nt of the church. After the ceremony he turned to his wife
and family, and said: "In my last communion I have prayed to God that He
may keep you all in the most affectionate peace and union, and that He
may ever reign in the hearts of those whom I love so much and am
about to leave behind me." Then speaking to his wife, he said, "Now
Mariette,--now I can die peacefully."

He continued to live until the following morning. He conversed
occasionally with his wife, his son, and a few attached friends.

He talked, though with difficulty, of the future of the family, for whom
he had made provision. At last, lifting himself up by the aid of his
son, he looked towards his wife. The brightness of love glowed in his
eyes; but in a moment he fell back senseless upon the pillow, and his
spirit quietly passed away.

Jasmin departed this life on the 5th of October, 1864, at the age of
sixty-five. He was not an old man; but the brightest jewels soonest wear
their setting. When laid in his coffin, the poem to Renan, his last act
of faith, was placed on his breast, with his hands crossed over it.

The grief felt at his death was wide and universal. In the South of
France he was lamented as a personal friend; and he was followed to the
grave by an immense number of his townspeople.

The municipal administration took charge of the funeral. At ten o'clock
in the morning of the 8th October the procession started from Jasmin's
house on the Promenade du Gravier. On the coffin were placed the Crown
of Gold presented to him by his fellow-townsmen, the cross of Chevalier
of the Legion of Honour, and that of Saint-Gregory the Great. A company
of five men, and a detachment of troops commanded by an officer, formed
the line.

The following gentlemen held the cords of the funeral pall:--

M. Feart, Prefect of the Lot-et-Garonne; M. Henri Noubel, Deputy and
Mayor of Agen; General Ressayre, Commander of the Military Division; M.
Bouet, President of the Imperial Court; M. de Laffore, engineer; and M.
Magen, Secretary of the Society of Agriculture, Sciences, and Arts.
A second funeral pall was held by six coiffeurs of the corporation to
which Jasmin had belonged. Behind the hearse were the Brothers of the
Christian Doctrine, the Sisters of Saint-Vincent de Paul, and the Little
Sisters of the Poor.

The mourners were headed by the poet's son and the other members of
his family. The cortege was very numerous, including the elite of
the population