as Viceroy of her Majesty under the first Home Rule administration which had existed in Great Britain.

The situation in Dublin when Lord and Lady Aberdeen began their viceroyalty was almost one of unexampled difficulty. Lord and Lady Carnarvon, who had been their predecessors in the Castle, had shown their appreciation of the Irish character and disposition by dispensing with the menacing machinery of military escorts and had thrown themselves heart and soul into the work of promoting the material interests of Ireland. Unfortunately, Lord Carnarvon's statesmanlike projects for the pacification of Ireland met with but scant sympathy from Lord Salisbury. The situation between the Castle and Downing street had been aggravated by the reactionary policy of the Ministry until at last in despair Lord Carnarvon resigned, and when on his way to London received the news of the fall of the Ministry. Mr. Gladstone came in. Without the Home Rulers he had no majority in the House of Commons. He, however, declared himself in favor of Home Rule, hoping to make up on the Irish vote the defections which he knew he would have to expect on the part of the Whigs and Radical Unionists. The Irish, although delighted at the demonstration which this afforded of the power of their Parliamentary vote, were sullen and suspicious. They had had but too recent an experience of what they called the Grand Old Coercionist for them to trust Mr. Gladstone further than they could see him. Most of the leaders of the men upon whose shoulders he was now returning to power had been imprisoned by him during the administration of Mr. Foster or Lord Spencer. Men who have just come out of jail are inclined to apply the maxim about doubting the gift-bearing Greeks to their former jailer. Mr. Morley's appointment as Chief Secretary, so far as it went, was accepted as a pledge of sincerity, but the Irish knew little of Lord Aberdeen and they knew a great deal about the Castle of which he was the latest occupant. There was, therefore, no popular demonstration when Lord and Lady Aberdeen began their viceroyal duties. The popular party in Ireland stood askance, boycotting the castle as they had boycotted it for years past; and as the Loyalists, so-called, regarded the new administration as a band of traitors and renegades, the lot of the new Viceroy was anything but a happy one.

From this position of isolation they were rescued by a happy experience which turned the tide, and was the first conspicuous act that notified to the Irish people the change which had come over the spirit of their British rulers. There was in that year a great distress in the west of Ireland, and the Castle had, of course, official intimation of the sufferings of the poorer cottagers on the Atlantic coast. The ordinary method by which relief is obtained is by a meeting in the Mansion House, called and presided over by the Lord Mayor. It has been the curse of the system in Ireland that the Lord Mayor of Dublin and the Viceroy of the Queen at the Castle have held aloof from each other. The Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans, neither have the patriots of the Mansion

'House anything to do with the courtiers at the Castle. On this occasion, however, a private communication was sent from the Castle to the Lord Mayor, Mr. T. D. Sullivan, the poet, patriot and genial chief magistrate, to suggest the calling of a meeting in order to devise means for relieving the distress, and he received a further intimation from the Castle to the effect that although his Excellency could not attend as Lord Lieutenant he would be very glad to be present in his capacity as a citizen resident in Dublin. Mr. Sullivan, one of the best hearted men in the world, who was acquainted with the high character and sterling sincerity of the Viceroy, was very glad indeed to receive the intimation, but just a trifle anxious to know how the bhoys would take it. As there is no omelet without breaking of eggs, their Excellencies carried it through. Every individual whom they consulted, including all the authorities, opposed their action. They were warned that they would be hissed, that they would begin their viceroyalty with a slap in the face which they would never get over, and that the one thing which they should avoid above everything was the running of any risks. To all of which advice, although couched in the most diplomatic way and pressed upon them with the greatest authority, they turned a deaf ear. It was an inspiration, and they did well to act upon it. The news had got abroad that the Castle was going to visit the Mansion House, and an immense crowd was gathered in the neighborhood to see the viceregal carriages. In Dublin the representative of Her Majesty keeps up the tradition of royal state much more than in the more democratic colonies. On this occasion the Viceroy drove through the streets of Dublin to the chief magistrate of the city with the usual carriage and four, with postilions and outriders. It was a critical moment when the carriage drove up in front. of the door of the Lord Mayor's official residence, and the Viceroy and his wife, in their capacity of citizens, descended to attend a meeting summoned to consider the distress in the west of Ireland. It seemed to those who were present as if the crowd quivered and hesitated, not knowing whether to hiss or to cheer, when suddenly one of the bhoys gave rein to the exuberance of his enthusiasm and broke out into a hearty cheer. Another second and all suspense was at an end. Amid a roar of cheers, the like of which had never been heard behind a Viceroy in recent years, Lord Aberdeen made his way into the meeting hall. The climax of the proceedings was reached when Lord Aberdeen requested to be introduced to Michael Davitt. When the one-armed ex-Fenian convict grasped the hand of Lord Aberdeen there was a public pledge given and recognized of all men of the alliance of the Irish democracy and all that was best in the popular party in Britain.

