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Desjardins, Dr. Louis Edouard, Montreal, was born at Terrebonne, on the 10th of September, 1837. According to the “Dictionnaire Généalogique” of l’Abbé Tanguay, his ancestors came to the country more than two hundred years ago. He married Mademoiselle Emilie Zaïde Paré, second daughter of Hubert Paré, a partner in the large commercial firm founded by F. Souligny, one of the most important firms of Montreal at that period. Dr. Desjardins entered upon his classical studies at the College Masson, Terrebonne, and terminated them at the Seminary of Nicolet. After practising medicine in Montreal during seven or eight years, he took a first trip to Europe to study ophthalmology. On his return, a year after, he established at the Hôtel-Dieu, of Montreal, a special department for the treatment of eye diseases. In 1872, he made a second voyage to Europe to complete his ophthalmic studies. He followed the clinics of Bowman and Critchett, in London; and of Giraud-Teulon, Wecker, Sichel and Meyer, in Paris. During his sojourn in London, he was admitted a member of the International Congress of Ophthalmology. When he returned to Montreal in 1873, he founded the ophthalmic institute of the Nazareth Asylum, for the gratuitous treatment of the poor suffering from diseases of the eye, and at the same time to give clinics on those diseases to the medical students. It is the first institution of the kind founded in Montreal. He was one of the founders of the “Société Médicale,” and of the journal L’ Union Médicale, to which he was a contributor for many years. This year (1887), in concert with the Hon. Dr. Pâquet, Dr. Hingston, and Dr. Beausoleil, he founded the Gazette Médicale, of Montreal. Since 1870, he has been surgeon-oculist to the Hôtel-Dieu, and professor of ophthalmology at the School of Medicine and Surgery of Montreal. He is one of the founders and one of the supporters of the newspaper, L’Etendard. He advocated, and was chiefly instrumental in bringing about, the nomination of a Royal Commission, in 1883, to institute an inquiry into the affairs of the Catholic schools of Montreal; and before that commission he energetically took the defence of the fathers of families against the encroachments of the school commissioners of that city. In the difficulties which arose between the School of Medicine (Victoria) and Laval University, from 1876, he took an active part in the struggle the school had to sustain for the maintenance of its rights. In consequence of an erroneous interpretation of the decrees of Rome, in relation to the establishment of Laval at Montreal, the Archbishop of Quebec (now Cardinal Taschereau) and nearly all the bishops of the province of Quebec, undertook to destroy the School of Medicine, in order to give more scope to the Laval branch. The school tried, but vainly, to defend its cause with the episcopacy; and in June, 1883, Mgr. Taschereau fulminated against this institution his famous sentence of rebellion against the church. Dr. Desjardins was then delegated to Rome, to appeal from the sentence. Despite this, the bishops of Montreal, St. Hyacinthe, and Sherbrooke in their turn hurled sentences of excommunication against the professors and pupils of the school, and even against the parents who should continue to send their children to it. Once in Rome, Dr. Desjardins was enabled to lay his appeal at the feet of the Holy Father, and obtained a favourable judgment. The order “Suspende omnia,” was sent by a telegram of the Cardinal-Prefect of the Propaganda to the Bishop of Montreal, on the 24th of August, 1883. In the month of September following, Mgr. Smeulders was delegated by Leo XIII., as Apostolic Commissioner to Canada, with power to definitely settle the difficulties existing between Laval and the school. At the present day the School of Medicine is doing its noble work as in the past, and has more than two hundred pupils.