第7章

Thisoccupiedhimforabouttwohours，andwhenhefoundtheladiesathome，hereturnedwithfourorfivefrancsinhispurse。Butoftentheywerenotathome，andhecamehomefrancless。Eventuallyhegaveupthispartofhistrade。Thereceiptsattheshopweremoreremunerative。Madameencouragedthiseconomicaleform；shewasaccustomedtocallitJasmin’scoupd’etat。

Theeveningspassedpleasantly。Jasmintookhisguitarandsangtohiswifeandchildren；or，inthesummereveningstheywouldwalkunderthebeautifulelmsinfrontoftheGravier，whereJasminwasreadyforbusinessatanymoment。Suchprudence，suchiligence，couldnotbuthaveitseffect。WhenJasmin’sfirstvolumeofthePapillotoswaspublished，itwasreceivedwithenthusiasm。”Thesongs，thecurl-papers，”saidJasmin，”broughtinsucharivuletofsilver，that，inmypoeticjoy，Ibrokeintomorselsandburntinthefirethatdreadedarm-chairinwhichmyancestorshadbeencarriedtothehospitaltodie。”

MadameJasminnowbecamequiteenthusiastic。Insteadofbreakingthepoet’spensandthrowinghisinkintothefire，sheboughtthebestpensandthebestink。Sheevensuppliedhimwithacomfortabledesk，onwhichhemightwritehisverses。”Courage，courage！”shewouldsay。”Eachversethatyouwriteisanothertiletotheroofandaraftertothedwelling；thereforemakeverses，makeverses！”

Therivuletofsilverincreasedsorapidly，thatinthecourseofashorttimeJasminwasenabledtobuythehouseinwhichhelived——tiles，rafters，andall。InsteadofPegasuscarryinghimtothehospital，itcarriedhimtotheofficeoftheNotary，whoenrolledhiminthelistofcollectorsoftaxes。Hewasnowamanofsubstance，amantobetrusted。ThenotarywasalsoemployedtoconveythetenementtotheprosperousJasmin。

HeendsthefirstpartofhisSouvenirswiththesewords：”WhenPegasuskickswithaflingofhisfeet，Hesendsmetocurlonmyhobbyhorsefleet；

Iloseallmytime，true，notpapernornotes，Iwriteallmyverseonmypapillotes。”[3]

FootnotestochapterIV。

[1]InGasconMagnounet；herpetnameMarie，orinFrenchMariette。MadameJasmincalledherselfMarieBarrere。

[2]Theremainingversesaretobefoundinthecollectededitionofhisworks——thefourthvolumeofLasPapillotos，newedition，pp。247-9，entitledAunejeuneVoyayeuse。

[3]Papillotes，aswehavesaid，arecurl-papers。

Jasmin’swords，inGascon，arethese：”QuandPegazoreguiuno，etqued’uncotdepeMemboyofrizamasmarotos，Perdimounten，esbray，maisnounpasmounpape，Botimousbeisenpapillotos！”

CHAPTERV。

JASMINANDGASCON——FIRSTVOLUMEOF”PAPILLOTES。”

Jasmin’sfirsteffortsatverse-makingwerenecessarilyimperfect。Hetriedtoimitatetheworksofothers，ratherthancreatepoeticalimagesofhisown。HisversesconsistedmostlyofimitationsoftheFrenchpoemswhichhehadread。

HewasovershadowedbytheworksofBoileau，Gresset，Rousseau，andespeciallybyBeranger，who，likehimself，wasthesonofatailor。

Therecollectionsoftheirpoetrypervadedallhisearlierverses。HiseffortsinclassicalFrenchwerebynomeanssuccessful。Itwasonlywhenhehadraisedhimselfabovetheinfluenceofauthorswhohadprecededhim，thathesoaredintooriginality，andwasproclaimedthePoetoftheSouth。

JasmindidnotatfirstwriteinGascon。Infact，hehadnotyetmasteredaperfectknowledgeofthisdialect。Thoughfamiliarlyusedinancienttimes，itdidnotexistinanywrittenform。

Itwasthespeechofthecommonpeople；andthoughtheGasconsspoketheidiom，ithadlostmuchofitsoriginality。Ithadbecomemixed，moreorless，withtheordinaryFrenchlanguage，andtheoldGasconwordswerebecominggraduallyforgotten。

Yetthecommonpeople，afterall，remainthedepositoriesofoldidiomsandoldtraditions，aswellasoftheinheritancesofthepast。Theyarethemostconservativeelementinsociety。

Theylovetheiroldspeech，theirolddress，theiroldmannersandcustoms，andhaveaninstinctiveworshipofancientmemories。

Theiroldidiomsarelongpreserved。Theirolddialectcontinuesthelanguageofthefireside，ofdailytoil，ofdailyneeds，andofdomesticjoysandsorrows。Ithoversintheairaboutthem，andhasbeensuckedinwiththeirmothers’milk。Yet，whenaprimitiveracesuchastheGasconsmixmuchwiththepeopleoftheadjoiningdepartments，thelocaldialectgraduallydiesout，andtheylearntospeakthelanguageoftheirneighbours。

TheGasconwasdisappearingasaspeech，andveryfewofitswrittenelementssurvived。WasitpossibleforJasmintorevivethedialect，andembodyitinawrittenlanguage?Heknewmuchofthepatois，fromhearingitspokenathome。Butnow，desiringtoknowitmorethoroughly，hesettoworkandstudiedit。