The Unionists, of course, were scandalized that a representative of the Queen should shake hands with a man who had done his term of penal servitude in Portland prison, but all men, irrespective of party, who knew the high character and stainless life of Michael Davitt rejoiced that such typical representa

tives of the two races should have publicly exchanged the right hand of fellowship before the eyes of the two nations. From that moment everything went well with them in Dublin. A strange and what appeared to most Irishmen an incredible thing took place. Dublin Castle, so long the symbol of an alien dominion, became the headquarters of the Nationalist movement. Lady Aberdeen, remembering her Irish descent from the O'Niells, threw herself heart and soul into developing the industries of Ireland. As a rule, the Scotch get on better with the Irish than the English do. This is curious, as the Scotch are far more reserved than their Southern neighbors, but as a matter of fact even the dourest Presbyterian Scot manages to get along better with his Irish Catholic neighbor than an Englishman in the same circumstances. Everything that Lord and Lady Carnarvon had tried to do the Aberdeens took up and did with the greater force and vigor that comes of conscious reliance upon popular enthusiasm. The six months which they passed in Ireland were among the best in Irish history, a kind of glorious summer day out of due season, but heralding the sunshine to come. Over at Westminster the Home Rule bill, framed upon the fatally false foundation of excluding the Irish from the Imperial Parliament, staggered heavily downward. Even at the eleventh hour the bill might have been saved if the exclusion of the Irish members had been frankly abandoned, but Mr. Morley willed it otherwise, and the Government marched to its doom. After the fatal decision was taken there was a dissolution which resulted in the return of a large Unionist majority. Then the hour came when Dublin Castle had to give up its pleasant occupants and the brief break in the long tradition of repression and distrust came to an end. It was not until that day of leave taking that the Aberdeens themselves or the public had any adequate conception of the degree of passionate personal enthusiasm and devoted loyalty which they had succeeded in six short months in creating in the capital of Ireland. The whole of Dublin city turned out to give the Viceroy

and his wife a national Irish farewell. As they drove from the Castle down to the station, through streets filled with cheering and weeping crowds, it was evident even to the most cynical observer that the popular heart had been touched to its depths. Everywhere in the streets, banners were waving and flags flying, and strangest of all, for the first time in recent years, the Irish National Band played" God Save the Queen." It was a great moment, and one which made the heart swell high with pride and gratitude that such an outburst of popular sympathy had been brought about by the simple talisman of helpful sympathy and profound respect. For the Aberdeens had learned to love the Irish people with a whole-hearted devotion which touched that emotional and appreciative people to the quick. They saw in Lady Aberdeen especially one who was more Irish than the Irish themselves, and the enthusiasm and loyalty which her presence elicited did more to reveal possibilities for the pacification of Ireland than all the administrations of all the politicians. When the cheering crowds had shouted their last farewell and the viceregal party were steaming towards Holyhead they had the consolation of feeling that even if the ship had gone to the bottom they had not spent their lives in vain. But the ship did not go to the bottom, and the viceroyalty of Ireland may be said to have been the entrance leading up to their future history. They had arrived, and henceforth their position among the first half dozen families in the Empire was clear.

