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
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.
Endnotes 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.
