Jasmin: Barber, Poet, Philanthropist Part 20

"For myself, I cannot but be proud of the mission which has been entrusted to me. I only owe it, I know, to the position of deputy in which you have placed me by popular election. I am proud, nevertheless, of having the honour of crowning you, and I shall ever regard this event as the most glorious recollection of my life."

After this address, during which M. Noubel was greatly moved, he took the crown of gold and placed it on the head of the poet. It is impossible to describe the enthusiasm of the meeting at this supreme moment. The people were almost beside themselves. Their exclamations of sympathy and applause were almost frantic. Jasmin wept with happiness.

After the emotion hard subsided, with his eyes full of tears, he recited his piece of poetry ent.i.tled: The Crown of my Birthplace.{2}

In this poem, Jasmin took occasion to recite the state of poverty in which he was born, yet with the star of poetry in his breast; his dear mother, and her anxieties about his education and up-bringing; his growth; his first efforts in poetical composition, and his final triumph; and at last his crown of gold conferred upon him by the people of Agen--the crown of his birthplace.

"I feel that if my birthplace crowns me, In place of singing. . . I should weep!"

After Jasmin had recited his touching poem, he affectionately took leave of his friends, and the a.s.sembly dispersed.

Endnotes to Chapter XVIII.

{1} There is a Gascon proverb which says:

"Qu'a vingt ans nouns po, Qu'a trent ans noun sa, Qu'a cranto noun er, Qu'a cincanto se paouso pa, Sabe pa que pot esper."

"Who at twenty does nothing; Who at thirty knows nothing; Who at forty has nothing; Who at fifty changes nothing: For him there is no hope."

{2} Perhaps this might be better rendered "The Crown of my Infancy;" in Gascon, "La Courouno del Bres."

CHAPTER XIX. LAST POEMS--MORE MISSIONS OF CHARITY.

This was the last occasion on which Jasmin publicly appeared before his fellow-townsmen; and it could not perhaps have been more fitting and appropriate. He still went on composing poetry; amongst other pieces, La Vierge, dedicated to the Bishop of Algiers, who acknowledged it in a complimentary letter. In his sixty-second year, when his hair had become white, he composed some New Recollections (Mous Noubels Soubenis), in which he again recalled the memories of his youth. In his new Souvenirs he only gives a few fresh stories relating to the period of his infancy and youth. Indeed they scarcely go beyond the period covered by his original Souvenirs.

In the midst of his various honours at Paris, Toulouse, and Agen, he did not forget his true mission, the help and relief of the afflicted. He went to Albi, and gave a recitation which produced 2000 francs. The whole of this sum went to the poor. There was nothing for himself but applause, and showers of flowers thrown at his feet by the ladies present.

It was considered quite unprecedented that so large a sum should have been collected in so poor a district. The mayor however was prepared for the event. After a touching address to the poet, he presented him with a ring of honour, with the arms of the town, and the inscribed words: "Albi a Jasmin."

He went for the same purpose, to Castera in the Gers, a decayed town, to recite his poems, in the words of the cure, for "our poor church." He was received as usual with great enthusiasm; and a present of silver was given to him with the inscribed words: "A Jasmin, l'Eglise du Castera reconnaissante!" Jasmin answered, by reciting an impromptu he had composed for the occasion.

At Bordeaux, one of his favourite cities, he was received with more than the usual enthusiasm. There he made a collection in aid of the Conference of Saint-vincent de Paul. In the midst of the seance, he appeared almost inspired, and recited "La Charite dans Bordeaux"--the grand piece of the evening. The a.s.sembly rose en ma.s.se, and cheered the poet with frantic applause. The ladies threw an avalanche of bouquets at the hero of the fete.

After quiet had been restored, the Society of Saint-vincent de Paul cordially thanked Jasmin through the mouth of their President; and presented him with a magnificent golden circlet, with this inscription: "La Caritat dins Bourdeau!"

Among his other recitations towards the close of his life, for the purpose of collecting money for the relief of the poor, were those at Montignac in Perigord; at Saint-Macaire; at Saint-Andre de Cubzac, and at Monsegur. Most of these were remote villages far apart from each other. He had disappointed his friends at Arcachon several years before, when he failed to make his appearance with the Abbe Ma.s.son, during their tour on behalf of the church of Vergt, owing to the unpunctuality of the steamboat; but he promised to visit them at some future period.

