第10章

HethankedJasminforhisferventeulogy。WhilehethoughtthattheGasconpoet’spraiseofhisworkswasexaggerated，hebelievedinhissincerity。”Ihasten，”saidBeranger，”toexpressmythanksforthekindnessofyouraddress。Believeinmysincerity，asIbelieveinyourpraises。Yourexaggerationofmypoeticalmeritsmakesmerepeatthefirstwordsofyouraddress，inwhichyouassumethetitleofaGascon[2]poet。ItwouldpleasememuchbetterifyouwouldbeaFrenchpoet，asyouprovebyyourepistle，whichiswrittenwithtasteandharmony。ThesympathyofoursentimentshasinspiredyoutopraisemeinamannerwhichIamfarfrommeriting，Nevertheless，sir，Iamproudofyoursympathy。”Youhavebeenbornandbroughtupinthesameconditionasmyself。Likeme，youappeartohavetriumphedovertheabsenceofscholasticinstruction，and，likemetoo，youloveyourcountry。Youreproachme，sir，withthesilencewhichIhaveforsometimepreserved。AttheendofthisyearIintendtopublishmylastvolume；Iwillthentakemyleaveofthepublic。

Iamnowfifty-twoyearsold。Iamtiredoftheworld。

Mylittlemissionisfulfilled，andthepublichashadenoughofme。Iamthereforemakingarrangementsforretiring。Withoutthedesireforlivinglonger，Ihavebrokensilencetoosoon。

Atleastyoumustpardonthesilenceofonewhohasneverdemandedanythingofhiscountry。Icarenothingaboutpower，andhavenowmerelytheambitionofamorselofbreadandrepose。”Iaskyourpardonforsubmittingtoyouthesepersonaldetails。

Butyourepistlemakesitmyduty。Ithankyouagainforthepleasureyouhavegivenme。IdonotunderstandthelanguageofLanguedoc，but，ifyouspeakthislanguageasyouwriteFrench，Idaretoprophecyatruesuccessinthefurtherpublicationofyourworks——BERANGER。”[3]

NotwithstandingthisadviceofBerangerandothercritics，JasmincontinuedtowritehispoemsintheGascondialect。

HehadverylittletimetospareforthestudyofclassicalFrench；hewasoccupiedwiththetradebywhichheearnedhisliving，andhisbusinesswasincreasing。Hiscustomerswerealwayshappytohearhimrecitehispoetrywhileheshavedtheirbeardsordressedtheirhair。

HewasequallyunfortunatewithM。MinierofBordeaux。

JasminaddressedhiminaGasconletterfullofbrightpoetry，notunlikeBurns’sVision，whenhedreamtofbecomingasong-writer。TheonlyconsolationthatJasminreceivedfromM。

Minierwasapoeticalletter，inwhichthepoetwasimploredtoretainhispositionandnottofrequentthesocietyofdistinguishedpersons。

PerhapsthefinestworkwhichJasmincomposedatthisperiodofhislifewasthatwhichheentitledMousSoubenis，or’MyRecollections。’Innoneofhispoemsdidhedisplaymoreofthecharacteristicqualitiesofhismind，hiscandour，hispathos，andhishumour，thanintheseverses。Heusedtherusticdialect，fromwhichheneverafterwardsdeparted。HeshowedthattheGasconwasnotyetadeadlanguage；andheliftedittothelevelofthemostseriousthemes。Hisverseshaveallthegreatercharmbecauseoftheirartlessgaiety，theirdelicatetaste，andthesweetnessoftheircadence。

Jasminbegantocomposehis’Recollections’in1830，butthetwofirstcantoswerenotcompleteduntiltwoyearslater。

Thethirdcantowasaddedin1835，whenthepoemwaspublishedinthefirstvolumeofhis’Curl-Papers’(Papillotes)。Theserecollections，infact，constituteJasmin’sautobiography，andweareindebtedtothemforthedescriptionwehavealreadygivenofthepoet’searlylife。

ManyyearslaterJasminwrotehisMousnoubelsSoubenis——

’MyNewRecollections’；butinthatworkhereturnedtothetrialsandtheenjoymentsofhisyouth，anddescribedfewoftheeventsofhislaterlife。”Whatapity，”saysM。Rodiere，”thatJasmindidnotcontinuetowritehisimpressionsuntiltheendofhislife！Whattroublehewouldhavesavedhisbiographers！

ForhowcanonespeakwhenJasminceasestosing?”

