the poet +was received all through the South. At Dax, the ladies, for want +of crowns of laurels to cover him, tore the flowers and feathers +from their bonnets, and threw them at his feet. In another town +the ladies rose and invaded the platform where Jasmin stood; +they plucked from his button-hole the ribbon of the Legion of +Honour, and divided it amongst them, as a precious relic of +their glorious poet. + +He was received at Gers and Condon with equal enthusiasm. +At Condon he charmed his audience with his recitations for about +five hours. Frenzies of applause greeted him. He was invited to +a banquet, where he received the usual praises. When the banquet +was over, and Jasmin escaped, he was met in the street by crowds +of people, who wished to grasp him by the hand. He recited to +them in the open air his poem of charity. They compared Jasmin +to O'Connell; but the barber of Agen, by the power which he +exercised for the good of the people, proved himself more than +equal to the greatest of agitators. + +Sainte-Beuve quotes with keen enjoyment[4] the bantering letter +which Jasmin sent to Peyrottes, a Provencal poet, who challenged +him to a poetical combat. It was while he was making one of his +charitable tours through Languedoc, that Jasmin received the +following letter (24 December, 1847):- + +"SIR,--I dare, in my temerity, which may look like hardihood, +to propose to you a challenge. Will you have the goodness to +accept it? In the Middle Ages, the Troubadours did not disdain +such a challenge as that which, in my audacity, I now propose to +you. + +"I will place myself at your disposal at Montpellier on any day +and at any hour that may be most convenient to you. We shall +name four persons of literary standing to give us three subjects +with which we are to deal for twenty-four hours. We shall be +shut up together. Sentries will stand at the door. Only our +provisions shall pass through. + +"A son of Herault, I will support the honour and the glory of my +country! And as in such circumstances, a good object is +indispensable, the three subjects given must be printed and sold +for the benefit of the Creche of Montpellier." Peyrotte ended +his letter with a postscript, in which he said that he would +circulate his challenge among the most eminent persons in +Montpellier. + +Jasmin answered this letter as follows:-- +"SIR,--I did not receive your poetical challenge until the day +before yesterday, on the point of my departure for home; but I +must tell you that, though I have received it, I cannot accept +it. + +"Do you really propose to my muse, which aims at free air and +liberty, to shut myself up in a close room, guarded by +sentinels, who could only allow provisions to enter, and there +to treat of three given subjects in twenty-four hours! Three +subjects in twenty-four hours! You frighten me, sir, for the +peril in which you place my muse. + +"I must inform you, in all humility, that I often cannot compose +more than two or three lines a day. My five poems, L'Aveugle, +Mes Souvenirs, Franconnette, Martha the Innocent, and Les Deux +Jumeaux, have cost me ten years' work, and they only contain in +all but 2,400 verses!... I cannot write poetry by command. +I cannot be a prisoner while I compose. Therefore I decline to +enter the lists with you. + +"The courser who drags his chariot with difficulty, albeit he +may arrive at the goal, cannot contend with the fiery locomotive +of the iron railway. The art which produces verses one by one, +depends upon inspiration, not upon manufacture. Therefore my +muse declares itself vanquished in advance; and I authorise you +to publish my refusal of your challenge." + +In a postscript, Jasmin added: "Now that you have made the +acquaintance of my Muse, I will, in a few words, introduce you +to the man. I love glory, but the success of others never +troubles my sleep at night!" + +"When one finds," says Sainte-Beuve, "this theory of work pushed +to such a degree by Jasmin, with whom the spark of inspiration +seems always so prompt and natural, what a sad return we have of +the poetical wealth dissipated by the poets of our day." +Sainte-Beuve summed up his praise of the Gascon poet by insisting +that he was invariably sober in his tone. + +"I have learned," said Jasmin of himself, "that in moments of +heat and emotion we may be eloquent or laconic, alike in speech +and action--unconscious poets, in fact; but I have also +learned that it is possible for a poet to become all this +voluntarily by dint of patient toil and conscientious labour!" + +Jasmin was not the man to rest upon his laurels. Shortly after +his visit to Paris in 1842, he began to compose his Martha the +Innocent, which we have already briefly described. Two years +later he composed Les Deux Freres Jumeaux--a story of paternal +and motherly affection. This was followed by his Ma Bigno ('My +Vineyard'), and La Semaine d'un Fils ('The Week's Work of a +Son'), which a foot-note tells us is historical, the event having +recently occurred in the neighbourhood of Agen. + +A short description may be given of this affecting story. +The poem is divided into three parts. In the first, a young boy +and his sister, Abel and Jeanne, are described as kneeling before +a cross in the moonlight, praying to the Virgin to cure their +father. "Mother of God, Virgin compassionate, send down thine +Angel and cure our sick father. Our mother will then be happy, +and we, Blessed Virgin, will love and praise thee for ever." + +The Virgin hears their prayer, and the father is cured. A woman +opens the door of a neighbouring house and exclaims joyously, +"Poor little ones, death has departed. The poison of the fever +is counteracted, and your father's life is saved. Come, little +lambs, and pray to God with me." They all three kneel and pray +by the side of the good father Hilaire, formerly a brave +soldier, but now a mason's labourer. This ends the first part. + +The second begins with a description of morning. The sun shines +through the glass of the casement mended with paper, yet the +morning rays are bright and glorious. Little Abel glides into +his father's room. He is told that he must go to the house of +his preceptor to-day, for he must learn to read and write. +Abel is "more pretty than strong;" he is to be an homme de +lettres, as his little arms would fail him if he were to handle +the rough stones of his father's trade. Father and son embraced +each other. + +For a few days all goes well, but on the fourth, a Sunday, +a command comes from the master mason that if Hilaire does not +return to his work to-morrow, his place shall be given to +another. This news spreads dismay and consternation among them +all. Hilaire declares that he is cured, tries to rise from his +bed, but falls prostrate through weakness. It will take a week +yet to re-establish his health. + +The soul of little Abel is stirred. He dries his tears and +assumes the air of a man; he feels some strength in his little +arms. He goes out, and proceeds to the house of the master +mason. When he returns, he is no longer sorrowful: honey was in +his mouth, and his eyes were smiling." He said, "My father, rest +yourself: gain strength and courage; you have the whole week +before you. Then you may labour. Some one who loves you will do +your work, and you shall still keep your place." Thus ends the +second part. + +The third begins: "Behold our little Abel, who no longer toils +at the school-desk, but in the workshop. In the evenings he +becomes again a petit monsieur; and, the better to deceive his +father, speaks of books, papers, and writings, and with a wink +replies to the inquiring look of his mother (et d'un clin d'oeil +repond aux clins des yeux de sa mere). Four days pass thus. +On the fifth, Friday, Hilaire, now cured, leaves his house at +mid-day. "But fatal Friday, God has made thee for sorrow!" + +The father goes to the place where the masons are at work. +Though the hour for luncheon has not arrived, yet no one is seen +on the platforms above; and O bon Dieu! what a crowd of people +is seen at the foot of the building! Master, workmen, neighbours +--all are there, in haste and tumult. A workman has fallen from +the scaffold. It is poor little Abel. Hilaire pressed forward +to see his beloved boy lie bleeding on the ground! Abel is +dying, but before he expires, he whispers, "Master, I have not +been able to finish the work, but for my poor mother's sake do +not dismiss my father because there is one day short!" The boy +died, and was carried home by his sorrowful parent. The place +was preserved for Hilaire, and his wages were even doubled. But +it was too late. One morning death closed his eyelids; and the +good father went to take another place in the tomb by the side of +his son. + +Jasmin dedicated this poem to Lamartine, who answered his +dedication as follows:-- + +"Paris, 28th April, 1849. + +"My dear brother,--I am proud to read my name in the language +which you have made classic; more proud still of the beautiful +verses in which you embalm the recollection of our three months +of struggle with the demagogues against our true republic. Poets +entertain living presentiments of posterity. I accept your omen. +Your poem has made us weep. You are the only epic writer of our +time, the sensible and pathetic Homer of the people +(proletaires). +Others sing, but you feel. I have seen your son, who has +three times sheltered me with his bayonet--in March and April. +He appears to me worthy of your name.--LAMARTINE." + +Besides the above poems, Jasmin composed Le Pretre sans Eglise +(The Priest without a Church), which forms the subject of the +next chapter. These poems, with other songs and impromptus, +were published in 1851, forming the third volume of his +Papillotos. + +After Jasmin had completed his masterpieces, he again devoted +himself to the cause of charity. Before, he had merely walked; +now he soared aloft. What he accomplished will be ascertained in +the following pages. + + +Footnotes for Chapter XV. + +[1] The elder Scaliger had been banished from Verona, settled +near Agen, and gave the villa its name. The tomb of the Scaliger +family in Verona is one of the finest mausoleums ever erected. + +[2] Journal de Toulouse, 4th July, 1840. + +[3] In the preface to the poem, which was published in 1845, +the editor observes:-- "This little drama begins in 1798, +at Laffitte, a pretty market-town on the banks of the Lot, +near Clairac, and ends in 1802. When Martha became an idiot, +she ran away from the town to which she belonged, and went to +Agen. When seen in the streets of that town she became an object +of commiseration to many, but the children pursued her, calling +out, 'Martha, a soldier!' Sometimes she disappeared for two +weeks at a time, and the people would then observe, 'Martha has +hidden herself; she must now be very hungry!' More than once +Jasmin, in his childhood, pursued Martha with the usual cry of +'A soldier.' He little thought that at a future time he should +make some compensation for his sarcasms, by writing the touching +poem of Martha the Innocent; but this merely revealed the +goodness of his heart and his exquisite sensibility. +Martha died at Agen in 1834." + +[4] 'Causeries du Lundi,' iv. 241, edit. 1852. + + + +CHAPTER XVI. + +THE PRIEST WITHOUT A CHURCH. + +The Abbe Masson, priest of Vergt in Perigord, found the church +in which he officiated so decayed and crumbling, that he was +obliged to close it. It had long been in a ruinous condition. +The walls were cracked, and pieces of plaster and even brick fell +down upon the heads of the congregation; and for their sake as +well as for his own, the Abbe Masson was obliged to discontinue +the services. At length he resolved to pull down the ruined +building, and erect another church in its place. + +Vergt is not a town of any considerable importance. It contains +the ruins of a fortress built by the English while this part of +France was in their possession. At a later period a bloody +battle was fought in the neighbourhood between the Catholics and +the Huguenots. Indeed, the whole of the South of France was for +a long period disturbed by the civil war which raged between +these sections of Christians. Though both Roman Catholics and +Protestants still exist at Vergt, they now live together in +peace and harmony. + +Vergt is the chief town of the Canton, and contains about 1800 +inhabitants. It is a small but picturesque town, the buildings +being half concealed by foliage and chestnut trees. Not far off, +by the river Candou, the scenery reminds one of the wooded +valley at Bolton Priory in Yorkshire. + +Though the Abbe Masson was a man of power and vigour, he found +it very difficult to obtain funds from the inhabitants of the +town for the purpose of rebuilding his church. There were no +Ecclesiastical Commissioners to whom he could appeal, and the +people of the neighbourhood were too limited in their +circumstances to help him to any large extent. + +However, he said to himself, "Heaven helps those who help +themselves;" or rather, according to the Southern proverb, +Qui trabaillo, Thion li baillo--"Who is diligent, God helps." +The priest began his work with much zeal. He collected what he +could in Vergt and the neighbourhood, and set the builders to +work. He hoped that Providence would help him in collecting the +rest of the building fund. + +But the rebuilding of a church is a formidable affair; and +perhaps the priest, not being a man of business, did not count +the cost of the undertaking. He may have "counted his chickens +before they were hatched." Before long the priest's funds again +ran short. He had begun the rebuilding in 1840; the work went on +for about a year; but in 1841 the builders had to stop their +operations, as the Abbe Masson's funds were entirely exhausted. + +What was he to do now? He suddenly remembered the barber of +Agen, who was always willing to give his friendly help. He had +established Mdlle. Roaldes as a musician a few years before; +he had helped to build schools, orphanages, asylums, and such +like. But he had never helped to build a church. Would he now +help him to rebuild the church of Vergt? + +The Abbe did not know Jasmin personally, but he went over to +Agen, and through a relative, made his acquaintance. Thus the +Abbe and the poet came together. After the priest had made an +explanation of his position, and of his difficulties in obtaining +money for the rebuilding of the church of Vergt, Jasmin at once +complied with the request that he would come over and help him. +They arranged for a circuit of visits throughout the district-- +the priest with his address, and Jasmin with his poems. + +Jasmin set out for Vergt in January 1843. He was received at the +border of the Canton by a numerous and brilliant escort of +cavalry, which accompanied him to the presbytery. He remained +there for two days, conferring with the Abbe. Then the two set +out together for Perigueux, the chief city of the province, +accompanied on their departure by the members of the Municipal +Council and the leading men of the town. + +The first meeting was held in the theatre of Perigueux, which +was crowded from floor to ceiling, and many remained outside who +could not obtain admission. The Mayor and Municipal Councillors +were present to welcome and introduce the poet. On this +occasion, Jasmin recited for the first time, "The Ruined Church" +(in Gascon: La Gleyzo Descapelado) composed in one of his +happiest moments. Jasmin compared himself to Amphion, the sweet +singer of Greece, who by his musical powers, enabled a city to +be built; and now the poet invoked the citizens of Perigueux to +enable the Abbe Masson to rebuild his church. His poem was +received with enthusiasm, and almost with tears of joy at the +pleading of Jasmin. There was a shower of silver and gold. +The priest was overjoyed at the popularity of his colleague, +and also at his purse, which was filled with offerings. + +While at Perigueux the poet and the priest enjoyed the +hospitality of M. August Dupont, to whom Jasmin, in thanks, +dedicated a piece of poetry. Other entertainments followed-- +matinees and soirees. Jasmin recited some of his poems before +the professors and students at the college, and at other places +of public instruction. Then came banquets--aristocratic and +popular--and, as usual, a banquet of the hair-dressers. +There was quite an ovation in the city while he remained there. + +But other calls awaited Jasmin. He received deputations from +many of the towns in the department soliciting his appearance, +and the recitation of his poems. He had to portion out his time +with care, and to arrange the programme of his visits. When the +two pilgrims started on their journey, they were frequently +interrupted by crowds of people, who would not allow Jasmin to +pass without reciting some of his poetry. Jasmin and Masson +travelled by the post-office car--the cheapest of all +conveyances--but at Montignac they were stopped by a crowd of +people, and Jasmin had to undergo the same process. Free and +hearty, he was always willing to comply with their requests. +That day the postman arrived at his destination three hours +after his appointed time. + +It was in the month of February, when darkness comes on so +quickly, that Jasmin informed the magistrates of Sarlat, whither +he was bound, that he would be there by five o'clock. But they +waited, and waited for him and the priest at the entrance to the +town, attended by the clergy, the sub-prefect, the town +councillors, and a crowd of people. It was a cold and dreary +night. Still no Jasmin! They waited for three long hours. At +last Jasmin appeared on the post-office car. "There he comes at +last!" was the general cry. His arrival was greeted with +enthusiastic cheers. It was now quite dark. The poet and the +priest entered Sarlat in triumph, amidst the glare of torches and +the joyful shouts of the multitude. Then came the priest's +address, Jasmin's recitations, and the final collection of +offerings. + +It is unnecessary to repeat the scenes, however impressive, +which occurred during the journey of the poet and the priest. +There was the same amount of enthusiasm at Nontron, Bergerac, +and the other towns which they visited. At Nontron, +M. A. de Calvimont, the sub-prefect, welcomed Jasmin with the +following lines: + + "To Jasmin, our grand poet, + The painter of humanity; + For him, elect of heaven, life is a fete + Ending in immortality." + +Jasmin replied to this with some impromptu lines, 'To Poetry,' +dedicated to the sub-prefect. At Bergerac he wrote his Adieu to +Perigord, in which he conveyed his thanks to the inhabitants of +the department for the kindness with which they had received him +and his companion. This, their first journey through Perigord, +was brought to a close at the end of February, 1843. + +The result of this brilliant journey was very successful. +The purse of the Abbe was now sufficiently well filled to enable +him to proceed with the rebuilding of the church of Vergt; and +the work was so well advanced, that by the 23rd of the following +month of July it was ready for consecration. A solemn ceremony +then took place. Six bishops, including an archbishop, and three +hundred priests were present, with more than fifteen thousand +people of all ranks and conditions of life. Never had such a +ceremony been seen before--at least in so small a town. + +The Cardinal Gousset, Archbishop of Rheims, after consecrating +the church, turned to Jasmin, and said: "Poet, we cannot avoid +the recognition of your self-sacrificing labours in the +rebuilding of this church; and we shall be happy if you will +consent to say a few words before we part." + +"Monseigneur," replied Jasmin, "can you believe that my muse has +laboured for fifteen days and fifteen nights, that I should +interrupt this day of the fete? Vergt keeps fete to-day for +religion, but not for poetry, though it welcomes and loves it. +The church has six pontiffs; the poet is only a subdeacon; +but if I must sing my hymn officially, it must be elsewhere." + +The Archbishop--a man of intelligence who understood the +feelings of poets--promised, at the collation which followed +the consecration, to give Jasmin the opportunity of reciting the +verses which he had composed for the occasion. The poem was +entitled 'A Priest without a Church' (in Gascon: Lou Preste sans +Glegzo) dedicated to M. Masson, the Cure of Vergt. In his verses +the poet described the influence of a noble church upon the +imagination as well as the religion of the people. But he said +nothing of his own labours in collecting the necessary funds for +the rebuilding of the church. The recitation of the poem was +received with enthusiasm. + +Monseigneur Bertaud, who preached in the afternoon on the +"Infinity of God," touchingly referred to the poems of Jasmin, +and developed the subject so happily referred to by the poet. + +"Such examples as his," he said, "such delicate and generous +sentiments mingled together, elevate poetry and show its noble +origin, so that we cannot listen to him without the gravest +emotion."