e, figured in the toilets of our
grandmothers, and hence, probably, the Scotch use of the verb to busk,
or attire."

{5} Miss Louisa Stuart Costello in 'Bearn and the Pyrenees.'

{6} A custom which then existed in certain parts of France. It was taken
by the French emigrants to Canada, where it existed not long ago. The
crown of the sacramental bread used to be reserved for the family of the
seigneur or other communicants of distinction.

{7} A church in the suburbs of Agen, celebrated for its legends and
miracles, to which numerous pilgrimages are made in the month of May.

{8} A long time ago the inhabitants of the town of Agen communicated
with the other side of the Garonne by means of little boats. The first
wooden bridge was commenced when Aquitaine was governed by the English,
in the reign of Richard Coeur-de-lion, at the end of the twelfth
century. The bridge was destroyed and repaired many times, and one
of the piles on which the bridge was built is still to be seen. It is
attributed to Napoleon I. that he caused the first bridge of stone to
be erected, for the purpose of facilitating the passage of his troops to
Spain. The work was, however, abandoned during his reign, and it was
not until the Restoration that the bridge was completed. Since that time
other bridges, especially the suspension bridge, have been erected, to
enable the inhabitants of the towns on the Garonne to communicate freely
with each other.

CHAPTER X. JASMIN AT TOULOUSE.

It had hitherto been the custom of Jasmin to dedicate his poems to one
of his friends; but in the case of Franconnette he dedicated the poem to
the city of Toulouse. His object in making the dedication was to express
his gratitude for the banquet given to him in 1836 by the leading men
of the city, at which the President had given the toast of "Jasmin, the
adopted son of Toulouse."

Toulouse was the most wealthy and prosperous city in the South of
France. Among its citizens were many men of literature, art, and
science. Jasmin was at first disposed to dedicate Franconnette to the
city of Bordeaux, where he had been so graciously received and feted
on the recitation of his Blind Girl of Castel-Cuille; but he eventually
decided to dedicate the new poem to the city of Toulouse, where he had
already achieved a considerable reputation.

Jasmin was received with every honour by the city which had adopted
him. It was his intention to read the poem at Toulouse before i