[m'lachlan] FLEURY MESPLET, FIRST PRINTER AT MONTREAL 219 



On the 1st of September Marie ]\Iirabeau, Mesplet's faithful wife, 

 died at the age of 43;^ no doubt wari\ out through privations and 

 worry during her husband's long imprisonment, accelerated also by his 

 financial embarrassment. 



Mesplet did not continue long a widower, for on the 23rd of April, 

 1790, after an interval of little more than seven months, he married 

 Marie Anne Tison, daughter of Jean Baptiste Tison,- a girl of 23 

 years, while he was himself over 55. She had been left a small 

 competence by her deceased mother which attracted Mesplet, while she 

 was glad to escape from the supervision of a stepmother, even by marry- 

 ing a man who> was an insolvent and more than twice her age. In 

 any case, this inheritance soon served to tide the husband over a finan- 

 cial difficulty, for before the close of the year his wife had to become 

 a party with him to a Ijond in favour of Charles Lusignan for $174.^ 



This year he published, on his own account, a pamphlet of 32 

 pages, entitled " La Bastille Septentrionale, ou trois sujets britanniques 

 opprimés," which describes a diffiiculty or quarrel arising out of the 

 annual drill of the militia at Three Rivers.'* Although the subject 

 seems most trivial it was evidently considered of sufficient importance 

 at that time to command a ready sale, as from the title page we note 

 that it was offered for sale throughout the province. Another pamphlet 

 dated this year was " Mémoire ... de Jean Baptiste Leljrun,"^ 

 which describes a lawsuit. This- year Mesplet appeared as godfather 

 and his wife as godmother to his brother-in-law, Fleury Tison. As 

 he was named after Mesplet, we may conclude that the two families 

 were on goiod terms;*' two days afterwards he again stood as godfather 

 to the daughter of a friend. 



In 1T91 his only puljlication was " IMemoire en cassation du testa- 

 ment de Simon Sanguinet,"" a pamphlet of 19 pages, evidently a Avill 

 case. There is nothing dated 1792, which shows that Mesplet's business 

 was dwindling away. Only three pamphlets, totalling 67 pages, appear 

 among the works now extant as printed during the years 1790-2. 



In May, 1793, Mesplet moved for the third time to a house, ISTo. 

 46 Xotre Dame Street, two doors east of the former stand, which was 

 owned by the widow of Ignace Chenier, and was for a term of five 

 years,^ although he did not live long to occupy it. The only Ijook 



^ See appendix E No. 45. 



^ See appendix E No. 46 and F No. 64. 



^Ihid. F No. 65. 



*Ibi(l. A No. 34. 



''Ibid. No. 35. 



^Ibid. F No. 49. 



'Ibid. A No. 36. 



Ubid. F No. 59. 



