The British Association's Visit to Montreal, 1884 : Letters

by Lady Clara Rayleigh

To the Editor of the "Home News".—

It may be of some interest to your readers to know that we have at present in our midst some distinguished people. Not indeed because they happen to be people of high rank in their own country, but because they represent names standing preeminent in the fields of science on the one side of their house, and on the other a name cherished in every household as the very embodiment of Christian chivalry, that of a veritable soldier of the cross.

The Dowager Lady Rayleigh (mother of Lord Rayleigh, the President of the British Association), is at present the guest of Mr. and Mrs. James Neilson, at their residence, Woodlawn. She is accompanied by her two sons, the Honorables Richard and Hedley Stratt. The former is married to a daughter of Lord Bragbrook, a member of the Cornwallis family. The Dowager Baroness is a sister of Hedley Vicars, the soldier-missionary of the Crimea, a name as well known and honoured in the households of America as those of Great Britain.

The party came out to attend the Scientific Convention of Canada, and have since travelled largely through the great West. They express themselves enthusiastically as to our progress, material as well as intellectual.

We take the occasion to congratulate our English cousins upon the phenomenally fine season which they have selected, and trust that they may remain long enough to enjoy the loveliness of our American autumn and Indian summer.—The Brunswick Daily Home News, Thursday, October 16th, 1884.

LETTER No. 10.

October 25th, Newport, at "Madame Robertson's."

Hedley and I and Gibson came here on Thursday, just to see the place, of which I had heard so much, and to acknowledge the offered civilities of some of the people there. We left Dick at Boston not very well, and indeed, I have been quite a wretch lately. Wednesday morning, E—- brought Professor Pickering, and he asked us to join John and E—- at his Observatory, and at a party given afterwards by Mrs. Pickering, so at 3.30 we set off all in a tram, and Professor Pickering met us about a mile from the house, and a carriage took us to the Observatory, where we saw curious things, and above all, the crescent moon, through a powerful telescope, which, oddly enough, I had never seen before. Mrs. Pickering had a large gathering, and I was introduced to quantities of people, some very nice looking and English in tone and manner. In this part of America one would scarcely know that you were not living among the present generation of English transported across the Atlantic quite recently; the manners of the coloured servants are very objectionable, and the porters of the cars quite odious; they march up and down, even in the more select Pulman cars, slam the doors, awakening one out of a much needed doze, and throw themselves down on the chairs and pick their teeth! "Dressed in a little brief authority, they strut before High Heaven," and make one wish they had never been evolved but remained altogether apes. The waiters at hotels are often pleasant enough, but the dislike of the white Americans to domestic service has given a monopoly of this employment to the coloured people, (shared in many parts by the Irish), and they give themselves airs accordingly. Dr. Wendel Holmes, of literary celebrity, was at the Pickerings, and I had a short talk with him, but as every minute some new introduction came off, I could never have a pleasant chat with any one. Mrs. Horsford, who was giving a large evening party, asked us to go there, and the Pickerings wanted me to stay with them till the time arrived, but I was not equal to this exertion, and we three returned in trams, which ought to be called crams, for they are invariably in that condition. I was also asked to join John and E—- with a party going to a place called Beverly, but I decided to come here, as people were expecting us, and we arrived about ten minutes to three, and I found cards and notes, asking me to lunch and dine, and drive, and my landlady said the bell had been ringing all the morning, and the whole place was in excitement about our coming and its frequent delays! I got a carriage (it was too late to lunch out or drive), and left some cards and notes of explanation, and as we were leaving one at Mrs. Belmont's, she drove up in a well appointed drag, so we got out, and I found her a fair and light little person, very nice, and wonderfully young looking. She then drove us in her beautiful park phaton to Mrs. Bruen's, where there was an afternoon party for my benefit—such a charming old lady! I told her I had a mother of eighty-one, and she said "Oh I am more than that, but no one knows my age, and I don't think about it, but am ready when the call comes." I have heard since, she is past ninety! She is small and thin, full of life and interest in everything, and her brains as active as ever,—seems to have known every one of interest. I went there again to tea-dinner last evening, and we talked about everything and everybody under Heaven nearly! Her clever daughter and very pretty grand-daughter, Miss Perkins, have read widely, and our subjects of discussion were endless. Of course at the afternoon party there were numbers of people, and they told me they were quite delighted at my arrival, for the place was very dull now, and it was quite an excitement! Last evening a Professor Shields was at Mrs. Bruen's, and gave me his book on "Science and Faith." I have had three invitations to dine to-day, which, of course I had to decline. To go on with yesterday's journal, we lunched with a Mrs. Bell, and met there Miss Perkins and another nice young lady, and a queer specimen, a Mr. W—-, who travels about the Continent with eight children, and aggravated me by saying he was more at home in France than in England. We had several made up dishes, chiefly fish, but little I could eat! Three children came down afterwards and were made very much of, as usual; then Mrs. Belmont called for us in her barouche, and took us a delightful drive by the sea, but it was very cold, and as I had not brought my only warm wrap to Newport, I borrowed a seal skin jacket from Mrs. Bell; I find I have only brought one gown that I could have well done without, but I should be glad of two or three more things.

