It was a sad time in the English Colony when the family left. Personally, we missed them greatly, for we were frequently at the Embassy, our children often played there, and in every way the relationship had been most happy. It was a real pleasure to us to receive several visits from Lady Lytton subsequently in Paris, and to answer her kind enquiries about friends in the Colony.
A change at the Embassy is always, for many reasons, an anxious moment for the English colony. It was with real pleasure that we heard the news that the Earl of Lytton was to be succeeded by the Marquis of Dufferin and Ava, who had been as part of his memorable career both Governor of India and Canada, and whose name was well known to all English people. Lord and Lady Dufferin arrived in Paris in March, 1892.
A hearty welcome was accorded to the Marquis and his family, and it was soon felt that we had in him, not only an Ambassador accredited to the French Republic, but also one who realized his responsibilities to the large Colony of British people always to be found in Paris; and that in this attitude he would be in every way supported by his noble wife. As chaplain to the Embassy Church I was most grateful for the kind reception and encouragement I received from the day of their arrival until their much regretted departure. It was delightful to see the Embassy gallery in church crowded the Sunday after their arrival, and to find they took a lively interest in all religious and philanthropic questions. I was at times during my chaplaincy saddened by the too frequent neglect of the ordinary Church services by the Churchmen on the staff of the Embassy. Why is it that the Diplomatic seems the exception, with respect to a general rule in the public service of at least one attendance at their own Church on Sundays? I had, however, no reason to complain of the attendance during Lord and Lady Dufferin’s time in Paris—the gallery was invariably well filled. I suppose that after all it is in this service, as in others, a matter of example. As is known, the Marquis of Dufferin suffered from deafness in his later years. He used sometimes to bring a book of sermons, which he read while I preached.
COUNTESS OF LYTTON.
The Embassy was practically an open house during this time, and the enthusiasm and devotion of the British Colony remarkable. In May this year a banquet was given in honour of the Queen’s birthday, and was most brilliant. The leading members of the Colony were invited. The banqueting hall was decorated with trophies gathered from many lands, and the table (as always) beautifully arranged with flowers, and some of the many curios the Marquis possessed from Canada, Burmah, India, etc. It was part of my duty to say the Grace on these occasions.
In November of the same year I received a visit from my lamented friend, Lord Plunket, late Archbishop of Dublin, and their Excellencies the Marquis and Marchioness of Dufferin and Ava honoured us by coming to meet him at dinner. The late Canon Meyrick, the Bishop of Clogher, and Père Hyacinthe Loyson were also with us. It was a gathering preliminary to a visit to Spain by Lord Plunket for the consecration of a Reformed Church in Madrid. I have said that the first public act of Lady Dufferin was to open the Bazaar on behalf of the debt on the Church, which she did in a telling little speech, which made a most favourable impression upon all present. But Her Excellency may be said to have been always before the public in Paris. She found time amid the onerous duties of the Embassy to visit the various charitable institutions, and to organize help and give advice wherever needed. I remember on one occasion she came to the meeting of the British Charitable Fund, and sat for a considerable time listening to the various tales of woe that came before us. The applications to Her Excellency from professional beggars were very numerous, but she never gave help without careful enquiry, and I was glad to be of frequent assistance to her in this matter. The Victoria Home for Aged British Women was regularly visited by Lady Dufferin and her daughters, indeed, almost every week, and Her Excellency knew all the inmates and the story of their long life in France. She had no more devoted admirers in the Colony. The Ladies Hermione and Victoria Blackwood were ever welcome, and spared neither time nor trouble to brighten and cheer their lives. Photographs of the Dufferin family hang in many of the rooms, and long after they left the old ladies would make anxious and loving enquiries about them. The Girls’ Friendly Society, as I have stated elsewhere, owes its present prosperous condition to the efforts of Lady Dufferin.
THE MARQUIS OF DUFFERIN AND AVA.