Ah！wretchedme！whathaveIbuttodie?
SinceIhavelostmyloveforevermore！”
ThewholeofthepoemwasafterwardstranslatedintomodemFrench，and，thoughsomewhatartificial，itbecameaspopularinthenorthasinthesouth。
Jasmin’ssuccessinhisnativetown，andhisgrowingpopularity，encouragedhimtoproceedwiththemakingofverses。Hispoemswereoccasionallyinsertedinthelocaljournals；buttheeditorsdidnotapproveofhisuseoftheexpiringGascondialect。TheywereofopinionthathisworksmightbebetterappreciatediftheyappearedinmodernFrench。Gasconwastoalargeextentaforeignlanguage，andgreatlyinterferedwithJasmin’snationalreputationasapoet。
Neverthelessheheldonhisway，andcontinuedtowritehisversesinGascon。Theycontainedmanypersonallyrics，tributes，dedications，hymnsforfestivals，andimpromptus，scarcelyworthyofbeingcollectedandprinted。Jasminsaidofthelastdescriptionofverse：”Onecanonlypayapoeticaldebtbymeansofimpromptus，andthoughtheymaybegoodmoneyoftheheart，theyarealmostalwaysbadmoneyofthehead。”
Jasmin’snextpoemwasTheCharivariLouCharibari，alsowritteninGascon。Itwascomposedin1825，whenhewastwenty-sevenyearsold；anddedicatedtoM。Duprount，theAdvocate，whowashimselfapoetaster。Thededicationcontainedsomefinepassagesofgenuinebeautyandgracefulversification。
ItwasinsomerespectsanimitationoftheLutrinofBoileau。
Itwasverydifferentfromthedoggerelinwhichhehadtakenpartwithhishumpbackedfathersolongago。Thenhehadblownthecow-horn，nowhespokewiththetongueofatrumpet。
TheheroofJasmin’sCharivariwasoneAduber，anoldwidower，whodreamtofremarrying。ItremindedoneofthestrainsofBeranger；inotherpassagesofthemock-heroicpoemofBoileau。
Thoughthepoemwhenpublishedwasreadwithmuchinterest，itwasnotnearlysopopularasMecalMouri。Thislast-mentionedpoem，hisfirstpublishedwork，touchedtheharpofsadness；whilehisCharivaridisplayedtheplayfulnessofjoy。
Thus，atthebeginningofhiscareer，Jasminrevealedhimselfasapoetintwoverydifferentstyles；inone，touchingthespringsofgrief，andintheotherexhibitingbrightnessandhappiness。
AttheendofthesameyearhesoundedhisthirdanddeepestnoteinhispoemOntheDeathofGeneralFoy——oneofFrance’struestpatriots。Nowhislyrewascomplete；ithaditsthreestrings——ofsadness，joy，andsorrow。
Thesethreepoems——MecalMouri，theCharivari，andtheodeOntheDeathofGeneralFoy，withsomeotherverses——werepublishedin1825。Whatwastobethetitleofthevolume?