[1] + +It was a great day for Vergt, and also a great day for the poet. +The consecration of the church amidst so large an assemblage of +clergy and people occasioned great excitement in the South. +It was noised abroad in the public journals, and even in the +foreign press. Jasmin's fame became greater than ever; and his +barber's shop at Agen became, as it were, a shrine, where +pilgrims, +passing through the district, stopped to visit him and praise his +almost divine efforts to help the cause of religion and +civilisation. + +The local enthusiasm was not, however, without its drawbacks. +The success of the curate of Vergt occasioned a good deal of +jealousy. Why should he be patronised by Jasmin, and have his +purse filled by his recitations, when there were so many other +churches to be built and repaired, so many hospitals and schools +to found and maintain, so many orphanages to assist, so many +poor to relieve, so many good works to be done? Why should not +Jasmin, who could coin money with words which cost him nothing, +come to the help of the needy and afflicted in the various +districts throughout the South? + +Thus Jasmin was constantly assailed by deputations. He must +leave his razors and his curling-tongs, and go here, there, +and everywhere to raise money by his recitations. + +The members of the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul were, +as usual, full of many charitable designs. There had been a +fire, a flood, an epidemic, a severe winter, a failure of crops, +which had thrown hundreds of families into poverty and misery; +and Jasmin must come immediately to their succour. "Come, +Jasmin! Come quick, quick!" He was always willing to give his +assistance; but it was a terrible strain upon his mental as well +as his physical powers. + +In all seasons, at all hours, in cold, in heat, in wind, in rain, +he hastened to give his recitations--sometimes of more than +two hours' duration, and often twice or thrice in the same day. +He hastened, for fear lest the poor should receive their food +and firing too late. + +What a picture! Had Jasmin lived in the time of St. Vincent de +Paul, the saint would have embraced him a thousand times, and +rejoiced to see himself in one way surpassed; for in pleading for +the poor, he also helped the rich by celebrating the great deeds +of their ancestors, as he did at Beziers, Riquet, Albi, +Lafeyrouse, and other places. The spectacle which he presented +was so extraordinary, that all France was struck with admiration +at the qualities of this noble barber of Agen. + +On one occasion Jasmin was requested by a curate to come to his +help and reconcile him with his parishioners. Jasmin succeeded +in performing the miracle. It happened that in 1846 the curate +of Saint-Leger, near Penne, in the Tarn, had caused a ball-room +to be closed. This gave great offence to the young people, who +desired the ball-room to be opened, that they might have their +fill of dancing. They left his church, and declared that they +would have nothing further to do with him. To reconcile the +malcontents, the curate promised to let them hear Jasmin. +accordingly, one Sunday afternoon the inhabitants of four +parishes assembled in a beautiful wood to listen to Jasmin. He +recited his Charity and some other of his serious poems. When he +had finished, the young people of Saint-Leger embraced first the +poet, and then the curate. The reconciliation was complete. + +To return to the church at Vergt. Jasmin was a poet, not an +architect. The Abbe Masson knew nothing about stone or mortar. +He was merely anxious to have his church rebuilt and consecrated +as soon as possible. That had been done in 1843. But in the +course of a few years it was found that the church had been very +badly built. The lime was bad, and the carpentry was bad. +The consequence was, that the main walls of the church bulged +out, and the shoddy building had to be supported by outside +abutments. In course of time it became clear that the work, for +the most part, had to be done over again. + +In 1847 the Abbe again appealed to Jasmin. This new task was +more difficult than the first, for it was necessary to appeal to +a larger circle of contributors; not confining themselves to +Perigord only, but taking a wider range throughout the South of +France. The priest made the necessary arrangements for the joint +tour. They would first take the northern districts--Angouleme, +Limoges, Tulle, and Brives--and then proceed towards the south. + +The pair started at the beginning of May, and began their usual +recitations and addresses, such as had been given during the +first journey in Perigord. They were received with the usual +enthusiasm. Prefects, bishops, and municipal bodies, vied with +each other in receiving and entertaining them. At Angouleme, +the queen of southern cities, Jasmin was presented with a crown +of immortelles and a snuff-box, on which was engraved: +"Esteem--Love--Admiration! To Jasmin, the most sublime of poets! +From the youth of Angouleme, who have had the happiness of seeing +and hearing him!" + +The poet and priest travelled by night as well as by day in +order to economise time. After their tour in the northern towns +and cities, they returned to Vergt for rest. They entered the +town under a triumphal arch, and were escorted by a numerous +cavalcade. Before they retired to the priest's house, the +leading men of the commune, in the name of the citizens, +complimented Jasmin for his cordial help towards the rebuilding +of the church. + +After two days of needful rest Jasmin set out for Bordeaux, +the city whose inhabitants had first encouraged him by their +applause, and for which he continued to entertain a cordial +feeling to the last days of his life. His mission on this +occasion was to assist in the inauguration of a creche, founded +and supported by the charitable contributions of the friends of +poor children. It is not necessary to mention the enthusiasm +with which he was received. + +The further progress of the poet and the priest, in search of +contributions for rebuilding the church, was rudely interrupted +by the Revolution which broke out at Paris in 1848. His Majesty +Louis Philippe abdicated the throne of France on the 24th of +February, rather than come into armed collision with his +subjects; and, two days after, the Republic was officially +proclaimed at the Hotel de Ville. Louis Philippe and his family +took refuge in England--the usual retreat of persecuted +Frenchmen; and nine months later, Louis Napoleon Buonaparte, +who had also been a refugee in England, returned to France, +and on the 20th of December was proclaimed President of the +French Republic. + +Jasmin and Masson accordingly suspended their tour. No one would +listen to poetical recitations in the midst of political +revolutions. Freedom and tranquillity were necessary for the +contemplation of ideas very different from local and national +squabbles. The poet and priest accordingly bade adieu to each +other; and it was not until two years later that they were able +to recommence their united journeys through the South of France. +The proclamation of the Republic, and the forth coming elections, +brought many new men to the front. Even poets made their +appearance. Lamartine, who had been a deputy, was a leader in +the Revolution, and for a time was minister for foreign affairs. +Victor Hugo, a still greater poet, took a special interest in +the politics of the time, though he was fined and imprisoned +for condemning capital punishment. Even Reboul, the poet-baker +of Nimes, deserted his muse and his kneading trough to solicit +the suffrages of his fellow-citizens. Jasmin was wiser. +He was more popular in his neighbourhood than Reboul, +though he cared little about politics. He would neither be a +deputy, nor a municipal councillor, nor an agent for elections. +He preferred to influence his country by spreading the seeds of +domestic and social virtues; and he was satisfied with his +position in Agen as poet and hair-dresser. + +Nevertheless a deputation of his townsmen waited upon Jasmin to +request him to allow his name to appear as a candidate for their +suffrages. The delegates did not find him at his shop. +He was at his vineyard; and there the deputation found him +tranquilly seated under a cherry-tree shelling peas! He listened +to them with his usual courtesy, and when one of the committee +pressed him for an answer, and wished to know if he was not a +good Republican, he said, "Really, I care nothing for the +Republic. I am one of those who would have saved the +constitutional monarchy by enabling it to carry out further +reforms.... But," he continued, "look to the past; was it not a +loss to destroy the constitutional monarchy? But now we must +march forward, that we may all be united again under the same +flag. The welfare of France should reign in all our thoughts and +evoke our most ardent sympathy. Choose among our citizens a +strong and wise man... If the Republic is to live in France, it +must be great, strong, and good for all classes of the people. +Maintaining the predominance of the law will be its security; and +in preserving law it will strengthen our liberties.'" + +In conclusion, Jasmin cordially thanked his fellow-citizens for +the honour they proposed to confer upon him, although he could +not accept it. The affairs of the State, he said, were in a very +confused condition, and he could not pretend to unravel them. +He then took leave of the deputation, and quietly proceeded to +complete his task--the shelling of his peas! + + +Footnotes for Chapter XVI. + +[1] The whole of the interview between the Archbishop of Rheims +and Jasmin is given by Sainte-Beuve in 'Causeries du Lundi,' iv. +250. + + + +CHAPTER XVII. + +THE CHURCH OF VERGT AGAIN--FRENCH ACADEMY--EMPEROR AND EMPRESS. + +When the political turmoils in France had for a time subsided, +Jasmin and the Abbe Masson recommenced their journeys in the +South for the collection of funds for the church at Vergt. +They had already made two pilgrimages--the first through +Perigord, the second to Angouleme, Limoges, Tulle, and Brives. +The third was begun early in 1850, and included the department of +the Landes, the higher and lower Pyrenees, and other districts in +the South of France. + +At Bagneres de Bigorre and at Bagneres de Luchon the receipts +were divided between the church at Vergt and that at Luchon. +The public hospitals and the benevolent societies frequently +shared in the receipts. There seemed to be no limits to the +poet's zeal in labouring for those who were in want of funds. +Independent of his recitations for the benefit of the church at +Vergt, he often turned aside to one place or another where the +poor were in the greatest need of assistance. + +On one occasion he went to Arcachon. He started early in the +morning by the steamer from Agen to Bordeaux, intending to +proceed by railway (a five hours' journey) from Bordeaux to +Arcachon. But the steamers on the Garonne were then very +irregular, and Jasmin did not reach Bordeaux until six hours +later than the appointed time. In the meanwhile a large assembly +had met in the largest room in Arcachon. They waited and waited; +but no Jasmin! The Abbe Masson became embarrassed; but at length +he gave his address, and the receipts were 800 francs. The +meeting dispersed very much disappointed, because no Jasmin +had appeared, and they missed his recitations. At midnight the +cure returned to Bordeaux and there he found Jasmin, just arrived +from Agen by the boat, which had been six hours late. He was in +great dismay; but he afterwards made up for the disappointment +by reciting to the people of Arcachon. + +The same thing happened at Biarritz. A large assembly had met, +and everything was ready for Jasmin. But there was no Jasmin! +The omnibus from Bayonne did not bring him. It turned out, +that at the moment of setting out he was seized with a sudden +loss of voice. As in the case of Arcachon, the cure had to do +without him. The result of his address was a collection of 700 +francs. + +The Abbe Masson was a liberal-minded man. When Jasmin urged him +to help others more needy than himself, he was always ready to +comply with his request. When at Narbonne, in the department of +Aude, a poor troupe of comedians found themselves in +difficulties. It was winter-time, and the weather was very cold. +The public could not bear their canvas-covered shed, and deserted +the entertainment. Meanwhile the artistes were famished. +Knowing the generosity of Jasmin, they asked him to recite at one +of their representations. He complied with their request; the +place was crowded; and Jasmin's recitations were received with +the usual enthusiasm. It had been arranged that half the +proceeds should go to the church at Vergt, and the other half to +the comedians. But when the entire troupe presented themselves +to the Abbe and offered him the full half, he said: "No! no! keep +it all. You want it more than I do. Besides, I can always fall +back upon my dear poet!" + +A fourth pilgrimage of the priest and poet was afterwards made +to the towns of Rodez, Villefranche-d'aveyron, Cahors, Figeac, +Gourdon, and Sarlat; and the proceeds of these excursions, added +to a subvention of 5,000 francs from the Government, enabled the +church of Vergt to be completed. In 1852 the steeple was built, +and appropriately named "Jasmin's Bell-tower" (Clocher Jasmin). +But it was still without bells, for which a subsequent pilgrimage +was made by Jasmin and Masson. + +To return to the honours paid to Jasmin for his works of +benevolence and charity. What was worth more to him than the +numerous golden laurels which had been bestowed upon him, was +his recognition by the highest and noblest of institutions, +the Academy of France. Although one of the objects of its +members was to preserve the French language in its highest purity +they were found ready to crown a poet who wrote his poems in +the patois of the South. + +There were, however, several adverse criticisms on the proposed +decision of the Academy; though poetry may be written in every +tongue, and is quite independent of the language or patois in +which it is conveyed. Indeed; several members of the Academy-- +such as MM. Thiers, De Remusat, Viennet, and Flourens--came +from the meridional districts of France, and thoroughly +understood the language of Jasmin. They saw in him two men-- +the poet, and the benefactor of humanity. + +This consideration completely overruled the criticisms of the +minority. Jasmin had once before appeared at M. Thierry's before +the best men of the Academy; and now the whole of the Academy, +notwithstanding his patois, approached and honoured the man of +good deeds. + +Jasmin owed to M. Villemain one of the most brilliant panegyrics +which he had ever received. The Academy desired to award a +special prize in accordance with the testamentary bequest of +M. de Montyon[1]--his last debt to art and morality; a talent +that employs itself in doing good under a form the most +brilliant and popular. This talent, he continued, is that of +the true poet; and Jasmin, during his pure and modest life, +has employed his art for the benefit of morality with a noble, +helpful influence, while nothing detracted from the dignity of +his name. + +Like the Scottish poet Burns, Jasmin had by his dialect and his +poetical talents enriched the literature of his country. Jasmin, +the hair-dresser of Agen, the poet of the South, who drew crowds +to hear the sound of his voice--who even embellished the +festivals of the rich, but who still more assisted in the +pleasures of the poor--who spent his time in endowing +charitable establishments-- who helped to build churches, +schools, and orphanages--Jasmin, the glory of his Commune as +well as of the South of France, deserved to be adopted by all +France and publicly acknowledged by the Academy. + +Tacitus has said that renown is not always deserved, it chooses +its due time--Non semper errat fama, aliquando eligit +("Fame is not always mistaken; she sometimes chooses the right"). +We have proof of it to-day. The enthusiastic approbation of the +great provinces of France for a popular poet cannot be a +surprise. They single out the last, and I may add, the greatest +poet of the Troubadours! + +M. Villemain proceeded to comment upon the poetical works of +Jasmin--especially his Blind Girl of Castel-Cuille;, his +Franconnette, and the noble works he had done for the poor and +the suffering; his self-sacrificing labours for the building of +schools, orphanages, and churches. "Everywhere," he said, +"his elevated and generous soul has laboured for the benefit of +the world about him; and now he would, by the aid of the Academy, +embellish his coronet with a privileged donation to the poet and +philanthropist." He concluded by saying that the especial prize +for literary morality and virtuous actions would be awarded to +him, and that a gold medal would be struck in his honour with +the inscription: "Au Jasmin, Poete moral et populaire!" + +M. Ancelo communicated to Jasmin the decision of the Academy. +"I have great pleasure," he said, "in transmitting to you the +genuine sympathy, the sincere admiration, and the unanimous +esteem, which your name and your works have evoked at this +meeting of the Academy. The legitimate applause which you +everywhere receive in your beautiful country finds its echo on +this side of the Loire; and if the spontaneous adoption of you +by the French Academy adds nothing to your glory, it will at +least serve to enhance our own." + +The prize unanimously awarded to Jasmin on the 19th of August, +1852, was 3000 francs, which was made up to 5000 by the number +of copies of the "Papillotos" purchased by the Academy for +distribution amongst the members. Jasmin devoted part of the +money to repairing his little house on the Gravier: and the rest +was ready for his future charitable missions. + +On receiving the intimation of the prizes awarded to him, he +made another journey to Paris to pay his respects to his devoted +friends of the Academy. He was received with welcome by the most +eminent persons in the metropolis. He was feted as usual. +At the salon of the Marquis de Barthelemy he met the Duc de +Levis, the Duc des Cars, MM. Berryer, de Salvandy, de Vatismenil, +Hyde de Neuville, and other distinguished noblemen and gentlemen. +Monsigneur Sibour, Archbishop of Paris, was desirous of seeing +and hearing this remarkable poet of the South. The Archbishop +invited him to his palace for the purpose of hearing a +recitation of his poems; and there he met the Pope's Nuncio, +several bishops, and the principal members of the Parisian +clergy. After the recitation, the Archbishop presented Jasmin +with a golden branch with this device: "To Jasmin! the greatest +of the Troubadours, past, present, or to come." + +The chief authors of Paris, the journalists, and the artists, +had a special meeting in honour of Jasmin. A banquet was +organised by the journalists of the Deux Mondes, at the instance +of Meissonier, Lireux, Lalandelle, C. Reynaud, L. Pichat, +and others. M. Jules Janin presided, and complimented Jasmin in +the name of the Parisian press. The people of Agen, resident in +Paris, also gave him a banquet, at which Jasmin recited a poem +composed for the occasion. + +One of his evenings was spent at the house of Madame la Marquise +de Barthelemy. An interesting account of the soiree is given by +a correspondent of Chambers's Edinburgh Journal, who was present +on the occasion.[2] The salons of Madame la Marquise were filled +to overflowing. Many of the old nobility of France were present. + +"It was a St. Germain's night," as she herself expressed it. +High-sounding names were there--much intellect and beauty; all +were assembled to do honour to the coiffeur from the banks of +the Garonne. France honours intellect, no matter to what class +of society it belongs: it is an affectionate kind of social +democracy. Indeed, among many virtues in French society, none is +so delightful, none so cheering, none so mutually improving, +and none more Christian, than the kindly intercourse, almost the +equality, of all ranks of society, and the comparatively small +importance attached to wealth or condition, wherever there is +intellect and power. + +At half-past nine. Jasmin made his appearance--a short, stout, +dark-haired man, with large bright eyes, and a mobile animated +face, his button-hole decorated with the red ribbon of the +Legion of Honour. He made his way through the richly attired +ladies sparkling with jewels, to a small table at the upper end +of the salon, whereon were books, his own "Curl-papers," +two candles, a carafe of fresh water, and a vase of flowers. + +The ladies arranged themselves in a series of brilliant +semicircles before him. The men blocked up the doorway, peering +over each other's shoulders. Jasmin waved his hand like the +leader of an orchestra, and a general silence sealed all the +fresh noisy lips. One haughty little brunette, not long +emancipated from her convent, giggled audibly; but Jasmin's eye +transfixed her, and the poor child sat thereafter rebuked and +dumb. The hero of the evening again waved his hands, tossed back +his hair, struck an attitude, and began his poem. The first he +recited was "The Priest without a Church" (Le Preste sans +gleyzo). He pleaded for the church as if it were about to be +built. He clasped his hands, looked up to heaven, and tears were +in his eyes. Some sought for the silver and gold in their +purses; but no collection was made, as the church had already +been built, and was free of debt. + +After an interval, he recited La Semaine d'un Fils; and he +recited it very beautifully. There were some men who wept; +and many women who exclaimed, "Charmant! Tout-a-fait charmant!" +but who did not weep. Jasmin next recited Ma Bigno, which has +been already described. The contributor to Chambers's Journal +proceeds: "It was all very amusing to a proud, stiff, reserved +Britisher like myself, to see how grey-headed men with stars and +ribbons could cry at Jasmin's reading; and how Jasmin, himself a +man, could sob and wipe his eyes, and weep so violently, +and display such excessive emotion. This surpassed my +understanding--probably clouded by the chill atmosphere of the +fogs, in which every Frenchman believes we live.... After the +recitations had concluded, Jasmin's social ovation began. Ladies +surrounded him, and men admired him. A ring was presented, and a +pretty speech spoken by a pretty mouth, accompanied the +presentation; and the man of the people was flattered out of all +proportion by the brave, haughty old noblesse. + +"To do Jasmin justice, although naturally enough spoiled by the +absurd amount of adulation he has met with, he has not been made +cold-hearted or worldly. He is vain, but true and loyal to his +class. He does not seek to disguise or belie his profession. +In fact, he always dwells upon his past more or less, and never +misses an opportunity of reminding his audience that he is but a +plebeian, after all. + +"He wears a white apron, and shaves and frizzes hair to this +day, when at Agen; and though a Chevalier of the Legion of +Honour, member of Academies and Institutes without number, feted, +praised, flattered beyond anything we can imagine in England, +crowned by the king and the then heir to the throne with gilt +and silver crowns, decked with flowers and oak-leaves, and all +conceivable species of coronets, he does not ape the gentleman, +but clips, curls, and chatters as simply as heretofore, and as +professionally. There is no little merit in this steady +attachment to his native place, and no little good sense in this +adherence to his old profession... It is far manlier and nobler +than that weak form of vanity shown in a slavish imitation of the +great, and a cowardly shame of one's native condition. + +"Without going so far as his eulogistic admirers in the press, +yet we honour in him a true poet, and a true man, brave, +affectionate, mobile, loving, whose very faults are all amiable, +and whose vanity takes the form of nature. And if we of the cold +North can scarcely comprehend the childish passionateness and +emotional unreserve of the more sensitive South, at least we can +profoundly respect the good common to us all the good which lies +underneath that many-coloured robe of manners which changes with +every hamlet; the good which speaks from heart to heart, +and quickens the pulses of the blood; the good which binds us +all as brothers, and makes but one family of universal man; +and this good we lovingly recognise in Jasmin; and while rallying +him for his foibles, respectfully love him for his virtues, +and tender him a hand of sympathy and admiration as a fine; +poet, a good citizen, and a true-hearted man." + +Before leaving Paris it was necessary for Jasmin to acknowledge +his gratitude to the French Academy. The members had done him +much honour by the gold medal and the handsome donation they had +awarded him. On the 24th of August, 1852, he addressed the Forty +of the Academy in a poem which he entitled 'Langue Francaise, +Langue Gasconne,' or, as he styled it in Gascon, 'Lengo Gascouno, +Lengo Francezo.' In this poem, which was decorated with the most +fragrant flowers of poetry with which he could clothe his words, +Jasmin endeavoured to disclose the characteristics of the two +languages. At the beginning, he said: + +"O my birth-place, what a concert delights my ear! Nightingales, +sing aloud; bees, hum together; Garonne, make music on your pure +and laughing stream; the elms of Gravier, tower above me; not +for glory, but for gladness."