Judge H. T. Taschereau, having on his
right the guest of the evening, L. H. Frechette, the Count Premio-
Real, Hon. C. A. P. Pelletier, Mr. Wasson, Hon. F. Langelier, M. Thors
of Paris, &c., and on his left the Consul-General for France, Hon. Mr.
Laurier, Mr. Bols, Hon. D. Ross, &c.
"The banquet was given in the well-known excellent style of the
Russell Hotel Company, which never leaves anything to be desired.
After full justice had been done the good things provided for the
occasion, silence was obtained, when the following resolution,
presented to Mr. Frechette by the Literary and Historical Society of
Quebec, was read by the Secretary, Mr. Delagrave: -
"At a monthly general meeting of the Literary and Historical Society,
held on the 13th October last:
"It was proposed by Commander Ashe, R.N., seconded by R. McLeod, Esq.,
"That the Literary and Historical Society of Quebec has witnessed with
the highest satisfaction the literary honours conferred in August
last, by the Academie Francaise, on Monsieur Louis Honore Frechette,
for the poetical excellence of his two poems, 'Les Fleurs Boreales'
and 'Les Oiseaux de Neige.'
"That the Academical crown, encircling the brow of a Canadian poet,
ought to be as much prised by Canada as it must be dear to its gifted
son, the Laureate of the French Academy.
"That such a signal distinction conferred by the highest literary
tribunal, whilst it exhibits in such a favourable light the
intellectual vigour of the Province of Quebec, cannot be otherwise
than a subject of legitimate pride to the Dominion of Canada.
"That the President and Secretary of this Society be charged with the
pleasant duty of conveying to Monsieur L. H. Frechette the expression
of the sentiments of admiration with which it views his literary
success.
(Signed,) J. M. LEMOINE, President
ALEX. ROBERTSON, Secretary
Quebec, 13th October, 1880.
"The usual loyal toasts - the Queen and Governor-General - were given
by the Chairman, and enthusiastically honoured.
"The Chairman then proposed "France," the toast being received with
the usual honours and responded to by M. Lefaivre, the Consul-General
for France.
"M. Lefaivre made an interesting speech, alluding to the past and
present of France, to the communication between the France of the Old
World and the Nouvelle France of this Western hemisphere, dwelling
upon the honours achieved by the guest of the evening in Paris, and
contending that literature was the soul of a nation.
"The Chairman, Hon. Mr. Justice H. Taschereau, then rose to propose
the toast of the evening, being received with loud and prolonged
cheering. He said, -
"GENTLEMEN, - I have now the honour to propose the toast of the
evening - the health of our distinguished fellow-countryman, our guest,
Louis Honore Frechette, the poet of Canada, crowned by the Academy of
France. You have heard, gentlemen, the loud hurrah of all Canada in
honour of one of her children, and here, perhaps, I might cease
speaking. Nothing that I might say could increase the glad strength of
the general voice of the country, when the news arrived here that the
grand arena of literature, the French Academy, an institution whose
life is counted by centuries, and which is without equal in the world,
that great interpreter and infallible judge of the difficulties, the
beauties and the genius of the French language, had given one of its
annual prizes, and perhaps the finest of all - the prize of poetry - to
one of our countrymen. I could never fittingly express or depict the
sentiments of pride and joy felt by all lovers of literature in this
country - I may add of all good Canadians - when the news came from
beyond the ocean, from that sacred France, mother of civilization;
from fairy Paris, capital of the Muses, that Mr. Frechette had been
crowned! But, as Chairman of this happy reunion, at the risk of but
faintly re-echoing the general sentiment, I must at least try to
express my feelings in proposing this toast. The emotions which I feel
are of a dual nature, that of friendship and of patriotism, and, as
friendship is nearer to the heart, so I gave that feeling the first
place. The speaker here referred to his collegiate days in the
Seminary of Quebec, where he met Mr. Frechette, and in preparing
himself for the battle of life, had won the friendship of the Canadian
poet. He alluded to Mr. Frechette's first efforts in verse, and had
judged his early attempts, and in referring to his (the Judge's) own
literary works at the time, the speaker said that the line of Boileau
might be applied to him,
"'Pour lui, Phoebus est sourd et Pegase est retif.'
"At that time, Mr. Frechette had not reached the heights of Helicon,
nor attained the regions wherein the 'Boreal Flowers' are gathered and
the 'Snow Birds' fly, but the little flowers he gathered in more
modest fields had around them the perfume of genuine poetry, and the
emerald, ruby and topaz of art already shone in the dainty plumage of
his summer birds. Mr. Frechette published in a small journal in
manuscript, called L'Echo, of which Judge Taschereau was then
editor in the Seminary, the first efforts of his muse. This souvenir
of the past is now very precious to me, said the speaker, because it
enables me to state that I was the first editor of our poet's works.
Judge Taschereau further alluded to the time when, with Mr. Frechette,
he studied law, that dry study, and though the poet was thus devoted
to the goddess Themis, he nevertheless found time to worship at the
shrine of song. How could the poet do otherwise? His fame had already
gone abroad. The journals of the country were already publishing his
sonnets, odes and songs. His acrostics were sought after to grace the
albums of fair ladies.
