ty and misery; and Jasmin must come immediately to
their succour. "Come, Jasmin! Come quick, quick!" He was always willing
to give his assistance; but it was a terrible strain upon his mental as
well as his physical powers.

In all seasons, at all hours, in cold, in heat, in wind, in rain, he
hastened to give his recitations--sometimes of more than two hours'
duration, and often twice or thrice in the same day. He hastened, for
fear lest the poor should receive their food and firing too late.

What a picture! Had Jasmin lived in the time of St. Vincent de Paul,
the saint would have embraced him a thousand times, and rejoiced to
see himself in one way surpassed; for in pleading for the poor, he also
helped the rich by celebrating the great deeds of their ancestors, as
he did at Beziers, Riquet, Albi, Lafeyrouse, and other places. The
spectacle which he presented was so extraordinary, that all France was
struck with admiration at the qualities of this noble barber of Agen.

On one occasion Jasmin was requested by a curate to come to his help and
reconcile him with his parishioners. Jasmin succeeded in performing the
miracle. It happened that in 1846 the curate of Saint-Leger, near
Penne, in the Tarn, had caused a ball-room to be closed. This gave great
offence to the young people, who desired the ball-room to be opened,
that they might have their fill of dancing. They left his church,
and declared that they would have nothing further to do with him. To
reconcile the malcontents, the curate promised to let them hear Jasmin.
accordingly, one Sunday afternoon the inhabitants of four parishes
assembled in a beautiful wood to listen to Jasmin. He recited his
Charity and some other of his serious poems. When he had finished,
the young people of Saint-Leger embraced first the poet, and then the
curate. The reconciliation was complete.

To return to the church at Vergt. Jasmin was a poet, not an architect.
The Abbe Masson knew nothing about stone or mortar. He was merely
anxious to have his church rebuilt and consecrated as soon as possible.
That had been done in 1843. But in the course of a few years it was
found that the church had been very badly built. The lime was bad, and
the carpentry was bad. The consequence was, that the main walls of
the church bulged out, and the shoddy building had to be supported by
outside abutments. In course of time it became clear that the work, for
the most part, had to be done over again.