[3] + +After the recitation of the poem, M. Laurentie said that it +abounded in patriotic sentiments and fine appreciation, to say +nothing of the charming style of the falling strophes, at +intervals, in their sonorous and lyrical refrain. M. Villemain +added his acclamation. "In truth, said he, "once more our +Academy is indebted to Jasmin!" The poet, though delighted by +these ovations, declared that it was he who was indebted to the +members of the Academy, not they to him. M. de Salvandy +reassured him: "Do not trouble yourself, Jasmin; you have +accomplished everything we could have wished; you have given us +ten for one, and still we are your debtors." + +After Jasmin had paid his compliments to the French Academy, +he was about to set out for Agen--being fatigued and almost +broken down by his numerous entertainments in Paris--when he +was invited by General Fleury to visit the President of the +French Republic at Saint-Cloud. This interview did not please +him so much as the gracious reception which he had received in +the same palace some years before from Louis Philippe and the +Duchess of Orleans; yet Jasmin was a man who respected the law, +and as France had elected Louis Napoleon as President, he was +not unwilling to render him his homage. + +Jasmin had already seen the President when passing through Agen +a few years before, on his visit to Bordeaux, Toulouse, and +Toulon; but they had no personal interview. M. Edmond Texier, +however, visited Jasmin, and asked him whether he had not +composed a hymn for the fete of the day. No! he had composed +nothing; yet he had voted for Louis Napoleon, believing him to +be the saviour of France. "But," said M. Texier, "if the Prince +appeals to you, you will eulogise him in a poem?" "Certainly," +replied Jasmin, "and this is what I would say: 'Sir, in the +name of our country, restore to us our noble friend M. Baze. +He was your adversary, but he is now conquered, disarmed, and +most unhappy. Restore him to his mother, now eighty years old; +to his weeping family; and to all his household, who deplore his +absence; restore him also to our townsmen, who love and honour +him, and bear no hostility towards the President, His recall will +be an admirable political act, and will give our country more +happiness that the highest act of benevolence.'" + +This conversation between Jasmin and Texier immediately appeared +in the columns of the Siecle, accompanied with a stirring +sympathetic article by the editor. It may be mentioned that +M. Baze was one of Jasmin's best friends. He had introduced the +poet to the public, and written the charming preface to the +first volume of the 'Papillotos,' issued in 1835. M. Baze was an +advocate of the Royal Court of Agen--a man of fine character, +and a true patriot. He was Mayor of Agen, commander of the +National Guard, and afterwards member of the Legislative Assembly +and the Senate. But he was opposed to Prince Louis Napoleon, +and was one of the authors of the motion entitled de Questeurs. +He was arrested on the night of the 2nd December, 1851, +imprisoned for a month in the Mazas, and then expelled from the +territory of France. During his exile he practised at Liege as +an advocate. + +Jasmin again went to Paris in May 1853, and this time on his +mission of mercy. The editor of the Siecle announced his +arrival. He was again feted, and the salons rejoiced in his +recitations. After a few days he was invited to Saint-Cloud. +Louis Napoleon was now Emperor of France, and the Empress +Eugenie sat by his side. The appearance of Jasmin was welcomed, +and he was soon made thoroughly at ease by the Emperor's +interesting conversation. A company had been assembled, +and Jasmin was requested to recite some of his poems. As usual, +he evoked smiles and tears by turns. When the audience were in +one of their fits of weeping, and Jasmin had finished his +declamation, the Emperor exclaimed, "Why; poet, this is a genuine +display of handkerchiefs"--(Mais, poete, c'est un veritable scene +de mouchoirs). + +Jasmin seized this moment for revealing to the Emperor the +desire which he had long entertained, for recalling from exile +his dear friend M. Baze. He had prepared a charming piece of +verse addressed to the Empress Eugenie, requesting his return to +France through the grand door of honour. "Restore him to us," +he said; "Agen cries aloud. The young Empress, as good as +beautiful, beloved of Heaven, will pray with her sympathetic +soul, and save two children and an unhappy mother--she, who +will be soon blessed as a happy mother herself."[4] Jasmin +concluded his poem with the following words in Gascon: Esperi! +Lou angels nou se troumpon jamay.' + +The result of this appeal to the Empress was that Jasmin's +prayer was immediately granted by the Emperor. M. Baze returned +to France at once, without any conditions whatever. The parents +of the quondam exile wrote to Jasmin thanking him most cordially +for his exertions in their favour. Four days after the soiree at + +Saint-Cloud, the Prefect of the Indre-et-Loire, head of the Baze +family, wrote to Jasmin, saying: "Your muse is accustomed to +triumphs; but this one ought to rejoice your heart, and should +yield you more honour than all the others. For my part, I feel +myself under the necessity of thanking you cordially for your +beautiful and noble action; and in saying so, I interpret the +sentiments of the whole family." Madame Baze addressed the +Emperor in a letter of grateful thanks, which she wrote at the +dictation of Jasmin. The Siecle also gave an account of Jasmin's +interview with the Emperor and Empress at Saint-Cloud, and the +whole proceeding redounded to the honour of the Gascon poet. + +Jasmin had been made Chevalier of the Legion of Honour at the +same time as Balzac, Frederick Soulie, and Alfred de Musset. +The minister bore witness to the worth of Jasmin, notwithstanding +the rusticity of his idiom; and he was classed amongst the men +who did honour to French literature. He was considered great, +not only in his poems, but in his benevolent works: "You build +churches; you help indigence; you possess the talent of a +powerful benefactor; and your muse is the sister of charity." + +When the news of the honours conferred upon Jasmin reached Agen, +the people were most sympathetic in their demonstrations. +The shop of the barber-poet was crowded with visitors, and when +he himself reached the town he was received with the greatest +enthusiasm. The Philharmonic Society again treated him to a +serenade, and the whole town was full of joy at the honour done +to their beloved poet. + +To return to the church of Vergt, which was not yet entirely +finished. A bell-tower had been erected, but what was a +bell-tower without bells? There was a little tinkling affair +which could scarcely be heard in the church, still less in the +neighbourhood. With his constant trust in Providence, the Abbe +did not hesitate to buy a clock and order two large bells. +The expense of both amounted to 7000 francs. How was this to +be paid? His funds were entirely exhausted. The priest first +applied to the inhabitants of Vergt, but they could not raise +half the necessary funds. There was Jasmin! He was the only +person that could enable the Abbe to defray his debt. + +Accordingly, another appeal was made to the public outside of +Vergt. The poet and the priest set out on their fifth and last +pilgrimage; and this time they went as far as Lyons--a city +which Jasmin had never seen before. There he found himself face +to face with an immense audience, who knew next to nothing of +his Gascon patois. He was afraid of his success; but unwilling +to retreat, he resolved, he said, "to create a squadron in +reserve"; that is, after reciting some of the old inspirations +of his youth, to give them his Helene or 'Love and Poetry,' +in modern classical French. The result, we need scarcely say, +was eminently successful, and the Abbe; was doubly grateful in +having added so many more thousand francs to his purse. + +During this journey another priest, the Abbe Cabanel, united his +forces with those of Jasmin and Masson. This Abbe was curate of +Port de Sainte-Foi-la-Grande. He had endeavoured to erect in his + +parish a public school under the charge of religious teachers. +He now proposed to partake of the profits of the recitations for +the purpose of helping on his project; and Jasmin and Masson +willingly complied with his request. They accordingly appeared +at the town of Sainte-Foi, and the result was another excellent +collection. + +After visiting other towns, sufficient subscriptions were +collected to enable the Abbe to pay off his debts. The clock and +bells were christened by Monseigneur de Sangalerie, who had +himself been a curate of the parish of Vergt; and the bells were +inscribed with the name of JASMIN, the chief founder and +rebuilder of the church. The bells were the last addition to +Jasmin's bell-tower, but the final result was reached long after +the beginning of the rebuilding of the church. + + +Footnotes for Chapter XVII. + +[1] The Baron de Montyon bequeathed a large sum to the +Academie Francaise, the Academie des Sciences, and the Faculte +de Medecine, for the purpose of being awarded in prizes to men +of invention and discovery, or for any literary work likely to be +useful to society, and to rewarding acts of virtue among the +poor. +Jasmin was certainly entitled to a share in this benevolent fund. + +[2] Chambers' Edinburgh Journal, July, 1853 + +[3] The following are the Gascon words of this part of the poem: + + "O moun bres, d'un councer festejo moun aoureillo! + Rouseignol, canto fort! brounzino fort, Abeillo! + Garono, fay souna toun flot rizen et pur; + Des ourmes del Grabe floureji la cabeillo, + Non de glorio... mais de bounhur!" + +[4] The editor of Vol. IV. of Jasmins Poems (1863) gives this +note: +"In this circumstance, Jasmin has realised the foresight which +the ancients afforded to their poets, of predicting, two years in +advance, the birth of the Prince Imperial." + + + +CHAPTER XVIII. + +JASMIN ENROLLED MAITRE-ES-JEUX AT TOULOUSE--CROWNED BY AGEN. + +Shortly after the return of Jasmin from Paris, where he had the +honour of an interview with the Emperor and Empress, as well as +with the members of the French Academy, he was invited to +Toulouse for the purpose of being enrolled as Maitre-es-jeux in +the Academy of Jeux Floreaux. + +Toulouse is known as the city of Literary Fetes, and the +reception of Jasmin as Maitre-es-Jeux will long exist as a +permanent record in her annals. The Academy of Jeux Floreaux had +no prize of 5000 frs. to bestow, nor any crowns, nor any golden +laurels. She hides her poverty under her flowers, and although +she would willingly have given all her flowers to Jasmin, +yet her rules prevented her. She called Jasmin to her bosom, +and gave him the heartiest of welcomes. But the honour was +there--the honour of being invited to join a brotherhood of +illustrious men. + +The title of Maitre-es-jeux is a rare distinction, awarded only +to the highest celebrities. The ceremony of installing Jasmin +took place on the 6th of February, 1854. The great Salle des +Illustres was crowded long before he made his appearance, +while the Place de Capitol was filled with a vast number of his +admirers. The archbishop, the prefect, the mayor, the +magistrates, and the principal citizens of Toulouse were present, +with the most beautiful women in the city. Many of the southern +bishops were present, having desired to enjoy the pleasure of +assisting at the ceremony. + +After an address of congratulation, Jasmin was enrolled amongst +the members, and presented with his diploma of Maitre-es-jeux. +Though it was only a piece of parchment, he considered it the +rarest of distinctions. It connected the poet, through five +centuries, with the last of the Troubadours, whose language he +had so splendidly revived. Jasmin valued his bit of parchment +more highly than all the other gifts he had received. In answer +to his enrolment, he said: + +"I have now enough! I want no more! All things smile upon me. +My muse went proudly from the forty of Toulouse to the forty of +Paris. She is more than proud to-day, she is completely happy; +for she sees my name, which Isaure blessed, come from the forty +of Paris to the forty of Toulouse," + +After his enrolment, the poet-barber left the salon. A large +crowd had assembled in the court, under the peristyle, in the +Place of the Capitol. Every head was uncovered as he passed +through their ranks, and those who accompanied him to his +lodging, called out, "Vive Jasmin! Vive Jasmin!" Never had such +a scene been witnessed before. + +Although Jasmin had declared to the Academy of Jeux Floreaux +that he wanted nothing more than the diploma they had given him, +yet another triumph was waiting him. The citizens of Agen capped +all the previous honours of the poet. They awarded him a crown +of gold, which must have been the greatest recompense of all. +They had known him during almost his entire life--the son of a +humpbacked tailor and a crippled mother, of poor but honest +people, whose means had been helped by the grandfather, Boe, who +begged from door to door, the old man who closed his eyes in the +hospital, "where all the Jasmins die!" + +They had known him by his boyish tricks, his expulsion from the +Academy, his setting up as a barber, his happy marriage, and his +laborious progress, until the "shower of silver" came running +into his shop. "Pau de labouro, pau de salouro," No work, +no bread. Though born in the lowest condition of life, he had, +by the help of his wife, and by his own energy and perseverance, +raised himself to the highest position as a man of character. +Before he reached the age of thirty [1] he began to show +evidences of his genius as a poet. + +But still more important were his works of charity, which +endeared him to the people through the South of France. It was +right and reasonable that his fellow-citizens should desire to +take part in the honours conferred upon their beloved poet. He +had already experienced their profound sympathy during his +self-sacrificing work, but they now wished to testify their +public admiration, and to proclaim the fact by some offering of +intrinsic value. + +The Society of Saint-Vincent de Paul--whom he had so often helped +in their charitable labours--first started the idea. They knew +what Jasmin had done to found schools, orphanages, and creches. +Indeed, this was their own mission, and no one had laboured so +willingly as he had done to help them in their noble work. +The idea, thus started by the society, immediately attracted +public attention, and was received with universal approval. + +A committee was formed, consisting of De Bouy, mayor; H. Noubel, +deputy; Aunac, banker; Canon Deyche, arch-priest of the +cathedral; Dufort, imperial councillor; Guizot, receiver-general; +Labat, advocate-general; Maysonnade, president of the conference +of Saint-Vincent de Paul; Couturier, the engineer, and other +gentlemen. A subscription was at once opened and more than +four thousand persons answered the appeal. + +When the subscriptions were collected, they were found so great +in amount, that the committee resolved to present Jasmin with a +crown of gold. Five hundred years before, Petrarch had been +crowned at Rome in the name of Italy, and now Jasmin was to be +crowned at Agen, in the name of Meridional France. To crown a +man, who, during his lifetime had been engaged in the trade of +barber and hair-dresser, seemed something extraordinary and +unique. To the cold-blooded people of the North there might +appear something theatrical in such a demonstration, but it was +quite in keeping with the warm-hearted children of the South. + +The construction of the crown was entrusted to MM. Fannieres of +Paris, the best workers of gold in France. They put their best +art and skill into the crown. It consisted of two branches of +laurel in dead gold, large and knotted behind, like the crowns +of the Caesars and the poets, with a ruby, artistically +arranged, containing the simple device: La Ville d'Agen, +a Jasmin! The pendants of the laurel, in dead silver, were mixed + +with the foliage. The style of the work was severe and pure, +and the effect of the chef d'oeuvre was admirable. + +The public meeting, at which the golden crown was presented to +Jasmin, was held on the 27th of November, 1856, in the large +hall of the Great Seminary. Gilt banners were hung round the +walls, containing the titles of Jasmin's principal poems, while +the platform was splendidly decorated with emblems and festoons +of flowers. Although the great hall was of large dimensions, +it could not contain half the number of people who desired to be +present on this grand occasion. + +An immense crowd assembled in the streets adjoining the seminary. + +Jasmin, on his arrival, was received with a triple salvo of +applause from the crowd without, and next from the assembly +within. On the platform were the members of the subscription +committee, the prefect, the Bishop of Agen, the chiefs of the +local government, the general in command of the district, and a +large number of officers and ecclesiastics. + +Jasmin, when taking his place on the platform saluted the +audience with one of his brilliant impromptus, and proceeded to +recite some of his favourite poems: Charity; The Doctor of the +Poor; Town and Country; and, The Week's Work of a Son. Then M. +Noubel, in his double capacity of deputy for the department, and +member of the subscription committee, addressed Jasmin in the +following words: + +"Poet, I appear here in the name of the people of Agen, to offer +you the testimony of their admiration and profound sympathy. +I ask you to accept this crown! It is given you by a loving and +hearty friend, in the name of your native town of Agen, which +your poetry has charmed, which rejoices in your present success, +and is proud of the glory of your genius. Agen welcomed the +first germs of your talent; she has seen it growing, and +increasing your fame; she has entered with you into the palaces +of kings; she has associated herself with your triumphs +throughout; now the hour of recognising your merits has arrived, +and she honours herself in crowning you. + +"But it is not merely the Poet whom we recognise to-day; you +have a much greater claim to our homage. In an age in which +egoism and the eager thirst for riches prevails, you have, +in the noble work which you have performed, displayed the virtues +of benevolence and self-sacrifice. You yourself have put them +into practice. Ardent in the work of charity, you have gone +wherever misery and poverty had to be relieved, and all that you +yourself have received was merely the blessings of the +unfortunate. Each of your days has been celebrated for its good +works, and your whole life has been a hymn to benevolence and +charity. + +"Accept, then, Jasmin, this crown! Great poet, good citizen, +you have nobly earned it! Give it an honoured place in that +glorious museum of yours, which the towns and cities of the South +have enriched by their gifts. May it remain there in testimony +of your poetical triumphs, and attest the welcome recognition of +your merits by your fellow-citizens. + +"For myself, I cannot but be proud of the mission which has been +entrusted to me. I only owe it, I know, to the position of +deputy in which you have placed me by popular election. I am +proud, nevertheless, of having the honour of crowning you, and I +shall ever regard this event as the most glorious recollection of +my life." + +After this address, during which M. Noubel was greatly moved, +he took the crown of gold and placed it on the head of the poet. +It is impossible to describe the enthusiasm of the meeting at +this supreme moment. The people were almost beside themselves. +Their exclamations of sympathy and applause were almost frantic. +Jasmin wept with happiness. After the emotion hard subsided, +with his eyes full of tears, he recited his piece of poetry +entitled: The Crown of my Birthplace.