446 



JASMIN, JACQUES. 



ed, that of the English squadron being 15 

 killed and 49 wounded. "We are not in posses- 

 sion of the names of those who suffered ; hut, 

 as despatches from the admiral go home hy this 

 mail, the details will no doubt be fully given in 

 the regular official form. No English officers 

 have been killed, but one or two are badly 

 wounded. "When the forts were destroyed, the 

 Prince of Nagato's officials sued for peace, say- 

 ing that they would agree to whatever terms 

 might be proposed." 



The treaty which the admirals concluded 

 with Prince of Nagato was as follows : 



1. For the future the ships of all nationalities shall, 

 when passing through the Straits of Simonosaki, be 

 treated in a friendly manner, and shall be allowed to 

 buy coals, provisions, wood, water, and every other 

 requisite. Moreover, as the harbor is frequently the 

 scene of violent winds and currents, no opposition 

 shall be offered to any one anxious to land during 

 stress of weather. 2. The forts lately destroyed 

 shall not be reconstructed, nor shall new forts be 

 built, nor guns mounted. 3. The town of Simono- 

 saki, which having first fired on foreign ships might 

 justly have been destroyed, has been spared. A ran- 

 som shall be paid for this, and all the expenses of 

 the expedition shall also be defrayed by the prince, 

 the amount to be decided by the foreign ministers at 

 Yeddo. 



I agree to abide by the decision of the foreign 

 ministers at Yeddo with regard to the points men- 

 tioned in paragraph 3. This agreement referring 

 only to the cessation of hostilities on this special oc- 

 casion has nothing whatsoever to do with any other 

 questions affecting Choshiu which may require to be 

 arranged between the native and foreign officials. 

 (Signed) SHIOHIDO BIEZN, 



MORI IDZIMO. 



AVhen the news of the result of the naval 

 expedition reached Yeddo, it produced a pro- 

 found impression. The day after the foreign 

 ministers at Yokohama were visited by an envoy 

 from the Gorogio, who informed them that the 

 Tycoon no longer insisted on the evacuation of 

 Yokohama, that he declared himself the friend 

 of the foreigners, that he would secure freedom 

 of commerce in the open ports, and that he 

 himself assumed the responsibility for the exe- 

 cution of the conditions imposed by the ad- 

 mirals upon the Prince of Nagato. The foreign 

 ambassadors insisted, however, on the treaty 

 being ratified by the Mikado, as they were fully 

 convinced by the past history of the relations 

 between Japan and the foreign powers, that a 

 treaty without being sanctioned by the Mikado 

 would never become effective. On October 5th 

 the ministers were received by the Gorogio, who 

 promised not to oppose the intercourse of the 

 Japanese with the foreign powers. 



JASMIN, JACQTJES, a French provincial poet, 

 born in Agen, March 6, 1798, died there Oct. 

 6, 1864. He was the child of poor parents, 

 and after a scanty education was apprenticed 

 to a barber and hair dresser in his native town. 

 At the age of 18, he married and set up in 

 business for himself, occupying his leisure 

 hours with reading and verse-making, for 

 which latter occupation he early developed a 

 remarkable fondness and facility. His wife 

 vainly attempted to discourage his poetical ten- 



dencies, which she feared would bring them 

 both to the almshouse the ultimate abode of 

 whole generations of Jasmins and Jacques 

 had the good sense to practice authorship only 

 during hours of relaxation. To his business 

 calling he remained faithful until the close of 

 his career, with manifest advantage to his ma- 

 terial interests, and he even took pride in being 

 called a barber. Gradually his rural songs, 

 written in the Langue d ' <9e, the tongue of the 

 Southern troubadours, and still the language 

 of a very considerable portion of the French 

 peasantry, gained him warm admirers among 

 his friends and neighbors, at whose suggestion 

 he published, in 1825, a burlesque poem Lou 

 Chalibari (" The Charivari"), evincing easy 

 and natural versification, and a ready command 

 of the idiom of the language. Thenceforward, 

 he produced at intervals a variety of pieces 

 suggested by political events, or local tradition 

 or romance, and of which the popularity is 

 amazing in the South of France. Chief among 

 these are the Papillotos de Jasmin ("The 

 Curl Papers of Jasmin"), of which he published 

 two series; ISAbuglo de Castel-Cuille ("The 

 Blind Girl of Castel-Cuille"), founded on a pa- 

 thetic legend of Guienne, and admirably trans- 

 lated by Longfellow, Fran?onette, Maltro Vin- 

 noucento ; (" Mad Martha"), &c., &c. As his 

 fame increased, the " barber poet," as he was 

 called, was induced to make annual tours 

 through the Southern provinces, where he re- 

 cited his chief productions to delighted audi- 

 ences, who tendered him flattering ovations and 

 liberal contributions in money. "With truly 

 professional pride he invariably refused to ap- 

 propriate the latter to his own use, but distrib- 

 uted it among the poor. In grateful re- 

 membrance of this trait the barbers of Paris, 

 during his first and only visit to that city, 

 honored him with a grand banquet. During 

 the few days he remained in the metropolis he 

 recited his " Blind Girl of Castel-Cuille," up- 

 ward of twenty-six tunes in public, on the last 

 occasion in presence of Louis Phillipe and 

 the royal family. Until within a short period 

 of his death Jasmin, when in Agen, could be 

 seen daily at his shop in the practice of his 

 trade. Testimonials of every description from 

 cities, academies, and distinguished men were 

 scattered in- profusion about the room, in odd 

 contrast with the implements peculiar to his 

 calling, and the poet wore at his button-hole 

 the red ribbon of the cross of the Legion of 

 Honor, and signed himself Jasmin, coiffur, da 

 las academics d'Agen et de JSordeou. He was a 

 man of genial manners, and much innocent, be- 

 cause unaffected, self-esteem, entertaining no 

 doubt of his superiority to all French poets, 

 except Corneille, La Fontaine and Beranger. 

 His works, owing to the fact that they have to 

 be translated into ordinary French to be intel- 

 ligible to two-thirds of his countrymen, are not 

 so widely known as they deserve ; but in the 

 Southern provinces their popularity rests on a 

 lasting basis. 



