n poet.

Jasmin had been made Chevalier of the Legion of Honour at the same time
as Balzac, Frederick Soulie, and Alfred de Musset. The minister bore
witness to the worth of Jasmin, notwithstanding the rusticity of his
idiom; and he was classed amongst the men who did honour to French
literature. He was considered great, not only in his poems, but in his
benevolent works: "You build churches; you help indigence; you possess
the talent of a powerful benefactor; and your muse is the sister of
charity."

When the news of the honours conferred upon Jasmin reached Agen, the
people were most sympathetic in their demonstrations. The shop of the
barber-poet was crowded with visitors, and when he himself reached the
town he was received with the greatest enthusiasm. The Philharmonic
Society again treated him to a serenade, and the whole town was full of
joy at the honour done to their beloved poet.

To return to the church of Vergt, which was not yet entirely finished.
A bell-tower had been erected, but what was a bell-tower without bells?
There was a little tinkling affair which could scarcely be heard in
the church, still less in the neighbourhood. With his constant trust in
Providence, the Abbe did not hesitate to buy a clock and order two large
bells. The expense of both amounted to 7000 francs. How was this to be
paid? His funds were entirely exhausted. The priest first applied to the
inhabitants of Vergt, but they could not raise half the necessary funds.
There was Jasmin! He was the only person that could enable the Abbe to
defray his debt.

Accordingly, another appeal was made to the public outside of Vergt. The
poet and the priest set out on their fifth and last pilgrimage; and
this time they went as far as Lyons--a city which Jasmin had never seen
before. There he found himself face to face with an immense audience,
who knew next to nothing of his Gascon patois. He was afraid of his
success; but unwilling to retreat, he resolved, he said, "to create
a squadron in reserve"; that is, after reciting some of the old
inspirations of his youth, to give them his Helene or 'Love and Poetry,'
in modern classical French. The result, we need scarcely say, was
eminently successful, and the Abbe; was doubly grateful in having added
so many more thousand francs to his purse.

During this journey another priest, the Abbe Cabanel, united his forces
with those of Jasmin and Masson. This Abbe was curate of Port de
Sainte-Foi-la-Gr