270 CANADIAN NOMS-DE-PLUME IDENTIFIED. 



never agree with, your opinion. "We are wandering, liowever, from 

 the point in hand. What a wonderful establishment the Times 

 must be, which, almost at an hour's notice, can turn out such an 

 article as that to which I referred." 



Again, in 1852, thus closes a discussion on Cooper, the United 

 States novelist. The Major, or editor, thus speaks of the book before 

 him, viz., a " Memorial of Cooper," as a pleasingly compiled record 

 of certain proceedings which have recently taken place in New 

 York, with the view of giving expression to the public sentiment on 

 the death of that illustrious novelist. On the Doctor's observing 

 that " Cooper's Leatherstocking " is a chef-cT muvre, the Laird 

 rejoins : " I like his writings weel eneuch. ; but ah, man, he's no to 

 compare wi' Walter Scott," &c. The peroration of a eulogy by W. C. 

 Bryant is quoted, of which the language is somewhat high-flown. 

 This draws from the Squireen the observation : " Ah ! how swately th.e 

 dew of praise must fall on the sensibilities of departed genius, if the 

 spiritual essence be cognizant of the incense of corporeal votaries at 

 its shrine and susceptible of its influence." To which the Laird 

 gruffly replies : " Nane o' your poetical flights o' fancy ! Dinna forget 

 we h.a'e four miles o' limestone to hirple o'er afore the sma' hours 

 come ringing frae the St. Lawrence Ha'. Guid nicht. Major." 

 {Exeunt.) Thus the sederunt closes. 



Solomon of Streetsville was the Rev. J. MacGeorge. Mr. Mac- 

 George, prior to his emigration to Canada, was an experienced 

 litterateur, a contributor to Fraser and other English periodicals. 

 In his graver moods, Mr. MacGeorge was a poet of no mean grade, 

 as we shall perhaps hereafter see. 



I observe in Morgan's Bihliotheca Canadensis that in 1858 a 

 work of fiction, highly spoken of, appeared in Montreal, entitled 

 " The Life and Adventures of Simon Seek ; or, Canada in all Shapes," 

 by Maple Knot. I regret that I have it not in my power to give a 

 sample of Maple Knot, who was Mr. Ebenezer Clemo, now 

 deceased. The nom-de-plume Maple Knot suggests to me .the 

 mention here of " Maple Leaf," or rather " The Maple Leaf,." a very 

 handsome Christmas or New Year's gift book, which was published 

 in Toronto in 1847, and in several successive years. The "Maple 

 Leaf" introduced to the Canadian public a goodly company of credit- 

 able local writers, who, without the stimulus afforded by this publi- 

 cation, would perhaps never have ventured to try their hand at such 



