第74章 DEATH OF JASMIN--HIS CHARACTER.(2)

After the service had been finished,the procession moved off to the cemetery--passing through the principal streets of the town,which were lined by crowds of mournful spectators.Large numbers of people had also assembled at the cemetery.After the final prayer,M.Noubel,Deputy and Mayor of Agen,took the opportunity of pronouncing a eulogium over the grave of the deceased.His speech was most sympathetic and touching.

We can only give a few extracts from his address:

"Dear and great poet,"he said,"at the moment when we commit to the earth thy mortal remains,I wish,in the name of this town of Agen,where thou wert born and which thou hast truly loved,to address to thee a last,a supreme adieu.Alas!What would'st thou have said to me some years ago,when I placed upon thy forehead the crown--decreed by the love and admiration of thy compatriots--that I should so soon have been called upon to fulfil a duty that now rends my heart.The bright genius of thy countenance,the brilliant vigour in thine eyes,which time,it seemed,would never tarnish,indicated the fertile source of thy beautiful verses and noble aspirations!

"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 assured for those who have usefully and boldly fulfilled their duty here below.

"This duty,O poet,thou hast well fulfilled.Those faculties,which God 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 passions,but always to instruct,to soothe,and to console.Thy last song,the Song of the Swan,was an eloquent and impassioned protest of the Christian,attacked in his fervent belief and his faith.

"God 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 illustrious 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 associate 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 Masson 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 illustrious 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 pronounced 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.