HewasalmostasassiduousasSirWalterScottinlearningobscureLowlandwords，whilewritingtheWaverleyNovels。Jasminwentintothemarket-places，wherethepeasantsfromthecountrysoldtheirproduce；andtherehepickedupmanynewwordsandexpressions。HemadeexcursionsintothecountryroundAgen，wheremanyoftheoldfarmersandlabourersspokenothingbutGascon。Heconversedwithilliteratepeople，andespeciallywitholdwomenattheirspinning-wheels，andeagerlylistenedtotheirancienttalesandlegends。

Hethusgatheredtogethermanyagoldenrelic，whichheafterwardsmadeuseofinhispoeticalworks。HestudiedGasconlikeapioneer。Hemadehisownlexicon，andeventuallyformedawrittendialect，whichhewoveintopoems，tothedelightofthepeopleintheSouthofFrance。FortheGascondialect——suchisitsrichnessandbeauty——expressesmanyshadesofmeaningwhichareentirelylostinthemodernFrench。

WhenJasminfirstreadhispoemsinGascontohistownspeopleatAgen，heusuallyintroducedhisreadingsbydescribingthedifficultieshehadencounteredinprosecutinghisenquiries。ishearers，whoknewmoreFrenchthanGascon，detectedinhispoemsmanycomparativelyunknownwords，——notindeedofhisowncreation，butmerelytheresultofhispatientandlong-continuedinvestigationoftheGascondialect。Yettheyfoundthelanguage，aswrittenandspokenbyhim，fullofharmony——rich，mellifluous，andsonorous。GasconresemblestheSpanish，towhichitisstronglyallied，morethantheProvencal，thelanguageoftheTroubadours，whichismorealliedtotheLatinorItalian。

Hallam，inhis’HistoryoftheMiddleAges，’regardsthesuddenoutburstofTroubadourpoetryasonesymptomoftherapidimpulsewhichthehumanmindreceivedinthetwelfthcentury，contemporaneouswiththeimprovedstudiesthatbeganattheUniversities。ItwasalsoencouragedbytheprosperityofSouthernFrance，whichwascomparativelyundisturbedbyinternalwarfare，anditcontinueduntilthetremendousstormthatfelluponLanguedocduringthecrusadeagainsttheAlbigenses，whichshookofftheflowersofProvencalliterature。[1]

ThelanguageoftheSouth-WestofFrance，includingtheGascon，wasthencalledLangued’Oc；whilethatofthesouth-eastofFrance，includingtheProvencal，wascalledLangued’Oil。

M。Littre，inthePrefacetohisDictionaryoftheFrenchlanguage，saysthathewasinducedtobeginthestudyofthesubjectbyhisdesiretoknowsomethingmoreoftheLangued’Oil——theoldFrenchlanguage。[2]

InspeakingofthelanguagesofWesternEurope，M。LittresaysthattheGermanistheoldest，beginninginthefourthcentury；

thattheFrenchisthenext，beginningintheninthcentury；

andthattheEnglishisthelast，beginninginthefourteenthcentury。Itmustberemembered，however，thatPlatDeutschprecededtheGerman，andwasspokenbytheFrisians，Angles，andSaxons，wholivedbytheshoresoftheNorthSea。

TheGaelicorCeltic，andKymriaclanguages，werespokeninthemiddleandnorth-westofFrance；butthese，exceptinBrittany，havebeensupersededbythemodemFrenchlanguage，whichisfoundedmainlyonLatin，German，andCeltic，butmostlyonLatin。TheEnglishlanguageconsistsmostlyofSaxon，Norse，andNorman-FrenchwithamixtureofWelshorAncientBritish。

Thatlanguageis，however，notestofthegenealogyofapeople，isillustratedbythehistoryofFranceitself。Inthefourthandfifthcenturies，theFranks，apowerfulGermanrace，fromthebanksoftheRhine，invadedandconqueredthepeoplenorthoftheSomme，andeventuallygavethenameofFrancetotheentirecountry。TheBurgundiansandVisigoths，alsoaGermanrace，invadedFrance，andsettledthemselvesinthesouth-east。

Intheyear464，ChilderictheFranktookParis。

ThewholehistoryoftheoccupationofFranceistoldbyAugustinThierry，inhis’NarrativesoftheMerovingianTimes。’”ThereareFranks，”hesaysinhisPreface，”whoremainedpureGermansinGaul；Gallo-Romans，irritatedanddisgustedbythebarbarianrule；Franksmoreorlessinfluencedbythemannersandcustomsofcivilisedlife；and’Romansmoreorlessbarbarianinmindandmanners。’Thecontrastmaybefollowedinallitsshadesthroughthesixthcentury，andintothemiddleoftheseventh；later，theGermanicandGallo-Romanstampseemedeffacedandlostinasemi-barbarismclothedintheocraticforms。”

TheFranks，whentheyhadcompletedtheconquestoftheentirecountry，gaveitthenameofFranken-ric——theFranks’kingdom。

Eventually，CharlestheGreat，orCharlemagne，descendedfromChilderictheFrank，wasin800crownedEmperoroftheWest。

Towardstheendofhisreign，theNorsemenbegantodevastatethenortherncoastofFranken-ric。Aix-la-ChapellewasCharlemagne’scapital，andtherehediedandwasburied。

Athisdeath，theEmpirewasdividedamonghissons。TheNorseVikingerscontinuedtheirinvasions；andtopurchaserepose，CharlestheSimplecededtoDukeRolloalargeterritoryinthenorthwestofFrance，whichindeferencetotheirorigin，wasknownbythenameofNormandy。