TIIE SECRETARY OF THE MUTUAL ADMIRATION SOCIETY

iTo the Eclitor ofihe Morning Chronicle, lUh Decemher, 1878.)

SiB, — A short time ago, I saw in the Canadien the first part of a compte rendu of a meeting of the Mutual Admiration Society. A second instalment was promised, but has not yct been published. In the meantime, I must. to use Mr. Tardivel's own native slang, '-say my say." In the above article, Mr. Tardivel states that the Society had been ealled together to pass judgment on a criticism by Timothy Tickler, which was published in the Chronicle of the Friday préviens. After a careful examination of the criticism in question, I must admit that I failed to discover therein the errors attributed to it by the Committee of the Mutual Admiration Society. On reading the first few lines of this report I was struck by the peculiarity of its style; it resembled in every respect some of Mr. Tardivel's productions that I had read in the Canadien some time préviens, and I was astonished to find him acting as Secretary to a Society which he had so eften reviled. With your permission, Mr. Editer, I shall, in a few words, endeavor te clear iip some of the obscurity in which the Committee or their Secretary seems to be involved.

Mr. Tardivel says that Timothy Tickler gives no proof of the assertion that '-he" (Mr. Tardivel) "is said to invent mistakes fer the pleasure of knocking them down." It is évident that Mr. Tardivel has forgotten how he distorted the finest passages in Mr. Faucher de St. Maurice's latest work. De Tribord à Bâbord for the purpose of correcting his own wilful misrepresentations. But witheutgeing so far back, I will give proef enough of Timethy's charge in the report I am new rcviewing. To begin by the follewing : — (I translate.) "He, (Timothy Tickler) asserts thatpWHf« mean ONLY cetten goods." This is a poor attempt te deceive. Mr. Tardivel had written in • Borrowed and Stolen Feathers" that "public prints were invented." Timothy Tickler affirmed that the ^'printing press was invented," and that prints meant cotton goods. The first part of this sentence, as Mr. Tardivel would say, "is passed over entirely unheoded;" in the second he invents the word only, in order "(o knock it down again." Then te corne te the pronoun thej/ as applied to "the public." Every one who reads "Borrowed and Stolen Feathers" will see at once that Timothy's parenthesis (the public) is merely explanatory. He cited only part of the sentence ; 'the public' is in the unquoted })ei'tien of the phrase. Noav as regards the cenjunction IF. Let any one peruse the paragraph alluded to and it will be found that Mr. Tardivel has shown a woful disregard of Murray, whom he so freely quotes. It is as fellows : —

"If Mr. Editer choose to place Mr. Lo Moine above the rest of mankind, if to him it aeem préférable that the reading public be led astray (why not say should be

/ei astray) then, of course, we have only te bow our hends in humble

submission A man even if he is the Editer of a newspaper has a perfect

right to be stupid if he sees fit."

Why the subjunctive mood in one case and the indicative in the other ? And where does Timothy Tickler say, that if always requires the subjunctive ? My opinion is that Mr. Tardivel used beth moods in tbe hope that he would agreo with Murroy in one sentence at least. Then Mr. Secretary saya, that To (jive himself the troxibh" is puro English» and in support thoreof, that 85 donner le trouble is a

"frightful Anglioism " Hero lie "invents" a tra^mlatlon: prcnih-e, se donner de la peine being the expression which he badly renders into English La Rochefoucauld wrote : "Jamais personne ne s'est donné la peine d'étendre et de conduire e«n esprit uus4 loin qu'il 2}ourrait aller." And LaFontaine,

" Travaillez, prenez de la. pkink C'est le fonds qui manque le moins."

Anothor of Timothy's sentences criticised : "It is impossible to glance eren hastily, through this hypercritical production of Mr. Tardivel's without seeing how

much he might be improved." Mr. Tardivel objects to * ahasty glance;"

