Part 21 (2/2)

”And yet thy days had been numbered, and you yourself seemed to have cherished this presentiment; but, faithful to thy double mission of poet and apostle of benevolence, thou redoubled thy efforts to enrich with new epics thy sheaf of poetry, and by thy bountiful gifts and charity to allay the sorrows of the poor. Indefatigable worker! Thou hast dispensed most unselfishly thy genius and thy powers! Death alone has been able to compel thee to repose!

”But now our friend is departed for ever! That poetical fire, that brilliant and vivid intelligence, that ardent heart, have now ceased to strive for the good of all; for this great and generous soul has ascended to Him who gave it birth. It has returned to the Giver of Good, accompanied by our sorrows and our tears. It has ascended to heaven with the benedictions of all the distressed and unfortunate whom he has succoured. It is our hope and consolation that he may find the recompense a.s.sured for those who have usefully and boldly fulfilled their duty here below.

”This duty, O poet, thou hast well fulfilled. Those faculties, which G.o.d had so largely bestowed upon thee, have never been employed save for the service of just and holy causes. Child of the people, thou hast shown us how mind and heart enlarge with work; that the sufferings and privations of thy youth enabled thee to retain thy love of the poor and thy pity for the distressed. Thy muse, sincerely Christian, was never used to inflame the pa.s.sions, but always to instruct, to soothe, and to console.

Thy last song, the Song of the Swan, was an eloquent and impa.s.sioned protest of the Christian, attacked in his fervent belief and his faith.

”G.o.d has doubtless marked the term of thy mission; and thy death was not a matter of surprise. Thou hast come and gone, without fear; and religion, thy supreme consoler, has calmed the sufferings of thy later hours, as it had cradled thee in thy earlier years.

”Thy body will disappear, but thy spirit, Jasmin, will never be far from us. Inspire us with thy innocent gaiety and brotherly love. The town of Agen is never ungrateful; she counts thee amongst the most pure and ill.u.s.trious of her citizens. She will consecrate thy memory in the way most dignified to thee and to herself.

”The inhabitants of towns without number, where thou hast exercised thy apostolate of charity, will a.s.sociate themselves with this work of affection and remembrance. But the most imperishable monument is that which thou hast thyself founded with thine own head and hands, and which will live in our hearts--the creations of thy genius and the memory of thy philanthropy.”

After the Mayor of Agen had taken leave of the mortal remains of the poet, M. Capot, President of the Society of Agriculture, Sciences, and Arts, gave another eloquent address. He was followed by M. Magen, Secretary to the same society. The troops fired a salute over the grave, and took leave of the poet's remains with military honours. The immense crowd of mourners then slowly departed from the cemetery.

Another public meeting took place on the 12th of May, 1870, on the inauguration of the bronze statue of Jasmin in the Place Saint Antoine, now called the Place Jasmin. The statue was erected by public subscription, and executed by the celebrated M. Vital Dubray. It stands nearly opposite the house where Jasmin lived and carried on his trade.

Many of his old friends came from a considerable distance to be present at the inauguration of the statue. The Abbe Ma.s.son of Vergt was there, whose church Jasmin had helped to re-build. M. l'Abbe Donis, curate of Saint-Louis at Bordeaux, whom he had often helped with his recitations; the able philologist Azais; the young and ill.u.s.trious Provencal poet Mistral; and many representatives of the Parisian and Southern press, were present on the occasion. The widow and son of the poet, surrounded by their family, were on the platform. When the statue was unveiled, a salvo of artillery was fired; then the choir of the Brothers of the Communal Christian School saluted the ”glorious resurrection of Jasmin”

with their magnificent music, which was followed by enthusiastic cheers.

M. Henri Noubel, Deputy and Mayor of Agen, made an eloquent speech on the unveiling of the statue. He had already p.r.o.nounced his eulogium of Jasmin at the burial of the poet, but he was still full of the subject, and brought to mind many charming recollections of the sweetness of disposition and energetic labours of Jasmin on behalf of the poor and afflicted. He again expressed his heartfelt regret for the departure of the poet.

