A Man Worth Knowning

A MAN OF LETTERS WE SHOULD KNOW - IN THE HISTORY OF OUR FAIR TOWN

AUTHOR, HISTORIAN, LITERARY CRITIC - A CIVIL SERVANT

     "WHEN COUNT FRONTENAC LANDED AT QUEBEC, IN THE MONTH OF SEPTEMBER, 1672, TO ADMINISTER THE GOVERNMENT OF CANADA OR, AS IT WAS MORE GENERALLY CALLED, NEW FRANCE, THE COUNTRY HAD BEEN FOR A PERIOD OF A LITTLE OVER SIXTY YEARS UNDER CONTINUOUS FRENCH RULE. THE PERIOD MAY, INDEED, BE LIMITED TO EXACTLY SIXTY YEARS IF WE TAKE AS THE STARTING POINT THE COMMISSION ISSUED TO SAMUEL DE CHAMPLAIN, ON THE 15TH OF OCTOBER 1612, AS 'COMMANDER IN NEW FRANCE,' UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF THE COUNT DE SOISSONS, WHO HAD BEEN APPOINTED BY THE QUEEN REGENT, MARIE DE MEDICIS, AS LIEUTENANT-GENERAL OF THAT TERRITORY. WHAT HAD BEEN ACCOMPLISHED DURING THOSE SIXTY ODD YEARS? HOW HAD THE COUNTRY DEVELOPED, AND WHAT WERE THE ELEMENTS OF THE SITUATION WHICH CONFRONTED FRONTENAC ON HIS ARRIVAL? ANSWERS TO THESE QUESTIONS MAY BE GATHERED, IT IS HOPED, FROM THE FOLLOWING BRIEF INTRODUCTORY NARRATIVE."
     "The territorial claims of France in the gulf valley of the St. Lawrence were founded on the discoveries made in the name of the French king, Francis I, by that brave Breton mariner, Jacques Cartier, in the celebrated voyages undertaken by him in the years 1534 and 1535. An attempt at colonizaton made in the latter year, the site chosen being the left bank of the St. Charles near Quebec, failed miserably; nor were similar attempts made in 1541 by Cartier and in 1542 by Roberval any more successful. Cartier did not again return to Canada, and all efforts in the direction of colonization were suspended for sixty years, though French fishermen continued to visit the Gulf of St. Lawrence. In the year 1603 a notable figure appears upon the scene, Samuel Champlain, the true founder of French power on the continent of America."
     I love when historians have, in the past, referred to William Dawson LeSueur as a postal authority, without even a wee footnote to explain something a little more about this brilliant man of letters, who yes, was also a civil servant during the work week. It was LeSueur who wrote the passages above, in his well respected biography for the Makers of Canada series, on "Count Frontenac," published in 1910 by Morang & Co., of Toronto. DR. LeSueur, of course, was the postal authority in charge of granting and naming new post offices in the fledgling country, and it was his handiwork that gave us the name "Gravenhurst," instead of what the citizens had asked for........McCabe's Landing. There was no reason given, why LeSueur ruled-out the chosen name, and very thin information on why he selected "Gravenhurst" instead, to adorn the post office in August, 1862. With the background we have on LeSueur today, we know he was also a respected literary critic, and his articles on authors, books, and current literature, were published in many periodicals and other magazines. William Henry Smith had just published his book, "Gravenhurst; or Thoughts on Good and Evil," in 1862, and LeSueur was very likely reviewing a copy of the first edition. He must have liked the content of the book, because he borrowed its title. He wasn't the kind to play pranks, so he did this as a tribute to the author, the text, and the hamlet tucked between two lakes in South Muskoka.
     Smith was also a well established literary critic in Britain, working for internationally recognized magazines, such as "Blackwoods," and he reviewed works by many of the world's finest authors. LeSueur would have seen Smith as a colleague and kindred spirit, reviewing the literature of the day and period.
     "William Dawson LeSueur was the most wide-ranging Canadian-born intellectual of his generation. A controversial essayist and historian, who dedicated himself to the spirit of critical enquiry, he probed relentlessly into the dominating concerns of the age of Macdonald and Laurier," wrote biographer A.B. McKillop, in his book, "A Critical Spirit - The Thought of William Dawson LeSueur," published in 1977, part of the Carleton Library Originals.  "This volume contains the major writings of this neglected figure in the intellectual history of Canada: his defense of the intellectual life; his advocacy of  scientific, evolutionary ethics; his indictment of the political morality and popular government of his day; and his application of critical spirit to the writing of Canadian history. LeSueur's work constituted a major response to the transatlantic currents of late nineteenth-century thought."
     "W.D. LeSueur's connection with the Literary and Scientific Society of Ottawa, was also a long one. Almost every year from 1871 until the turn of the twentieth century, LeSueur held an executive position with the group, either as Librarian, Vice President, or (most frequently) President. This long association with an organization dedicated to the joint study of literature and science indicates that while LeSueur's occupation was that of a civil servant, his preoccupations far transcended the normal concerns of the administrator. Much of his biography must therefore be seen as an inner one, for his significant life was primarily, that of the mind," notes McKillop.