[2] + +In this poem, Jasmin took occasion to recite the state of +poverty in which he was born, yet with the star of poetry in his +breast; his dear mother, and her anxieties about his education +and up-bringing; his growth; his first efforts in poetical +composition, and his final triumph; and at last his crown of +gold conferred upon him by the people of Agen--the crown of +his birthplace. + + "I feel that if my birthplace crowns me, + In place of singing . . . I should weep!" + +After Jasmin had recited his touching poem, he affectionately +took leave of his friends, and the assembly dispersed. + + +Footnotes to Chapter XVIII. + +[1] There is a Gascon proverb which says: + + "Qu'a vingt ans nouns po, + Qu'a trent ans noun sa, + Qu'a cranto noun er, + Qu'a cincanto se paouso pa, + Sabe pa que pot esper." + +"Who at twenty does nothing; + Who at thirty knows nothing; + Who at forty has nothing; + Who at fifty changes nothing: + For him there is no hope." + +[2] Perhaps this might be better rendered "The Crown of my +Infancy;" in Gascon, "La Courouno del Bres." + + + +CHAPTER XIX. + +LAST POEMS--MORE MISSIONS OF CHARITY. + +This was the last occasion on which Jasmin publicly appeared +before his fellow-townsmen; and it could not perhaps have been +more fitting and appropriate. He still went on composing poetry; +amongst other pieces, La Vierge, dedicated to the Bishop of +Algiers, who acknowledged it in a complimentary letter. In his +sixty-second year, when his hair had become white, he composed +some New Recollections (Mous Noubels Soubenis), in which he +again recalled the memories of his youth. In his new Souvenirs +he only gives a few fresh stories relating to the period of his +infancy and youth. Indeed they scarcely go beyond the period +covered by his original Souvenirs. + +In the midst of his various honours at Paris, Toulouse, and Agen, +he did not forget his true mission, the help and relief of the +afflicted. He went to Albi, and gave a recitation which produced +2000 francs. The whole of this sum went to the poor. There was +nothing for himself but applause, and showers of flowers thrown +at his feet by the ladies present. + +It was considered quite unprecedented that so large a sum should +have been collected in so poor a district. The mayor however was +prepared for the event. After a touching address to the poet, +he presented him with a ring of honour, with the arms of the +town, and the inscribed words: "Albi a Jasmin." + +He went for the same purpose, to Castera in the Gers, a decayed +town, to recite his poems, in the words of the cure, for +"our poor church." He was received as usual with great +enthusiasm; and a present of silver was given to him with the +inscribed words: A Jasmin, l'Eglise du Castera reconnaissante!" +Jasmin answered, by reciting an impromptu he had composed for the +occasion. + +At Bordeaux, one of his favourite cities, he was received with +more than the usual enthusiasm. There he made a collection in +aid of the Conference of Saint-vincent de Paul. In the midst of +the seance, he appeared almost inspired, and recited "La Charite +dans Bordeaux"--the grand piece of the evening. The assembly +rose en masse, and cheered the poet with frantic applause. +The ladies threw an avalanche of bouquets at the hero of the +fete. + +After quiet had been restored, the Society of Saint-vincent de +Paul cordially thanked Jasmin through the mouth of their +President; and presented him with a magnificent golden circlet, +with this inscription: "La Caritat dins Bourdeau!" + +Among his other recitations towards the close of his life, +for the purpose of collecting money for the relief of the poor, +were those at Montignac in Perigord; at Saint-Macaire; +at Saint-Andre de Cubzac, and at Monsegur. Most of these were +remote villages far apart from each other. He had disappointed +his friends at Arcachon several years before, when he failed to +make his appearance with the Abbe Masson, during their tour on +behalf of the church of Vergt, owing to the unpunctuality of the +steamboat; but he promised to visit them at some future period. + +He now redeemed his promise. The poor were in need, and he went +to their help. A large audience had assembled to listen to his +recitations, and a considerable sum of money was collected. +The audience overwhelmed him with praises and the Mayor of Teste +the head department of the district--after thanking Jasmin for +his admirable assistance, presented him with a gold medal, on +which was inscribed: "Fete de Charite d'Arcachon: A Jasmin." +These laurels and medals had become so numerous, that Jasmin +had almost become tired of such tributes to his benevolence. + +He went to Bareges again, where Monseigneur the Bishop of Tarbes +had appealed to him for help in the erection of an hospital. +From that town he proceeded to Saint-Emilion and Castel-Naudary, +to aid the Society of Mutual Help in these two towns. In fact, +he was never weary of well-doing. "This calamitous winter," +he wrote in January, 1854, "requires all my devotion. I will +obey my conscience and give myself to the help of the famished +and suffering, even to the extinction of my personal health." + +And so it was to the end. When his friends offered him public +entertainments, he would say, "No, no! give the money to the +poor!" What gave Jasmin as much pleasure as any of the laurels +and crowns conferred upon him, was a beautifully bound copy of +the 'Imitation of Christ,' with the following inscription: +"A testimony from the Bishop of Saint-Flour, in acknowledgment +of the services which the great poet has rendered to the poor of +his diocese." + +No poet had so many opportunities of making money, and of +enriching himself by the contributions of the rich as well as +the poor. But such an idea never entered his mind. He would +have regarded it as a sacrilege to evoke the enthusiasm of the +people, and make money; for his own benefit, or to speculate +upon the triumphs of his muse. Gold earned in this way, he said, +would have burnt his fingers. He worked solely for the benefit +of those who could not help themselves. His poetry was to him +like a sweet rose that delighted the soul and produced the +fruits of charity. + +His conduct has been called Quixotic. Would that there were more + +Quixotes in the world! After his readings, which sometimes +produced from two to three thousand francs, the whole of the +proceeds were handed over to those for whose benefit they had +been given, after deducting, of course, the expenses of +travelling, of which he kept a most accurate account. + +It is estimated that the amount of money collected by Jasmin +during his recitations for philanthropic objects amounted to at +least 1,500,000 francs (equal to 62,500 sterling). Besides, +there were the labour of his journeys, and the amount of his +correspondence, which were almost heroic. M. Rabain[1] states +that from 1825 to 1860, the number of letters received by Jasmin +was more than twelve thousand. + +Mr. Dickens, in giving the readings from his works in Great +Britain, netted over 35,000 sterling, besides what he received +for his readings in America. This, of course, led quite +reasonably to the enhancing of his fortune. But all that Jasmin +received from his readings was given away--some say "thrown +away"--to the poor and the needy. It is not necessary to comment +on such facts; one can only mention and admire them. + +The editor of Le Pays says: "The journeys of Jasmin in the South +were like a triumphal march. No prince ever received more +brilliant ovations. Flowers were strewn in his way; the bells +rang out on his appearance; the houses were illuminated; +the Mayors addressed him in words of praise; the magistrates, +the clergy followed him in procession. Bestowed upon a man, +and a poet, such honours might seem exaggerated; but Jasmin, +under the circumstances, represented more than poetry: +he represented Charity. Each of his verses transformed him +into an alms-giver; and from the harvest of gold which he reaped +from the people, he preserved for himself only the flowers. +His epics were for the unfortunate. This was very noble; +and the people of Agen should be proud of their poet."[2] + +The account which Jasmin records of his expenses during a journey +of fifty days, in which he collected more than 20,000 francs, +is very remarkable. It is given in the fourth volume of +'Les Papillotes,' published in 1863, the year before his death, +and is entitled, "Note of my expenses of the journey, which I +have deducted from the receipts during my circuit of fifty days." + +On certain occasions nothing whatever was charged, but a +carriage was probably placed at his disposal, or the ticket for +a railway or a diligence may have been paid for by his friends. +On many occasions he walked the distance between the several +places, and thus saved the cost of his conveyance. But every +item of expense was set forth in his "Note" with the most +scrupulous exactness. + +Here is the translation of Jasmin's record for his journeys +during these fifty days:-- "... At Foix, from M. de Groussou, +President of the Communion of Bienfaisance, 33 fr., 50 c. +At Pamiers, nil. At Saint-Girons, from the President of the +Society of St. Vincent de Paul, 16 fr. At Lavaur, from M. the +Mayor, 22 fr. At Saint-Sulpice, nil. At Toulouse, where I gave +five special seances, of which the two first, to Saint-Vincent de +Paul and the Prefecture, produced more than 1600 fr., nil. My +muse was sufficiently accounted for; it was during my reception +as Maitre-es-jeux. At Rodez, from the President of the +Conference of Saint-Vincent de Paul, 29 fr. 50c. At +Saint-Geniez, nil. At Saint-Flour, from M. Simon, vicar-general, +22 fr. 50 c. At Murat, nil. At Mauriac, nil. At Aurillac, from +M. Geneste, mayor, for my return to Agen, 24 fr. Total, 147 fr. +50 centimes." + +Thus, more than 20,000 francs were collected for the poor, +Jasmin having deducted 147 fr. 50 c. for the cost of his +journeys from place to place. It must also be remembered that he +travelled mostly in winter, when the ground was covered with +snow. In February, 1854, M. Migneret, Prefect of Haute-garonne, +addressed a letter to Jasmin, which is worthy of preservation. +"It is pleasant," he said, 'after having enjoyed at night the +charms of your poetry, to begin the next day by taking account +of the misfortunes they relieve. I owe you this double honour, +and I thank you with the greatest gratitude.... As to our +admiration of your talent, it yields to our esteem for your +noble heart; the poet cannot be jealous of the good citizen."[3] + +Notwithstanding the rigour of the season, and the snow and wind, +the like of which had not been known for more than twenty years, +Jasmin was welcomed by an immense audience at Rodez. The +recitation was given in the large hall of the Palais de Justice, +and never had so large a collection been made. The young people +of the town wished to give Jasmin a banquet, but he declined, +as he had to hurry on to another place for a similar purpose. +He left them, however, one of his poems prepared for the +occasion. + +He arrived at Saint-Flour exhausted by fatigue. His voice began +to fail, partly through the rigours of the climate, yet he +continued to persevere. The bishop entertained him in his +palace, and introduced him personally to the audience before +which he was to give his recitations. Over the entrance-door was +written the inscription, "A Jasmin, le Poete des Pauvres, +Saint-fleur reconnaissante!" Before Jasmin began to recite he +was serenaded by the audience. The collection was greater than +had ever been known. It was here that the bishop presented +Jasmin with that famous manual, 'The Imitation of Christ,' +already referred to. + +It was the same at Murat, Mauriac, and Aurillac. The recitation +at Aurillac was given in the theatre, and the receipts were 1200 +francs. Here also he was serenaded. He departed from Aurillac +covered with the poor people's blessings and gratitude. + +At Toulouse he gave another entertainment, at the instance of +the Conference of Saint-Francois Xavier. There were about 3000 +persons present, mostly of the working classes. The seance was +prolonged almost to midnight. The audience, most of whom had to +rise early in the morning, forgot their sleep, and wished the +poet to prolong his recitations! + +Although the poor machine of Jasmin's body was often in need of +rest, he still went about doing good. He never ceased +ministering to the poor until he was altogether unable to go to +their help. Even in the distressing cold, rain, and wind of +winter--and it was in winter more than in summer that he +travelled, for it was then that the poor were most distressed-- +he entirely disregarded his own comfort, and sometimes travelled +at much peril; yet he went north and south, by highways and +byways, by rivers and railways, in any and every direction, +provided his services could be of use. + +He sacrificed himself always, and was perfectly regardless of +self. He was overwhelmed with honours and praises. He became +weary of triumphs--of laurels, flowers, and medals--he sometimes +became weary of his life; yet he never could refuse any pressing +solicitation made to him for a new recital of his poems. + +His trials, especially in winter time, were often most +distressing. He would recite before a crowded audience, in a +heated room, and afterwards face the icy air without, often +without any covering for his throat and neck. Hence his repeated +bronchial attacks, the loss of his voice, and other serious +affections of his lungs. + +The last meeting which Jasmin attended on behalf of the poor was +at the end of January 1864, only three months before his death. +It was at Villeneuve-sur-Lot, a town several miles north of Agen. +He did not desire to put the people to the expense of a +conveyance, and therefore he decided to walk. He was already +prematurely old and stooping. + +The disease which ended his life had already made considerable +progress. He should have been in bed; nevertheless, as the poor +needed his help, the brave old man determined to proceed to +Villeneuve. He was helped along the road by some of his friends; +and at last, wearied and panting, he arrived at his destination. + +The meeting was held in the theatre, which was crowded to +suffocation. + +No sooner had Jasmin reached the platform, amidst the usual +triumphant cheering, than, after taking a short rest, he sprang +to his feet and began the recitation of his poems. Never had his +voice seemed more spirited and entrancing. He delighted his +audience, while he pleaded most eloquently for the relief of the +poor. + +"I see him now," wrote one of his friends, "from behind the +side-scenes of the theatre, perspiring profusely, wet to the +skin, with a carafe of water to allay the ardent thirst +occasioned by three hours of splendid declamation." + +In his then critical state, the three hours' declamation was +enough to kill him. At all events, it was his last recitation. +It was the song of the dying swan. In the midst of his triumphs, +he laid down his life for the poor; like the soldier who dies +with the sound of victory in his ears. + + +Footnotes to Chapter XIX. + +[1] 'Jasmin, sa Vie et ses OEuvres.' Paris, 1867. + +[2] Le Pays, 14th February, 1854. + +[3] 'Las Papillotos de Jasmin,' iv. 56. + + + +CHAPTER XX. + +DEATH OF JASMIN--HIS CHARACTER. + +After his final recitation at Villeneuve, Jasmin, sick, ill, +and utterly exhausted, reached Agen with difficulty. He could +scarcely stand. It was not often that travelling had so affected +him; but nature now cried out and rebelled. His wife was, +of course, greatly alarmed. He was at once carefully put to bed, +and there he lay for fifteen days. + +When he was at length able to rise, he was placed in his easy +chair, but he was still weak, wearied, and exhausted. Mariette +believed that he would yet recover his strength; but the disease +under which he laboured had taken a strong hold of him, and +Jasmin felt that be was gradually approaching the close of his +life. + +About this time Renan's 'Life of Jesus' was published. Jasmin +was inexpressibly shocked by the appearance of the book, for it +seemed to him to strike at the foundations of Christianity, +and to be entirely opposed to the teachings of the Church. +He immediately began to compose a poem, entitled The Poet of the +People to M. Renan,[1] in which he vindicated the Catholic faith, +and denounced the poisonous mischief contained in the new attack +upon Christianity. The poem was full of poetic feeling, with +many pathetic touches illustrative of the life and trials of man +while here below. + +The composition of this poem occupied him for some time. +Although broken by grief and pain, he made every haste to +correct the proofs, feeling that it would probably be the last +work that he should give to the world. And it was his last. +It was finished and printed on the 24th of August, 1864. He sent +several copies to his more intimate friends with a dedication; +and then he took finally to his bed, never to rise again. +"I am happy," he said, "to have terminated my career by an act +of faith, and to have consecrated my last work to the name of +Jesus Christ." He felt that it was his passport to eternity. + +Jasmin's life was fast drawing to a close. He knew that he must +soon die; yet never a word of fear escaped his lips; nor was his +serenity of mind disturbed. He made his preparations for +departure with as much tranquillity and happiness, as on the days +when he was about to start on one of his philanthropic missions. + +He desired that M. Saint-Hilaire, the vicar of the parish, +should be sent for. The priest was at once by the bedside of his +dying friend. Jasmin made his replies to him in a clear and calm +voice. His wife, his son, his grand-children, were present when +he received the Viaticum--the last sacrament of the church. +After the ceremony he turned to his wife and family, and said: +"In my last communion I have prayed to God that He may keep you +all in the most affectionate peace and union, and that He may +ever reign in the hearts of those whom I love so much and am +about to leave behind me." Then speaking to his wife, he said, +"Now Mariette,--now I can die peacefully." + +He continued to live until the following morning. He conversed +occasionally with his wife, his son, and a few attached friends. + +He talked, though with difficulty, of the future of the family, +for whom he had made provision. At last, lifting himself up by +the aid of his son, he looked towards his wife. The brightness +of love glowed in his eyes; but in a moment he fell back +senseless upon the pillow, and his spirit quietly passed away. + +Jasmin departed this life on the 5th of October, 1864, at the +age of sixty-five. He was not an old man; but the brightest +jewels soonest wear their setting. When laid in his coffin, +the poem to Renan, his last act of faith, was placed on his +breast, with his hands crossed over it. + +The grief felt at his death was wide and universal. In the South +of France he was lamented as a personal friend; and he was +followed to the grave by an immense number of his townspeople. + +The municipal administration took charge of the funeral. +At ten o'clock in the morning of the 8th October the procession +started from Jasmin's house on the Promenade du Gravier. +On the coffin were placed the Crown of Gold presented to him by +his fellow-townsmen, the cross of Chevalier of the Legion of +Honour, and that of Saint-Gregory the Great. A company of five +men, and a detachment of troops commanded by an officer, formed +the line. + +The following gentlemen held the cords of the funeral pall:-- +M. Feart, Prefect of the Lot-et-Garonne; M. Henri Noubel, Deputy +and Mayor of Agen; General Ressayre, Commander of the Military +Division; M. Bouet, President of the Imperial Court; M. de +Laffore, engineer; and M. Magen, Secretary of the Society of +Agriculture, Sciences, and Arts. A second funeral pall was held +by six coiffeurs of the corporation to which Jasmin had belonged. +Behind the hearse were the Brothers of the Christian Doctrine, +the Sisters of Saint-Vincent de Paul, and the Little Sisters of +the Poor. + +The mourners were headed by the poet's son and the other members +of his family. The cortege was very numerous, including the +elite of the population. Among them were the Procureur-General, +the Procureur-imperial, the Engineer-in-chief of the Department, +the Director of Taxes, many Councillors-General, all the members +of the Society of Agriculture, many officers of the army, many +ecclesiastics as well as ministers of the reformed worship. +Indeed, representatives of nearly the whole population were +present. + +The procession first entered the church of Saint Hilaire, where +the clergy of the four parishes had assembled. High mass was +performed by the full choir. The Miserere of Beethoven was +given, and some exquisite pieces from Mozart. Deep emotion was +produced by the introduction, in the midst of this beautiful +music, of some popular airs from the romance of Franconnette and +Me Cal Mouri, Jasmin's first work. The entire ceremony was +touching, and moved many to tears. + +After the service had been finished, the procession moved off to +the cemetery--passing through the principal streets of the +town, which were lined by crowds of mournful spectators. Large +numbers of people had also assembled at the cemetery. After the +final prayer, M. Noubel, Deputy and Mayor of Agen, took the +opportunity of pronouncing a eulogium over the grave of the +deceased. His speech was most sympathetic and touching. +We can only give a few extracts from his address: + +"Dear and great poet," he said, "at the moment when we commit to +the earth thy mortal remains, I wish, in the name of this town +of Agen, where thou wert born and which thou hast truly loved, +to address to thee a last, a supreme adieu. Alas! What would'st +thou have said to me some years ago, when I placed upon thy +forehead the crown--decreed by the love and admiration of thy +compatriots--that I should so soon have been called upon to +fulfil a duty that now rends my heart. The bright genius of thy +countenance, the brilliant vigour in thine eyes, which time, +it seemed, would never tarnish, indicated the fertile source of +thy beautiful verses and noble aspirations! + +"And yet thy days had been numbered, and you yourself seemed to +have cherished this presentiment; but, faithful to thy double +mission of poet and apostle of benevolence, thou redoubled thy +efforts to enrich with new epics thy sheaf of poetry, and by thy +bountiful gifts and charity to allay the sorrows of the poor. +Indefatigable worker! Thou hast dispensed most unselfishly thy +genius and thy powers! Death alone has been able to compel thee +to repose! + +"But now our friend is departed for ever! That poetical fire, +that brilliant and vivid intelligence, that ardent heart, have +now ceased to strive for the good of all; for this great and +generous soul has ascended to Him who gave it birth. It has +returned to the Giver of Good, accompanied by our sorrows and +our tears. It has ascended to heaven with the benedictions of +all the distressed and unfortunate whom he has succoured. It is +our hope and consolation that he may find the recompense assured +for those who have usefully and boldly fulfilled their duty here +below. + +"This duty, O poet, thou hast well fulfilled. Those faculties, +which God had so largely bestowed upon thee, have never been +employed save for the service of just and holy causes. Child of +the people, thou hast shown us how mind and heart enlarge with +work; that the sufferings and privations of thy youth enabled +thee to retain thy love of the poor and thy pity for the +distressed. Thy muse, sincerely Christian, was never used to +inflame the passions, but always to instruct, to soothe, and to +console. Thy last song, the Song of the Swan, was an eloquent +and impassioned protest of the Christian, attacked in his +fervent belief and his faith. + +"God has doubtless marked the term of thy mission; and thy death +was not a matter of surprise. Thou hast come and gone, without +fear; and religion, thy supreme consoler, has calmed the +sufferings of thy later hours, as it had cradled thee in thy +earlier years. + +"Thy body will disappear, but thy spirit, Jasmin, will never be +far from us. Inspire us with thy innocent gaiety and brotherly +love. The town of Agen is never ungrateful; she counts thee +amongst the most pure and illustrious of her citizens. She will +consecrate thy memory in the way most dignified to thee