AsAdam，thecarpenter-poetofNevers，hadentitledhisvolumeofpoetry’Shavings，’soJasmindecidedtonamehiscollection’TheCurl-papersofJasmin，CoiffeurofAgen。’Thetitlewasagoodone，andthesubsequentvolumesofhisworkswereknownasLaPapillotostheCurl-papersofJasmin。ThepublicationofthisfirstvolumeservedtomakeJasmin’snamepopularbeyondthetowninwhichtheyhadbeencomposedandpublished。HisfriendM。Gazesaidofhim，thatduringtheyear1825hehadbeenmarryinghisrazorwiththeswan’squill；andthathishandofvelvetinshavingwasevensurpassedbyhisskillinverse-making。
CharlesNodier，hisoldfriend，whohadenteredthebarber’sshopsomeyearsbeforetointercedebetweenthepoetandhiswife，soundedJasmin’spraisesintheParisjournals。
HeconfessedthathehadbeengreatlystruckwiththeCharivari，andboldlydeclaredthatthelanguageoftheTroubadours，whicheveryonesupposedtobedead，wasstillinfulllifeinFrance；
thatitnotonlylived，butthatatthatverymomentapoorbarberatAgen，withoutanyinstructionbeyondthatgivenbythefields，thewoods，andtheheavens，hadwrittenaserio-comicpoemwhich，attheriskofbeingthoughtcrazybyhiscolleaguesoftheAcademy，heconsideredtobebettercomposedthantheLutrinofBoileau，andevenbetterthanoneofPope’smasterpieces，theRapeoftheLock。
ThefirstvolumeofthePapillotessoldverywell；andthereceiptsfromitssalenotonlyincreasedJasmin’sincome，butalsoincreasedhisnationalreputation。Jasminwasnot，however，elatedbysuccess。Heremainedsimple，frugal，honest，andhard-working。Hewasnotcarriedoffhisfeetbyeclat。
Thoughmanyillustriousstrangers，whenpassingthroughAgen，calleduponandinterviewedthepoeticalcoiffeur，hequietlywentbacktohisrazors，hiscombs，andhisperiwigs，andcheerfullypursuedthebusinessthathecouldalwaysdependuponinhistimeofneed。
FootnotestoChapterV。
[1]Hallam’s’MiddleAges，’iii。434。12thedit。Murray。
[2]Hiswordsarethese：”Laconceptionm’enfutsuggereeparmesetudessurlavieillelanguefrancaiseoulangued’oil。
Jefussifrappedesliensquiunissentlefrancaismoderneaufrancaisancien，j’apercustantdecasoulessensetdeslocutionsdujournes’expliquentqueparlessensetleslocutionsd’autrefois，tantd’exemplesoulaformedesmotsn’estpasintelligiblesanslesformesquiontprecede，qu’ilmesemblaqueladoctrineetmemel’usagedelalanguerestentmalassiss’ilsnereposentsurleurbaseantique。”Preface，ii。
[3]’BearnandthePyrenees，’i。348。
[4]THIERRY——’HistoricalEssays，’No。XXIV。
[5]LesPoetesduPeupleanxix。Siecle。ParAlphonseViollet。
Paris，1846。
[6]Portraitscontemporains，ii。61ed。1847。
[7]’PilgrimagetoAuvergne，’ii。210。
CHAPTERVI。
MISCELLANEOUSVERSES——BERANGER——’MESSOUVENIRS’——PAULDEMUSSET。
DuringthenextfouryearsJasmincomposednoworkofspecialimportance。Heoccasionallywrotepoetry，butchieflyonlocalsubjects。In1828hewroteanimpromptutoM。Pradel，whohadimprovisedaGasconsonginhonourofthepoet。TheGasconpainter，Champmas，hadcomparedJasmintoarayofsunshine，andin1829thepoetsenthimacharmingpieceofverseinreturnforhiscompliment。
In1830JasmincomposedTheThirdofMay，whichwastranslatedintoFrenchbyM。Duvigneau。ItappearsthattheCountofDijonhadpresentedtothetownofNerac，nearAgen，abronzestatueofHenryIV。，executedbythesculptorRaggi——ofthesamecharacterasthestatueerectedtothesamemonarchatPau。
ButthoughHenryIV。wasbornatPau，Neracwasperhapsmoreidentifiedwithhim，fortherehehadhisstrongcastle，thoughonlyitsruinsnowremain。
NeracwasatonetimealmostthecentreoftheReformationinFrance。ClementMarot，thepoetoftheReformedfaith，livedthere；andthehouseofTheodoredeBeze，whoemigratedtoGeneva，stillexists。TheProtestantfaithextendedtoAgenandtheneighbouringtowns。WhentheRomanCatholicsobtainedtheupperhand，persecutionsbegan。Vindocin，thepastor，wasburnedaliveatAgen。J。J。Scaligerwasaneye-witnessoftheburning，andherecordsthefactthatnotlessthan300victimsperishedfortheirfaith。