He now redeemed his promise. The poor were in need, and he went to their help. A large audience had a.s.sembled to listen to his recitations, and a considerable sum of money was collected. The audience overwhelmed him with praises and the Mayor of Teste the head department of the district--after thanking Jasmin for his admirable a.s.sistance, presented him with a gold medal, on which was inscribed: "Fete de Charite d'Arcachon: A Jasmin." These laurels and medals had become so numerous, that Jasmin had almost become tired of such tributes to his benevolence.

He went to Bareges again, where Monseigneur the Bishop of Tarbes had appealed to him for help in the erection of an hospital. From that town he proceeded to Saint-Emilion and Castel-Naudary, to aid the Society of Mutual Help in these two towns. In fact, he was never weary of well-doing. "This calamitous winter," he wrote in January, 1854, "requires all my devotion. I will obey my conscience and give myself to the help of the famished and suffering, even to the extinction of my personal health."

And so it was to the end. When his friends offered him public entertainments, he would say, "No, no! give the money to the poor!" What gave Jasmin as much pleasure as any of the laurels and crowns conferred upon him, was a beautifully bound copy of the 'Imitation of Christ,'

with the following inscription: "A testimony from the Bishop of Saint-Flour, in acknowledgment of the services which the great poet has rendered to the poor of his diocese."

No poet had so many opportunities of making money, and of enriching himself by the contributions of the rich as well as the poor. But such an idea never entered his mind. He would have regarded it as a sacrilege to evoke the enthusiasm of the people, and make money; for his own benefit, or to speculate upon the triumphs of his muse. Gold earned in this way, he said, would have burnt his fingers. He worked solely for the benefit of those who could not help themselves. His poetry was to him like a sweet rose that delighted the soul and produced the fruits of charity.

His conduct has been called Quixotic. Would that there were more

Quixotes in the world! After his readings, which sometimes produced from two to three thousand francs, the whole of the proceeds were handed over to those for whose benefit they had been given, after deducting, of course, the expenses of travelling, of which he kept a most accurate account.

It is estimated that the amount of money collected by Jasmin during his recitations for philanthropic objects amounted to at least 1,500,000 francs (equal to 62,500 sterling). Besides, there were the labour of his journeys, and the amount of his correspondence, which were almost heroic. M. Rabain{1} states that from 1825 to 1860, the number of letters received by Jasmin was more than twelve thousand.

Mr. d.i.c.kens, in giving the readings from his works in Great Britain, netted over 35,000 sterling, besides what he received for his readings in America. This, of course, led quite reasonably to the enhancing of his fortune. But all that Jasmin received from his readings was given away--some say "thrown away"--to the poor and the needy. It is not necessary to comment on such facts; one can only mention and admire them.

The editor of Le Pays says: "The journeys of Jasmin in the South were like a triumphal march. No prince ever received more brilliant ovations.

Flowers were strewn in his way; the bells rang out on his appearance; the houses were illuminated; the Mayors addressed him in words of praise; the magistrates, the clergy followed him in procession. Bestowed upon a man, and a poet, such honours might seem exaggerated; but Jasmin, under the circ.u.mstances, represented more than poetry: he represented Charity. Each of his verses transformed him into an alms-giver; and from the harvest of gold which he reaped from the people, he preserved for himself only the flowers. His epics were for the unfortunate. This was very n.o.ble; and the people of Agen should be proud of their poet."{2}

The account which Jasmin records of his expenses during a journey of fifty days, in which he collected more than 20,000 francs, is very remarkable. It is given in the fourth volume of 'Les Papillotes,'

published in 1863, the year before his death, and is ent.i.tled, "Note of my expenses of the journey, which I have deducted from the receipts during my circuit of fifty days."

On certain occasions nothing whatever was charged, but a carriage was probably placed at his disposal, or the ticket for a railway or a diligence may have been paid for by his friends. On many occasions he walked the distance between the several places, and thus saved the cost of his conveyance. But every item of expense was set forth in his "Note"

with the most scrupulous exactness.

Here is the translation of Jasmin's record for his journeys during these fifty days:--"... At Foix, from M. de Groussou, President of the Communion of Bienfaisance, 33 fr., 50 c. At Pamiers, nil. At Saint-Girons, from the President of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, 16 fr. At Lavaur, from M. the Mayor, 22 fr. At Saint-Sulpice, nil. At Toulouse, where I gave five special seances, of which the two first, to Saint-Vincent de Paul and the Prefecture, produced more than 1600 fr., nil. My muse was sufficiently accounted for; it was during my reception as Maitre-es-jeux. At Rodez, from the President of the Conference of Saint-Vincent de Paul, 29 fr. 50c. At Saint-Geniez, nil. At Saint-Flour, from M. Simon, vicar-general, 22 fr. 50 c. At Murat, nil. At Mauriac, nil. At Aurillac, from M. Geneste, mayor, for my return to Agen, 24 fr.