and to +herself. + +"The inhabitants of towns without number, where thou hast +exercised thy apostolate of charity, will associate themselves +with this work of affection and remembrance. But the most +imperishable monument is that which thou hast thyself founded +with thine own head and hands, and which will live in our hearts +--the creations of thy genius and the memory of thy +philanthropy." + +After the Mayor of Agen had taken leave of the mortal remains of +the poet, M. Capot, President of the Society of Agriculture, +Sciences, and Arts, gave another eloquent address. He was +followed by M. Magen, Secretary to the same society. The troops +fired a salute over the grave, and took leave of the poet's +remains with military honours. The immense crowd of mourners +then slowly departed from the cemetery. + +Another public meeting took place on the 12th of May, 1870, on +the inauguration of the bronze statue of Jasmin in the Place +Saint Antoine, now called the Place Jasmin. The statue was +erected by public subscription, and executed by the celebrated +M. Vital Dubray. It stands nearly opposite the house where +Jasmin lived and carried on his trade. Many of his old friends +came from a considerable distance to be present at the +inauguration of the statue. The Abbe Masson of Vergt was there, +whose church Jasmin had helped to re-build. M. l'Abbe Donis, +curate of Saint-Louis at Bordeaux, whom he had often helped with +his recitations; the able philologist Azais; the young and +illustrious Provencal poet Mistral; and many representatives of +the Parisian and Southern press, were present on the occasion. +The widow and son of the poet, surrounded by their family, +were on the platform. When the statue was unveiled, a salvo of +artillery was fired; then the choir of the Brothers of the +Communal Christian School saluted the "glorious resurrection of +Jasmin" with their magnificent music, which was followed by +enthusiastic cheers. + +M. Henri Noubel, Deputy and Mayor of Agen, made an eloquent +speech on the unveiling of the statue. He had already pronounced +his eulogium of Jasmin at the burial of the poet, but he was +still full of the subject, and brought to mind many charming +recollections of the sweetness of disposition and energetic +labours of Jasmin on behalf of the poor and afflicted. He again +expressed his heartfelt regret for the departure of the poet. + +M. Noubel was followed by M. l'Abbe Donis, of Bordeaux, who +achieved a great success by his eulogy of the life of Jasmin, +whom he entitled "The Saint-vincent de Paul of poetry." + +He was followed by the Abbe Capot, in the name of the clergy, +and by M. Magen, in the name of the Society of Agriculture, +Sciences, and Arts. They were followed by MM. Azais and Pozzi, +who recited some choice pieces of poetry in the Gascon patois. +M. Mistral came last--the celebrated singer of "Mireio"-- +who, with his faltering voice, recited a beautiful piece of +poetry composed for the occasion, which was enthusiastically +applauded. + +The day was wound up with a banquet in honour of M. Dubray, +the artist who had executed the bronze statue. The Place Jasmin +was brilliantly illuminated during the evening, where an immense +crowd assembled to view the statue of the poet, whose face and +attitude appeared in splendid relief amidst a blaze of light. + +It is unnecessary further to describe the character of Jasmin. +It is sufficiently shown by his life and labours--his genius and +philanthropy. In the recollections of his infancy and boyhood, +he truthfully describes the pleasures and sorrows of his youth-- +his love for his mother, his affection for his grandfather, +who died in the hospital, "where all the Jasmins die." He did +not even conceal the little tricks played by him in the Academy, +from which he was expelled, nor the various troubles of his +apprenticeship. + +This was one of the virtues of Jasmin--his love of truth. +He never pretended to be other than what he was. He was even +proud of being a barber, with his "hand of velvet." He was +pleased to be entertained by the coiffeurs of Agen, Paris, +Bordeaux, and Toulouse. He was a man of the people, and believed +in the dignity of labour. At the same time, but for his +perseverance and force of character, he never could have raised +himself to the honour and power of the true poet. + +He was born poor, and the feeling of inherited poverty adhered +to him through life, and inspired him with profound love for the +poor and the afflicted of his class. He was always ready to +help them, whether they lived near to him or far from him. +He was, in truth, "The Saint-Vincent de Paul of poetry." +His statue, said M. Noubel, pointing up to it, represented the +glorification of genius and virtue, the conquest of ignorance +and misery. + +M. Deydou said at Bordeaux, when delivering an address upon the +genius of Jasmin--his Eminence Cardinal Donnet presiding--that +poetry, when devoted to the cause of charity, according to +the poet himself, was "the glory of the earth and the perfume of +heaven." + +Jasmin loved his dear town of Agen, and was proud of it. After +his visit to the metropolis, he said, "If Paris makes me proud, +Agen makes me happy." "This town," he said, on another occasion," +has been my birthplace; soon it shall be my grave." +He loved his country too, and above all he loved his native +language. It was his mother-tongue; and though he was often +expostulated with for using it, he never forsook the Gascon. +It was the language of the home, of the fireside, of the fields, +of the workshop, of the people amongst whom he lived, and he +resolved ever to cherish and elevate the Gascon dialect. + +"Popular and purely natural poetry," said Montaigne in the 16th +century, "has a simplicity and gracefulness which surpass the +beauty of poetry according to art." Jasmin united the naive +artlessness of poetry with the perfection of art. He retained +the simplicity of youth throughout his career, and his domestic +life was the sanctuary of all the virtues. + +In his poems he vividly described filial love, conjugal +tenderness, and paternal affection, because no one felt these +graces of life more fervently than himself. He was like the +Italian painter, +who never went beyond his home for a beautiful model. + +Victor Hugo says that a great man is like the sun--most beautiful +when he touches the earth, at his rising and at his setting. +Jasmin's rising was in the depths of honest poverty, +but his setting was glorious. God crowned his fine life by a +special act of favour; for the last song of the poet was his +"act of faith"--his address to Renan. + +Jasmin was loyal, single-minded, self-reliant, patient, +temperate, and utterly unselfish. He made all manner of +sacrifices during his efforts in the cause of charity. Nothing +was allowed to stand in the way of his missions on behalf of the +poor. In his journey of fifty days in 1854, he went from Orthez +--the country of Gaston Phoebus--to the mountains of Auvergne, +in spite of the rigours of the weather. During that journey he +collected 20,000 francs. In all, as we have said, he collected, +during his life-time, more than a million and a half of francs, +all of which he devoted to the cause of philanthropy. + +Two words were engraved on the pedestal of his statue, Poetry +and Charity! Charity was the object and purpose of his heroic +programme. Yet, in his poetry he always exhibited his +tender-hearted gaiety. Even when he weeps, you see the ray of +sunlight in his tears. Though simple as a child in ordinary +life, he displayed in his writings the pathos and satire of the +ancient Troubadours, with no small part of the shrewdness and +wit attributed to persons of his calling. + +Although esteemed and praised by all ranks and classes of people +--by king, emperor, princes, and princesses; by cardinals and +bishops; by generals, magistrates, literary men, and politicians +--though the working people almost worshipped him, and village +girls strewed flowers along his pathway--though the artisan +quitted his workshop, and the working woman her washing-tub, to +listen to his marvellous recitations, yet Jasmin never lost his +head or was carried away by the enthusiastic cheers which +accompanied his efforts, but remained simple and unaffected to +the last. + +Another characteristic of him was, that he never forsook his +friends, however poor. His happiest moments were those in which +he encountered a companion of his early youth. Many still +survived who had accompanied him while making up his bundle of +fagots on the islands of the Garonne. He was delighted to shake +hands with them, and to help, when necessary, these playmates of +his boyhood. + +He would also meet with pleasure the working women of his +acquaintance, those who had related to him the stories of Loup +Garou and the traditions of the neighbourhood, and encouraged +the boy from his earliest youth. Then, at a later period of his +life, nothing could have been more worthy of him than his +affection for his old benefactor, M. Baze, and his pleading with +Napoleon III., through the Empress, for his return to France +"through the great gate of honour!" + +Had Jasmin a fault? Yes, he had many, for no one exists within +the limits of perfection. But he had one in especial, which he +himself confessed. He was vain and loved applause, nor did he +conceal his love. + +When at Toulouse, he said to some of his friends, "I love to be +applauded: it is my whim; and I think it would be difficult for +a poet to free himself from the excitement of applause." When at +Paris, he said, "Applaud! applaud! The cheers you raise will be +heard at Agen." Who would not overlook a fault, if fault it be, +which is confessed in so naive a manner? + +When complimented about reviving the traditions of the +Troubadours, Jasmin replied, "The Troubadours, indeed! Why, I am +a better poet than any of the Troubadours! Not one of them could +have composed a long poem of sustained interest, like my +Franconnette." + +Any fault or weakness which Jasmin exhibited was effaced by the +good wishes and prayers of thousands of the poor and afflicted +whom he had relieved by his charity and benevolence. The reality + of his life almost touches the ideal. Indeed, it was a long +apostolate. + +Cardinal Donnet, Archbishop of Bordeaux, said of him, that "he +was gifted with a rich nature, a loyal and unreserved character, +and a genius as fertile as the soil of his native country. The +lyre of Jasmin," he said, "had three chords, which summed up the +harmonies of heaven and earth--the true, the useful, and the +beautiful." + +Did not the members of the French Academy--the highest literary +institution in the world--strike a gold medal in his honour, +with the inscription, "La medaille du poete moral et populaire"? +M. Sainte-Beuve, the most distinguished of French critics, +used a much stronger expression. He said, "If France had ten +poets like Jasmin--ten poets of the same power and influence-- +she need no longer have any fear of revolutions." + +Genius is as nothing in the sight of God; but "whosoever shall +give a cup of water to drink in the name of Christ, because they +belong to Christ, shall not lose his reward." M. Tron, Deputy +and Mayor of Bagnere-du-luchon, enlarged upon this text in his +eulogy of Jasmin. + +"He was a man," he said, "as rich in his heart as in his genius. +He carried out that life of 'going about doing good' which +Christ rehearsed for our instruction. He fed the hungry, clothed +the naked, succoured the distressed, and consoled and +sympathised with the afflicted. Few men have accomplished more +than he has done. His existence was unique, not only in the +history of poets, but of philanthropists." + +A life so full of good could only end with a Christian death. +He departed with a lively faith and serene piety, crowning by a +peaceful death one of the strangest and most diversified careers +in the nineteenth century. "Poetry and Charity," inscribed on +the pedestal of his statue in Agen, fairly sums up his noble +life and character. + + +Footnotes for Chapter XX. + +[1] 'Lou Poeto del Puple a Moussu Renan.' + + + +APPENDIX. + +JASMIN'S DEFENCE OF THE GASCON DIALECT. + +To M. SYLVAIN DUMON, Deputy-Minister, who has condemned +to death our native language. + +There's not a deeper grief to man +Than when our mother, faint with years, +Decrepit, old, and weak, and wan, +Beyond the leech's art appears; +When by her couch her son may stay, +And press her hand, and watch her eyes, +And feel, though she survives to-day, +Perchance his hope to-morrow dies. + +It is not thus, believe me, Sir, +With this enchantress, we will call +Our second mother. Frenchmen err, +Who cent'ries since proclaimed her fall! +Our mother tongue, all melody, +While music lives, shall never die. + +Yes! still she lives, her words still ring, +Her children yet her carols sing; +And thousand years may roll away +Before her magic notes decay. + +The people love their ancient songs, and will +While yet a people, love and keep them still. +These lays are like their mother--they recall +Fond thoughts of brother, sister, friends, and all +The many little things that please the heart-- +Those dreams and hopes, from which we cannot part; +These songs are as sweet waters, where we find +Health in the sparkling wave that nerves the mind. +In every home, at every cottage door, +By every fireside, when our toil is o'er, +These songs are round us, near our cradles sigh, +And to the grave attend us when we die. + +Oh! think, cold critic! 'twill be late and long +Ere time shall sweep away this flood of song! +There are who bid this music sound no more, +And you can hear them, nor defend--deplore! +You, who were born where the first daisies grew, +Have 'fed upon its honey, sipp'd its dew, +Slept in its arms, and wakened to its kiss, +Danced to its sounds, and warbled to its tone-- +You can forsake it in an hour like this! +Weary of age, you may renounce, disown, +And blame one minstrel who is true--alone! + +For me, truth to my eyes made all things plain; +At Paris, the great fount, I did not find +The waters pure, and to my stream again +I come, with saddened and with sobered mind; +And now the spell is broken, and I rate +The little country far above the great. + +For you, who seem her sorrows to deplore, +You, seated high in power, the first among, +Beware! nor make her cause of grief the more; +Believe her mis'ry, nor condemn her tongue. +Methinks you injure where you seek to heal, +If you deprive her of that only weal. + +We love, alas! to sing in our distress; +For so the bitterness of woe seems less; +But if we may not in our language mourn, +What will the polish'd give us in return? +Fine sentences, but all for us unmeet-- +Words full of grace, even such as courtiers greet: +A deck'd out miss, too delicate and nice +To walk in fields; too tender and precise +To sing the chorus of the poor, or come +When Labour lays him down fatigued at home. + +To cover rags with gilded robes were vain-- +The rents of poverty would show too plain. + +How would this dainty dame, with haughty brow, +Shrink at a load, and shudder at a plough! +Sulky, and piqued, and silent would she stand +As the tired peasant urged his team along: +No word of kind encouragement at hand, +For flocks no welcome, and for herds no song! + +Yet we will learn, and you shall teach-- +Our people shall have double speech: +One to be homely, one polite, +As you have robes for different wear; +But this is all:-- 'tis just and right, +And more our children will not bear, +Lest flocks of buzzards flit along, +Where nightingales once poured their song. + +There may be some who, vain and proud, +May ape the manners of the crowd, +Lisp French, and maim it at each word, +And jest and gibe to all afford; +But we, as in long ages past, +Will still be poets to the last![1] + +Hark! and list the bridal song, +As they lead the bride along: +"Hear, gentle bride! your mother's sighs, +And you would hence away! +Weep, weep, for tears become those eyes." +--- "I cannot weep--to-day." + +Hark! the farmer in the mead +Bids the shepherd swain take heed: +"Come, your lambs together fold, +Haste, my sons! your toil is o'er: +For the setting sun has told +That the ox should work no more." + +Hark! the cooper in the shade +Sings to the sound his hammer made: +"Strike, comrades, strike! prepare the cask. +'Tis lusty May that fills the flask: +Strike, comrades! summer suns that shine +Fill the cellars full of wine." + +Verse is, with us, a charm divine, +Our people, loving verse, will still, +Unknowing of their art, entwine +Garlands of poesy at will. +Their simple language suits them best: +Then let them keep it and be blest. + +Let the wise critics build a wall +Between the nurse's cherished voice, +And the fond ear her words enthral, +And say their idol is her choice. +Yes!--let our fingers feel the rule, +The angry chiding of the school; +True to our nurse, in good or ill, +We are not French, but Gascon still. + +'Tis said that age new feeling brings, +Our youth returns as we grow old; +And that we love again the things +Which in our memory had grown cold. +If this be true, the time will come +When to our ancient tongue, once more, +You will return, as to a home, +And thank us that we kept the store. + +Remember thou the tale they tell +Of Lacuee and Lacepede,[2] +When age crept on, who loved to dwell +On words that once their music made; +And, in the midst of grandeur, hung, +Delighted, on their parent tongue. + +This will you do: and it may be, +When weary of the world's deceit, +Some summer-day we yet may see +Your coming in our meadows sweet; +Where, midst the flowers, the finch's lay +Shall welcome you with music gay; +While you shall bid our antique tongue +Some word devise, or air supply, +Like those that charm'd your youth so long, +And lent a spell to memory. + +Bethink you how we stray'd alone +Beneath those elms in Agen grown, +That each an arch above us throws, +Like giants, hand-in-hand, in rows. +A storm once struck a fav'rite tree, +It trembled, shook, and bent its boughs,-- +The vista is no longer free: +Our governor no pause allows; +"Bring hither hatchet, axe, and spade, +The tree must straight be prostrate laid!" + +But vainly strength and art were tried, +The stately tree all force defied; +Well might the elm resist and foil their might, +For though his branches were decay'd to sight, +As many as his leaves the roots spread round, +And in the firm set earth they slept profound. + +Since then, more full, more green, more gay, +The crests amid the breezes play: +And birds of every note and hue +Come trooping to his shade in Spring; +Each summer they their lays renew, +And while the years endure they sing. + +And thus it is, believe me, sir, +With this enchantress--she we call +Our second mother; Frenchmen err +Who, cent'ries since, proclaimed her fall. + +No! she still lives, her words still ring, +Her children yet her carols sing; +And thousand years may roll away +Before her magic notes decay. + +September 2nd, 1837. + +Footnotes to JASMIN'S DEFENCE OF THE GASCON DIALECT. + +[1] Jasmin here quotes several patois songs, +well known in the country. + +[2] Both Gascons. + + + +THE MASON'S SON.[1] + +[LA SEMMANO D'UN FIL.] + +Riches, n'oubliez pas un seul petit moment +Que des pauvres la grande couvee +Se reveille toujours le sourire a la bouche +Quand elle s'endort sans avoir faire! + +(Riche et Pauvre.) + +The swallows fly about, although the air is cold, +Our once fair sun has shed his brightest gold. +The fields decay +On All-saints day. +Ground's hard afoot, +The birds are mute; +The tree-tops shed their chill'd and yellow leaves, +They dying fall, and whirl about in sheaves. + +One night, when leaving late a neighb'ring town, +Although the heavens were clear, +Two children paced along, with many a moan-- +Brother and sister dear; +And when they reached the wayside cross +Upon their knees they fell, quite close. + +Abel and Jane, by the moon's light, +Were long time silent quite; +As they before the altar bend, +With one accord their voices sweet ascend. + +"Mother of God, Virgin compassionate! +Oh! send thy angel to abate +The sickness of our father dear, +That mother may no longer fear-- +And for us both! Oh! Blessed Mother, +We love thee, more and more, we two together!" + +The Virgin doubtless heard their prayer, +For, when they reached the cottage near, +The door before them opened wide, +And the dear mother, ere she turned aside, +Cried out: "My children brave, +The fever's gone--your father's life is safe! +Now come, my little lambs, and thank God for His grace." + +In their small cot, forthwith the three, +To God in prayer did bend the knee, +Mother and children in their gladness weeping, +While on a sorry bed a man lay sleeping-- +It was the father, good Hilaire! +Not long ago, a soldier brave, +But now--a working mason's slave. + +II. + +The dawn next day was clear and bright, +The glint of morning sunlight +Gleamed through the windows taper, +Although they only were patched up with paper. + +When Abel noiseless entered, with his foot-fall slight, +He slipped along to the bedside; +He oped the little curtain, without stirring of the rings; +His father woke and smiled, with joy that pleasure brings. + +"Abel," he said, "I longed for thee; now listen thou to me: +We're very poor indeed--I've nothing save my weekly fee; +But Heaven has helped our lives to save--by curing me. +Dear boy, already thou art fifteen years-- +You know to read, to write--then have no fears; +Thou art alone, thou'rt sad, but dream no more, +Thou ought'st to work, for now thou hast the power! +I know thy pain and sorrow, and thy deep alarms; +More good than strong--how could thy little arms +Ply hard the hammer on the stony blocks? +But our hard master, though he likes good looks, +May find thee quite a youth; +He says that thou hast spirit; and he means for thy behoof. +Then do what gives thee pleasure, +Without vain-glory, Abel; and spend thy precious leisure +In writing or in working--each is a labour worthy, +Either with pen or hammer--they are the tools most lofty; +Labour in mind or body, they do fatigue us ever-- +But then, Abel my son, I hope that never +One blush upon you e'er will gather +To shame the honour of your father." + +Abel's blue eyes were bright with bliss and joy-- +Father rejoiced--four times embraced the boy; +Mother and daughter mixed their tears and kisses, +Then Abel saw the master, to his happiness, +And afterwards four days did pass, +All full of joyfulness. +But pleasure with the poor is always unenduring. + +A brutal order had been given on Sunday morning +That if, next day, the father did not show his face, +Another workman, in that case, +Would be employed to take his place! +A shot of cannon filled with grape +Could not have caused such grief, +As this most cruel order gives +To these four poor