TheresultofthisappealtotheEmpresswasthatJasmin’sprayerwasimmediatelygrantedbytheEmperor。M。BazereturnedtoFranceatonce，withoutanyconditionswhatever。TheparentsofthequondamexilewrotetoJasminthankinghimmostcordiallyforhisexertionsintheirfavour。FourdaysafterthesoireeatSaint-Cloud，thePrefectoftheIndre-et-Loire，headoftheBazefamily，wrotetoJasmin，saying：”Yourmuseisaccustomedtotriumphs；butthisoneoughttorejoiceyourheart，andshouldyieldyoumorehonourthanalltheothers。Formypart，Ifeelmyselfunderthenecessityofthankingyoucordiallyforyourbeautifulandnobleaction；andinsayingso，Iinterpretthesentimentsofthewholefamily。”MadameBazeaddressedtheEmperorinaletterofgratefulthanks，whichshewroteatthedictationofJasmin。TheSieclealsogaveanaccountofJasmin’sinterviewwiththeEmperorandEmpressatSaint-Cloud，andthewholeproceedingredoundedtothehonouroftheGasconpoet。
JasminhadbeenmadeChevalieroftheLegionofHonouratthesametimeasBalzac，FrederickSoulie，andAlfreddeMusset。
TheministerborewitnesstotheworthofJasmin，notwithstandingtherusticityofhisidiom；andhewasclassedamongstthemenwhodidhonourtoFrenchliterature。Hewasconsideredgreat，notonlyinhispoems，butinhisbenevolentworks：”Youbuildchurches；youhelpindigence；youpossessthetalentofapowerfulbenefactor；andyourmuseisthesisterofcharity。”
WhenthenewsofthehonoursconferreduponJasminreachedAgen，thepeopleweremostsympatheticintheirdemonstrations。
Theshopofthebarber-poetwascrowdedwithvisitors，andwhenhehimselfreachedthetownhewasreceivedwiththegreatestenthusiasm。ThePhilharmonicSocietyagaintreatedhimtoaserenade，andthewholetownwasfullofjoyatthehonourdonetotheirbelovedpoet。
ToreturntothechurchofVergt，whichwasnotyetentirelyfinished。Abell-towerhadbeenerected，butwhatwasabell-towerwithoutbells?Therewasalittletinklingaffairwhichcouldscarcelybeheardinthechurch，stilllessintheneighbourhood。WithhisconstanttrustinProvidence，theAbbedidnothesitatetobuyaclockandordertwolargebells。
Theexpenseofbothamountedto7000francs。Howwasthistobepaid?Hisfundswereentirelyexhausted。ThepriestfirstappliedtotheinhabitantsofVergt，buttheycouldnotraisehalfthenecessaryfunds。TherewasJasmin！HewastheonlypersonthatcouldenabletheAbbetodefrayhisdebt。
Accordingly，anotherappealwasmadetothepublicoutsideofVergt。Thepoetandthepriestsetoutontheirfifthandlastpilgrimage；andthistimetheywentasfarasLyons——acitywhichJasminhadneverseenbefore。Therehefoundhimselffacetofacewithanimmenseaudience，whoknewnexttonothingofhisGasconpatois。Hewasafraidofhissuccess；butunwillingtoretreat，heresolved，hesaid，”tocreateasquadroninreserve”；thatis，afterrecitingsomeoftheoldinspirationsofhisyouth，togivethemhisHeleneor’LoveandPoetry，’
inmodernclassicalFrench。Theresult，weneedscarcelysay，waseminentlysuccessful，andtheAbbe；wasdoublygratefulinhavingaddedsomanymorethousandfrancstohispurse。
Duringthisjourneyanotherpriest，theAbbeCabanel，unitedhisforceswiththoseofJasminandMasson。ThisAbbewascurateofPortdeSainte-Foi-la-Grande。Hehadendeavouredtoerectinhisparishapublicschoolunderthechargeofreligiousteachers。
Henowproposedtopartakeoftheprofitsoftherecitationsforthepurposeofhelpingonhisproject；andJasminandMassonwillinglycompliedwithhisrequest。TheyaccordinglyappearedatthetownofSainte-Foi，andtheresultwasanotherexcellentcollection。
