Page:New Brunswick Magazine Issue 1.djvu/403

Sieur of La Verdure, a title somewhat analogous to that of Laird in Scotland, identifying him with the gentry or petite noblesse of France, or certainly a position higher than that of the ordinary peasant, artisan or soldier. His high authority as Captain Commandant of the garrison corresponded with the social rank indicated by his title. D'Aulnay would never select one of Sir William's humble Scotch followers, but rather a well educated and well bred Frenchman, as tutor and guardian of his children.

2. The Abbé Sigogne is my authority for the assertion that Melançon (c cedilla) was the old and correct spelling of the name, although the "s" being idem sonans is permissible.

3. Names ending in "son" by no means bear unmistakable evidence of being of British or Scandinavian origin, for there are hundreds of French names with that terminal syllable not connected either in origin or meaning with the ordinary English or Tuetonic "son" or "sen".

4. The termination referred to came into use to form a patronymic, by adding it to ordinary Christian or given names of parents: so Danielson, English, Danielsen, Danish, son of Daniel; Johnson, English, Jansen, Dutch, for son of John; Thomson, for Thomas' son; Nicholson, for Nicholas' son, and the like; but there is no similar Scotch or English name which could have been thus compounded to form Melanson.

5. I have overhauled a Directory of Scotland, and cannot find there any name which could be identified with Melanson or gallicized into that form, although it is easy to imagine the English Coulston, or the Scotch Colinson or Collison assuming among the French the form Colson, or Colleson. The nearest approach to the name Melanson that I could find in the Directory is in the Irish and Scotch Mullan, and McMullin.