unfortunates. + +"I'm cured!" Hilaire cried; "let me rise and dress;" +He tried--fell back; and then he must confess +He could not labour for another week! +Oh, wretched plight-- +For him, his work was life! +Should he keep sick, 'twas death! +All four sat mute; sudden a my of hope +Beamed in the soul of Abel. +He brushed the tear-drops from his een, +Assumed a manly mien, + +Strength rushed into his little arms, +On his bright face the blushes came; +He rose at once, and went to reason +With that cruel master mason. + +Abel returned, with spirits bright, +No longer trembling with affright; +At once he gaily cries, +With laughing mouth and laughing eyes:-- + +"My father! take your rest; have faith and courage; +Take all the week, then thou shalt work apace; +Some one, who loves thee well, will take thy place, +Then thou may'st go again and show thy face." + +III. + +Saved by a friend, indeed! He yet had friends in store! +Oh! how I wish that in this life so lonely. . . . +But, all will be explained at work on Monday; +There are good friends as yet--perhaps there's many more. + +It was indeed our Abel took his father's place. +At office first he showed his face; +Then to the work-yard: thus his father he beguiled. +Spite of his slender mien, he worked and always smiled. +He was as deft as workmen twain; he dressed +The stones, and in the mortar then he pressed +The heavy blocks; the workmen found him cheerful. +Mounting the ladder like a bird: +He skipped across the rafters fearful. +He smiled as he ascended, smiled as he descended-- +The very masons trembled at his hardiness: +But he was working for his father--in his gladness, +His life was full of happiness; +His brave companions loved the boy +Who filled their little life with joy. +They saw the sweat run down his brow, +And clapped their hands, though weary he was now. + +What bliss of Abel, when the day's work's o'er, +And the bright stars were shining: +Unto the office he must go, +And don his better clothing-- +Thus his poor father to deceive, who thought he went a-clerking. +He took his paper home and wrote, 'midst talk with Jane so shyly, +And with a twinkling eye he answered mother's looks so slyly. + +Three days thus passed, and the sick man arose, +Life now appeared to him a sweet repose. +On Thursday, tempting was the road; +At midday, Friday, he must walk abroad. + +But, fatal Friday--God has made for sorrow. + +The father, warmed up by the sun's bright ray, +Hied to the work-yard, smiling by the way; +He wished to thank the friend who worked for him, +But saw him not--his eyes were dim-- +Yet he was near; and looking up, he saw no people working, +No dinner-bell had struck, no workmen sure were lurking. +Oh, God! what's happened at the building yard? +A crowd collected--master, mason--as on guard. +"What's this?" the old man cried. "Alas! some man has fallen!" +Perhaps it was his friend! His soul with grief was burning. +He ran. Before him thronged the press of men, +They tried to thrust him back again; +But no; Hilaire pressed through the crowd of working men. +Oh, wretched father--man unfortunate; +The friend who saved thee was thy child--sad fate! +Now he has fallen from the ladder's head, +And lies a bleeding mass, now nearly dead! + +Now Hilaire uttered a most fearful cry; +The child had given his life, now he might die. +Alas! the bleeding youth +Was in his death-throes, he could scarcely breathe; +"Master," he said, "I've not fulfilled my task, +But, in the name of my poor mother dear, +For the day lost, take father on at last." + +The father heard, o'erwhelmed he was with fear, +Abel now saw him, felt that he was near, +Inclined his head upon his breast, and praying - +Hand held in hand, he smiled on him while dying. + +For Hilary, his place was well preserved, +His wages might perhaps be doubled. + +Too late! too late! one saddened morn +The sorrow of his life was gone; +And the good father, with his pallid face, +Went now to take another place +Within the tomb, beside his much loved son. + + +Footnotes to THE MASON'S SON. + +[1] Jasmin says, "the subject of this poem is historical, and +recently took place in our neighbourhood." + + + +THE POOR MAN'S DOCTOR. + +[LOU MEDICI DES PAURES.] + +Dedicated to M. CANY, Physician of Toulouse. + +With the permission of the Rev. Dr. J. Duncan Craig, +of Glenagary, Kingston, Dublin, I adopt, with some alterations, +his free translation of Jasmin's poem. + +Sweet comes this April morning, its faint perfumes exhaling; +Brilliant shines the sun, so crisp, so bright, so freshening; +Pearl-like gleam and sparkle the dew-drops on the rose, +While grey and gnarled olives droop like giants in repose. + +Soundeth low, solemnly, the mid-day bell in th' air, +Glideth on sadly a maiden sick with care; +Her head is bent, and sobbing words she sheds with many a tear, +But 'tween the chapel and the windmill another doth appear. + +She laughs and plucks the lovely flowers with many a joyous +bound, +The other, pale and spiritless, looks upward from the ground; +"Where goest thou, sweet Marianne, this lovely April day?" +"Beneath the elms of Agen--there lies my destined way. + +"I go to seek this very day the Doctor of the Poor.[1] +Did'st thou not hear how skilfully he did my mother cure? +Behold this silver in my hand, these violets so sweet, +The guerdon of his loving care--I'll lay them at his feet. + +"Now, dost thou not remember, my darling Marianne, +How in our lonely hut the typhus fever ran? +And we were poor, without a friend, or e'en our daily bread, +And sadly then, and sorrowful, dear mother bowed her head. + +"One day, the sun was shining low in lurid western sky, +All ,all, our little wealth was gone, and mother yearned to die, +When sudden, at the open door, a shadow crossed the way, +And cheerfully a manly voice did words of comfort say: + +"'Take courage, friends, your ills I know, your life I hope to +save.' +'Too late!' dear mother cried; 'too late! My home is in the +grave; + +Our things are pledged, our med'cine gone, e'en bread we cannot +buy.' +The doctor shudder'd, then grew pale, but sadly still drew nigh. + +"No curtains had we on our bed: I marked his pallid face; +Five silver crowns now forth he drew with melancholy grace-- + +'Poor woman, take these worthless coins, suppress your bitter +grief! +Don't blush; repay them when you can--these drops will give +relief.' + +"He left the hut, and went away; soon sleep's refreshing calm +Relieved the patient he had helped--a wonder-working balm; +The world now seemed to smile again, like springtide flowers so +gay, +While mother, brothers, and myself, incessant worked away. + +"Thus, like the swallows which return with spring unto our shore, +The doctor brought rejoicing back unto our vine-wreathed door; +And we are happy, Isabel, and money too we've made; +But why dost weep, when I can laugh?" the gentle maiden said. + +"Alas! alas! dear Marianne, I weep and mourn to-day, +From your house to our cottage-home the fever made its way; +My father lies with ghastly face, and many a raving cry-- +Oh, would that Durand too might come, before the sick man die!" + +"Dear Isabel, haste on, haste on--we'll seek his house this hour! +Come, let us run, and hasten on with all our utmost power. +He'll leave the richest palace for the poor man's humble roof-- +He's far from rich, except in love, of that we've had full +proof!" + +The good God bless the noble heart that careth for the poor; +Then forth the panting children speed to seek the sick man's +cure; +And as beneath our giant elms they pass with rapid tread, +They scarcely dare to look around, or lift their weary head. +The town at last is reached, by the Pont-Long they enter, +Close by the Hue des Jacobins, near Durand's house they venture. +Around the portals of the door there throngs a mournful crowd; +They see the Cross, they hear the priests the Requiem chaunt +aloud. + +The girls were troubled in their souls, their minds were rent + with grief; +One above all, young Marianne, was trembling like a leaf: +Another death--oh, cruel thought! then of her father dying, +She quickly ran to Durand's door, and asked a neighbour, crying: + +"Where's the good doctor, sir, I pray? I seek him for my +father!" +He soft replied, "The gracious God into His fold doth gather +The best of poor folks' doctors now, to his eternal rest; +They bear the body forth, 'tis true: his spirit's with the +blest." + +Bright on his corpse the candles shine around his narrow bier, +Escorted by the crowds of poor with many a bitter tear; +No more, alas! can he the sad and anguished-laden cure-- +Oh, wail! For Durand is no more--the Doctor of the Poor! + + +Footnotes to THE POOR MAN'S DOCTOR. + +[1] In the last edition of Jasmin's poems (4 vols. 8vo, edited by +Buyer d'Agen) it is stated (p. 40, 1st vol.) that "M. Durand, +physician, was one of those rare men whom Providence seems to +have provided to assuage the lot of the poorest classes. His +career +was full of noble acts of devotion towards the sick whom he was +called upon to cure. He died at the early age of thirty-five, of +a +stroke of apoplexy. His remains were accompanied to the grave +by nearly all the poor of Agen and the neighbourhood. + + + +MY VINEYARD.[1] + +[MA BIGNO.] + +To MADAME LOUIS VEILL, Paris. + +Dear lady, it is true, that last month I have signed +A little scrap of parchment; now myself I find +The master of a piece of ground +Within the smallest bound-- +Not, as you heard, a spacious English garden +Covered with flowers and trees, to shrine your bard in-- +But of a tiny little vineyard, +Which I have christened "Papilhoto"! +Where, for a chamber, I have but a grotto. +The vine-stocks hang about their boughs, +At other end a screen of hedgerows, +So small they do not half unroll; +A hundred would not make a mile, +Six sheets would cover the whole pile. + +Well! as it is, of this I've dreamt for twenty years-- +You laugh, Madame, at my great happiness, +Perhaps you'll laugh still more, when it appears, +That when I bought the place, I must confess +There were no fruits, +Though rich in roots; +Nine cherry trees--behold my wood! +Ten rows of vines--my promenade! +A few peach trees; the hazels too; +Of elms and fountains there are two. +How rich I am! My muse is grateful very; +Oh! might I paint? while I the pencil try, +Our country loves the Heavens so bright and cheery. + +Here, verdure starts up as we scratch the ground, +Who owns it, strips it into pieces round; +Beneath our sun there's nought but gayest sound. +You tell me, true, that in your Paris hot-house, +You ripen two months sooner 'neath your glass, of course. +What is your fruit? Mostly of water clear, +The heat may redden what your tendrils bear. +But, lady dear, you cannot live on fruits alone while here! +Now slip away your glossy glove +And pluck that ripened peach above, +Then place it in your pearly mouth +And suck it--how it 'lays your drouth-- +Melts in your lips like honey of the South! + +Dear Madame, in the North you have great sights-- +Of churches, castles, theatres of greatest heights; +Your works of art are greater far than here. +But come and see, quite near +The banks of the Garonne, on a sweet summer's day, +All works of God! and then you'll say +No place more beautiful and gay! +You see the rocks in all their velvet greenery; +The plains are always gold; and mossy very, +The valleys, where we breathe the healthy air, +And where we walk on beds of flowers most fair! + +The country round your Paris has its flowers and greensward, +But 'tis too grand a dame for me, it is too dull and sad. +Here, thousand houses smile along the river's stream; +Our sky is bright, it laughs aloud from morn to e'en. +Since month of May, when brightest weather bounds +For six months, music through the air resounds-- +A thousand nightingales the shepherd's ears delight: +All sing of Love--Love which is new and bright. +Your Opera, surprised, would silent hearken, +When day for night has drawn aside its curtain, +Under our heavens, which very soon comes glowing. +Listen, good God! our concert is beginning! +What notes! what raptures? Listen, shepherd-swains, +One chaunt is for the hill-side, the other's for the plains. + +"Those lofty mountains +Far up above, +I cannot see +All that I love; +Move lower, mountains, +Plains, up-move, +That I may see +All that I love."[2] + +And thousand voices sound through Heaven's alcove, +Coming across the skies so blue, +Making the angels smile above-- +The earth embalms the songsters true; +The nightingales, from tree to flower, +Sing louder, fuller, stronger. +'Tis all so sweet, though no one beats the measure, +To hear it all while concerts last--such pleasure! +Indeed my vineyard's but a seat of honour, +For, from my hillock, shadowed by my bower, +I look upon the fields of Agen, the valley of Verone.[3] +How happy am I 'mongst my vines! Such pleasures there are none. + +For here I am the poet-dresser, working for the wines. +I only think of propping up my arbours and my vines; +Upon the road I pick the little stones-- +And take them to my vineyard to set them up in cones, +And thus I make a little house with but a sheltered door-- +As each friend, in his turn, now helps to make the store. +And then there comes the vintage--the ground is firm and fast, +With all my friends, with wallets or with baskets cast, +We then proceed to gather up the fertile grapes at last. + +Oh! my young vine, +The sun's bright shine +Hath ripened thee +All--all for me! +No drizzling showers +Have spoilt the hours. +My muse can't borrow; +My friends, to-morrow +Cannot me lend; +But thee, young friend, +Grapes nicely drest, +With figs the finest +And raisins gather +Bind them together! +Th' abundant season +Will still us bring +A glorious harvesting; +Close up thy hands with bravery +Upon the luscious grapery! + +Now all push forth their tendrils; though not past remedy, +At th' hour when I am here, my faithful memory +Comes crowding back; my oldest friends +Now make me young again--for pleasure binds +Me to their hearts and minds. +But now the curtained night comes on again. + +I see, the meadows sweet around, +My little island, midst the varying ground, +Where I have often laughed, and sometimes I have groaned. + +I see far off the leafy woodland, +Or near the fountain, where I've; often dreamed; +Long time ago there was a famous man[4] +Who gave its fame to Agen. +I who but write these verses slight +Midst thoughts of memory bright. + +But I will tell you all--in front, to left, to right, +More than a hedgerow thick that I have brought the light, +More than an apple-tree that I have trimmed, +More than an old vine-stalk that I have thinned +To ripen lovely Muscat. +Madame, you see that I look back upon my past, +Without a blush at last; +What would you? That I gave my vineyard back-- +And that with usury? Alack! +And yet unto my garden I've no door-- +Two thorns are all my fence--no more! +When the marauders come, and through a hole I see their nose, +Instead of taking up a stick to give them blows, +I turn aside; perhaps they never may return, the horde! +He who young robs, when older lets himself be robbed! + + +Footnotes to MY VINEYARD. + +[1] Jasmin purchased a little piece of ground, which he dedicated +to his "Curl-papers" (Papilhoto), on the road to Scaliger's +villa, +and addressed the above lines to his lady-admirer in Paris, +Madame Louis veill. + +[2] From a popular song by Gaston Phebus. + +[3] Referring to Verona, the villa of Scaliger, the great +scholar. + +[4] Scaliger. + + + +FRANCONNETTE. + +FIRST PART. + +Blaise de Montluc--Festival at Roquefort--The Prettiest +Maiden--The Soldier and the Shepherds--Kissing and Panting-- +Courage of Pascal--Fury of Marcel--Terrible Contest. + +'Twas at the time when Blaise the murderous +Struck heavy blows by force of arms. +He hewed the Protestants to pieces, +And, in the name of God the Merciful, +Flooded the earth with sorrow, blood, and tears. + +Alas! 'twas pitiful--far worse beyond the hills, +Where flashing gun and culverin were heard; +There the unhappy bore their heavy cross, +And suffered, more than elsewhere, agonising pain, +Were killed and strangled, tumbled into wells; +'Tween Penne and Fumel the saddened earth was gorged. +Men, women, children, murdered everywhere, +The hangman even stopped for breath; +While Blaise, with heart of steel, dismounted at the gate +Of his strong castle wall, +With triple bridge and triple fosse; +Then kneeling, made his pious prayers, +Taking the Holy Sacrament, +His hands yet dripping with fraternal blood![1] + +Now every shepherd, every shepherd lass, +At the word Huguenot shuddered with affright, +Even 'midst their laughing courtship. +And yet it came to pass +That in a hamlet, 'neath a castled height, +One Sunday, when a troop of sweethearts danced +Upon the day of Roquefort fete, +And to a fife the praises sang +Of Saint James and the August weather-- +That bounteous month which year by year, +Through dew-fall of the evening bright, +And heat of Autumn noons doth bring +Both grapes and figs to ripening. + +It was the finest fete that eyes had ever seen +Under the shadow of the leafy parasol, +Where aye the country-folk convene. +O'erflowing were the spaces all, +From cliff, from dale, from every home +Of Montagnac and Sainte-Colombe, +Still they do come, +Too many far to number; +More, ever more, while flames the sunshine o'er, +There's room for all, their coming will not cumber, +The fields shall be their chamber, and the little hillocks green +The couches of their slumber. + +What pleasure! what delight! the sun now fills the air; +The sweetest thing in life +Is the music of the fife +And the dancing of the fair. +You see their baskets emptying +Of waffles all home-made. +They quaff the nectar sparkling +Of freshest lemonade. +What crowds at Punchinello, +While the showman beats his cymbal! +Crowds everywhere! +But who is this appears below? +Ah! 'tis the beauteous village queen!. +Yes, 'tis she; 'tis Franconnette! +A fairer girl was never seen. + +In the town as in the prairie, +You must know that every country +Has its chosen pearl of love. +Ah, well! This was the one-- +They named her in the Canton, +The prettiest, sweetest dove. + +But now, you must not fancy, gentlemen, +That she was sad and sighing, +Her features pale as any lily, +That she had dying eyes, half-shut and blue, +And slender figure clothed with languishing, +Like to a weeping willow by a limpid lake. +Not so, my masters. Franconnette +Had two keen flashing eyes, like two live stars; +Her laughing cheeks were round, where on a lover might +Gather in handfuls roses bright; +Brown locks and curly decked her head; +Her lips were as the cherry red, +Whiter than snow her teeth; her feet +How softly moulded, small and fleet; +How light her limbs! Ah, well-a-day! +And of the whole at once I say, +She was the very beau-ideal +Of beauty in a woman's form, most fair and real. + +Such loveliness, in every race, +May sudden start to light. +She fired the youths with ready love, +Each maiden with despair. +Poor youths, indeed! Oh! how they wished +To fall beneath her feet! +They all admired her, and adored, +Just as the priest adores the cross-- +'Twas as if there shone a star of light +The young girl's brow across! + +Yet, something vexing in her soul began to hover; +The finest flower had failed her in this day of honour. +Pascal, whom all the world esteemed, +Pascal, the handsomest, whose voice with music beamed, +He shunned the maid, cast ne'er a loving glance; +Despised! She felt hate growing in her heart, +And in her pretty vengeance +She seized the moment for a brilliant dart +Of her bright eyes to chain him. +What would you have? A girl so greatly envied, +She might become a flirt conceited; +Already had she seemed all this, +Self-glorious she was, I fear, +Coquetting rarely comes amiss, +Though she might never love, with many lovers near! +Grandmother often said to her, "Child, child!" with gentle frown, +"A meadow's not a parlour, and the country's not a town, +And thou knowest well that we have promised thee lang syne +To the soldier-lad, Marcel, who is lover true of thine. +So curb thy flights, thou giddy one, +The maid who covets all, in the end mayhap hath none." +"Nay, nay," replied the tricksy fay, +With swift caress, and laughter gay, +"There is another saw well-known, +Time enough, my grannie dear, to love some later day! +'She who hath only me, hath 'none.'" + +Now, such a flighty course, you may divine, +Made hosts of melancholy swains, +Who sighed and suffered jealous pains, +Yet never sang reproachful strains, +Like learned lovers when they pine, +Who, as they go to die, their woes write carefully +On willow or on poplar tree. +Good lack! thou could'st not shape a letter, +And the silly souls, though love-sick, to death did not incline, +Thinking to live and suffer on were better! +But tools were handled clumsily, +And vine-sprays blew abroad at will, +And trees were pruned exceeding ill, +And many a furrow drawn awry. + +Methinks you know her now, this fair and foolish girl; +Watch while she treads one measure, then see her dip and twirl! +Young Etienne holds her hand by chance, +'Tis the first rigadoon they dance; +With parted lips, right thirstily +Each rustic tracks them as they fly, +And the damsel sly +Feels every eye, +And lighter moves for each adoring glance. +Holy cross! what a sight! when the madcap rears aright +Her shining lizard's head! her Spanish foot falls light, +Her wasp-like figure sways +And swims and whirls and springs again. +The wind with corner of her 'kerchief plays. +Those lovely cheeks where on the youths now gaze, +They hunger to salute with kisses twain! + +And someone shall; for here the custom is, +Who tires his partner out, salutes her with a kiss; +The girls grow weary everywhere, +Wherefore already Jean and Paul, +Louis, Guillaume, and strong Pierre, +Have breathless yielded up their place +Without the coveted embrace. + +Another takes his place, Marcel the wight, +The soldier of Montluc, prodigious in his height, +Arrayed in uniform, bearing his sword, +A cockade in his cap, the emblem of his lord, +Straight as an I, though bold yet not well-bred, +His heart was soft, but thickish was his head. +He blustered much and boasted more and more, +Frolicked and vapoured as he took the floor +Indeed he was a very horrid bore. +Marcel, most mad for Franconnette, tortured the other girls, +Made her most jealous, yet she had no chance, +The swelled-out coxcomb called on her to dance. +But Franconnette was loth, and she must let him see it; +He felt most madly jealous, yet was maladroit, +He boasted that he was beloved; perhaps he did believe it quite-- + +The other day, in such a place, +She shrank from his embrace! + +The crowd now watched the dancing pair, +And marked the tricksy witching fair; +They rush, they whirl! But what's amiss? +The bouncing soldier lad, I wis, +Can never snatch disputed kiss! +The dancing maid at first smiles at her self-styled lover, +"Makes eyes" at him, but ne'er a word does utter; +She only leaped the faster! +Marcel, piqued to the quick, longed to subdue this creature, +He wished to show before the crowd what love he bore her; +One open kiss were sweeter far +Than twenty in a corner! +But, no! his legs began to fail, his head was in a trance, +He reeled, he almost fell, he could no longer dance; +Now he would give cockade, sabre, and silver lace, +Would it were gold indeed, for her embrace! + +Yet while the pair were still afoot, the girl looked very gay-- +Resolved never to give way! +While headstrong Marcel, breathless, spent, and hot in face, +He reeled and all but fell; then to the next gave place! +Forth darted Pascal in the soldier's stead, +They make two steps, then change, and Franconnette, +Weary at last, with laughing grace, +Her foot stayed and upraised her face! +Tarried Pascal that kiss to set? +Not he, be sure! and all the crowd +His vict'ry hailed with plaudits loud. +The clapping of their palms like battle-dores resounded, +While Pascal stood among them quite confounded! + +Oh, what a picture for the soldier who so loved his queen! +Him the kiss maddened! Measuring Pascal with his een, +He thundered, "Peasant, you have filled my place most sly; +Not so fast, churl!"