Jasmin: Barber, Poet, Philanthropist

ted the poem to the city of Toulouse. His object in making the dedication was to express his gratitude for the banquet given to

t first disposed to dedicate Franconnette to the city of Bordeaux, where he had been so graciously received and feted on the recitation of his Blind Gir

fore its publication. If there was one of the towns or cities in which his language was understood-one which promised by the

hor saw it about two years ago, the ground floor was full of antique tombs, statues, and monuments

that had ever met in Toulouse. Jasmin occupied the centre of the platform. At his right and left hand were seated the Mayor, the members of the Municipal Council, the Military Chiefs, the members of the Academy of Jeux-Floraux,{2} and many distinguishe

rough their minds. The audience were so much absorbed by the poet's recitation that not a whisper was heard. He evoked by the tones and tremor of his voice their sighs, their tears, their indignation. He was by turns gay, melancholy, artless, tender, arch, courteous

l, handed over by Jasminto the local charities, the assembly decided by acclamation that a subscription should be raised to present to the poet, who had been adopt

volume beautifully bound. The Mayor, in eloquent language, accepted the

which he was present, he replied to the speech of the chairman by an impromptu in honour of those who had so splendidly entertaine

given by the coiffeurs of Toulouse, where they presented him with "a crown of im

almost as much applause by the public as it had been by the citizens of

e, aided by the patois in which he writes,... when he puts his dramatis personae into action, he endeavours to depict their thoughts, all their simple yet lively conversation,

e time the most noble and the most chastened. He might also have added the most chivalrous. "There is something essentially knightly," says Miss Preston,

e to death. It is altogether natural

ary in his praises of Franconnette. When a copy of the poem

her poems. I observe, with a certain pride, that you have followed my advice, and that you think in that fine language which you recite so admirably, in place of translating the patois into French, which deprives it of its fullness and fairness. I thank you a th

is best work into the golden laurel, so that it might be a chef d'oeuvre worthy of the city which conferred it, and of being treasured in the museum of their adopted poet. The work w

cate and member of the municipal council, to present the tribute to Jasmin. It ought to have been a fete day for the people of Agen, when their illustrious townsman, though

Gasc, accompanied by her father, the Mayor of Agen, and other friends of Jasmin, entered the shop, they were informed that he was by the bedside of his mother

from his mother's bed-side. M. Gasc expl

r of the Mayor of Toulous

you have dedicated to us. This branch of laurel will remind you of the yo

troduced Mademoiselle Gas

py and proud of the mission w

lden laurel. Jasmin responded in the lines entitled 'Yesterda

bles both. And you who offer it to me, gracious messenger-queen of song and queen of hearts-tell your c

, I cannot forget, my dear young lady, the sorrow which overwhelms me-the fatal illness of my m

ceded her to the tomb a few years before. He always had a firm presentiment that he should be carried in the arm-chair to the hospital, "where all the Jasmins di

Pau, he passed the obelisk erected to Despourrins, the Burns of the Pyrenees. At Pau he recited his Franconnette to an immense audience amidst frenzies of applause. It was alleged that the people of the Pyrenean country

Danger, paid him a still

heart. His admirable delicacy! His profound tact in every verse! What aristocratic poet could b

mes in the diligence, and quietly resumed his daily work. His success as a poet never induced him to resign his more humble occupation. Although

f-taught geniuses who suddenly rise into fame, a supercilious contempt for the ordin

s to Ch

e Toulouse, 4

n the fourteenth century by Clemence Isaure, a Toulousian lady, to commemorate the "Gay Science." A meeting of the society is held every year, when prizes are distributed to th

impromptu to the savants o

de gloire! Oh, bon

our pour ma Mus

'etre quitte j'ai

s, plus fie

r ma reco

endette

promptu, given on

onne un beau bo

amis, en est u

s plaisirs de c

eux remerc

esprit pour ne p

e nait et tombe

du Lundi,' iv.

hich can scarcely be translated into English; just