They lived the same lives, and were all in all to each other.

They were both of the people; and though she was without culture, and had not shared in the society of the educated, she took every interest in the sentiments and the prosperity of her admirable husband.
One might ask, How did Jasmin acquire his eloquence of declamation--his power of attracting and moving assemblies of people in all ranks of life?
It was the result, no doubt, partly of the gifts with which the Creator had endowed him, and partly also of patience and persevering study.

He had a fine voice, and he managed it with such art that it became like a perfectly tuned instrument in the hands of a musician.
His voice was powerful and pathetic by turns, and he possessed great sweetness of intonation,--combined with sympathetic feeling and special felicity of emphasis.

And feeling is the vitalising principle of poetry.
Jasmin occasionally varied his readings by singing or chaunting the songs which occurred in certain parts of his poems.

This, together with his eloquence, gave such immense vital power to the recitations of the Agenaise bard.
And we shall find, from the next chapter, that Jasmin used his pathetic eloquence for very noble,--one might almost say, for divine purposes.
Endnotes for Chapter VII.
{1} The translation appeared in 'Bentley's Miscellany' for March 1840.
It was published for a charitable purpose.