IV. THE COUNTESS OF ABERDEEN.

In the foregoing pages repeated reference has been made to Lady Aberdeen. I must now deal for a brief space with one who might well afford a subject for a separate sketch. Lady Aberdeen is the daughter of Sir Dudley Coutts Marjoribanks, since created Lord Tweedmouth, of a staunch old Whig Border family, and who himself represented the "good town of Berwick-on-Tweed" for thirty years as a Liberal. The family seat is in Berwickshire, but

little Ishbel's home was in Guisachan in Invernesshire. It was a wild and romantic spot. The country seat nestled at the head of a lovely mountain strath twenty-three miles from the nearest railroad station or telegraph office. In this mountain solitude the young girl grew up a strong and sturdy Scotch lassie, passionately fond of reading and of the vigorous outdoor life of the mountain child.

Her father, the son of the well-known Mr. Edward Marjoribanks (who up to the age of ninety-four transacted all the heavy duties falling to the lot of the senior partner of such a bank as Coutts'), combined with his hereditary business instincts strong literary and artistic tastes and a passion for everything that pertained to sport and natural history. It was this which led him in early manhood to settle himself in the wilds of Invernesshire, and there to create a very paradise, in the midst of which he lives the life of an ancient patriarch amongst his retainers and his ghillies, to the great benefit of all the glen.

Lady Tweedmouth, a woman of great beauty and talent, was the daughter of Sir James Hogg, one of the mainstays of the old East India Council, and many members of her family can boast in recent years of having maintained in the service of their country in India the high traditions of their combined Scottish and Irish ancestry.

With such a host and hostess and in such surroundings "Guisachan" became renowned in all the North of Scotland for its wide hospitality, and every autumn found gathered beneath its roof prominent politicians of both parties, artists, literary men, sportsmen. Thus it naturally came about that between the annual six months' Parliamentary season in London and the circle of friends visiting her Highland home the little Ishbel was brought into contact with most of the leading men of the day, riding and walking in their company, listening to their stories and mutual reminiscences, and imbibing all unconsciously a strong Liberal bias, which presently blossomed into full force under the friendly influences of Mr. Gladstone.

Another result of her youthful surroundings was to accustom her to free intercourse with persons of

LADY ISHBEL.

very various religious creeds. In her native glen the great majority of the people were Celtic, Roman Catholics, whilst the minority consisted of strong Free Church folk, with a sprinkling of adherents of the Auld Kirk, amongst which were her own family. She and her white pony were at home amongst them all, and many were the stories she heard and the sympathies that were evoked as she learned to spin or bake "cakes" by the side of the old Highland "wifies," or to watch for the deer and the grouse with her father's gamekeepers. It is curious to note how these early experiences trained the young girl for her future connection with the Roman Catholic and Presbyterian populations of Ireland, and it is a strange coincidence that circumstances should have accustomed both Lord and Lady Aberdeen from childhood to follow the example of the Queen in being mem

bers of both Presbyterian and Episcopalian churches, according as they resided in Scotland or in England.

God fanned her with His ripening looks,

And heaven's rich instincts in her grew

As effortless as woodland nooks Send violets up and paint them blue.

This Scottish girl, with her Gaelic name, nursed on tradition, on romance, and surrounded from infancy with the sound of the stirring melodies of her native hills, was only eleven when she first saw her present husband. It chanced upon a day that a young man of twenty-one who had been riding across the country, lost

his way and came over the hills with a footsore pony to the entrance bridge of Guisachan. He was little more than a boy. Slight of frame although of ordinary stature, with a frank, fearless look in his eye, as he, after many apologies for trespassing, craved permission to put his pony up for the night at the

ISHBEL MARJORIBANKS.

lodge so that he might the next day continue his journey. Sir Dudley Marjoribanks, on inquiring for the identity of the strange wayfarer, found that he was named John Campbell Gordon, the son of an old