M. Noubel was followed by M. l'Abbe Donis, of Bordeaux, who achieved a great success by his eulogy of the life of Jasmin, whom he ent.i.tled ”The Saint-vincent de Paul of poetry.”

He was followed by the Abbe Capot, in the name of the clergy, and by M.

Magen, in the name of the Society of Agriculture, Sciences, and Arts.

They were followed by MM. Azais and Pozzi, who recited some choice pieces of poetry in the Gascon patois. M. Mistral came last--the celebrated singer of ”Mireio”--who, with his faltering voice, recited a beautiful piece of poetry composed for the occasion, which was enthusiastically applauded.

The day was wound up with a banquet in honour of M. Dubray, the artist who had executed the bronze statue. The Place Jasmin was brilliantly illuminated during the evening, where an immense crowd a.s.sembled to view the statue of the poet, whose face and att.i.tude appeared in splendid relief amidst a blaze of light.

It is unnecessary further to describe the character of Jasmin. It is sufficiently shown by his life and labours--his genius and philanthropy.

In the recollections of his infancy and boyhood, he truthfully describes the pleasures and sorrows of his youth--his love for his mother, his affection for his grandfather, who died in the hospital, ”where all the Jasmins die.” He did not even conceal the little tricks played by him in the Academy, from which he was expelled, nor the various troubles of his apprentices.h.i.+p.

This was one of the virtues of Jasmin--his love of truth. He never pretended to be other than what he was. He was even proud of being a barber, with his ”hand of velvet.” He was pleased to be entertained by the coiffeurs of Agen, Paris, Bordeaux, and Toulouse. He was a man of the people, and believed in the dignity of labour. At the same time, but for his perseverance and force of character, he never could have raised himself to the honour and power of the true poet.

He was born poor, and the feeling of inherited poverty adhered to him through life, and inspired him with profound love for the poor and the afflicted of his cla.s.s. He was always ready to help them, whether they lived near to him or far from him. He was, in truth, ”The Saint-Vincent de Paul of poetry.” His statue, said M. Noubel, pointing up to it, represented the glorification of genius and virtue, the conquest of ignorance and misery.

M. Deydou said at Bordeaux, when delivering an address upon the genius of Jasmin--his Eminence Cardinal Donnet presiding--that poetry, when devoted to the cause of charity, according to the poet himself, was ”the glory of the earth and the perfume of heaven.”

Jasmin loved his dear town of Agen, and was proud of it. After his visit to the metropolis, he said, ”If Paris makes me proud, Agen makes me happy.” ”This town,” he said, on another occasion, ”has been my birthplace; soon it shall be my grave.” He loved his country too, and above all he loved his native language. It was his mother-tongue; and though he was often expostulated with for using it, he never forsook the Gascon. It was the language of the home, of the fireside, of the fields, of the workshop, of the people amongst whom he lived, and he resolved ever to cherish and elevate the Gascon dialect.

”Popular and purely natural poetry,” said Montaigne in the 16th century, ”has a simplicity and gracefulness which surpa.s.s the beauty of poetry according to art.” Jasmin united the naive artlessness of poetry with the perfection of art. He retained the simplicity of youth throughout his career, and his domestic life was the sanctuary of all the virtues.

In his poems he vividly described filial love, conjugal tenderness, and paternal affection, because no one felt these graces of life more fervently than himself. He was like the Italian painter, who never went beyond his home for a beautiful model.

Victor Hugo says that a great man is like the sun--most beautiful when he touches the earth, at his rising and at his setting. Jasmin's rising was in the depths of honest poverty, but his setting was glorious. G.o.d crowned his fine life by a special act of favour; for the last song of the poet was his ”act of faith”--his address to Renan.

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