AtalatertimeNerac，whichhadbeenaprosperoustown，wasruinedbytheRevocationoftheEdictofNantes；fortheProtestantpopulation，whohadbeenthemostdiligentandindustriousinthetownandneighbourhood，werealleither”converted，”hanged，senttothegalleys，orforcedtoemigratetoEngland，Holland，orPrussia。Nevertheless，thepeopleofNeraccontinuedtobeproudoftheiroldmonarch。
ThebronzestatueofHenryIV。wasunveiledin1829。Ononesideofthemarblepedestalsupportingthestatuewerethewords”Alumno，moxpatrinostro，Henricoquarto，”andonthereversesidewasaverseintheGascondialect：”BrabesGascons！
Amounamouperbousaoudibescreyre；
Benes！Benes！eyplazedebousbeyre！
Approucha-bous！”
Thewordswereassumedtobethoseof；HenryIV。，andmaybethustranslatedintoEnglish：”BraveGascons！
Youmaywelltrustmyloveforyou；
Come！come！Ileavetoyoumyglory！
Comenear！Approach！”[1]
ItisnecessarytoexplainhowtheverseinGasconcametobeengravedonthepedestalofthestatue。TheSocietyofAgriculture，Sciences，andArts，ofAgen，offeredaprizeof300
francsforthebestOdetothememoryofHenrytheGreat。ManypoemswereaccordinglysentintotheSociety；and，aftersomeconsideration，itwasthoughtthattheprizeshouldbeawardedtoM。JudePatissie。Butamongstthethirty-ninepoemswhichhadbeenpresentedforexamination，itwasfoundthattwohadbeenwrittenintheGascondialect。Thecommitteewereatfirstofopinionthattheycouldnotawardtheprizetotheauthorofanypoemwritteninthevulgartongue。AtthesametimetheyreportedthatoneofthepoemswritteninGasconpossessedsuchrealmerit，thatthecommitteedecidedbyaunanimousvotethataprizeshouldbeawardedtotheauthorofthebestpoemwrittenintheGascondialect。Manypoemswereaccordinglysentinandexamined。LouTresdeMaywasselectedasthebest；andontheletterattachedtothepoembeingopened，thepresidentproclaimedtheauthortobe”Jasmin，Coiffeur。”AfterthedecisionoftheSocietyatAgen，thepeopleofNeracdesiredtosettheirsealupontheirjudgment，andtheyaccordinglycausedtheabovewordstobeengravedonthereversesideofthepedestalsupportingthestatueofHenryIV。Jasmin’spoemwascrownedbytheAcademyofAgen；andthoughitcontainedmanyfineverses，ithadthesamemeritsandthesamedefectsastheCharivari，publishedafewyearsbefore。
M。Rodiere，ProfessorofLawatToulouse，wasofopinionthatduringthefouryearsduringwhichJasminproducednoworkofanyspecialimportance，hewascarefullystudyingGascon；foritoughttobeknownthatthelanguageinwhichGodolinwrotehisfinepoemsisnotwithoutitsliterature。”Thefact，”saysRodiere，”thatJasminusedsomeofhistimeinstudyingtheworksofGodolinis，thatwhileinLouCharibaritherearesomeFrenchwordsill-disguisedinaGascondress，ontheotherhand，fromtheyear1830，therearenone；andthelanguageofJasministhesameasthelanguageofGodolin，exceptforafewtriflingdifferences，duetothedifferentdialectsofAgenandToulouse。”
BesidesstudyingGascon，Jasminhadsomemilitarydutiestoperform。HewascorporalofthethirdcompanyoftheNationalGuardofAgen；andin1830headdressedhiscomradesinaseriesofverses。Oneofthesewasasongentitled’TheFlagofLiberty’LouDrapeoudelaLibertat；another，’TheGoodAll-mercifulGod！’LouBounDiouliberal；andthethirdwasLouSeromen。
Twoyearslater，in1832，JasmincomposedTheGascons，whichheimprovisedatabanquetgiventothenon-commissionedofficersofthe14thChasseurs。Ofcourse，theimprovisationwascarefullyprepared；anditwascomposedinFrench，asthenon-commissionedofficersdidnotunderstandtheGascondialect。
JasminextolledthevalouroftheFrench，andespeciallyoftheGascons。Thelastlinesofhiseulogyranasfollows：——”OLiberty！motherofvictory，Thyflagalwaysbringsussuccess！
ThoughasGasconswesingofthyglory，WechastiseourfoeswiththeFrench！”
InthesameyearJasminaddressedthepoetBerangerinapleasantpoeticalletterwritteninclassicalFrench。Berangerrepliedinprose；hisanswerwasdatedthe12thofJuly，1832。