Ah！wretchedme！whathaveIbuttodie?
　　SinceIhavelostmyloveforevermore！”
　　ThewholeofthepoemwasafterwardstranslatedintomodemFrench，and，thoughsomewhatartificial，itbecameaspopularinthenorthasinthesouth。
　　Jasmin’ssuccessinhisnativetown，andhisgrowingpopularity，encouragedhimtoproceedwiththemakingofverses。Hispoemswereoccasionallyinsertedinthelocaljournals；buttheeditorsdidnotapproveofhisuseoftheexpiringGascondialect。TheywereofopinionthathisworksmightbebetterappreciatediftheyappearedinmodernFrench。Gasconwastoalargeextentaforeignlanguage，andgreatlyinterferedwithJasmin’snationalreputationasapoet。
　　Neverthelessheheldonhisway，andcontinuedtowritehisversesinGascon。Theycontainedmanypersonallyrics，tributes，dedications，hymnsforfestivals，andimpromptus，scarcelyworthyofbeingcollectedandprinted。Jasminsaidofthelastdescriptionofverse：”Onecanonlypayapoeticaldebtbymeansofimpromptus，andthoughtheymaybegoodmoneyoftheheart，theyarealmostalwaysbadmoneyofthehead。”
　　Jasmin’snextpoemwasTheCharivariLouCharibari，alsowritteninGascon。Itwascomposedin1825，whenhewastwenty-sevenyearsold；anddedicatedtoM。Duprount，theAdvocate，whowashimselfapoetaster。Thededicationcontainedsomefinepassagesofgenuinebeautyandgracefulversification。
　　ItwasinsomerespectsanimitationoftheLutrinofBoileau。
　　Itwasverydifferentfromthedoggerelinwhichhehadtakenpartwithhishumpbackedfathersolongago。Thenhehadblownthecow-horn，nowhespokewiththetongueofatrumpet。
　　TheheroofJasmin’sCharivariwasoneAduber，anoldwidower，whodreamtofremarrying。ItremindedoneofthestrainsofBeranger；inotherpassagesofthemock-heroicpoemofBoileau。
　　Thoughthepoemwhenpublishedwasreadwithmuchinterest，itwasnotnearlysopopularasMecalMouri。Thislast-mentionedpoem，hisfirstpublishedwork，touchedtheharpofsadness；whilehisCharivaridisplayedtheplayfulnessofjoy。
　　Thus，atthebeginningofhiscareer，Jasminrevealedhimselfasapoetintwoverydifferentstyles；inone，touchingthespringsofgrief，andintheotherexhibitingbrightnessandhappiness。
　　AttheendofthesameyearhesoundedhisthirdanddeepestnoteinhispoemOntheDeathofGeneralFoy——oneofFrance’struestpatriots。Nowhislyrewascomplete；ithaditsthreestrings——ofsadness，joy，andsorrow。
　　Thesethreepoems——MecalMouri，theCharivari，andtheodeOntheDeathofGeneralFoy，withsomeotherverses——werepublishedin1825。Whatwastobethetitleofthevolume?
