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。