he says, "lorsqu'on glanée c'est tonjonrs hastily." One might as well find fault with the expression "to run quickly." And docs not every one who reads French know that un coup d'œil rapide, nay, nn coup d'œil j)romp>t is used by the best French authors ? Condorcet in speaking of Linnœus writes : ''Il avait reçu de la nature ce coup d'œil prompt et juste qui saisit tout." But Mr. Secretary seems to be particularly anxious about the pronoun he in the above quotation from Timothy Tickler. Read Murray again : "Pronouns agrée in gender, number and person with the nonns for which they stand." Mr. Tardivel is the only person montioned in that sentence and he alone will doubt that tho pronoun he refers to himself. ♦ Drowning men will catch at straws," but Mr. Tardivel thinks he has grasped a plank of safety in the word "GaUicanism." Ile has evidently not read Gladstone, who uses this Word in precisely the same sensé — "anything French or fiom Gaul." But why be sueli a stickler when, with his usual ill luck in quoting, Mr. Secretary treats his readers to ARcmsuperlimcoquentieuseinent. Rabelais wrote «M^ercog-we^îcojitienx, and Littre, supercoquentieux, thus throwing on Mr. Tardivel the responsibility of "inventing" a new word. Mr Secretary further says that "the Committee has read cette élucuhration -with pleasure." This is not French. The dictionary gives this word as admissible in two meanings only. Ist — In the sensé of veilles (lucubrations), '-Tel est le fruit de ses élucubrations." 2nd, as "un ouvrage composé d force de veilles et de travail," and in this latter signification it is used only in the plural. "Jl nous 2i^é8ente ses élncuhrations." Still another "invention" by Mr. Tardivel : ^'Mr. Jivanturcl essuie son 2^ince-nez avec émotion." The French say " Pincer le nez à quelqu'un / lui tirer h nez." Once more the pitiless dictionary is against the Secretary ! To wipe a "pince-nez," even "avec émotion" (why not avec his handkerchief ?), is not to be found in Littre. But I am losing sight of "Borrowod and Stolen Feathers," one phrase alone of which I will submit :

"Not being personNally interested in the matter, I should bave been willing to Icave Mr. LeMoine alone in his glory and his plagiarisms until doom's day "

Five errors in two lines ! ! Bad spelling, incorrect use of the auxiliary, {should instead oî 7vould,) redundancy, obscurity and "invention." Where did Mr. Tardivel see doomsday written as he has givenit? Why not quote "alone in his glory"? Does he mean to leave Mr. LeMoine in his plagiarisms until "doom's day," or does ho mean to leave the plagiarisms until that interesting epoch? "A wicked and perverse génération asketh for a sign" that will explain this mystery, and I fear they must wait "until doomsday." And of such beauties is "Borrowed and Stolen Feathers" made up !

Towards an ordinary writer some of this fault-findiflg might seem hypercritical ; but is it possible to be too severc on one whose friends claim him to be as refined an English scholar as Addison, as great a purist as Boileau, or as renowned a critic as Johnson ? For my own part, I would rather rank him with such an illiberal, aggressive hair-splitter as Frcron. Yet with ail its faults I might have overlooked the Secretary's report were it not for its utter scurrility. The tonc adopted and the language used towards a respectable professional gentleman, whom Mr. Tardivel's "coward conscience" must accept as his teacher in the éléments of the English as well as the French language, will elicit but one opinion ; that tho writing of such an article is an act of coarseness and ill-breeding, which, in Mr. Tardivel's own words as applied to Mr. LeMoine, "should for ever banish him who committed it from the society of gentlemen." I am not astonishcd that Mr. Secretary withhokls the continuation of his minutes.

THWACKUM.

Québec, Dccember 14, 1878.

P.S. — On the evening of the day in which the above appeared in the M. Chronicle, Mr. Tardivel published his long-promised continuation of the Committee's report. I was pleased to see that he had struck gcld at last. Being unabJe to Write eithor French, Erglish or Latin, he has "invented" a language or rather a jargon which no one will criticize. "To such base uses may wc corne, Hoi'atio!" I now bid Mï. Tardivel adieu !

Thwackum.

(Fi'om ihô Mornhuj Chmiide, 8ih January, ISIO.)

^ „ Qaspe, 7th December, 1873

To THE Editor :

Bear Sir, — Yesterday our fall fleet, bound for Jersey, Brazil, and the Mediterranean, successively sailed past the Battery of Fort Ramsây, with a parting salute from Eden's wharf; in all, sevon good and staunch ships, the "Cornucopia," "Dawn," "Standard," "Espérance," "Canada," <'Glen Feadon," and "John Clark." No more ' arrivais now from sea, no whaling, no bank, nor shore fishing ; after the most open, the mildest of autumns, the grim phantom of winter is shaking defiaatly at us his hoary locks. 'Tis true, we can for our evenings fall back on whist, baek gammon, and some mellow Newfoundland old port carefully stowed away. Whilst recently indulging in a retrospect of Jast summer's events, my mind reverted to the praiseworthy doings of one of the leading literary men of your city, in order to bring us, poor Gasponians, to the front. You must be aware, Mr. Editor, of the crowds of travellers, pleasure-seekers, &c., our salmon rivers, scenery, sea bathing faeilities, each summer attracts down here. If wo are at ail known outsido we owe it partly to the faeilities for summer travel the Gulf Ports steamers have aftorded us ; partly to the pains some talented friends have taken to record in print the happy hours they may have spent among us.

Since the appearance of the Illustrated Atlas of Gaspé views, published by the late John Pye, the letter-press of which was furnished by Judge J. G. Thompson, Ex-SherifiT Vibert, J. J. Fox, J. Eden, D. Stewart, and others, no work bas been more welcome here than 7he Vhronicles of the St. Laiorence, a judicious compilation of history, anecdotes, shipwreoks, notes of travel, tfec, which bas won fortho writer scores of friends in every nook of our vast, picturesque, but neglected, and oftignored sea-board.