　　AsAdam，thecarpenter-poetofNevers，hadentitledhisvolumeofpoetry’Shavings，’soJasmindecidedtonamehiscollection’TheCurl-papersofJasmin，CoiffeurofAgen。’Thetitlewasagoodone，andthesubsequentvolumesofhisworkswereknownasLaPapillotostheCurl-papersofJasmin。ThepublicationofthisfirstvolumeservedtomakeJasmin’snamepopularbeyondthetowninwhichtheyhadbeencomposedandpublished。HisfriendM。Gazesaidofhim，thatduringtheyear1825hehadbeenmarryinghisrazorwiththeswan’squill；andthathishandofvelvetinshavingwasevensurpassedbyhisskillinverse-making。
　　CharlesNodier，hisoldfriend，whohadenteredthebarber’sshopsomeyearsbeforetointercedebetweenthepoetandhiswife，soundedJasmin’spraisesintheParisjournals。
　　HeconfessedthathehadbeengreatlystruckwiththeCharivari，andboldlydeclaredthatthelanguageoftheTroubadours，whicheveryonesupposedtobedead，wasstillinfulllifeinFrance；
　　thatitnotonlylived，butthatatthatverymomentapoorbarberatAgen，withoutanyinstructionbeyondthatgivenbythefields，thewoods，andtheheavens，hadwrittenaserio-comicpoemwhich，attheriskofbeingthoughtcrazybyhiscolleaguesoftheAcademy，heconsideredtobebettercomposedthantheLutrinofBoileau，andevenbetterthanoneofPope’smasterpieces，theRapeoftheLock。
　　ThefirstvolumeofthePapillotessoldverywell；andthereceiptsfromitssalenotonlyincreasedJasmin’sincome，butalsoincreasedhisnationalreputation。Jasminwasnot，however，elatedbysuccess。Heremainedsimple，frugal，honest，andhard-working。Hewasnotcarriedoffhisfeetbyeclat。
　　Thoughmanyillustriousstrangers，whenpassingthroughAgen，calleduponandinterviewedthepoeticalcoiffeur，hequietlywentbacktohisrazors，hiscombs，andhisperiwigs，andcheerfullypursuedthebusinessthathecouldalwaysdependuponinhistimeofneed。
　　FootnotestoChapterV。
　　[1]Hallam’s’MiddleAges，’iii。434。12thedit。Murray。
　　[2]Hiswordsarethese：”Laconceptionm’enfutsuggereeparmesetudessurlavieillelanguefrancaiseoulangued’oil。
　　Jefussifrappedesliensquiunissentlefrancaismoderneaufrancaisancien，j’apercustantdecasoulessensetdeslocutionsdujournes’expliquentqueparlessensetleslocutionsd’autrefois，tantd’exemplesoulaformedesmotsn’estpasintelligiblesanslesformesquiontprecede，qu’ilmesemblaqueladoctrineetmemel’usagedelalanguerestentmalassiss’ilsnereposentsurleurbaseantique。”Preface，ii。
　　[3]’BearnandthePyrenees，’i。348。
　　[4]THIERRY——’HistoricalEssays，’No。XXIV。
　　[5]LesPoetesduPeupleanxix。Siecle。ParAlphonseViollet。
　　Paris，1846。
　　[6]Portraitscontemporains，ii。61ed。1847。
　　[7]’PilgrimagetoAuvergne，’ii。210。
　　CHAPTERVI。
　　MISCELLANEOUSVERSES——BERANGER——’MESSOUVENIRS’——PAULDEMUSSET。
　　DuringthenextfouryearsJasmincomposednoworkofspecialimportance。Heoccasionallywrotepoetry，butchieflyonlocalsubjects。In1828hewroteanimpromptutoM。Pradel，whohadimprovisedaGasconsonginhonourofthepoet。TheGasconpainter，Champmas，hadcomparedJasmintoarayofsunshine，andin1829thepoetsenthimacharmingpieceofverseinreturnforhiscompliment。
　　In1830JasmincomposedTheThirdofMay，whichwastranslatedintoFrenchbyM。Duvigneau。ItappearsthattheCountofDijonhadpresentedtothetownofNerac，nearAgen，abronzestatueofHenryIV。，executedbythesculptorRaggi——ofthesamecharacterasthestatueerectedtothesamemonarchatPau。
　　ButthoughHenryIV。wasbornatPau，Neracwasperhapsmoreidentifiedwithhim，fortherehehadhisstrongcastle，thoughonlyitsruinsnowremain。
　　NeracwasatonetimealmostthecentreoftheReformationinFrance。ClementMarot，thepoetoftheReformedfaith，livedthere；andthehouseofTheodoredeBeze，whoemigratedtoGeneva，stillexists。TheProtestantfaithextendedtoAgenandtheneighbouringtowns。WhentheRomanCatholicsobtainedtheupperhand，persecutionsbegan。Vindocin，thepastor，wasburnedaliveatAgen。J。J。Scaligerwasaneye-witnessoftheburning，andherecordsthefactthatnotlessthan300victimsperishedfortheirfaith。
