The vision of
life at that period is no doubt unimpeded and clear; its
conditions offer themselves with a certain nakedness and
force, both as to this world and to that which is to
come. The town of Elgin thus knew two controlling
interests--the interest of politics and the interest of
religion. Both are terms we must nevertheless circumscribe.
Politics wore a complexion strictly local, provincial,
or Dominion. The last step of France in Siam, the disputed
influence of Germany in the Persian Gulf, the struggle
of the Powers in China were not matters greatly talked
over in Elgin; the theatre of European diplomacy had no
absorbed spectators here. Nor can I claim that interest
in the affairs of Great Britain was in any way extravagant.
A sentiment of affection for the reigning house certainly
prevailed. It was arbitrary, rococo, unrelated to current
conditions as a tradition sung down in a ballad, an
anachronism of the heart, cherished through long rude
lifetimes for the beauty and poetry of it--when you
consider, beauty and poetry can be thought of in this.
Here was no Court aiding the transmutation of the middle
class, no King spending money; here were no picturesque
contacts of Royalty and the people, no pageantry, no
blazonry of the past, nothing to lift the heart but an
occasional telegram from the monarch expressing, upon an
event of public importance, a suitable emotion.
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