--and brutally let fly +With aim unerring one fierce blow, +Straight in the other's eyes, doubling the insult so. + +Good God![2] how stings the madd'ning pain, +His dearest happiness that blow must stain, +Kissing and boxing--glory, shame! +Light, darkness! Fire, ice! Life, death! Heaven, hell! +All this was to our Pascal's soul the knell +Of hope! But to be thus tormented +By flagrant insult, as the soldier meant it; +Now without fear he must resent it! +It does not need to be a soldier nor a "Monsieur," +An outrage placidly to bear. +Now fiery Pascal let fly at his foe, +Before he could turn round, a stunning blow; +'Twas like a thunder peal, +And made the soldier reel; +Trying to draw his sabre, +But Pascal, seeming bigger, +Gripped Marcel by the waist, and sturdily +Lifted him up, and threw his surly +Foe on the ground, breathless, and stunned severely. + +"Now then!" while Pascal looked on the hound thrown by him, +"The peasant grants thee chance of living!" +"Despatch him!" cried the surging crowd. +"Thou art all cover'd o'er with blood!" +But Pascal, in his angry fit of passion, +Had hurt his wrist and fist in a most serious fashion. + +"No matter! All the same I pardon him! +You must have pity on the beaten hound!" +"No, finish him! Into morsels cut him!" +The surging, violent crowd now cried around. +"Back, peasants, back! Do him no harm!" +Sudden exclaimed a Monsieur, speaking with alarm; +The peasants moved aside, and then gave place +To Montluc, glittering with golden lace; +It was the Baron of Roquefort! + +The frightened girls, like hunted hares, +At once dispers'd, flew here and there. +The shepherds, but a moment after, +With thrilling fife and beaming laughter, +The brave and good Pascal attended on his way, +Unto his humble home, as 'twere his nuptial day. + +But Marcel, furious, mad with rage, exclaimed, +"Oh! could I stab and kill them! But I'm maimed!" +Only a gesture of his lord +Restrained him, hand upon his sword. +Then did he grind his teeth, as he lay battered, +And in a low and broken voice he muttered: +"They love each other, and despise my kindness, +She favours him, and she admires his fondness; +Ah, well! by Marcel's patron, I'll not tarry +To make them smart, and Franconnette +No other husband than myself shall marry!" + + +SECOND PART. + +The Enamoured Blacksmith--His Fretful Mother--The Busking +Soiree--Pascal's Song--The Sorcerer of the Black Forest-- +The Girl Sold to the Demon. + +Since Roquefort fete, one, two, three months have fled; +The dancing frolic, with the harvest ended; +The out-door sports are banished-- +For winter comes; the air is sad and cold, it sighs +Under the vaulted skies. +At fall of night, none risks to walk across the fields, +For each one, sad and cheerless, beelds +Before the great fires blazing, +Or talks of wolfish fiends[3] amazing; +And sorcerers--to make one shudder with affright-- +That walk around the cots so wight, +Or 'neath the gloomy elms, and by farmyards at night. + +But now at last has Christmas come, +And little Jack, who beats the drum, +Cries round the hamlet, with his beaming face: +"Come brisken up, you maidens fair, +A merry busking[4] shall take place +On Friday, first night of the year!" + +Ah! now the happy youths and maidens fair +Proclaimed the drummer's words, so bright and rare. +The news were carried far and near +Light as a bird most fleet +With wings to carry thoughts so sweet. +The sun, with beaming rays, had scarcely shone +Ere everywhere the joyous news had flown; +At every fireside they were known, +By every hearth, in converse keen, +The busking was the theme. + +But when the Friday came, a frozen dew was raining, +And by a fireless forge a mother sat complaining; +And to her son, who sat thereby, +She spoke at last entreatingly: +"Hast thou forgot the summer day, my boy, when thou didst come +All bleeding from the furious fray, to the sound of music home? +How I have suffered for your sorrow, +And all that you have had to go through. +Long have I troubled for your arm! For mercy's sake +Oh! go not forth to-night! I dreamt of flowers again, +And what means that, Pascal, but so much tears and pain!" + +"Now art thou craven, mother! and see'st that life's all black, +But wherefore tremble, since Marcel has gone, and comes not +back!" +"Oh yet, my son, do you take heed, I pray! +For the wizard of the Black Wood is roaming round this way; +The same who wrought such havoc, 'twas but a year agone, +They tell me one was seen to come from 's cave at dawn +But two days past--it was a soldier; now +What if this were Marcel? Oh, my child, do take care! +Each mother gives her charms unto her sons; do thou +Take mine; but I beseech, go not forth anywhere!" + +"Just for one little hour, mine eyes to set +On my friend Thomas, whom I'm bound to meet!" + +"Thy friend, indeed! Nay, nay! Thou meanest Franconnette, +Whom thou loves dearly! I wish thou'd love some other maid! +Oh, yes! I read it in thine eyes! +Though thou sing'st, art gay, thy secret bravely keeping, +That I may not be sad, yet all alone thou'rt weeping-- +My head aches for thy misery; +Yet leave her, for thine own good, my dear Pascal; +She would so greatly scorn a working smith like thee, +With mother old in penury; +For poor we are--thou knowest truly. + +"How we have sold and sold fill scarce a scythe remains. +Oh, dark the days this house hath seen +Since, Pascal, thou so ill hast been; +Now thou art well, arouse! do something for our gains +Or rest thee, if thou wilt; with suffering we can fight; +But, for God's love, oh! go not forth to-night!" + +And the poor mother, quite undone, +Cried, while thus pleading with her son, +Who, leaning on his blacksmith's forge +The stifling sobs quelled in his gorge. +"'Tis very true," he said, "that we are poor, +But had I that forgot?... I go to work, my mother, now, be sure!" + +No sooner said than done; for in a blink +Was heard the anvil's clink, +The sparks flew from the blacksmith's fire +Higher and still higher! +The forgeman struck the molten iron dead, +Hammer in hand, as if he had a hundred in his head! + +But now, the Busking was apace, +And soon, from every corner place +The girls came with the skein of their own making +To wind up at this sweethearts' merry meeting. + +In the large chamber, where they sat and winded +The threads, all doubly garnished, +The girls, the lads, plied hard their finger, +And swiftly wound together +The clews of lint so fair, +As fine as any hair. + +The winding now was done; and the white wine, and rhymsters, +Came forth with rippling glass and porringers, +And brought their vivid vapours +To brighten up their capers-- +Ah! if the prettiest were the best, with pride +I would my Franconnette describe. + +Though queen of games, she was the last, not worst, +It is not that she reigned at present, yet was first. + +"Hold! Hold!" she cried, the brown-haired maid, +Now she directed them from side to side-- +Three women merged in one, they said-- +She dances, speaks, sings, all bewitching, +By maiden's wiles she was so rich in; +She sings with soul of turtle-dove, +She speaks with grace angelic; +She dances on the wings of love-- +Sings, speaks, and dances, in a guise +More than enough to turn the head most wise! + +Her triumph is complete; all eyes are fixed upon her, +Though her adorers are but peasants; +Her eyes are beaming, +Blazing and sparkling, +And quite bewitching; +No wonder that the sweetheart lads are ravished with her! + +Then Thomas rose and, on the coquette fixing +His ardent eyes, though blushing, +In language full of neatness, +And tones of lute-like sweetness, +This song began to sing: + +THE SYREN WITH A HEART OF ICE. + +"Oh, tell us, charming Syren, +With heart of ice unmoved, +When shall we hear the sound +Of bells that ring around, +To say that you have loved? +Always so free and gay, +Those wings of dazzling ray, + +Are spread to every air-- +And all your favour share; +Attracted by their light +All follow in your flight. +But ah! believe me, 'tis not bliss, +Such triumphs do but purchase pain; +What is it to be loved like this, +To her who cannot love again? + +"You've seen how full of joy +We've marked the sun arise; +Even so each Sunday morn +When you, before our eyes, +Bring us such sweet surprise. +With us new life is born: +We love your angel face, +Your step so debonnaire, +Your mien of maiden grace, +Your voice, your lips, your hair, +Your eyes of gentle fire, +All these we now admire! +But ah! believe me, 'tis not bliss, +Such triumphs do but purchase pain; +What is it to be loved like this, +To her who cannot love again? + +"Alas! our groves are dull +When widowed of thy sight, +And neither hedge nor field +Their perfume seem to yield; +The blue sky is not bright +When you return once more, +All that was sad is gone, +All nature you restore, +We breathe in you alone; +We could your rosy fingers cover +With kisses of delight all over! +But ah! believe me, 'tis not bliss, +Such triumphs do but purchase pain; +What is it to be loved like this, +To her who cannot love again? + +"The dove you lost of late, +Might warn you by her flight, +She sought in woods her mate, +And has forgot you quite; +She has become more fair +Since love has been her care. +'Tis love makes all things gay, +Oh follow where she leads-- +When beauteous looks decay, +What dreary life succeeds! +And ah! believe me, perfect bliss, +A joy, where peace and triumph reign, +Is when a maiden, loved like this, +Has learnt 'tis sweet to love again!" + +The songster finished, and the ardent crowd +Of listeners clapped their hands in praises loud. + +"Oh! what a lovely song!" they cried. "Who is the poet?" +"'Tis Pascal," answered Thomas, "that has made it!" +"Bravo! Long live Pascal!" exclaimed the fervent crowd. + +Nothing said Franconnette; but she rejoiced--was proud-- +At having so much love evoked, +And in a song so touching, +Before this crowd admiring. + +Then she became more serious as she thought of Pascal; +"How brave he is! 'Tis all for him; he has not got his equal! +How he paints love! All praise him without doubt; +And his sweet song--so touching!" for now by heart she knows it. +"But if he loves at last, why does he hide away?" +Then turning suddenly, she says-- +"Thomas, he is not here, away he stays; +I would him compliment; can he not come?" +"Oh! now he cannot; but remains at home." + +Then spoke the jealous Lawrence: "Pascal knows +He cannot any other songs compose; +Poor fellow! almost ruined quite he is; +His father's most infirm--stretched out, and cannot rise; +The baker will not give him bread, he is constrained to debts." + +Then Franconnette grew pale, and said, "And he so very good! +Poor lad! how much he suffers; and now he wants his food!" + +"My faith!" said Lawrence, a heart of goodness aping, +"They say that now he goes a-begging!" +"You lie!" cried Thomas, "hold thy serpent's tongue! +Pascal, 'tis true, is working, yet with harm, +Since, for this maiden, he has suffered in his arm; +But he is cured; heed not this spiteful knave! +He works now all alone, for he is strong and brave." +If someone on the girl his eyes had set, +He would have seen tears on the cheeks of Franconnette. + +"Let's 'Hunt the Slipper!"' cried the maids; +Round a wide ring they sat, the jades. +Slipper was bid by Franconnette, +But in a twinkle, Marionette-- +"Lawrence, hast thou my slipper?" "No, demoiselle!" +"Rise then, and seek it now, ah, well!" +Lawrence, exulting in his features, +Said, "Franconnette, hast thou my slipper?" +"No, sir!" "'Tis false!" It was beneath her seat! +"Thou hast it! Rise! Now kiss me as the forfeit!" + +A finch, just taken in a net, +First tries some gap to fly at; +So Franconnette, just like a bird, escaped +With Lawrence, whom she hated; +Incensed he turned to kiss her; +He swiftly ran, but in his pursuit warm, +The moment she was caught he stumbled, +Slipped, fell, and sudden broke his arm. + +Misfortunes ne'er come single, it is said. +The gloomy night was now far spent; +But in that fright of frights, quite in a breath, +The house-door creaked and ope'd! Was it a wraith? +No! but an old man bearded to the waist, +And now there stood before the throng the Black Wood Ghaist! +"Imprudent youths!? he cried; "I come from gloomy rocks up +yonder, +Your eyes to ope: I'm filled with wrath and wonder! +You all admire this Franconnette; +Learn who she is, infatuate! + +From very cradle she's all evil; +Her wretched father, miserable, + +Passed to the Hugnenots and sold her to the Devil; +Her mother died of shame-- +And thus the demon plays his game. +Now he has bought this woman base, +He tracks her in her hiding-place. +You see how he has punished Pascal and Lawrence +Because they gave her light embrace! +Be warned! For who so dares this maid to wed, +Amid the brief delight of their first nuptial night, +Will sudden hear a thunder-peal o'er head! +The demon cometh in his might +To snatch the bride away in fright, +And leave the ill-starred bridegroom dead!" + +The Wizard said no more; but angry, fiery rays, +From scars his visage bore, seemed suddenly to blaze. +Four times he turned his heel upon, +Then bade the door stand wide, or ere his foot he stayed; +With one long creak the door obeyed, +And lo! the bearded ghaist was gone! + +He left great horror in his wake! None stirred in all the +throng; +They looked nor left nor right, when he away had gone, +They seemed all changed to stone-- +Only the stricken maid herself stood brave against her wrong; + +And in the hope forlorn that all might pass for jest, +With tremulous smile, half bright, half pleading, +She swept them with her eyes, and two steps forward pressed; +But when she saw them all receding, +And heard them cry "Avaunt!" then did she know her fate; +Then did her saddened eyes dilate +With speechless terror more and more, +The while her heart beat fast and loud, +Till with a cry her head she bowed +And sank in swoon upon the floor. +Such was the close of Busking night, +Though it began so gay and bright; +The morrow was the New Year's day, +It should have been a time most gay; +But now there went abroad a fearful rumour-- +It was remembered long time after +In every house and cottage home throughout the land-- +Though 'twas a fiction and a superstition,-- +It was, "The De'il's abroad! He's now a-roaming; +How dreadful! He is now for lost souls seeking!" + +The folks were roused and each one called to mind +That some, in times of yore, had heard the sound +Of Devil's chains that clanked; +How soon the father vanished, +The mother, bent in agony, +A maniac she died! +That then all smiled; they felt nor hurt nor harm, +They lived quite happy on their cottage farm, +And when the fields were spoilt with hail or rain, +Their ground was covered o'er with plums and grain. + +It was enough; the girls believed it all, +Grandmothers, mothers--thoughts did them appal-- +Even infants trembled at the demon's name; +And when the maiden hung her head in pain,. +And went abroad, they scarce would give her passage; +They called to her, "Away! Avaunt! thou imp of evil, +Behold the crime of dealing with the Devil!" + + +THIRD PART. + +The Maid at Estanquet--A Bad Dream--The Grandmother's Advice-- +Blessed Bread--Satisfaction and Affection--First Thought of Love +--Sorrowfulness--The Virgin. + +Beside a cot at Estanquet, +Down by a leafy brooklet, +The limpid stream +Enshadowed sheen, +Lapped o'er the pebbles murmuring. +Last summer sat a maid, with gathered flowers, +She was engaged in setting, +Within her grassy bowers; +She sang in joy her notes so thrilling, +As made the birds, their sweet songs trilling, +Most jealous. + +Why does she sing no more? midst fields and hedgerows verdant; +'The nightingales that came within her garden, +With their loud "jug! jug!" warbling, +And their sweet quavers singing; +Can she have left her cottage home? + +No! There's her pretty hat of straw +Laid on the bench; but then they saw +There was no ribbon round it; +The garden all neglected; +The rake and wat'ring-pot were down +Amongst the jonquils overthrown; +The broken-branched roses running riot; +The dandelion, groundsell, all about; +And the nice walks, laid out with so much taste, +Now cover'd with neglected weeds and wanton waste. + +Oh! what has happened here? Where is the lively maid? +The little birds now whispering said; +Her home is sparkling there beyond, +With tufted branch of hazel round; +Let's just peep in, the door is open, +We make no noise, but let us listen. +Ah! there's grandmother, on her arm-chair, fast asleep! +And here, beside the casement deep, +The maid of Estanquet, in saddened pain and grief, +The tears down-falling on her pretty hand; +To whom no joy nor hope can ever give relief! + +Ah! yes,'twas dark enough! for it is Franconnette, +Already you've divined it is our pet! + +And see her now, poor maiden, +Bending beneath the falsest blow, o'erladen; +She sobs and weeps alternately-- +Her heart is rent and empty, +Oft, to console herself, she rises, walks, and walks again; +Alas! her trouble is so full of pain-- +Awake or sleeping-- +she's only soothed by weeping. +Daughter of Huguenot accursed, +And banished from the Church! +Sold to the demon; she's for ever cursed! +Grandmother, waking, said, "Child, 'tis not true; +It matters not; 'tis but thy father fled, +No one can contradict that raving crew; +They know not where he is, and could they see him, +They would so frightened be, they'd not believe their een!" + +"How changed things are," said Franconnette, "before I was so +happy; +Then I was village queen, all followed love in harmony; +And all the lads, to please me, +Would come barefooted, e'en through serpents' nests, to bless me! +But now, to be despised and curst, +I, who was once the very first! +And Pascal, too, whom once I thought the best, +In all my misery shuns me like a pest! +Now that he knows my very sad mishaps, +He ne'er consoles with me at all--perhaps----" + +She did deceive herself. Her grief to-day was softened +By hearing that Pascal 'gainst slanders her defended; +Such magic help, it was a balm +Her aching soul to calm; +And then, to sweeten all her ill, +She thought always of Pascal--did this softened girl. + +What is that sound? A sudden shriek! +Grandmother dreamt--she was now wide awake; +The girl sprang to her; she said, "Isn't the house aflame? +Ah! twas a dream! Thank God!" her murmur came. + +"Dear heart," the girl said softly; "what was this dream of +thine?" +"Oh, love! 'twas night, and loud ferocious men, methought +Came lighting fires all round our little cot, +And thou did'st cry unto them, daughter mine, +To save me, but did'st vainly strive, +For here we too must burn alive! +The torment that I bore! How shall I cure my fright +Come hither, darling, let me hold thee tight!" + +Then the white-headed dame, in withered arms of love, +With yearning tenderness folded the brown-haired girl, who +strove, +By many a smile, and mute caress, +To hearten her, until at length +The aged one cried out, her love gave vital strength, +"Sold to the Demon, thou? It is a hideous lie! +Therefore, dear child, weep not so piteously; +Take courage! Be thou brave in heart once more, +Thou art more lovely than before-- +Take grannie's word for that! Arise! +Go forth; who hides from envious eyes +Makes wicked people spiteful; I've heard this, my pet; +I know full well there's one who loves thee yet-- +Marcel would guard thee with his love; +Thou lik'st not him? Ah! could he move +Thy feelings, he would shield thee, dear, +And claim thee for his own. +But I am all too feeble grown; +Yet stay, my darling, stay! To-morrow's Easter Day, +Go thou to Mass, and pray as ne'er before! +Then take the blessed bread, if so the good God may +The precious favour of his former smile restore, +And on thy sweet face, clear as day, +Own thou art numbered with his children evermore!" + +Then such a gleam of hope lit the old face again, +Furrowed so deep with years and pain, +That, falling on her neck, the maiden promised well, +And once more on the white cot silence fell. + +When, therefore, on the morrow, came the country-side, +To hear the Hallelujas in the church of Saint Pierre; +Great was the wonderment of those that spied +The maiden, Franconnette, silently kneeling there, + +Telling her beads with downcast eyes of prayer. +She needs, poor thing, Heaven's mercy to implore, +For ne'er a woman's will she win! +But then, beholding her sweet mien, +Were Marvel and Pascal, eyeing her fondly o'er; +She saw them with her glances, dark as night, +Then shrinking back, they left her all alone, +Midway of a great circle, as they might +Some poor condemned one +Bearing some stigma on her brow in sight. + +This was not all, poor child! It was well known-- +The warden, uncle to Marcel, +Carried the Blessed Bread; +And like a councillor, did swell +In long-tailed coat, with pompous tread: +But when the trembling maid, making a cross, essayed +To take a double portion, as her dear old grandame bade, +Right in the view of every eye, +The sacred basket he withdrew, and passed her wholly +And so, denied her portion of the bread whereby we live, +She, on glad Easter, doth receive +Dismissal from God's house for aye. + +The maid, trembling with fear, thought all was lost indeed! +But no! she hath a friend at need; +'Twas Pascal, who had seen her all the while-- +Pacal, whose young foot walked along the aisle, +He made the quest, and nothing loth, +In view of uncle and of nephew both, +Doth quietly to her present, + +Upon a silver plate, with flowers fair blossoming, +The crown-piece[5] of the Holy Sacrament-- +And all the world beholds the pious offering. + +Oh! moment full of joy; her blood sprang into fleetness; +Warmth was in all her frame, her senses thrilled with sweetness; +She saw the bread of God arisen +Out of its earthly prison, +Thus life unto her own was given: +But wherefore did her brow quite blushing grow? +Because the angel bright of love, I trow, +Did with her glowing breath impart +Life to the flame long smouldering in her heart. +It did become a something strange, and passing all desire +As honey sweet, and quick as fire +Did her sad soul illuminate +With a new being; and, though late, +She knew the word for her delight, +The fair enigma she could guess. +People and priest all vanish'd from her sight, +She saw in all the church only one man aright-- +He whom she loved at last, with utmost gratefulness. + +Then from Saint Peter's church the throng widely dispersed, +And of the scandal they had seen, now eagerly conversed; +But lost not sight of her at all +Who bore the Bread of Honour to the ancient dame, ere this, +She sitteth now alone, shut in her chamber small, +While Franconnette beams brightly with her new-found bliss. + +On the parched earth, where falls the earliest dew, +As shines the sun's first rays, the winter flown-- +So love's first spark awakes to life anew, +And fills the startled mind with joy unknown. +The maiden yielded every thought to this-- +The trembling certainty of real bliss; +The lightning of a joy before improved, +Flash'd in her heart, and told her that she loved. + +She fled from envy, and from curious eyes, +And dreamed, as all have done, their waking dreams, +Bidding in thought bright fairy fabrics rise +To shrine the loved one in their golden gleams. +Alas! the sage is right, 'tis the distrest +Who dream the fondest, and who love the best. + +But when the saddened heart controls us quite, +It quickly turns to gall the sweets of our delight. +Then she remembered all! The opening heaven turned grey, +Dread thought now smites her heavily. +Dreams she of love? Why, what is she? +Sweet love is not for her! The dreaded sorcerer +Hath said she's fore-sold for a price--a murderer! +With heart of dev'lish wrath, which whoso dares to brave +To lie with her one night, therein shall find his grave. +She, to see Pascal perish at her side! +"Oh God! have pity on me now!" she cried. +So, rent with cruel agonies, +And weeping very sore, +Fell the poor child upon her knees, +Her little shrine before. + +"Oh, Holy Virgin!"