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.