Judge of my surprise in reading in your columns, that if it had warra friends, the volume also could boast of a spiteful and puny detractor. I niade tho discovery that the writings I so much liked, were not original. What was here implied, I could not fathom ? Had any one expected a novel ? A work of fiction — the outburst of an imaginative brain ? From the Prospectus I had looked for a historical record, a compilation of curions facts, diversified thoughts, the testimony of many writers, a web of "annals ; in fact, the Chronicles of our noble river. I next Jearned what I had expected, that the effusions of several Freneh, as well as English Canadian writers, had been draAvn from to compile the Chronicles, singular to say, to the injury of such Freneh authors. How thcse French books, howcvor attractive, should have suffered by being introduced to the notice of the English publie, is a mystery to me. Though my collection of French works is precarious, it rests with me to supplément it by borrowing from a kind friend, my neighbor. I therefore felt curions to procure some of them in order to compare* with tho Chronicles. The repeated quotations from and allusions to thèse writers and others, in the text — in foot notes — in the table of contents of tho Chronicles, evinced the constant désire of the author to make due acknowledgment, to ticket each mine from which precious ore had been extracted.

Among other tit-bits of information, I recently saw with satisfaction, the public déniai, given by the Revd Abbé Casgrain, to the charge brought against Mr. LeMoino in connection with the Abbé's own writings. I was wondering, too, whether ajy jolly friend the "Port Admirai," J. U. G., who delivcred with suoh^//<*/o his story of the Big Whale, would not have a word to say. In M. Faucher's work. De Tribonl à Bâbord, I recognised in a modified and a more extended form, some graphie summaries he had condensed, of noted shipwreoks and marine incidents. I also noted the many acknowledgmcnts creditcd to this work in the Chronicles.

A friend just noAV writes to me that a seurrilous brochure, written in exécrable English, had been launched to obtain notoriety. Let it pass ! Having said this much in praise of Mr. LeMoine's excellent compilation, I would like to give the writer a bit of friendly advice. His book is capital as it is ; but in order to complète it, could not Mr. LeMoine add, by way of appendix, a record of the most ïnemorable shipwreoks, from the Exchange Register of Halifax, of St. John, N B., ( f Québec, supplemented with détails from old résidents on our coa.«t. Such record to show loss of life, loss of ship, cargo, value, when, where, name of Mastcr, kc ; also, a tabular statement of statistics of trade, navigation, carliest arrivais from sca, latest departures, population ef each settlement, <fcc., togcther with a more cxtensivo chart of the Gulf.

Tho whole rcspectfuUy submittcd.

MR. TARDIVEL JUDGED BY SOME OF THE WRITERS WHOSE WRITINGS, HE STATES, WERE UNWARRANTABLY USED, BY MR. LeMOINE.

•E. Lkf. de Bku.efeuille to J. M. LeMoixe.

Montréal, 18 Novembre 1878.

James M. LeMoine, Ecr., Québec.

Cher Monsieur, — J'ai l'honneur d'accuser réceplion d'une copie de votre intéressant ouvrage Chronicles of the St. Lawrence, et je vous remercie pour ce gracieux envoi. J'ai parcouru avec intérêt les pages de ce volunae et j'y ai vu avec bonheur que vous y avez rendu justice à la charité chrétienne et au dévouement de nos bonnes religieuses de l'Hôtel-Dieu de Montréal en parlant des lépreux do Tracadie. Je suis flatté que vous avez bien voulu vous servir de mon nom et des travaux que j'ai publiés sur la même question en mettant vous même des faits aussi intéressants devant un public plus nombreux que celui auquel j'avais pu m'adresser.

Je suis convaincu que vos lecteurs anglais admirèrent comme vous et comme moi le zèle désintéressé et l'abnégation qui ont poussé des femmes délicates à consacrer leur existence au soin des mallieureux malades que repousse le monde et qui inspirent l'horreur autour d'eux.

Agréez, Cher Monsieur, &c.

E. Lep. de Bellefeuille.

To the Editor of the Morning Chronicle. Dear Sir, — Under my nom déplume " Stadacona," I find myself, to my surprise, figuring aniongst the unfortunates whose writings would have beeii ruthlessly pillaged by the writer of the above work, as stated in a certain brochure.

Allow me this early opportimity of protesting against any such assertion. My Whale story is given as a quotation with inverted comraas, froni the "Fort Admirai" himself in the "Cruise of the Dolphin" whicli concludes the Chronicles. I furnished it to Mr. LeMoine at his request, and was personally thanked for it, as a souvenir of a very pleasant trip we niade together, round the Harbour — tlie arena of tlie whale adventures.