ItisunnecessarytoreturntotheautobiographyandrepeattheconfessionsofJasmin’syouth。Hisjoysandsorrowsarealldescribedthere——hisbirthinthepoverty-strickendwellingintheRueFondeRache，hisloveforhisparents，hissportswithhisplayfellowsonthebanksoftheGaronne，hisblowingthehorninhisfather’sCharivaris，hisenjoymentofthetit-bitswhicholdBoebroughthomefromhisbegging-tours，thedecayoftheoldman，andhisconveyancetothehospital，”wherealltheJasminsdie；”thenhiseducationattheAcademy，histoyingwiththehouse-maid，hisstealingthepreserves，hisexpulsionfromtheseminary，andthesaleofhismother’swedding-ringtobuybreadforherfamily。

WhilecomposingthefirsttwocantosoftheSouvenirsheseemedhalfashamedofthehomelinessofthetalehehadundertakentorelate。Shouldhesoftenandbrightenit?Shouldhedressitupwithfalselightsandcolours?Fortherearetimeswhenfalsehoodinsilkandgoldareacceptable，andthenakednew-borntruthisunwelcome。Butherepudiatedthethought，andadded：-”Myself，norless，normore，I’lldrawforyou，Andifnotbright，thelikenessshallbetrue。”

Thethirdcantoofthepoemwascomposedatintervals。Ittookhimtwomoreyearstofinishit。Itcommenceswithhisapprenticeshiptothebarber；describeshisfirstvisittothetheatre，hisreadingofFlorian’sromancesandpoems，hissolitarymeditations，andthebirthandgrowthofhisimagination。Thenhefallsinlove，andaneweraopensinhislife。Hewritesversesandsingsthem。Heopensabarber’sshopofhisown，marries，andbringshisyoungbridehome。”Twoangels，”hesays，”tookuptheirabodewithme。”

Hisnewly-weddedwifewasone，andtheotherwashisrusticMuse——theangelofhomelypastoralpoetry：”Who，flutteringsoftlyfromonhigh，Raisedonhiswingandboremefar，Wherefieldsofbalmiestetherare；

There，intheshepherdlassie’sspeechIsangasong，orshapedarhyme；

TherelearnedIstrongerlovethanIcanteach。

Oh，mysticlessons！Happytime！

AndfondfarewellsIsaid，whenatthecloseofday，Silentsheledmyspiritbackwhenceitwasborneaway！”

Hethenspeaksofthehappinessofhisweddedlife；heshavesandsingsmostjoyfully。Alittlerivuletofsilverpassesintothebarber’sshop，and，inafitofpoeticardour，hebreaksintopiecesandburnsthewretchedarm-chairinwhichhisancestorswerebornetothehospitaltodie。Hiswifenolongertroubleshimwithherdoubtsastohisversesinterferingwithhisbusiness。Shesupplieshimwithpen，paper，ink，andacomfortabledesk；and，incourseoftime，hebuysthehouseinwhichhelives，andbecomesamanofimportanceinAgen。

Heendsthethirdcantowithasortofhurrah——”Thus，reader，haveItoldmytaleincantosthree：

ThoughstillIsing，Ihazardnogreatrisk；

ForshouldPegasusrearandflingme，itisclear，Howeverruffledallmyfanciesfair，Iwastemytime，’tistrue；thoughversesImaylose，Thepaperstillwillserveforcurlinghair。”[4]

RobertNicoll，theScotchpoet，saidofhisworks：”Ihavewrittenmyheartinmypoems；andrude，unfinished，andhastyastheyare，itcanbereadthere。”Jasminmighthaveusedthesamewords。”Withallmyfaults，”hesaid，”Idesiredtowritethetruth，andIhavedescribeditasIsawit。”

Inhis’Recollections’heshowedwithoutreservehiswholeheart。

Jasmindedicatedhis’Recollections，’whenfinished，toM。FlorimonddeSaint-Amand，oneofthefirstgentlemenwhorecognisedhispoeticaltalents。ThiswasunquestionablythefirstpoeminwhichJasminexhibitedthetruebentofhisgenius。HeavoidedentirelytheFrenchmodelswhichhehadbeforeendeavouredtoimitate；andhenowgavefullflighttotheartlessgaietyandhumourofhisGasconmuse。ItisunfortunatethatthepoemcannotbetranslatedintoEnglish。

ItwastranslatedintoFrench；buteveninthatkindredlanguageitlostmuchofitsbeautyandpathos。Themoreexquisitethepoetrythatiscontainedinonelanguage，themoredifficultythereisintranslatingitintoanother。

M。CharlesNodiersaidofLouTresdeMaythatitcontainspoeticthoughtsconveyedinexquisitewords；butitisimpossibletorenderitintoanylanguagebutitsown。InthecaseoftheCharivariheshrinksfromattemptingtotranslateit。

Thereisonepassagecontainingasuperbdescriptionoftherisingofthesuninwinter；buttwoofthelinesquitepuzzledhim。InGascontheyare”Quandl’Auroro，fourradoenraoubodesati，Desparrouillo，sanbrut，lasportosdelmati。’