　　AtalatertimeNerac，whichhadbeenaprosperoustown，wasruinedbytheRevocationoftheEdictofNantes；fortheProtestantpopulation，whohadbeenthemostdiligentandindustriousinthetownandneighbourhood，werealleither”converted，”hanged，senttothegalleys，orforcedtoemigratetoEngland，Holland，orPrussia。Nevertheless，thepeopleofNeraccontinuedtobeproudoftheiroldmonarch。
　　ThebronzestatueofHenryIV。wasunveiledin1829。Ononesideofthemarblepedestalsupportingthestatuewerethewords”Alumno，moxpatrinostro，Henricoquarto，”andonthereversesidewasaverseintheGascondialect：”BrabesGascons！
　　Amounamouperbousaoudibescreyre；
　　Benes！Benes！eyplazedebousbeyre！
　　Approucha-bous！”
　　Thewordswereassumedtobethoseof；HenryIV。，andmaybethustranslatedintoEnglish：”BraveGascons！
　　Youmaywelltrustmyloveforyou；
　　Come！come！Ileavetoyoumyglory！
　　Comenear！Approach！”[1]
　　ItisnecessarytoexplainhowtheverseinGasconcametobeengravedonthepedestalofthestatue。TheSocietyofAgriculture，Sciences，andArts，ofAgen，offeredaprizeof300
　　francsforthebestOdetothememoryofHenrytheGreat。ManypoemswereaccordinglysentintotheSociety；and，aftersomeconsideration，itwasthoughtthattheprizeshouldbeawardedtoM。JudePatissie。Butamongstthethirty-ninepoemswhichhadbeenpresentedforexamination，itwasfoundthattwohadbeenwrittenintheGascondialect。Thecommitteewereatfirstofopinionthattheycouldnotawardtheprizetotheauthorofanypoemwritteninthevulgartongue。AtthesametimetheyreportedthatoneofthepoemswritteninGasconpossessedsuchrealmerit，thatthecommitteedecidedbyaunanimousvotethataprizeshouldbeawardedtotheauthorofthebestpoemwrittenintheGascondialect。Manypoemswereaccordinglysentinandexamined。LouTresdeMaywasselectedasthebest；andontheletterattachedtothepoembeingopened，thepresidentproclaimedtheauthortobe”Jasmin，Coiffeur。”AfterthedecisionoftheSocietyatAgen，thepeopleofNeracdesiredtosettheirsealupontheirjudgment，andtheyaccordinglycausedtheabovewordstobeengravedonthereversesideofthepedestalsupportingthestatueofHenryIV。Jasmin’spoemwascrownedbytheAcademyofAgen；andthoughitcontainedmanyfineverses，ithadthesamemeritsandthesamedefectsastheCharivari，publishedafewyearsbefore。
　　M。Rodiere，ProfessorofLawatToulouse，wasofopinionthatduringthefouryearsduringwhichJasminproducednoworkofanyspecialimportance，hewascarefullystudyingGascon；foritoughttobeknownthatthelanguageinwhichGodolinwrotehisfinepoemsisnotwithoutitsliterature。”Thefact，”saysRodiere，”thatJasminusedsomeofhistimeinstudyingtheworksofGodolinis，thatwhileinLouCharibaritherearesomeFrenchwordsill-disguisedinaGascondress，ontheotherhand，fromtheyear1830，therearenone；andthelanguageofJasministhesameasthelanguageofGodolin，exceptforafewtriflingdifferences，duetothedifferentdialectsofAgenandToulouse。”
　　BesidesstudyingGascon，Jasminhadsomemilitarydutiestoperform。HewascorporalofthethirdcompanyoftheNationalGuardofAgen；andin1830headdressedhiscomradesinaseriesofverses。Oneofthesewasasongentitled’TheFlagofLiberty’LouDrapeoudelaLibertat；another，’TheGoodAll-mercifulGod！’LouBounDiouliberal；andthethirdwasLouSeromen。
　　Twoyearslater，in1832，JasmincomposedTheGascons，whichheimprovisedatabanquetgiventothenon-commissionedofficersofthe14thChasseurs。Ofcourse，theimprovisationwascarefullyprepared；anditwascomposedinFrench，asthenon-commissionedofficersdidnotunderstandtheGascondialect。
　　JasminextolledthevalouroftheFrench，andespeciallyoftheGascons。Thelastlinesofhiseulogyranasfollows：——”OLiberty！motherofvictory，Thyflagalwaysbringsussuccess！
　　ThoughasGasconswesingofthyglory，WechastiseourfoeswiththeFrench！”
　　InthesameyearJasminaddressedthepoetBerangerinapleasantpoeticalletterwritteninclassicalFrench。Berangerrepliedinprose；hisanswerwasdatedthe12thofJuly，1832。