Canada’s Mariposa

I just finished reading Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town by "Canadian humorist, essayist, political economist and historian" Stephen Leacock (thanks to the Canadian Oxford Dictionary).  Leacock taught in the first part of last century at McGill University, but today he’s best remembered for this humorous look at the little (fictional) Canadian town of Mariposa.

I enjoyed it.  In spite of the fact that he was writing about a town in the days of the horse and carriage, I was amazed how similar his town was to a hundred little towns I know.  🙂

Anyway, just thought I’d share a couple of passages for your enjoyment…

First, the author writes in defense of a series of sermons by a local pastor (with the suggestive name of Rev. Rupert Drone), in which he referred to a trip on Lake Huron:

I lay some stress on this point because the criticisms directed against the Mackinaw sermons always seemed so unfair.  If the rector had described his experiences in the crude language of the ordinary newspaper, there might, I admit, have been something unfitting about it.  But he was always careful to express himself in a way that showed,-or, listen, let me explain with an example…

"I was voyaging on one of those magnificent leviathans of the water,-I refer to the boats of the Northern Navigation Company,-and was standing beside the forward rail talking with a dear brother in the faith who was journeying westward also-I may say he was a commercial traveller,-and beside us was a dear sister in the spirit seated in a deck chair, while near us were two other dear souls in grace engaged in Christian pastime on the deck,-I allude more particularly to the game of deck billiards."

I leave it to any reasonable man whether, with that complete and fair-minded explanation of the environment, it was not perfectly proper to close down the analogy, as the rector did, with the simple words: "In fact, it was an extremely fine morning."

And how about this description of a political rally featuring local Liberal politician John Henry Bagshaw:

Anyone who has heard Bagshaw knows what an impressive speaker he is, and on this night when he spoke with a quiet dignity of a man old in years and anxious only to serve his country, he almost surpassed himself.  Near the end of his speech somebody dropped a pin, and the noise it made in falling fairly rattled the windows.

"I am an old man now, gentlemen,"Bagshaw said,"and the time must soon come when I must not only leave politics, but must take my way towards that goal from which no traveller returns."

There was a deep hush when Bagshaw said this.  It was understood to imply that he thought of going to the United States.