This place is something like Ryde, with numbers of villas, which in summer weather have beautiful lawns and gardens, and are filled with all the smart people from New York and Boston, &c.; in the season, they say it is wonderfully pretty and gay, and the few people remaining are so sorry I did not see Newport in all its glory, but I can guess what it would be, and I should dislike the kind of life they lead and the intense frivolity and absence of any kind of occupation, excepting dressing and flirtation! I think the cream had been left behind. This morning Professor Shields took us a drive to the two Beaches, two little bays with bathing sands, and then we drove to Miss Mason, who lives in a very pretty villa with her sister, and is very rich, and we all walked together to the Cliff, where there is a fashionable promenade, with rocks and sea on one side and green turf and the villas with their gardens all open on the other. If any one has a pretty house or place here it is all exposed to the public gaze, and even use, a great deal! We then drove to Mrs. Bruen's, where Hedley and I lunched. I am surprised to find how fresh the memory of my brother Hedley still remains in the minds of people, who I thought would have been too young to have heard of him at the time of his death, or too old to remember now what they had heard and read. Miss Mason and her friend spoke about him with such real feeling, and said they had been brought up on his "memoirs." Mrs. Bruen and her family, and Professor Shields and many others speak to me as if I was quite a friend, because of my relationship to Hedley! Isn't this curious after thirty years? They all asked about Lucy, and were so romantic as to be rather distressed that she had ever married; but I told them what a good man her husband was, and that she was so active and useful, and that it would have been a great pity if she had been lost as a wife and mother, &c. Mrs. Bruen, among other things, spoke of spiritualism, and said she knew from personal experience there was much truth in it. A relation and intimate friend was a powerful medium, and many extraordinary things, such as moving of furniture, (heavy chairs and tables, &c.) and raps, &c., took place under circumstances which made imposition impossible, there being frequently no one present but Mrs. Bruen and her two daughters and this lady medium. A table at the end of the room would suddenly tilt up and rap. A large dining room table would tilt up, while all the things arranged for dinner on it would remain immovable—the lady not touching it. They all seemed to think that spiritualism had a bad influence, and Mrs. Bruen thinks bad spirits are at work. She is a wonderful old lady, past ninety, but full of energy and interest, moving large trees and making alterations constantly in her house and garden. She kissed me at parting, and I said "I shall tell my mother what a charming old lady you are," and she said, "give her my kind regards, and tell her how glad I was to see you." Well, at last with many hand-shakes and all talking at once, we parted, and I met Gibson at the station, and we returned to Boston yesterday, October 25th. I am now writing to you on Sunday from the Hotel Brunswick. Last evening Dick was out when we arrived, with Evelyn at a concert, for which I had tickets, but I was too tired to go; this morning we went to hear Dr. P. Brooks, the great preacher who everyone was raving about last spring in London, (or was it last year?) his church is like a great temple, or public hall, and cost [pound symbol]180,000. Mr. Winthrop gave us his pew, so we were well placed, and as he is very rapid and not very loud, the strain to hear his discourse would have been very great if we had not been near. "In such an hour as ye think not, the Son of Man cometh." Christ comes to us in many ways, and through the long ages of the Old Testament and Christian dispensations he has been continually shewing Himself,—all great events and promises have partial fulfilments,—little milleniums have taken pace, and heavenly Jerusalems have been raised in many a church, in many a gathering of God's people,—all foreshadowing the Great Event which, will bring God to man. Then he went on about a King Idea, the ruling object in every profession, in every life; how the best of that idea,—justice in a lawyer, holiness in a clergyman, and so on,—was brought home and revealed at times with great power. The reformations and revivals in the world are the coming in this sense. He spoke of unconscious love and devotion: that many a person thinks because they cannot always feel Christ present and cannot consciously recognize that they act for Him in their daily life, that they do not love or serve Him; they have given themselves to Him, but it seems as if He was forgotten while their daily work and employments press Him out. All the time, as with earthly love and care, the heart is full of Him, and every now and then strong religious exercises or unusual events excite the mind; He comes to it in full power, and then they recognize their Lord. Some of the sermon struck me as too abstract, but it was very suggestive; the music, too, was beautiful. He is a large stout man with fine well-cut features and beautiful expression. Coming out we met John and E—- and the Pickerings, who had been elsewhere. I think they are both tired of America, at least E—- is, and John wants to get to his work! I am not tired of Americans, but I could not live in this country; the system political is to me odious, much of the social system ditto; and the society is so disunited, so patchy, so apparently without bonds of union or common interests, the life they lead so dull and without the charms of society at home, and yet there are many as nice and clever and good as we can find anywhere. I dare say the missionary and charitable organizations, and educational institutions, &c., give some interest and occupation to the energetic and pious ones, but there cannot be much of what we call parish work, or care of the poor, though there are plenty of poor in the large cities, and much distress as in older countries. Mrs. Bruen gave me Lowell's discourse on "The Democracy," which he delivered lately in Birmingham, and asked me for my candid opinion, without regard to her politics. So I said, "candid I shall be, and first of all being devoted to my country's old constitution, the democracy has to me a very unpleasant sound; by that I mean the Government of the many and from below, and that form of Government to me is highly objectionable. I think with Carlyle, that God meant the rulers of the world to be those men best fitted by their education and occupations and experiences to cope with the immense difficulties which encompass good government. So you see, I can't agree with much Lowell says, but some things are very good and I have ventured to mark them," upon which she handed the paper to Professor Shields, and told him to read it, and tell her what I had marked at a future time, as she wanted to go on talking! I found Professor Shields quite agreed with me when discussing the matter next day, but he said, "we can't help ourselves now, take care you don't get into the same difficulties." Mrs. Bruen made me give a resume of all the reasons why the Lords opposed the passing of the Franchise Bill until the Redistribution Bill appeared. I must stop. We have been to hear Dr. Brooks again, this time un-written and not so interesting.