Aftervisitingothertowns，sufficientsubscriptionswerecollectedtoenabletheAbbetopayoffhisdebts。TheclockandbellswerechristenedbyMonseigneurdeSangalerie，whohadhimselfbeenacurateoftheparishofVergt；andthebellswereinscribedwiththenameofJASMIN，thechieffounderandrebuilderofthechurch。ThebellswerethelastadditiontoJasmin’sbell-tower，butthefinalresultwasreachedlongafterthebeginningoftherebuildingofthechurch。
FootnotesforChapterXVII。
[1]TheBarondeMontyonbequeathedalargesumtotheAcademieFrancaise，theAcademiedesSciences，andtheFacultedeMedecine，forthepurposeofbeingawardedinprizestomenofinventionanddiscovery，orforanyliteraryworklikelytobeusefultosociety，andtorewardingactsofvirtueamongthepoor。
Jasminwascertainlyentitledtoashareinthisbenevolentfund。
[2]Chambers’EdinburghJournal，July，1853
[3]ThefollowingaretheGasconwordsofthispartofthepoem：”Omounbres，d’uncouncerfestejomounaoureillo！
Rouseignol，cantofort！brounzinofort，Abeillo！
Garono，faysounatounflotrizenetpur；
DesourmesdelGrabeflourejilacabeillo，Nondeglorio……maisdebounhur！”
[4]TheeditorofVol。IV。ofJasminsPoems1863givesthisnote：”Inthiscircumstance，Jasminhasrealisedtheforesightwhichtheancientsaffordedtotheirpoets，ofpredicting，twoyearsinadvance，thebirthofthePrinceImperial。”
CHAPTERXVIII。
JASMINENROLLEDMAITRE-ES-JEUXATTOULOUSE——CROWNEDBYAGEN。
ShortlyafterthereturnofJasminfromParis，wherehehadthehonourofaninterviewwiththeEmperorandEmpress，aswellaswiththemembersoftheFrenchAcademy，hewasinvitedtoToulouseforthepurposeofbeingenrolledasMaitre-es-jeuxintheAcademyofJeuxFloreaux。
ToulouseisknownasthecityofLiteraryFetes，andthereceptionofJasminasMaitre-es-Jeuxwilllongexistasapermanentrecordinherannals。TheAcademyofJeuxFloreauxhadnoprizeof5000frs。tobestow，noranycrowns，noranygoldenlaurels。Shehidesherpovertyunderherflowers，andalthoughshewouldwillinglyhavegivenallherflowerstoJasmin，yetherrulespreventedher。ShecalledJasmintoherbosom，andgavehimtheheartiestofwelcomes。Butthehonourwasthere——thehonourofbeinginvitedtojoinabrotherhoodofillustriousmen。
ThetitleofMaitre-es-jeuxisararedistinction，awardedonlytothehighestcelebrities。TheceremonyofinstallingJasmintookplaceonthe6thofFebruary，1854。ThegreatSalledesIllustreswascrowdedlongbeforehemadehisappearance，whilethePlacedeCapitolwasfilledwithavastnumberofhisadmirers。Thearchbishop，theprefect，themayor，themagistrates，andtheprincipalcitizensofToulousewerepresent，withthemostbeautifulwomeninthecity。Manyofthesouthernbishopswerepresent，havingdesiredtoenjoythepleasureofassistingattheceremony。
Afteranaddressofcongratulation，Jasminwasenrolledamongstthemembers，andpresentedwithhisdiplomaofMaitre-es-jeux。
Thoughitwasonlyapieceofparchment，heconsideredittherarestofdistinctions。Itconnectedthepoet，throughfivecenturies，withthelastoftheTroubadours，whoselanguagehehadsosplendidlyrevived。Jasminvaluedhisbitofparchmentmorehighlythanalltheothergiftshehadreceived。Inanswertohisenrolment，hesaid：”Ihavenowenough！Iwantnomore！Allthingssmileuponme。
MymusewentproudlyfromthefortyofToulousetothefortyofParis。Sheismorethanproudto-day，sheiscompletelyhappy；
forsheseesmyname，whichIsaureblessed，comefromthefortyofParistothefortyofToulouse，”
Afterhisenrolment，thepoet-barberleftthesalon。Alargecrowdhadassembledinthecourt，undertheperistyle，inthePlaceoftheCapitol。Everyheadwasuncoveredashepassedthroughtheirranks，andthosewhoaccompaniedhimtohislodging，calledout，”ViveJasmin！ViveJasmin！”Neverhadsuchascenebeenwitnessedbefore。
