His father was a wealthy farmer who had aspirations to make his son a lawyer. The boy was sent to school at Avignon and, later, took his degree at Nîmes University and studied at Aix. One of the teachers at Avignon was Joseph Roumanille who had a large share in restoring interest in the language. He compiled a fixed orthography of the Provençal forms and revived racial sentiment in the schools. Like his pupil, Mistral, he was a firm advocate of classic poetry. Twenty years before, a famous barber, Jacques Jasmin of Agen, had recited troubadour songs throughout the villages and had preserved, by voice, many native legends and folk ballads. It is said that he gave his receipts in money to charity and that, within a few years, he had gathered $300,000. The school-teacher formed a society of young men at Avignon, including “seven poets and dreamers,” among whom were numbered Roumanille, Mistral, Aubaniel, Mathieu, and Brunet. They pledged allegiance to Poetry, Love, and Provence. There has been general acceptance of the statement that Mistral gave to this group of poets the name of Félibres, originally called “The Seven Félibres” or Scribes of the Law. They agreed to write in their native language of Provence, to extend its knowledge and use, so that it might be more than a dialect. They maintained that it was similar to that of the medieval troubadours, that it came from the language of Rome and thus was the parent tongue of Italy, France, and Spain. Although some of these statements have been seriously questioned by orthographers, the enthusiasm of these Félibres was acclaimed and literary masterpieces followed; the celebrations of the Félibres are still noteworthy festivals. [Illustration: _By courtesy of The New York Public Library_ FRÉDÉRIC MISTRAL] Another story is that Mistral, who was very fond of his mother, began to write his verses in French and brought them to her, assured of her encouragement and praise. Alas! his mother could not read French, although she was confident that her son was a poet of rare genius. “Let us sing in the language of our mother!” was the determination of the youth. He collected legends, folk-tales, and romantic episodes from every possible source near his home in Provence. In 1858 was published the first edition of _Mireio_, the pastoral epic which has held its literary rank, with increasing appreciation, for more than sixty years. Roumanille was sponsor for this work; the next year a French translation was made by Mistral and the book amazed Parisians by its poetic charm. It was dedicated to Lamartine. Mistral was compared, by enthusiastic critics, to Vergil, Theocritus, and Ariosto.