220 ROYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA 



printed in these premises was one for the military authorities, as it 

 bears the superscription " By His Majesty's Special Command." It 

 is entitled, '" Eules and Regulations for Field Exercise,"^ and this is 

 Mesplet's last book. 



Evidently about this time the type and other appliances necessary 

 I'or his press room began to be pretty well used up, as the owner of 

 the presses declined to make any renewals. Mesplet had to order a 

 fresh supply from Europe through a Montreal merchant named Jean 

 Baptiste Durocher. In settlement for the cost of this type which 

 ainounted to $633, he, along with his wife, gave a bond in which the 

 latter hypothecated to Durocher all her goods and furniture, besides her 

 interest in the estate of her late mother.- This- amount was not paid 

 at maturity, but in 1795 Madam Mesplet declared that the total amount 

 coming to her from her mother's estate did not exceed $326.50, which 

 amount was to be paid by her father at the end of two years with 

 interest at six per cent.'' This settlement, which was guaranteed by 

 her father, J. B. Tison, was accepted by Durocher and afterwards 

 transferred to P. Hugiiet-Latour,* who acknowledges to have received 

 the aaiount with interest from Tison on the 23nd of November, 1797.^ 



The signing of this bond appears to have been the last transaction 

 of any importance which ]\l^splet did, for six months afterwards — on 

 the 2-ith of January, 1794 — he died, according to the parish register 

 aged aib'out 60 years.^ Wihen he was married for the second time his 

 age is given at 55, which would make him a year younger. 



After the death of j\Iesplet his wife found his affairs so embar- 

 rassed financially that she appointed Charles Lusignan and Louis 

 Hardy trustees, to take over the estate and settle it on behalf of the 

 creditors.^ The inventory which they took valued his furniture and 

 stock at $783, and book debts at $1,015, or a total of $1,798, to cover 

 liabilities ascertained amounting to $3,546, besides a number of debts 

 the amounts of which could not be determined. This inventory is a 

 most precious document for, l^esides revealing Mesplefs financial con- 

 dition, it gives us a view of the furnishings of his house and of his 

 wearing apparel, both of which by the way were as sumptuous as that 

 of a gentleman of means. From it we also get an idea of the utensils 

 employed al)out a Canadian house one hundred years ago. It also 



' See appendix A No. 37. 



' IhUl. F No. 69. 



^Ihuh F No. 70. 



*nnl. F No. 71. 



'■IhUl. F No. 72. 



^Ihid. F No. 49. 



'Hid. F No. 73. 