--sighing--"on thee alone relying, +I come; I'm all astray! Father and mother too +Are dead lang syne, and I accursed! All tongues are crying +This hideous tale! Yet save me if't be true; +If they have falsely sworn, be it on their souls borne +When I shall bring my taper on the fete-day morn[6] +Oh! blessed Mother, let me see +That I am not denied of thee!" + +Brief prayer, +Though 'tis sincere, +To Heaven mounts quickly, +Sure to have won a gracious ear; +The maid her purpose holds, and ponders momently, +And oftentimes grows sick, and cannot speak for fear, +But sometimes taketh heart, and sudden hope and strong +Shines in her soul, as brightest meteor gleams the sky along. + + +FOURTH PART. + +The Fete at Notre Dame--Offering to the Virgin--Thunderstroke +and Taper Extinguished--The Storm at Roquefort-- +Fire at Estanquet--Triumph of Pascal--Fury of Marcel-- +Power of a Mother--Bad Head and Good Heart--Conclusion. + +At last, behold the day she longed for, yet so fearfully, +But lo! the sun rose cheerfully; +And long, long lines of white-robed village girls +From all the country round, walked tow'rds the tinkling bells, +And soon, proud Notre Dame appeared in sight, +As 'midst a cloud of perfume! +'Twas if the thirty hamlets in their might +Were piled together into one. + +What priests! What candles! Crucifixes! Garlands! +What Angels,[7] and what banners! + +You see there Artigues, Puymiral, Astafort, +Saint-Cirq, Cardonnet, Lusignan, Brax, Roquefort, +But this year, Roquefort first, o'erleapeth all. +What crowds there are of curious people, +To watch the girl sold to the Devil! +The news has travelled everywhere; +They know that she, in silent prayer, +Implores the Virgin to protect her there! + +Her neighbours scoff, and her menace, +But saddened friends grieve at her sore disgrace, +Love, through their heart, in fervour rills, +Each one respects this plaintivest of girls; +And many a pitying soul a prayer said, +That some great miracle might yet be made +In favour of this poor and suppliant maid. + +She saw, rejoiced, more hope with her abode; +Though voice of people is the voice of God! +Oh! how her heart beat as the church she neared, +'Twas for the Virgin's indulgence she cared. +Mothers with heartaches; young unfortunates; +The orphan girls; the women without mates; +All knelt before, with tapers waxen, +The image of the Virgin; +And there the aged priest, in surplice dressed, +Placed the crosses at their lips, and afterwards them blessed. + +No sign of sorrow did on any suppliant fall, +But with their happy hearts, their ways went one and all, +So Franconnette grew happy too, +And most because Pascal prayed fervent in her view; +She dared t'raise her eyes to the holy father's face, +It seemed to her that love, hymns, lights, and the incense +United, cried out, "Grace!" +"Grace, grace divine," she sighed, "and love! Let them be mine!" +Then stretching out her taper lit, and followed to the shrine, +Bearing a garland in her hand; and all about her strove +To give a place to her, and bade her forward move. +They fixed their eyes upon the sacred priest and her, +And scarce a breath was drawn, and not a soul did stir; +But when the priest, holding the image of redeeming love, +Had laid it on the orphan's lips; before her kiss was given, +Burst a terrific thunderpeal, as if 'twould rend the heaven, +Blowing her taper out, and all the altar lights above. + +Oh, what is this? The crashing thunder! +Her prayer denied, the lights put out! +Good God! she's sold indeed! All, all is true, no doubt, +So a long murmur rose of horror and of wonder; +For while the maiden breathlessly +Cowering like some lost soul, their shuddering glances under, +Sudden crept forth, all shrunk away, and let her pass them by. + +Howbeit, that great peal was the opening blow +Of a wild storm and terrible, +That straightway upon Roquefort fell, +The spire of Saint Pierre[8] lay in ruins low, +And, smitten by the sharp scourge of the hail, +In all the region round, men could but weep and wail. + +The angel bands who walked that day +In fair procession, hymns to sing, +Turned sorrowing, all save one, away, +Ora pro nobis chaunting. + +Yet, in those early times, though not as now, +The angry waves to clear; +To other jealous towns could Agen show +Great bridges three, as she a royal city were; + +Then she had only barges two, by poles propelled slow, +That waited for the minstrels, to bear them to Roquefort, +Whose villagers heard rumours of the widespread woe; +Ere landing, they were ranged for singing on the shore. +At first the tale but half they heed, +But soon they see in very deed, +Vineyards and happy fields with hopeless ruin smit; +Then each let fall his banner fair, +And lamentations infinite +Bent on all sides the evening air, +Till o'er the swelling throng rose deadly clear the cry, +"And still we spare this Franconnette!" Then suddenly, +As match to powder laid, the words +"Set her on fire! That daughter of the Huguenot, +Let's burn her up, and let her ashes rot." +Then violent cries were heard. +Howls of "Ay! Ay! the wretch! Now let her meet her fate! +She is the cause of all, 'tis plain! +Once she has made us desolate, +But she shall never curse again!" + +And now the crowd grew angrier, wilder too. +"Hunt her off face of earth!" one shouts anew; +"Hunt her to death! 'Tis meet," a thousand tongues repeat, +The tempest in the skies cannot with this compete. +Oh, then, to see them as they came, +With clenched fists and eyes aflame, +Hell did indeed its demons all unchain. +And while the storm recedes, the night is growing clear, +But poison shoots through every vein +Of the possess'd madmen there. + +Thus goaded they themselves to crime; but where was she, +Unhappy Franconnette? To her own cottage driven-- +Worshipping her one relic, sad and dreamily, +And whispered to the withered flowers Pascal had loving given: +"Dear nosegay, when I saw thee first, +Methought thy sweetness was divine, +And I did drink it, heart athirst; +But now thou art not sweet as erst, +Because those wicked thoughts of mine +Have blighted all thy beauty rare; +I'm sold to powers of ill, for Heav'n hath spurned my prayer; +My love is deadly love! No hope on earth have I! +So, treasure of my heart, flowers of the meadow fair, +Because I bless the hand that gathered thee, good-bye! +Pascal must not love such as I! +He must th' accursed maid forswear, +Who yet to God for him doth cry! +In wanton merriment last year, +Even at love laughed Franconnette; +Now is my condemnation clear, +Now whom I love, I must forget; +Sold to the demon at my birth! +My God, how can it be? Have I not faith in Thee? +Oh! blessed blossoms of the earth; +Let me drive with my cross the evil one from me! +And thou, my mother, in the star-lit skies above, +And thou, my guardian, oh! mother of our God, +Pity me: For I bless Pascal, but part from him I love! + +Pity the maid accursed, by the rod +Sore smitten, to the earth down-trod, +Help me, thy Heart Divine to move!" + +"Franconnette, little one, what means thy plaintive moan?" +So spake the hoary dame. "Didst thou not smiling say +Our Lady did receive thy offering to-day? +But sure, no happy heart should make so sad a groan. +Thou hast deceived me? Some new ill," she said, +Hath fall'n upon us!" "Nay, not so; be comforted. +I--I'm quite happy!" "So my sweetest deary, +God grant that some good respite we may have, +For your sad sorrow diggeth up my grave; +And this hath been a lonesome, fearsome day, and weary; +That cruel dream of fire I had some time ago, +Howe'er I strove, did always haunt me so! +And then, thou know'st the storm; oh, I was terrified, +So that, to-night, my dear, I shudder in my fright!" + +What sudden noise is this outside? +"Fire! Fire! Let's burn them in their cot!" +Flames shine through all the shutters wide, +Then Franconnette springs to the doorway tremblingly, +And, gracious Heaven! what doth she see? +By light of burning reek, +An angry people huddled thick; +She hears them shout, "Now, to your fate! +Spare ne'er the young one, nor the old, +Both work us ruin manifold. +Sold to the demon, we must burn you straight!" + +The girl fell on her knees, before the face +Of that most furious populace. + +She cried, "Grandmother will you kill? Oh, pity, grace!" +"Twas of no use, the wretches, blind with fury, +In viewing her bareheaded, in their hurry, +Saw but a cursed leman, +Sold bodily to the demon. +The fiercest cried "Avaunt!" +While the more savage forward spring, +And on the door their feet they plant, +With fiery brand in their hand brandishing. + +"Hold! I implore you! "cried a voice, before unheard; +And sudden leapt before the crowd like lightning with the word, +A man of stately strength and tall, +It was the noble, brave Pascal! + +"Cowards!" he cried. "What? Will you murder women then, +And burn their cot? Children of God! Are you the same? +Tigers you are, and cannot then be men; +And after all that they have suffered! Shame! +Fall back! Fall back! I say; the walls are growing hot!" + +"Then let her leave us quite, this wretched Huguenot, +For she was long since by the devil bought, +God smites us 'cause we did not drive her forth before." +"Quick! quick!" cried Pascal, "living they will burn! +Ye dogs, who moved ye to this awful crime?" +"'Twas Marcel," they replied. "See, now he comes in time!" +"You lie!" the soldier thundered in his turn; +"I love her, boaster, more than thou!" +Said Pascal, "How wilt prove thy love, thou of the tender heart?" +"I come," the other said, "to save her. I come to take her part. +I come, if so she will, to wed her, even now." + +"And so am I," replied Pascal, and steadfastly +Before his rival's eyes, as bound by some great spell. +Then to the orphan girl turned he, +With worship all unspeakable. +"Answer me, Franconnette, and speak the truth alone; +Thou'st followed by the wicked with spite and scorn, my own; +But we two love thee well, and ready are to brave +Death! Yes, or hell, thy precious life to save. +Choose which of us thou wilt!" "Nay," she lamented sore, +"Dearest, mine is a love that slays! +Be happy, then, without me! Forget me! Go thy ways!" + +"Happy without thee, dear! That can I never more: +Nay, were it true, as lying rumour says, +An evil spirit ruled you o'er, +I'd rather die with you, than live bereaved days!" + +When life is at its bitterest, +The voice of love aye rules us best; +Instantly rose the girl above her mortal dread, +And on the crowd advancing straight, +"Because I love Pascal, alone I'd meet my fate! +Howbeit his will is law," she said, +"Wherefore together let our souls be sped." +Then was Pascal in heav'n, and Marcel in the dust laid low; +Then Pascal sought his gallant rival, saying, +"I am more blest than thou! Forgive! thou'rt brave, I know, +Some squire[9] should follow me to death; then wilt thou not +Serve me? I have no other friend!" Marcel seemed dreaming; +And now he scowled with wrath, and now his eyes were kindling; +Terrible was the battle in his mind; +Till his eye fell on Franconnette, serene and beaming, +But with no word for him; then pale, but smilingly, +"Because it is her will," he said, "I follow thee." + +Two weeks had passed away, and a strange nuptial train, +Adown the verdant hill went slowly to the plain; +First came the comely pair we know, in all their bloom, +While gathered far and wide, three deep on either side, +The ever-curious rustics hied, +Shudd'ring at heart o'er Pascal's doom. +Marcel conducts their march, but pleasures kindly true, +Glows not upon th' unmoving face he lifts to view. +And something glances from his eye, +That makes men shudder as they pass him by; + +Yet verily his mien triumphant is, at least +Sole master is he of this feast, +And gives his rival, for bouquet, +A supper and a ball to-day. +But at the dance and at the board +Alike, scarce one essayed a word; +None sung a song, none raised a jest, +For dark forebodings everyone oppressed. + +And the betrothed, by love's deep rapture fascinated, +Silent and sweet, though near the fate she sad awaited, +No sound their dream dispelled, yet hand in hand did press, +Their eyes looked ever in a visioned happiness; +And so, at last, the evening fell. +But one affrighted woman straightway broke the spell; +She fell on Pascal's neck and "Fly, my son!" she cried. +"I from the Sorcerer come! Fly, fly from thy false bride +The fatal sieve[10] hath turned; thy death decree is spoken! +There's sulphur fume in bridal room, and by the same dread token, +Enter it not; for if thou liv'st thou'rt lost," she sadly said; +"And what were life to me, my son, if thou wert dead?" +Then Pascal felt his eyes were wet, +And turned away, striving to hide his face, where on +The mother shrieked, "Ingrate! but I will save thee yet. + +Thou wilt not dare!"--falling before her stricken son. +"Thou shalt now o'er my body pass, even as thou goest forth! +A wife, it seems, is all; and mother nothing worth! +Unhappy that I am! "The crowd alas! their heavy tears ran down! + +"Marcel," the bridegroom said, "her grief is my despair; +But love, thou knowest, 's stronger yet; indeed 'tis time to go! +Only, should I perish, let my mother be thy care." + +"I can no more," cried Marcel, "thy mother's conquered here." +And then the valiant soldier from his eyelids brushed a tear. +"Take courage, Pascal, friend of mine +Thy Franconnette is good and pure. +That hideous tale was told, of dark design; +But give thy mother thanks; but for her coming, sure +This night might yet have seen my death and thine." +"What say'st thou?" "Hush! now I will tell thee all; +Thou knowest that I lov'd this maid, Pascal. +For her, like thee, I would have shed my blood; +I dreamt that I was loved again; she held me in her thrall. +Albeit my prayer was aye withstood; +Her elders promised her to me; +And so, when other suitors barr'd my way, In spite, +Saying, in love or war, one may use strategy, +I gave the wizard gold, my rival to affright, +Therefore, my chance did everything, insomuch that I said, +My treasure is already won and made. +But when, in the same breath, we two our suit made known, +And when I saw her, without turn of head, +Choose thee, to my despair, it was not to be borne. +And then I vow'd her death and thine, before the morrow morn! +I thought to lead you forth to the bridal bower ere long, +And then, the bed beside which I had mined with care, +That they might say no prince or power of th' air +Is here. That I might burn you for my wrong; +Ay, cross yourselves, thought I, for you shall surely die! +But thy mother, with her tears, has made my vengeance fly +I thought of my own, Pascal, who died so long ago. +Care thou for thine! And now fear nought from me, I trow, +Eden is coming down to earth for thee, no doubt, +But I, whom henceforth men can only hate and flout, +Will to the wars away! For in me something saith +I may recover from my rout, +Better than by a crime! Ay! by a soldier's death!" +Thus saying, Marcel vanished, loudly cheered on every side; +And then with deepening blushes the twain each other eyed, +For now the morning stars in the dark heavens shone +But now I lift my pencil suddenly. +Colours for strife and pain have I, +But for such perfect rapture--none! + +And so the morning came, with softly-dawning light, +No sound, no stir as yet within the cottage white, +At Estanquet the people of the hamlets gathered were, +To wait the waking of the happy married pair. +Marcel had frankly told th' unhappy truth; Nathless, +The devil had an awful power, +And ignorance was still his dower. +Some feared for bride and bridegroom yet; and guess +At strange mischance. "In the night cries were heard," +Others had seen some shadows on the wall, in wondrous ways. +Lives Pascal yet? None dares to dress +The spicy broth,[11] to leave beside the nuptial door; +And so another hour goes o'er. +Then floats a lovely strain of music overhead, +A sweet refrain oft heard before, +'Tis the aoubado[12] offered to the newly-wed. + +So the door opes at last, and the young pair was seen, +She blushed before the folk, but friendly hand and mien, +The fragments of her garter gives, +And every woman two receives; +Then winks and words of ruth from eye and lip are passed, +And luck of proud Pascal makes envious all at last, +For the poor lads, whose hearts are healed but slightly, +Of their first fervent pain, +When they see Franconnette, blossoming rose-light brightly, +All dewy fresh, so sweet and sightly, +They cry aloud, "We'll ne'er believe a Sorcerer again!" + + +Footnotes to FRANCONNETTE. + +[1] Blaise de Montluc, Marshal of France, was one of the +bitterest persecutors of the Hugueuots. Towards the end of the +sixteenth century, Agen was a centre of Protestantism. The town +was taken again and again by the contending religious factions. +When Montluc retook the place, in 1562, from Truelle, the +Huguenot captain, he found that the inhabitants had fled, and +there was no one to butcher (Gascogne et Languedoc, par Paul +Joanne, p. 95). Montluc made up for his disappointment by laying +waste the country between Fumel and Penne, towns to the north of +Agen, and slaying all the Huguenots--men, women, and children--on +whom he could lay his hands. He then returned to his castle of +Estillac, devoted himself to religious exercises, and "took the +sacrament," says Jasmin, "while his hands were dripping with +fraternal blood." Montluc died in 1577, and was buried in the +garden of Estillac, where a monument, the ruins of which still +exist', was erected over his remains. + +[2] Jour de Dieu! + +[3] Wehr-wolves, wizard wolves--loup-garou. Superstitions +respecting them are known in Brittany and the South of France. + +[4] Miss Harriett W. Preston, in her article on Jasmin's +Franconnette in the Atlantic Monthly for February, 1876, says: +"The buscou, or busking, was a kind of bee, at which the young +people assembled, bringing the thread of their late spinning, +which was divided into skeins of the proper size by a broad thin +plate of steel or whalebone called a busc. The same thing, under +precisely the same name, figured in the toilets of our +grandmothers, and hence, probably, the Scotch use of the verb to +busk, or attire." Jamieson (Scottish Dictionary) says: "The term +busk is employed in a beautiful proverb which is very commonly +used in Scotland, 'A bonny bride is soon busked.'" + +[5] Miss Preston says this was a custom which prevailed in +certain parts of France. It was carried by the French emigrants +to Canada, where it flourished in recent times. The Sacramental +Bread was crowned by one or more frosted or otherwise ornamented +cakes, which were reserved for the family of the Seigneur, +or other communicants of distinction. + +[6] At Notre Dame de Bon Encontre, a church in the suburbs of +Agen, celebrated for its legends, its miracles, and the numerous +pilgrimages which are usually made to it in the month of May. + +[7] The Angels walked in procession, and sang the Angelos at the +appropriate hours. + +[8] The ancient parish church of Roquefort, whose ruins only now +remain. See text for the effects of the storm. + +[9] Dounzel is the word used by Jasmin. Miss H. W. Preston says +of this passage: "There is something essentially knightly in +Pascal's cast of character, and it is singular that, at the +supreme crisis of his fate, he assumes, as if unconsciously, the +very phraseology of chivalry. 'Some squire (dounzel) should +follow me to death,' &c., and we find it altogether natural and +burning in the high-hearted smith. There are many places where +Jasmin addresses his hearers directly as 'Messieurs,' where the +context also makes it evident that the word is emphatic, that he +is distinctly conscious of addressing those who are above him in +rank, and that the proper translation is 'gentles,' or even +'masters'; yet no poet ever lived who was less of a sycophant." + +[10] Low sedas (the sieve) is made of raw silk, and is used for +sifting flour. It has also a singular use in necromancy. +When one desires to know the name of the doer of an act--a theft +for instance--the sieve is made to revolve, but woe to him whose +name is spoken just as the sieve stops! + +[11] An ancient practice. Lou Tourrin noubial, a highly-spiced +onion soup, was carried by the wedding guests to the bridegroom +at a late hour of the night. + +[12] The aoubado--a song of early morning, corresponding to the +serenade or evening song. + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg Etext of Jasmin + |