It was one of the most remarkable things about Jasmin,that he was never carried off his feet by the brilliant ovations he received.Though enough to turn any poor fellow's head,he remained simple and natural to the last.As we say in this country,he could "carry corn"We have said that "Gascon"is often used in connection with boasting or gasconading.But the term was in no way applicable to Jasmin.He left the echo of praises behind him,and returned to Agen to enjoy the comforts of his fireside.
He was not,however,without tempters to wean him from his home and his ordinary pursuits.In 1836,the year after his triumphal reception at Bordeaux,some of his friends urged him to go to Paris--the centre of light and leading--in order to "make his fortune."But no!he had never contemplated the idea of leaving his native town.A rich wine merchant of Toulouse was one of his tempters.
He advised Jasmin to go to the great metropolis,where genius alone was recognised.Jasmin answered him in a charming letter,setting forth the reasons which determined him to remain at home,principally because his tastes were modest and his desires were homely.
"You too,"he said,"without regard to troubling my days and my nights,have written to ask me to carry my guitar and my dressing-comb to the great city of kings,because there,you say,my poetical humour and my well-known verses will bring torrents of crowns to my purse.Oh,you may well boast to me of this shower of gold and its clinking stream.You only make me cry:'Honour is but smoke,glory is but glory,and money is only money!'I ask you,in no craven spirit,is money the only thing for a man to seek who feels in his heart the least spark of poetry?In my town,where everyone works,leave me as I am.
Every summer,happier than a king,I lay up my small provision for the winter,and then I sing like a goldfinch under the shade of a poplar or an ash-tree,only too happy to grow grey in the land which gave me birth.One hears in summer the pleasant zigo,ziou,ziou,of the nimble grasshopper,or the young sparrow pluming his wings to make himself ready for flight,he knows not whither;but the wise man acts not so.I remain here in my home.
Everything suits me--earth,sky,air--all that is necessary for my comfort.To sing of joyous poverty one must be joyful and poor.I am satisfied with my rye-bread,and the cool water from my fountain."Jasmin remained faithful to these rules of conduct during his life.Though he afterwards made a visit to Paris,it was only for a short time;but his native town of Agen,his home on the Gravier,his shop,his wife and his children,continued to be his little paradise.His muse soared over him like a guardian angel,giving him songs for his happiness and consolation for his sorrows.He was,above all things,happy in his wife.
She cheered him,strengthened him,and consoled him.
He thus portrayed her in one of his poems:
"Her eyes like sparkling stars of heavenly blue;Her cheeks so sweet,so round,and rosy;
Her hair so bright,and brown,and curly;
Her mouth so like a ripened cherry;
Her teeth more brilliant than the snow."
Jasmin was attached to his wife,not only by her beauty,but by her good sense.She counselled and advised him in everything.
He gave himself up to her wise advice,and never had occasion to regret it.It was with her modest marriage-portion that he was enabled to establish himself as a master hairdresser.
When he opened his shop,he set over the entrance door this sign:"L'Art embellit La Nature:Jasmin,Coiffeur des Jeunes Gens."As his family grew,in order to increase his income,he added the words,"Coiffeur des Dames."This proved to be a happy addition to his business.Most of the ladies of Agen strove for the honour of having their hair dressed by the poetical barber.While dressing their hair he delighted them with his songs.He had a sympathetic voice,which touched their souls and threw them into the sweetest of dreams.
Though Jasmin was always disposed to rhyme a little,his wise wife never allowed him to forget his regular daily work.
At the same time she understood that his delicate nature could not be entirely absorbed by the labours of an ordinary workman.
She was no longer jealous of his solitary communions with his muse;and after his usual hours of occupation,she left him,or sat by him,to enable him to pursue his dear reveries in quiet.
Mariette,or Marie,as she was usually called,was a thoroughly good partner for Jasmin.Though not by any means a highly educated woman,she felt the elevating effects of poetry even on herself.She influenced her husband's mind through her practical wisdom and good sense,while he in his turn influenced hers by elevating her soul and intellect.
Jasmin,while he was labouring over some song or verse,found it necessary to recite it to some one near him,but mostly to his wife.He wandered with her along the banks of the Garonne,and while he recited,she listened with bated breath.She could even venture to correct him;for she knew,better than he did,the ordinary Gascon dialect.She often found for him the true word for the picture which he desired to present to his reader.