Page:Every Woman's Encyclopedia Volume 1.djvu/654

 LADY OF QUALITY 628 General's wife may have to entertain in a very informal manner. , If her Excellency is wise she does not miss such opportunities, for the men and Women Who are nobly doing the pioneer Work of our Empire in building up new towns and cities have the right to an equal considera- tion With the old famiUes of Quebec and Ottawa. It is a red-letter day in their toiUng lives to have an opportunity of seeing the representatives of the CroWn freshly arrived from the dear Homeland. Lady Aberdeen, during her husband's Governor-Generalship, 1893-98, made a point of visiting the small towns and isolated places, and passed many nights in the huts of lonely settlers. She felt great admiration for the colonial wives and mothers, many of them gently bred, who were cheerfully toiling to build up the homes of the Empire. Official Life The life of the Governor-General's wife has three main divisions — ^the winter and parliamentary season at Government House, Ottawa ; spring and summer sojourns at the Citadel, Quebec ; and a period devoted to exploring the interesting parts of the colony, and accompanying his Excellency on his tours to the distant parts of the Dominion. Visits are also paid to Montreal, Toronto, and the other chief cities in the provinces, where she meets the lieutenant-governors and their wives, and takes part in social functions. With the first fall of snow, her Excellency and family don the fur-lined garments, seal- skin headgear, fur gloves, and moccasins with which to face the rigours of the Canadian winter. " Our Lady of the SnoWs " is a little sensitive on the matter of climate, so her Excellency must not appear to be in terror of the frost-bite, and must cheerfully go through multitudinous Wrappings and under- wrappings when she goes to church. The Canadian climate is delightfully exhilarating if severe. To quote Kipling : " There was once a small boy of Quebec, Who was buried in snow to the neck, When asked, ' Are you friz ' ? He replied, ' Yes, I is ; But we don't call this cold in Quebec' " Her Excellency's winter seasons are enlivened by parties for every kind of ice sport. Tobogganing parties by torchlight are a favourite pastime at Government House, where there is a magnificent run, made during the governor - generalship of the Duke of Argyle, 1878-83, the Princess I^ouise being particularly fond of the sport. Then there are ice carnivals, skating parties, bewitching sleigh drives, curHng matches, which delight the Scottish part of Canadian society, and expeditions in snow-shoes over the illimit- able white expanses. Her Excellency is sure to find some form of recreation in which she can share the general hilarity of the season. Lady Minto, during her term in Canada, 1 898-1904, was particularly popular as an adept in all kinds of ice sports, even to the less known recreation of ice sailing. Never were there gayer winter seasons than during her reign. Her Excellency has a curious experience at the New Year's reception, for the ladies stay at home, and only the gentlemen come to pay their respects at Government House. With the spring, the parliamentary season begins with a Cabinet dinner on the eve of the opening of Parliament in Ottawa. Next day her Excellency accompanies the Governor-General to the State opening of Parliament, and sits to the left of the throne in the Senate Chamber, on each side of Which are rows of ladies in full dress. The Senators occupy the floor of the House, and the galleries are filled to the ceiling. The Com- mons attend to hear the Speech from the throne, which is read first in English and then in French. Her Excellency is now at the height of her social entertainments, and dinners ; recep- tions and balls follow in quick succession. In March the great Drawing Room is held in the ParHament Buildings. The Governor- General and her Excellency stand by the throne with the Ministers about them ; the wives of the Ministers pass their Excellencies first, next those of the Senators, and then follows " all the world." During residence in Quebec, her Excel- lency's entertainments derive colour from the French element. Roman CathoUc arch- bishops, bishops, and grands vicaires attend in full ecclesiastical dress, most gorgeous and resplendent. Her Excellency's progress from the Citadel to pay State visits to institutions such as the Universite Laval are accompanied by much ceremony. A Curious Privilegre At Quebec the Governor-General has some privileges of the old kings of France, one of which is the right to enter cloistered con- vents. Her Excellency is admitted along With him for the nuns to be presented, but should she go alone she can only speak to them through the convent grating. The third phase of her Excellency's hfe, that of travelling about the Dominion, is of great pleasure and interest, and may be as full of adventure as she is inclined to make it. There are the campings-out in primeval forests, the visits to Indian wigwams, and the fishing expeditions, which Princess Louise so greatly enjoyed, and there are the visits to the lakes, the first sight of Niagara and of the rolling prairies, and those long railway journeys through the Wonderful scenery of the Rockies, where her Excellency may, if of adventurous spirit, ride on the cow- catcher of the engine as Queen Mary — then Duchess of York — and Lady Minto did, during the Royal colonial tour. Lady Grey" has endeared herself to all classes in the Dominion during her five years of residence. In 191 1, however, she will be succeeded by the Duchess of Connaught, whose tour in South Africa will be a fitting prelude to the position of Governor-General's wife in Canada.