AlthoughJasminhaddeclaredtotheAcademyofJeuxFloreauxthathewantednothingmorethanthediplomatheyhadgivenhim，yetanothertriumphwaswaitinghim。ThecitizensofAgencappedalltheprevioushonoursofthepoet。Theyawardedhimacrownofgold，whichmusthavebeenthegreatestrecompenseofall。
Theyhadknownhimduringalmosthisentirelife——thesonofahumpbackedtailorandacrippledmother，ofpoorbuthonestpeople，whosemeanshadbeenhelpedbythegrandfather，Boe，whobeggedfromdoortodoor，theoldmanwhoclosedhiseyesinthehospital，”wherealltheJasminsdie！”
Theyhadknownhimbyhisboyishtricks，hisexpulsionfromtheAcademy，hissettingupasabarber，hishappymarriage，andhislaboriousprogress，untilthe”showerofsilver”camerunningintohisshop。”Paudelabouro，paudesalouro，”Nowork，nobread。Thoughborninthelowestconditionoflife，hehad，bythehelpofhiswife，andbyhisownenergyandperseverance，raisedhimselftothehighestpositionasamanofcharacter。
Beforehereachedtheageofthirty[1]hebegantoshowevidencesofhisgeniusasapoet。
Butstillmoreimportantwerehisworksofcharity，whichendearedhimtothepeoplethroughtheSouthofFrance。Itwasrightandreasonablethathisfellow-citizensshoulddesiretotakepartinthehonoursconferredupontheirbelovedpoet。Hehadalreadyexperiencedtheirprofoundsympathyduringhisself-sacrificingwork，buttheynowwishedtotestifytheirpublicadmiration，andtoproclaimthefactbysomeofferingofintrinsicvalue。
TheSocietyofSaint-VincentdePaul——whomhehadsooftenhelpedintheircharitablelabours——firststartedtheidea。TheyknewwhatJasminhaddonetofoundschools，orphanages，andcreches。
Indeed，thiswastheirownmission，andnoonehadlabouredsowillinglyashehaddonetohelpthemintheirnoblework。
Theidea，thusstartedbythesociety，immediatelyattractedpublicattention，andwasreceivedwithuniversalapproval。
Acommitteewasformed，consistingofDeBouy，mayor；H。Noubel，deputy；Aunac，banker；CanonDeyche，arch-priestofthecathedral；Dufort，imperialcouncillor；Guizot，receiver-general；
Labat，advocate-general；Maysonnade，presidentoftheconferenceofSaint-VincentdePaul；Couturier，theengineer，andothergentlemen。Asubscriptionwasatonceopenedandmorethanfourthousandpersonsansweredtheappeal。
Whenthesubscriptionswerecollected，theywerefoundsogreatinamount，thatthecommitteeresolvedtopresentJasminwithacrownofgold。Fivehundredyearsbefore，PetrarchhadbeencrownedatRomeinthenameofItaly，andnowJasminwastobecrownedatAgen，inthenameofMeridionalFrance。Tocrownaman，who，duringhislifetimehadbeenengagedinthetradeofbarberandhair-dresser，seemedsomethingextraordinaryandunique。Tothecold-bloodedpeopleoftheNorththeremightappearsomethingtheatricalinsuchademonstration，butitwasquiteinkeepingwiththewarm-heartedchildrenoftheSouth。
TheconstructionofthecrownwasentrustedtoMM。FannieresofParis，thebestworkersofgoldinFrance。Theyputtheirbestartandskillintothecrown。Itconsistedoftwobranchesoflaurelindeadgold，largeandknottedbehind，likethecrownsoftheCaesarsandthepoets，witharuby，artisticallyarranged，containingthesimpledevice：LaVilled’Agen，aJasmin！Thependantsofthelaurel，indeadsilver，weremixedwiththefoliage。Thestyleoftheworkwassevereandpure，andtheeffectofthechefd’oeuvrewasadmirable。
Thepublicmeeting，atwhichthegoldencrownwaspresentedtoJasmin，washeldonthe27thofNovember，1856，inthelargehalloftheGreatSeminary。Giltbannerswerehungroundthewalls，containingthetitlesofJasmin’sprincipalpoems，whiletheplatformwassplendidlydecoratedwithemblemsandfestoonsofflowers。Althoughthegreathallwasoflargedimensions，itcouldnotcontainhalfthenumberofpeoplewhodesiredtobepresentonthisgrandoccasion。
Animmensecrowdassembledinthestreetsadjoiningtheseminary。