Québec, IGth Nov., 1878. , "Stadacona."

{From the Morning Chronicle, Québec, \Ç>th Kovember, 1878.) To THE Editor:

Dear Sir, — In turning over the pages of a pamphlet, recently issued in English against Mr. J. M. LeMoine, the appréciation of wliich I shall leave to others, I notice that my name is included amongst those of the writers whoni Mr. LeMoine would have pirated in the "'most revolting and impudent" manner. For what concerns me, I hasten to enter my protest against such an assertion, lest my silence should be construed into an approval. I have not only no reproach to make to Mr. LeMoine, as to the mode with whicli he deàlt with my writings, but I esteem myself happy, in having been enabled to contribute to a portion of the undeniable good his works have done.

Despite certain incorrections of style, I am of opinion that there is not another Canadian writer, who has done so much to make known to the English-speaking population of this country and of the United States, our historical traditions, and that, always in a friendly manner.

Quite familiar with the English idiom, deeply read in Canadian story and connected by family ties and social intercourse with l)oth nationalities^ more than any other writer, he has been the sympatlietic and Connecting link between the two races.

I cannot help but admiring the persévérance and patriotism, which, during the last twenty years, in the rare hours of leisure, left by incessant duties, have actuated his efforts to popularize our annals amidst a class of readers, previously indiffèrent or hostile. It is gratifying to me to testify to hiin my share of gratitude, and in saying this muciri am merely echoing the sentfments of ail those of my brotlier littérateurs, whom l have here consulted S>n this point,

L'Abbe h. R. Casgraik*

Québec, lûth Nov., 1878.

iFvom the Mormnrj Chronide, Québec, \ Wi Koveutber, 1878.) To THE Editor:

Sir, — I notice witli pleasure in your colunins the frank and loyal letter of Monsieur l'Abbe CasoTain, one of tlie niost distinguished of our Frencli Canadian littérateurs. He indignantly repols the charge of plagiarisni in connection with his own works, made in a certain brochure against Mr. J. M. Le- Moine, his fellow laborer, in illustrating the beautiful history of our comnion country. Permit me to state, that when honored by the Québec Literavy and Historical Society \\\Û\ the collection of material for the historical célébration of the defence of our city in 1775, (a task for which I was unprepared,) Mr. LeMoine, with the generosity of his character, collected for me and put in my hands the material of his own researches, which alone enabled me, a comparative stranger, to place before the Society the records they desired. He refused the public acknowledgment which myself and the Society were eager to make. So far from wishing to engross literary honors during his long connection with the institution, it may safely be asserted, that though the highest récognition the Society could confer, its presidency, was more than once witliin his reach, yet for one year only, (during the twenty of his labors,) did he reluctantly consent to accept it.

am pained to believe that the source of Mr. LeMoine's offence lies in that very gentleness and generosity which lias made him to some extent, the historical peace-maker, the Washington Irving of Canada, seeking ever and always to portray (but never at the expense of truth,) the noblest historical features of the two chivalrous races composing the Canadian nationality, instead of sowing seedc of bitterness for future sons of Canada, by wickedîy exaggerating the few stains that may alas ! always be found on the noblest of national escutcheons.

Your obedient servant,

T. Bland Strange, Lt.- Col., R. A., Vice-President, Literary and Historical Society,

Québec.

Québec, 16th November, 1878.

Subjoined arc a few of the notices published by some of the Icadiiig Reviews and Periodicals in the United States and Canada :

(From the Boston "Atlantic Monthly" Magazine for September, 1878.)

"In his Chronicles of the St. Lawrence Mr. LeMoine lias donc for the région adjoining the lower part of that river, and for some coasts of the Maritime Provinces, what he lias already so pleasantly donc for Québec in his "Maple Leaves," and his "Québec : Past and Présent." In thosebooks or collection of essays he preserved a body of tradition and anecdote nowhere else accessible to the travelling reader, or indeed to the stationary gênerai reader. History, too, wlierever it could lend interest to localities mentioned, was intelligently and skilfully adduced, and there was a vein of agreeable and sympathetic comment rimning througli the work. The présent volume lias the sanie characteristics, and the saine desultory form. It is the record of three excursions from Québec — one reaching as far as Halifax, — and including the Saguena}^ and ail otlier tributary régions of interest. Whoever lias travelled in Frencli Canada — the real Canada — has hadprovoked at every turn a curiosity which tliis book is admirably adapted to satisfy; and it is charming to find that every picturesque and romantic spot, which looks as if it ought to have its le^end, really has it. The sportsman, also, who resorts to Canadian waters, will be glad of what Mr. LeMoine has to tell him ; and we can honestly commend the book to people who cannot visit the région of which it treats, as a treasury of cufioiis réminiscence and tradition verv interesting to turn over,''

{From ""Canadlan Illustrated Kews,'' Srd Angust, 1878.)