The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-07-25


had trouble with her servants took up her
complaint against Lady Aberdeen.
An atmosphere of suspicion was thus
created, and nothing she could do was ac-
cepted as 1t was. She was suspected of
being a social reformer, and social reform
is something which is not understood in
Canada. Fortunately there is no social
question as yet in Canada; and unfor-
tunately Canadians are not always able to
where, and that one is not necessarily
crank for holding opinions about the ques-
tons of the day. Canadian society is, like
the society in small towns everywhere,
completely unable to conceive of conditions
existing different from those with which
they are familiar. If other places are diff
ferent, so much the worse for them; the
other places are wrong and to be pitied.
NOT ONE OF THEM
If Lowell had lived in Canada he would
have written a second essay on "A Certain
Condescension Towards foreigners" and
have written it with just that touch of feel
ing which renders the original essay so
human Lady Aberdeen was from the out
side, and she did not sink her individuality
in the customs of the place to which she
had come. Her ideas were novel, therefore
they were both absurd and suspicious; her
conduct was not according to their taste,
therefore she required to be watched and
criticised; the field of her energies was not
confined to the due performance of her
ornamental functions, therefore something
must be wrong. So, during the years Of
her husbands tenure of office Lady Aber-
deem has been under unfriendly surveillance.
If she exercised her gift of speech she was
a wOman'S Fighter; if she attended meet
ing of the Girls Friendly Society she was
dangerous; If she approved Of any temper
ance movement she was worse than the
Woman's Christian Temperance Union
women. She did succeed in organizing
throughout the Dominion a womans coun-
ell, but the members of that body were so
much taken up With explaining their lack
f17 fl7n+
have so far counted for nothing.
1t is true that Lady Aberdeen has been
often indiscreet., She did not understand
the temper of the people with whom she
lived, and insisted on acting according to
standards which they could not understand.
There is little room in Canada for any one
to play the role of social reformer there
is absolutely 10 room for an outsider to
play that role This Lady Aberdeen seems
to have discovered and in consequence to
have turned her philanthropic zeal in the
direction where the greatest need lay. In
her experience on her Western ranch, be
fore and since she occupied Rideau Hall,
she had become aware of the mental desti
tuition of the Canadian farmer, to whom
intellectual and religious privileges are
alike lacking.
INDIsCREET PHRASE.
She determined in part to remedy this
lack, and accordingly wrote to some Eng
fish newspaper appealing for literature
for the backwoods." A more indiscreet
thing she could not have done. There are
two subjects to which no outsider is al
lowed to refer in Canada. The climate is
one, and the backwoods is the other. Rud
yard Kipling tested the fidelity of his Can
adam admirers by "Our Lady of the
Shows" and there was nothing spurious in
the Indignation displayed in Parliament
and in the press at the calumny. They were
hardly willing to admit that there was
winter in Canada, and every born Can
adian, till he has resided elsewhere, is pre-
pared to aver that Canada has the finest
and mildest climate in the world. That
there are backWoods and prairies in Canada
is true, but in the slightest reference to
them from an outsider the Canadian will
detect either sarcasm or a condemnation.
Lady AbeTdeen's appeal was copied into
the Canadian papers and a good deal of
feeling was created about 1t.
The consequence of it all is that Lady
Aberdeen is not trusted. The Ottawa peo-
pie don't like her because she does not cor
respond to their idea of what a governor
generals wife should be and do; and, out
side of Ottawa, she is neither not known or
is known only from such indiscretionS as
the appeal on behalf of the backwoods
which they resent. This mutual misunder-
standing is regretable, for it must have
hampered Lady Aberdeen's movements and
made her stay among us rather an unpleas-
ant incident in her life 1t is at any rate
mainly responsible for the failure of
scheme which would have accomplished
good results, and certainly did honor to the
heart and head of its originator.