Page 91. The Blind Girl of Castèl-Cuillè.
Jasmin, the author of this beautiful poem, is to the South of France what Burns is to the South of Scotland,—the representative of the heart of the people,—one of those happy bards who are born with their mouths full of birds (la bouco pleno d'aouzelous). He has written his own biography in a poetic form, and the simple narrative of his poverty, his struggles, and his triumphs, is very touching. He still lives at Agen, on the Garonne; and long may he live there to delight his native land with native songs!
The following description of his person and way of life is taken from the graphic pages of “ Béarn and the Pyrenees,” by Louisa Stuart Costello, whose charming pen has done so much to illustrate the French provinces and their literature.
“ At the entrance of the promenade, Du Gravier, is a row of small houses,—some cafés, others shops, the indication of which is a painted cloth placed across the way, with the owner's name in bright gold letters, in the manner of the arcades in the streets, and their announcements. One of the most glaring of these was, we observed, a
