Jacques Jasmin was only one child amongst many. The parents had
considerable difficulty in providing for the wants of the family,
in food as well as clothing. Besides the father's small earnings
as a tailor of the lowest standing, the mother occasionally
earned a little money as a laundress. A grandfather, Boe, formed
one of the family group. He had been a soldier, but was now too
old to serve in the ranks, though France was waging war in Italy
and Austria under her new Emperor. Boe, however, helped to earn
the family living, by begging with his wallet from door to door.

Jasmin describes the dwelling in which this poor family lived.
It was miserably furnished. The winds blew in at every corner.
There were three ragged beds; a cupboard, containing a few bits
of broken plates; a stone bottle; two jugs of cracked
earthenware; a wooden cup broken at the edges; a rusty
candlestick, used when candles were available; a small
half-black looking-glass without a frame, held against the wall
by three little nails; four broken chairs; a closet without a
key; old Boe's suspended wallet; a tailor's board, with clippings
of stuff and patched-up garments; such were the contents of the
house, the family consisting in all of nine persons.

It is well that poor children know comparatively little of their
miserable bringings-up. They have no opportunity of contrasting
their life and belongings with those of other children more
richly nurtured. The infant Jasmin slept no less soundly in his
little cot stuffed with larks' feathers than if he had been laid
on a bed of down. Then he was nourished by his mother's milk,
and he grew, though somewhat lean and angular, as fast as any