ed before his door on the Gravier
by the Philharmonic Society of Agen. Indeed, the whole town was filled
with joy at the acknowledged celebrity of their poet. A few years later
Pope Pius IX. conferred upon Jasmin the honour of Chevalier of the Order
of St. Gregory the Great. The insignia of the Order was handed to the
poet by Monseigneur de Vezins, Bishop of Agen, in Sept. 1850. Who could
have thought that the barber-poet would have been so honoured by his
King, and by the Head of his Church?

Jasmin's next important poem, after the production of Franconnette was
Martha the Innocent.--{In Gascon, Maltro l'Innoucento; French, Marthe la
Folle}. It is like The Blind Girl, a touching story of disappointment in
love. Martha was an orphan living at Laffitte, on the banks of the Lot.
She was betrothed to a young fellow, but the conscription forbade their
union. The conscript was sent to the wars of the first Napoleon, which
were then raging. The orphan sold her little cottage in the hope of
buying him off, or providing him with a substitute. But it was all in
vain. He was compelled to follow his regiment. She was a good and pious
girl, beloved by all. She was also beautiful,--tall, fair, and handsome,
with eyes of blue--"the blue of heaven," according to Jasmin:

"With grace so fine, and air so sweet,
She was a lady amongst peasants."

The war came to an end for a time. The soldier was discharged, and
returned home.

Martha went out to meet him; but alas! like many other fickle men,
he had met and married another. It was his wife who accompanied him
homewards. Martha could not bear the terrible calamity of her blighted
love. She became crazy--almost an idiot.

She ran away from her home at Laffitte, and wandered about the country.
Jasmin, when a boy, had often seen the crazy woman wandering about the
streets of Agen with a basket on her arm, begging for bread. Even in
her rags she had the remains of beauty. The children ran after her, and
cried, "Martha, a soldier!" then she ran off, and concealed herself.

Like other children of his age Jasmin teased her; and now, after more
than thirty years, he proposed to atone for his childish folly by
converting her sad story into a still sadder poem. Martha the Innocent
is a charming poem, full of grace, harmony, and beauty. Jasmin often
recited it, and drew tears from many eyes. In the introduction he
related his own part in her history. "It all came back upon him," he
said,"