204 ROYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA 



on the part of both, in the good faith and in the power of Congress and 

 its commissioners to win over the Canadians and to retain possession 

 of Canada. But this turned out as Franklin's one notable diplomatic 

 failure. That diplomacy which had secured the adhesion of all the 

 thirteen colonies and at a later date the active sympathy of France 

 pi'oved powerless to move the passive indifference of the Canadians. 



Such was Mesplet's confidence in the ultimate success of the revolt 

 of the thirteen colonies that, after accepting their commission as Can- 

 adian printer, he invested not only the whole of his free capital, but 

 the money realized from the sale of part of the stock of books he had 

 on hand, in continental currency; believing, as he claims, these bills 

 to have been " as good as the banks of England or Vienna." - But 

 this was a true case of misplaced confidence, for they turned out to 

 be a total loss, as the greater part of them are entered in his post- 

 mortem inventory as of no value. 



By the 18th of March, 1776, Mesplet started from Philadelphia 

 with the whole of his belongings loaded on five waggons. He and his 

 party, which consisted of six persons, arrived at Lake George on the 

 8th of April, where they had to wait eight days until his goods arrived, 

 and been loaded on the five bateaux, he had secured at his o^vn expense, 

 lor crossing Lake George and pursuing his course down Lake Cham- 

 plain and the Eichelieu river. He claims that on account of the 

 portages his expenses were very great, far exceeding the paltry hundred 

 dollars voted by Congress. As this was the time of spring high water 

 his "pilotes" as he calls them, decided to run the rapids to Chambly 

 and thus save him the longer land haul from St. Johns. But, through 

 the fault of these pilots, his bateaux shipped much water in the 

 rapids and were so nearly swamped, that most of his fine paper and 

 books, together with his wife's wearing apparel and some of his own, 

 were irr^'trievably ruined.- Although he reached Chambly on the 22nd 

 of April he did not get to Montreal until the 6th of May. On his 

 arrival, he, with wife, staff and servant, put up at a tavern, where they 

 remained eleven days, at an expense of $1.07 each per day, or $70 in 

 all, while premises were being leased, furnished and fitted up as a 

 printing office. It was therefore not until the 18th of May, just two 

 months after setting out from Philadelphia, that he was ready for 

 business. 



Where did this house, fitted up as Montreal's first printing establish- 

 ment, stand ? An imprint gives the address as " près le marché," and 

 a document more fully expresses it as " demeurant en cette ville rue 



' See appendix D. No. 34. 

 ^lUd. D. No. 34. • 



