Lord Dufferin has just delivered another of his bright, breezy
speeches, this time to the Icelanders settled on the shore of Lake Winnipeg. There are some 1,400 of them, most orderly and con- tented settlers, with a small library in every house, and a thirst for education. They are, however, deficient in energy, unaccus- tomed to steady labour, and inclined to shut themselves up in their houses round iron stoves, which keep up a temperature injurious to health. Lord Dufferin, who twenty years ago visited Iceland, and was delighted with the people, contrived, in the midst of his cordial welcome, to hint to his audience that these habits must be abandoned. Their business was to fell timber, SOW corn, and cut highways, and as they had never seen a tree, a corn-ficad, or a road, their inexpertness in these arts was no matter of surprise. In Canada, with its bright climate, "the dormant capacities of your race, which adverse geographical con- ditions may have somewhat blunted, will blossom forth anew," but self-reliance and enterprise are necessities of Canadian life. These little lectures are, however, almost lost in the kindliest compli- ments, which extend even to the girls who have gone out as.- housemaids. "I hear the best accounts of the good-conduct,. handiness, and docility of these young Ingeborgs, Ragnihildas, Thoras, and Gudruns, who, I trust, will do honour to the epic ancestresses from whom they have inherited their names." No people can have such a right in America as the Icelanders, to whom its discovery is due, Columbus's dream having become- conviction only after reading the Icelandic records, and " I have pledged my personal credit to my Canadian friends on the successful development of your settlement." Lord Dufferin continues to secure for himself a world-wide reputation, without embarrassing his country by wild plans or fidgetty foreign policy.
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