New-York tribune., 1909-09-26

D@Aoy lao hihto. who for six years was the idol of
'@"S ana OF the whole Dominion. II ever
mere was an example OF tact and felicity in the
discharge OF the duties that fail 20 the wife .,
governor General. Lady Minto's was that ex
ample What need be added To that excant
thst the statement is not compliment but a
'esumony? The Canadian press has paid it's
uloute and there are other tributes. One Is
that In Quebec and Toronto, the capital of the
FFehch Roman Catholic province and the capt.
eat OF the British Protestant province Lady
1'''o was equally popular and equally beloved
IN very literal but strictly correct and con-
Nehuonal sense II may be said that she was a
power In the Dominion. 1 have seen Lady
Minto's welcome in the streets, in the theatre
IN farhament House, the skating rink and
elsewhere, Her unrivalled skill on the ice in
stead of exciting jealousy among a people who
thought themselves pre-eminent in that art
ADDED 10 their liking for her The receptions at
Government House were very interesting-per-
maps sometimes curious. as an example of de-
mocracy undergoing a social evolution In all
the commemorative beyond the seas the same
process presume. may be studied. When Lady
Carrington issued three thousand invitations to
reception at Government House in Sydney
lhe limit had perhaps been reached for the time.
AT the White House in Washington the number
OF guests has been even greater So has it at
dorchester House, in London, when the Ameri-
can Ambassador and Mrs. WhiteIaw Reid re-
ceive their compatriots on the afternoon of the
Fourth Of July What is democracy If numbers
are not to count?
There can be no such throng at Government
house in Ottawa, because il is not large
enough perhaps is not quite large enough for
lhe dignity Of the Dominion in these days Of its
amazing growth and ever increasing Importance
Du' ottawa though a fourishing city. is not
great city. II is a compromise capital; the
middle term in which the rivalries Of Quebec
on the one hand and Toronto on the other found
d means OF peace on neutral and central ground.
Whatever their number or whatever the posi-
uon OF her guests Lady Minto had the invalu-
anle art OF putting them ali on equal terms and
at their ease. From her manner you could not
ten whether-intimate friends excepted-the ar
rlVlns guests were or were not personally known
TO her. She had. moreover, the rare art for
which there is, perhaps. no English phrase
art de tenir un salon. II is an art which exists
Tor the most part. whether in London or New
York, potentially. An experiment is tried now
IN one capital, now in the other; not always with
success London has lately seen an example,
Last year and this there were Friday evenings
at one Of the great houses. The first was curl
Gus illustration of possibilities. For an hour or
so people were left pretty much to themselves.
They stood or sat in groups or cliques,
dered about uncertainty. The majority. per-
haps, were known TO each other. but not all.
There a certain stiffness All at once the
hostess perceived that all was going as she
Wished. She quilted the circle OF friends about
-er and took charge. The atmosphere changed
At once. She moved through the rooms. break
ing up little knot of intimates here bringing
people together. sometimes introducing. with
grace, with authority with a complete mastery
Of the art which alone could enliven such a COM
pany and give it the heXbilty it wanted
That might have been Lady Minto but was
not. Lady Minto's task at Ottawa was more
difficult. She had to deal with a more intract-
able material, and she had fewer aides-de-camp.
But. apart from Lady Mintos public services
her popularity due in slight degree to
the clever kindliness with which these social
duties were discharged. She discharged them as
if duties were pleasures, and dare say they
were. G. w S.