    This is the chap who gave our town its name. Two years later, when Bracebridge applied for its post office title, LeSueur tossed out their choice of "North Falls," as being too general and plain, instead awarding them the name, "Bracebridge," taken from the title of a book written by American author, Washington Irving. There were citizens, even up to a few years ago, who were still angry LeSueur had imposed his values on the hamlet. What LeSueur failed to do, of course, was explain the honor he was bestowing, to both Gravenhurst and Bracebridge, both named after accomplished and revered authors. The negative aspect of this, is that the respective communities have long neglected the honors that were bestowed by LeSueur.....particularly so in Gravenhurst where there is very little known about William Henry Smith. I intend to correct this, on the first of August, when I'll present a more complete biography of Smith and some of his better known books. Bracebridge occasionally sponosor a "Christmas at Bracebridge Hall," dinner, with all the trimmings of an English manor-house, as written about by Washington Irving, but it is about 1/ 100th of the potential the literary connection should inspire......even from the business community.
     In Gravenhurst, for example, the Town has acknowledged and supported the celebrations of the 125th anniversary of town incorporation, which is largely a government-milestone. Yet there is no municipal or even postal recognition of the 150th anniversary of the naming of our town.......by a noted author / historian, as a tribute to a well received book and author. By the way, "Gravenhurst; or Thoughts on Good and Evil," is still in demand, and being sold as a reprint at present. It is also on Googlebooks, if you are interested.
     "It would be a great mistake to suppose that the critic finds all the materials for his criticism in the work before him," wrote LeSueur. "Far from it: he has materials in his own mind, derived from his wide experience of human thought; he knows the ways of men, and has grasped so many relations that nothing can touch his mind that does not awaken countless associations and vibrate along a thousand lives. So that in interpreting an author he takes of his own and weaves it in with his presentation of the author's thoughts. To know what critics have done and can do for the illustration of great texts, and the cultivation of the minds of the educated classes, let any one run through a number of volumes of the Revue des Deux Mondes, and try to do justice to a few of the numberless essays that will there be found under such names as De Remusat, Scherer, Janet St. Rene-Tailandier, Renan, Reville, to mention only a few of the more prominent ones. The work of these men is immense, and executed with a faithfulness that is an honor to them and to French letters. Our own Review literature will show the same thing, but in a less striking form. It is not the work of broken-down literary men that we see in such periodicals, but work, in many cases, vastly better than any that the brilliant phrase-maker to whom the sneer to which we allude is due, ever put off his hands.
     "Criticism should be the voice of impartial and enlightened reason. Too often what passes for criticism is the voice of hireling adulation or hirely enmity. Illustrations of this will occur to everyone, but there is no use in blaming criticism, which, as has been said, is an intellectual necessity of the age. The foregoing remarks have been made in the hope that they may help to clear away some prevalent misconceptions by showing the organic connection, so to speak, that exists between criticism as a function, or as a mode of intellectual activity, and the very simplest intellectual processes. Such a mode of regarding it should do away with the odium that in so many minds attaches to the idea of criticism. Let us all try to be critics according to the measure of our abilities and opportunities. Let us aim at seeing all we can, at gaining as many points of view as possible. Let us compare carefully and judge impartially; and we may depend upon it, we shall be the better for the effort."
     When I gave a lecture on LeSueur, at the Muskoka Lake Museum, in Port Carling, some years back, a member of the audience asked what I expected the community should do, to recognize the man who gave Bracebridge and Gravenhurst their names. I answered that, while I didn't expect that a bronze statue would ever be erected to this civil servant, I would think it worth the effort, for local historians to give greater emphasis to this unique heritage, and the amazing literary connections LeSueur provided us in 1862, and 1864 respectively. I do think more should be done to recognize Washington Irving, in Bracebridge, and William Henry Smith, in Gravenhurst......because there are untold benefits of doing so....and cultivating the pride we should possess, having such an international provenance with world literature.
     In Gravenhurst, can the 150th anniversary trump the 125th of incorporation? It should but it won't. Suffice that there will be, at the very least, a little bit more information online, for historians to reference in the future......with nary a cent of public money being used to create the information resource. And, well, I really like this story. We're always searching for connections and attractions to brand our communities, for the visiting public. Here we have an untapped resource, that could, if used correctly, create a nice future connection with the Smith and LeSueur names. It's a long shot, but I'm willing to pitch the idea.
     Thanks so much for joining today's blog tribute to W.D. LeSueur. On August Ist, I will have much more biographical information about William Henry Smith, and show you a contemporary Gravenhurst video, commemorating the 150th anniversary of the naming of our town. Please visit again. I do appreciate your ongoing support.