Parliamentary friend, the Earl of Aberdeen. He at once gave a highland welcome to the belated traveler. Ishbel, then a girl of eleven, saw the visitor and soon after she fell in love with him, nor has she from that day to this ever wavered in the whole-hearted devotion which exists between her and the man who afterwards became her husband. The portrait, reproduced by permission, of Ishbel Marjoribanks at the age when she first met Lord Aberdeen is copied from a beautiful colored miniature painting which is among the treasures of the family. The acquaintance thus auspiciously begun was continued in a friendship which was consummated and placed upon a more permanent foundation when in the year 1877 Ishbel Marjoribanks became Ishbel Aberdeen.

They passed their honeymoon in Egypt, where his father, Lord Haddo, had spent many happy months in the vain pursuit of health. It was while they were going up the Nile in their dahabeah that they had the good fortune to meet Gen. Gordon, then Governor-General of the Soudan. He was scouring up the river in his steamer, while they were slowly toiling up propelled by the sluggish stream. Not knowing how to attract the attention of the Governor-General, Lord Aberdeen hit upon the idea of firing signals of distress. This at once brought Gen. Gordon to their boat, and recognizing in his visitor the head of his clan, he extended him a hearty welcome and rendered him the fealty which is due from every Gordon to the head of his house. Gen. Gordon took to Lorl Aberdeen as if he had been his own brother, and before parting for the night he presented Lady Aberdeen with a beautiful set of little silver coffee cups as a token of their friendship. The dahabeah and the steamer parted in the night and in the morning they were out of sight. They met Gen. Gordon again at Cairo and dined with him in the spacious palace which was placed at the disposal of the simple soldier by the Khedive. They had a long discussion with him as to the possibility of repressing the slave

trade. That it existed in Egypt they had the best opportunity of knowing, for hearing that boys were bought and sold as merchandise, they sent their man ashore at one of the villages stating that if they had any boys for sale they would be glad to see them. Without any delay a slave merchant brought four boys on board the ship and set forth with much detail their various advantages, and discoursed upon the benefits which would accrue to the purchaser who obtained such a desirable human article. The merchant then stated the price at which he was willing to part with them. Lord Aberdeen pointed to the British flag which was flying at the masthead and told the slave dealer that the four boys were slaves no longer, as wherever the British flag flew slavery ceased to exist. But in order not to create a hubbub he stated that he was willing to take charge of the boys and give the slave dealer a present almost equivalent to the price which he had asked. They took the children up to Assiout and handed them over to a mission to be baptized and brought up. Then a difficulty The missionaries refused to baptize them

arose.

LADY ABERDEEN AND CHILD.

unless their parents or adopted parents would take the responsibility of presenting them for baptism. Lord and Lady Aberdeen, having put their hands to the plough, did not turn back, but at once adopted the four boys as their own children and they were all baptized and placed in good keeping. Three of them afterwards died of consumption. The remaining one grew up and became an earnest Christian and is at the present moment a missionary in the Soudan. These were not the only adopted children the young couple possessed when they came back to England from their honeymoon. They had no fewer than five adopted children. Four of them were left at Assiout, but one was brought with them to England: This was an Egyptian lad who had become a Christian, but who had been tortured into recanting. He had run away from his tormentors and was more or less at a loss, and did not know what to do. Lord and Lady Aberdeen therefore enabled him to leave the country undetected in the character of one of their servants. On arriving home they put him to college at Edinburgh, and he is now a missionary in China.

In addition to their adopted children they have had five children, four of whom are living. The second daughter died in infancy. Lord Haddo, the Hon. Dudley and Hon. Archie are the boys, while Lady Marjorie, who is only thirteen years old, is the only surviving daughter. Lady Marjorie has the distinction of being the youngest editor in the world, and her little monthly, Wee Willie Winkie, is an almost ideal specimen of what a child's paper should be. It is simple, natural, interesting, and I am glad to hear that it is likely to have an extended range of usefulness on the American continent. Lady Marjorie is an interesting child, somewhat tall for her age, but still a child at