Monday, 27th.—After writing the foregoing yesterday, we went to dine, and then John called and spent nearly two hours chatting. They had been to lunch at the Lowell's (relations of the Minister in England), and leave to-day at one o'clock for New York, and on the first start in the Germanica for England. I think we are all glad we are not going to Japan, &c., as I have just written to Mrs. Neilson, "the old country suits my aged inside the best." I told her I thought the people about New Brunswick and Boston were especially delightful. "After this," I added, "you will, perhaps, think me impertinent if I say they seem to me so English! but after all, you came from us, and it only shows you have kept the stock pure, while we have in many cases adopted a spurious Americanism in our ways and speech." Since I wrote this, Mrs. Perkins, a married daughter of dear Mrs. Bruen, and a masterful kind of person, has called on me, and upon my making some such remark as the foregoing, she exclaimed, "I don't like that at all! Before the war we used to like being taken for English, but now we don't,—How would you like to be taken for an American?" "Well," I replied, "we don't speak of the mother being like the child; whether you like it or not you are English by descent, and are our cousins at least." Dick asked her afterwards, "What do you wish to be thought?" "An American, of course." "Please tell me then how you describe an American?" We could not get her to do so; in fact, nothing pleases the set-up creatures, for if we judge of them by the Western or Southern, or even Central Americans, they exclaim at our injustice, and if we judge by these New England States, they are indignant at being thought English! This, I believe, is only a pretence, however, and that in their hearts they are fond of England, and justly proud of the relationship and likeness. Certainly the New Englanders are conceited and bumptious, and in this also they keep up their British characteristics. They want to lose their State distinctions (which their patriot Washington was so anxious to guard), and become one great nation, centralizing everything, which, indeed, seems the rage everywhere. The Democrats are more conservative and really liberal, and I trust Cleveland will get elected as President, for there are many independent Republicans (Bolters, they call them,) who will vote for him, knowing that Blaine would be a disgrace to their country; he is a plausible rogue, and respectable people of all opinions almost acknowledge it. Mr. and Mrs. Winthrop called (I have a nice sitting-room now), and we are to drive there and lunch with them to-morrow. Mrs. Lowell also called, and gave us the Republican view of things, being a strong Anti-Democrat; told us that the Southerners, by arguments of personal fear, made the negroes vote against the Republicans, who they would otherwise support, according to her story. So much, if true, for the freedom of American voters! Speaking of sea sickness when crossing the Atlantic, she said that like (someone else) she thought she should die the first day, and was afraid she should_n't_ the second day. Mr. Baillie Hamilton spoke to us at luncheon to-day; he has invented a new kind of organ, and is perfecting it here, and hopes to make it a good commercial business in New York, and then go home and marry Lady Evelyn Campbell. We liked him very much, and wish him all success. Mr. Perkins called, and we all went to the Archaeological Museum, which is an entertainment I am unworthy of, as I don't understand Art, china, or lace, or embroidery, or statuary, and only know what I like; but Mr. Perkins wasted a great deal of valuable information upon me. After this, we all walked to the common with Mr. Hamilton; he told us that he had worked for months in a factory at Worcester, near this, in his shirt sleeves, no man knowing him, and he thinks highly of the American workmen in these parts. They are kind and noble under their too independent and rough exterior, and that is my own impression; but still I detest the system which has taught them that respect and politeness are servile and unmanly, and that domestic service is a disgrace. I had the pleasure of receiving your letter of 15th October this morning, and am so glad you can use your hand more. I don't think any of your letters are missing, but, without conceit, mine are of more value, as those to you are my only journal, and I should forget so many things if I had not these letters to refer to on returning home. Now I must finish this. Mr. Hamilton is talking while I am writing, and we shall see him at New York on the 3rd, Hotel Brunswick. You will probably only have one more letter from America. I am better, but still rather queer.