Famous Single Poems
One day in the early part of May, 1898, the body of an unknown man was picked up on the streets of Montreal and taken to Notre Dame hospital. There he was found to be suffering from something which was diagnosed as paralysis of the brain. Nothing could be done for him, and he died on the tenth of May without regaining consciousness. There was no clue to his identity, no inquiry had been made for him, and, as was usual in such cases, the body was set aside for dissection.
Meanwhile one of Rose's friends, a merchant at whose shop Rose had been in the habit of stopping almost every day, had been searching for him. The search led finally to the hospital, where the body was discovered, rescued and given burial. Among his papers was found a memorandum directing that, in case of his death, a lawyer by the name of Rose, living in Aberdeen, Scotland, be notified. This was done, and the Scotch lawyer proved to be Rose's son. He came to Montreal at once, reimbursed Rose's friend for the expenses of the funeral, and told the story of his father's life, much as it has been set down here.
So Alexander Macgregor Rose never knew that his name was to survive as the author of one famous poem. Perhaps he would have preferred that it die with him!
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