SomeofthewordstranslatedintoFrenchmightseemvulgar，thoughinGascontheyarebeautiful。InEnglishtheymightberendered：”WhenAurora，enfurredinherrobeofsatin，Unbars，withoutnoise，thedoorsofthemorning。””Dreamifyoulike，”saysNodier，”oftheAuroraofwinter，andtellmeifHomercouldhavebetterrobeditinwords。TheAuroraofJasminisquitehisown；’unbarsthedoorsofthemorning’；

itisdonewithoutnoise，likeagoddess，patientandsilent，whoannouncesherselftomortalsonlybyherbrightnessoflight。Itisthisfinishedfelicityofexpressionwhichdistinguishesgreatwriters。Thevulgarcannotaccomplishit。”

AgainNodiersaysofthe’Recollections’：”Theyareaningenuousmarvelofgaiety，sensibility，andpassion！Iuse，”hesays，”thisexpressionofenthusiasm；andIregretthatIcannotbemorelavishinmypraises。Thereisalmostnothinginmodemliterature，andscarcelyanythinginancient，whichhasmovedmemoreprofoundlythantheSouvenirsofJasmin。

HappyandlovelychildrenofGuienneandLanguedoc，readandre-readtheSouvenirsofJasmin；theywillgiveyoupainfulrecollectionsofpublicschools，andperhapsgiveyouhopeofbetterthingstocome。Youwilllearnbyheartwhatyouwillneverforget。Youwillknowfromthispoetryallthatyououghttotreasure。”

Jasminaddedseveralotherpoemstohiscollectionbeforehissecondvolumeappearedin1835。AmongstthesewerehislinesonthePolishnation——AuxdebrisdelaNationPolonaise，andLesOiseauxVoyageurs，ouLesPolonaisenFrance——bothwritteninGascon。Saint-beuvethinksthelatteroneofJasmin’sbestworks。”Itisfullofpathos，”hesays，”andrisestothesublimethroughitsverysimplicity。Itisindeeddifficulttoexaggeratethepoeticinstinctandtheunaffectedartlessnessofthisamiablebard。Atthesametime，”hesaid，”Jasminstillwantedthefireofpassiontoreachthenoblestpoeticwork。

Yethehadtheartofstyle。IfAgenwasrenownedas’theeyeofGuienne，’JasminwascertainlythegreatestpoetwhohadeverwritteninthepurepatoisofAgen。”

Sainte-BeuvealsosaidofJasminthathewas”invariablysober。”

AndJasminsaidofhimself，”Ihavelearnedthatinmomentsofheatandemotionwearealleloquentandlaconic，alikeinspeechandaction——unconsciouspoetsinfact；andIhavealsolearnedthatitispossibleforamusetobecomeallthiswillingly，andbydintofpatienttoil。”

AnotherofhissupplementarypoemsconsistedofadialoguebetweenRamoun，asoldieroftheOldGuard，andMathiou，apeasant。Itisofapoliticalcast，andJasmindidnotshineinpolitics。Hewas，however，alwaysapatriot，whetherundertheEmpire，theMonarchy，ortheRepublic。HelovedFranceaboveallthings，whileheentertainedthewarmestaffectionforhisnativeprovince。IfJasminhadpublishedhisvolumeinclassicalFrenchhemighthavebeenlostamidstacrowdofrhymers；butashepublishedtheworkinhisnativedialect，hebecameforthwithdistinguishedinhisneighbourhood，andwaseverafterknownastheGasconpoet。

Nordidhelongremainunknownbeyondthedistrictinwhichhelived。Whenhissecondvolumeappearedin1835，withaprefacebyM。Baze，anadvocateoftheRoyalCourtofAgen，itcreatedconsiderableexcitement，notonlyatBordeauxandToulouse，butalsoatParis，thecentreoftheliterature，science，andfineartsofFrance。There，menofthehighestdistinctionwelcomedtheworkwithenthusiasm。

M。Baze，inhispreface，wasveryeulogistic。”Wehavethepleasure，”hesaid，”ofseeingunitedinonecollectionthesweetRomanictonguewhichtheSouthofFrancehasadopted，liketheprivilegedchildrenofherlovelyskyandvoluptuousclimate；andherlyricalsongs，whosemasculinevigourandenergeticsentimentshavemorethanonceexcitedpatriotictransportsandawakenedpopularenthusiasm。ForJasminisaboveallapoetofthepeople。Heisnotashamedofhisorigin。

Hewasborninthemidstofthem，andthoughapoet，stillbelongstothem。Forgeniusisofallstationsandranksoflife。HeisbutahairdresseratAgen，andmorethanthat，hewishestoremainso。Hisambitionistounitetherazortothepoet’spen。”