[m'lachlan] FLEURY MESPLET, FIRST PRINTER AT MOx\TREAL 221 



describes very fully Mesplet's stock in trade as a bookseller. Apart 

 from some books placed on sale, and one or two dictionaries, he had 

 no stock of books, save those of his own printing. But his stock of 

 stationery, on the other hand, was much more complete. 



After the inventory was taken, Madam Mesplet finding that the 

 estate was hopelessly insolvent, renounced any claim she might have 

 liad in the community of property,' and ordered the whole of the effects 

 to be sold by auction on behalf of the creditors. - 



The second Madam Mesplet like the first had no children, thus, 

 although left destitute by her husband, she had only herself to provide 

 for. According to the marriage contract she had inherited from her 

 mother $503.70, from which she paid $194 due on Lusignan's bond 

 and the $326.50 above mentioned to Durocher ; the two together more 

 than swallowed this sum. By her father's will she was left a furthei 

 sum of $25,^ but this was so small as to be hardly worth mentioning. 

 She never married again, although left a widow at the age of twenty- 

 six. She died in 1840, aged 74-..'*' Her nephew, Mr. Jean Baptiste 

 Tison, remembers ma tanie MespJrt as a very old woman, but cannot 

 relate anything she may have said about her husband. 



Xow, regarding the books and other publications printed by Mes- 

 plet; in list A are given all that are known to exist with their titles 

 in full, the number and size of the pages and where copies are to,, be 

 seen. These number 39, but there are some 36 others mentioned in 

 advertisements and in the tAvo inventories, bringing up the total to 75 ; 

 all of which arranged according to subjects are given in Appendix B, 

 Of these nearly one-third are religious and three official, for military 

 purposes, showing that Mesplet must have repented and been received 

 as a true son of the church and as a good citizen. He did honest 

 work on fairly good paper, much better than in many longer established 

 printing offices on this continent. His description of the stock, 

 brought from Philadelphia, which included gold leaf and gilt, mar- 

 bled, coloured and India paper, besides SO reams of fine white paper, 

 gives an idea of the quality of work he intended to do. His binding 

 was also of good material and well executed, which shows that he was 

 a thorough master of his trade in all its branches. The proof reading 

 feeems to have been well done, and, as he printed in four languages, 

 we might almost say five, as the English style of spelling Iroquois was 

 altogether different from the French, we can form some idea of his 



' Se? apperd'j- E No. 74. 

 " See appendix E No. 75. 

 ^ See appendix G No. 77. 

 * See appendix E No. 50. 