Total, 147 fr. 50 centimes."

Thus, more than 20,000 francs were collected for the poor, Jasmin having deducted 147 fr. 50 c. for the cost of his journeys from place to place.

It must also be remembered that he travelled mostly in winter, when the ground was covered with snow. In February, 1854, M. Migneret, Prefect of Haute-garonne, addressed a letter to Jasmin, which is worthy of preservation. "It is pleasant," he said, "after having enjoyed at night the charms of your poetry, to begin the next day by taking account of the misfortunes they relieve. I owe you this double honour, and I thank you with the greatest grat.i.tude.... As to our admiration of your talent, it yields to our esteem for your n.o.ble heart; the poet cannot be jealous of the good citizen."{3}

Notwithstanding the rigour of the season, and the snow and wind, the like of which had not been known for more than twenty years, Jasmin was welcomed by an immense audience at Rodez. The recitation was given in the large hall of the Palais de Justice, and never had so large a collection been made. The young people of the town wished to give Jasmin a banquet, but he declined, as he had to hurry on to another place for a similar purpose. He left them, however, one of his poems prepared for the occasion.

He arrived at Saint-Flour exhausted by fatigue. His voice began to fail, partly through the rigours of the climate, yet he continued to persevere. The bishop entertained him in his palace, and introduced him personally to the audience before which he was to give his recitations.

Over the entrance-door was written the inscription, "A Jasmin, le Poete des Pauvres, Saint-fleur reconnaissante!" Before Jasmin began to recite he was serenaded by the audience. The collection was greater than had ever been known. It was here that the bishop presented Jasmin with that famous manual, 'The Imitation of Christ,' already referred to.

It was the same at Murat, Mauriac, and Aurillac. The recitation at Aurillac was given in the theatre, and the receipts were 1200 francs.

Here also he was serenaded. He departed from Aurillac covered with the poor people's blessings and grat.i.tude.

At Toulouse he gave another entertainment, at the instance of the Conference of Saint-Francois Xavier. There were about 3000 persons present, mostly of the working cla.s.ses. The seance was prolonged almost to midnight. The audience, most of whom had to rise early in the morning, forgot their sleep, and wished the poet to prolong his recitations!

Although the poor machine of Jasmin's body was often in need of rest, he still went about doing good. He never ceased ministering to the poor until he was altogether unable to go to their help. Even in the distressing cold, rain, and wind of winter--and it was in winter more than in summer that he travelled, for it was then that the poor were most distressed--he entirely disregarded his own comfort, and sometimes travelled at much peril; yet he went north and south, by highways and byways, by rivers and railways, in any and every direction, provided his services could be of use.

He sacrificed himself always, and was perfectly regardless of self.

He was overwhelmed with honours and praises. He became weary of triumphs--of laurels, flowers, and medals--he sometimes became weary of his life; yet he never could refuse any pressing solicitation made to him for a new recital of his poems.

His trials, especially in winter time, were often most distressing. He would recite before a crowded audience, in a heated room, and afterwards face the icy air without, often without any covering for his throat and neck. Hence his repeated bronchial attacks, the loss of his voice, and other serious affections of his lungs.

The last meeting which Jasmin attended on behalf of the poor was at the end of January 1864, only three months before his death. It was at Villeneuve-sur-Lot, a town several miles north of Agen. He did not desire to put the people to the expense of a conveyance, and therefore he decided to walk. He was already prematurely old and stooping.

The disease which ended his life had already made considerable progress.

He should have been in bed; nevertheless, as the poor needed his help, the brave old man determined to proceed to Villeneuve. He was helped along the road by some of his friends; and at last, wearied and panting, he arrived at his destination.

The meeting was held in the theatre, which was crowded to suffocation.

No sooner had Jasmin reached the platform, amidst the usual triumphant cheering, than, after taking a short rest, he sprang to his feet and began the recitation of his poems. Never had his voice seemed more spirited and entrancing. He delighted his audience, while he pleaded most eloquently for the relief of the poor.

"I see him now," wrote one of his friends, "from behind the side-scenes of the theatre, perspiring profusely, wet to the skin, with a carafe of water to allay the ardent thirst occasioned by three hours of splendid declamation."