Jasmin: Barber, Poet, Philanthropist Part 19

"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 rea.s.sured 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 d.u.c.h.ess 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 pa.s.sing 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 n.o.ble 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 a.s.sembly and the Senate. But he was opposed to Prince Louis Napoleon, and was one of the authors of the motion ent.i.tled 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 a.s.sembled, 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 n.o.ble 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 cla.s.sed 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 cla.s.sical 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 Ma.s.son. 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 Ma.s.son 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.

Endnotes 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 ent.i.tled 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 circ.u.mstance, 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 ill.u.s.trious men.

The t.i.tle 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 Ill.u.s.tres 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 princ.i.p.al 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 a.s.sisting 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 a.s.sembled in the court, under the peristyle, in the Place of the Capitol. Every head was uncovered as he pa.s.sed 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 n.o.ble 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 t.i.tles of Jasmin's princ.i.p.al 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 a.s.sembled 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 a.s.sembly 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 a.s.sociated 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 n.o.ble 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 n.o.bly 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.