For History Buffs Only

William Kirby, (1817 – 1906), was a Canadian author, best known for his novel The Golden Dog. He was born at Kingston upon Hull, England, on October 13, 1817, and came to Canada with his parents in 1832. He settled in Niagara, Upper Canada, in 1839. He married the daughter of John Whitmore, Niagara, and had two sons. For more than twenty years he edited the Niagara Mail. From 1871 to 1895 he was collector of customs at Niagara. In 1883 he became a charter member of the Royal Society of Canada. He died at Niagara on June 23, 1906.

This plaque marks Kirby's house in Niagara-on the-Lake:


We came across the stone below a few years ago while wandering around Quebec City:

"Je suis un chien qui ronge lo En le rongeant je prends mon repos Un temps viendra qui n'est pas venu Que je morderay qui maura mordu."

In 1669, the surgeon Thimothée Roussel moved to the Canardière. He quarrelled with his neighbours and one of them killed his dog. Roussel complained to the Council sovereign. Two years later, in 1688, he built what later became the home of Philibert and installed on the front this bas-relief of the golden dog. The murder of Philibert forms the basis of Kirby's novel.

And now Kirby's house has come on the market. It's one of Niagara-on-the-Lake's oldest homes and has the added bonus of being just down the street from The Nag.