180 ROYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA 



province, its beauties and its possibilities, «was able to assist in making 

 more widely known its many attractions. 



Mr, W. E. M. Bnrtis, foT many years common clerk of the City of 

 St. John, was also a writer of merit and a frequent contributor to the 

 pages of The Amaranth, his story of Indian life, " The Storm Spirit 

 of the Milicites" having been more than once republished by later 

 periodicals. 



In all the older magazines it is difficult, and in the majority of cases 

 impossible at this late period to ascertain the identity of the various 

 local contributors. In fact so much care was taken upon this point 

 that it is difficult to discover even the names of the editors of many of 

 them. In this respect The Amaranth more nearly approached the 

 modern ideal of a literary magazine. Some of the articles by local 

 contributors bear the writer's signature, while in other cases the first 

 and last letters of the writer's surname are given. By this aid Mr. 

 Jonas Howe in a very excellent article upon The Amaranth, which 

 appeared in Acadiensis in July, 1903, has been able to discover and 

 place permanently upon record the names of its more important 

 contributors. 



Turning carelessly over the pages of the first volume of The 

 Amaranth recently, a poem on page 268 immediately attracted atten- 

 tion. It was entitled " The Dying Chief," and was signed " J. A.," 

 Westmorland, July. The first three stanzas are as follows : — 



The Dying Chief. 



The stars look'd down on the battle plain, 



When night winds were deeply sighing-, 

 And with shattered lance near his war-steed slain, 



Lay a youthful warrior dying. 



He had folded round his gallant breast 



The banner once o'er him streaming, 

 For a noble shroud as he sunk to rest, 



On the couch that knows no dreaming. 



Proudly he lay on his broken shield 



By the rushing Guadalquiver — 

 While dark with the blood of his last red field. 



Swept on the majestic river. 



Turning further on to the end of the following number of The 

 Amaranth, we find the following brief but pointed editorial comment: 



" The poetry, entitled, " The Dying Chief " which appeared in 

 our last number, as an original contribution, is an extract from a 

 volume of poems published in England. The gentleman (?) who sent 

 this manuscript to our office, and who, instead of placing his own 



