"It is to be hoped, for the honour of the ladies and gentlemen of old Quebec, that 'Asmodeus' was under the malign influence of envy, hatred and all uncharitableness when he wrote those cynical verses. If he wrote the truth we cannot be too thankful that the Chloes and Cleoras are dead and buried. "Who was Miss Hannah MacCulloch? She _was_ a young lady once; and, if we may believe her panegyrist, was a beauty in her day. The acrostic in her honor is anonymous, and occasion is taken in the course of it to almost mention some other young ladies by the way of making a climax of her charms. The poet seems to have been inspired by indignation at the insinuations of 'Asmodeus,' for he begins thus. "'Muses, how oft does Satire's vengeful gall Invoke your powers to aid its bitter sting,' and then he prefers his own claims to the favor of the Nine "'Sure you will rather listen to my call, Since beauty and Quebec's fair nymphs I sing' "It seems his petition was heard, for he forthwith begins his laudation: "'Henceforth Diana in Miss S--ps--n see, As noble and majestic is her air, Nor can fair Venus, W--lc--s, vie with thee, Nor all her heavenly charms with thine compare. "'Around the B--ch--rs Juno's glory plays, Her power and charms in them attract our praise Minerva, who with beauty's queen did vie And patronized all the finer arts, Crowned the McN--ls with her divinity, Crowned them the queens of beauty and of hearts. "'Unto fair F--m--n now I turn my song, Lovely in all she says, in all she does, Lo! to her toilet see each goddess throng, One cannot all, but each a charm bestows Could all these beauties in one female be, _Her_ whom I sing would be the lovely she.' "This effusion provoked more criticism than many a book of poetry is subjected to nowadays, and the censors were in their turn criticized by others. Montreal even took part in this literary tournament. But we are left in the dark as to its effect on the spirits, tempers or destinies of Miss MacCulloch and her sister belles. "It would seem that the author was a young clerk or merchant of Quebec, as one of the critics spitefully tells him not to desert his shop. The ladies themselves do not escape, one writer suggesting that they are coquettish enough already without making them more so. The Montreal correspondent is warned off as an intruder, and told that he had better have saved his ninepence of postage money. Just imagine this silly acrostic furnishing gossip for Quebec and matter for the _Gazette_ for two months!