thathistimewastoopreciousforthat；thatapoetought，aboveall，nottooccupyhimselfwithpolitics，for，bysodoing，herantheriskofinjuringhistalent。
Someofhislocalcritics，nothavingcomprehendedtheinnerlifeofJasmin，comparedhiswifetothegardenerofBoileauandthemaid-servantofMoliere。Butthecomparisondidnotatallapply。Jasminhadnogardenernoranyoldservantorhousekeeper。JasminandMariewerequitedifferent。Theylivedthesamelives，andwereallinalltoeachother。Theywerebothofthepeople；andthoughshewaswithoutculture，andhadnotsharedinthesocietyoftheeducated，shetookeveryinterestinthesentimentsandtheprosperityofheradmirablehusband。
Onemightask，HowdidJasminacquirehiseloquenceofdeclamation——hispowerofattractingandmovingassembliesofpeopleinallranksoflife?Itwastheresult，nodoubt，partlyofthegiftswithwhichtheCreatorhadendowedhim，andpartlyalsoofpatienceandperseveringstudy。Hehadafinevoice，andhemanageditwithsuchartthatitbecamelikeaperfectlytunedinstrumentinthehandsofamusician。
Hisvoicewaspowerfulandpatheticbyturns，andhepossessedgreatsweetnessofintonation，——combinedwithsympatheticfeelingandspecialfelicityofemphasis。Andfeelingisthevitalisingprincipleofpoetry。Jasminoccasionallyvariedhisreadingsbysingingorchauntingthesongswhichoccurredincertainpartsofhispoems。This，togetherwithhiseloquence，gavesuchimmensevitalpowertotherecitationsoftheAgenaisebard。
Andweshallfind，fromthenextchapter，thatJasminusedhispatheticeloquenceforverynoble，——onemightalmostsay，fordivinepurposes。