[CANADA - GOVERNOR-GENERAL: Autograph Letter Signed "Dufferin" to an Eton Teacher of his Son, "Lord Clandeboye," Discussing the Boy's "Arithmetical Failures" and Confessing that "to this day I have been unable to master the multiplication table, but I am particularly fond of mathematics..."]. by BLACKWOOD, Frederick Hamilton Temple, 1st Marquess of Dufferin and Ava (1826-1902) - 1877

1877. Letter. Very Good. No Binding. 8vo - over 7¾ - 9¾" tall. 1 October 1877. Small Octavo bifolium (ca. 20x12,5 cm). 4 pp. Black ink on watermarked laid paper with a printed letterhead of the "Government House, Ottawa." Left upper corner of both leaves of the bifolium cut out, only slightly affecting the upper lines, but the text is completely understandable. Mild fold marks, but overall a very good letter. Interesting letter written by Lord Dufferin while on service as the Third Governor-General of Canada, revealing some curious details of his personality. Addressing an Eton teacher of his son (either his eldest son Archibald Leofric Temple (1863-1900), or his second son Terence (1866-1918)), Dufferin writes: "I think he is very young of his age, which is some excuse for his thoughtlessness, and I trust in time his mind may sufficiently ripen to master at least the elements of mathematics. I am afraid I must consider myself responsible for his arithmetic failures, for to this day - only I should not wish the fact to be published in ...[?] - I have been unable to master the multiplication table, but I am particularly fond of mathematics, and indeed the only prize I ever obtained at Eton was a mathematical one, so I trust that Clandeboye's difficulty over his figures need not necessarily imply any weakness in the logical faculty. I have always consoled myself with the reflection that Newton himself could never do a compound addiction sum correctly." "Lord Dufferin brought an immense passion for Canadian unity to his duties and was equally at home in English and French. During his tenure, Prince Edward Island joined on federation (1873), and the Royal Military College and the Supreme Court were established. Lord and Lady Dufferin were the first to use La Citadelle in the city of Québec as a second vice-regal residence. Residents of that city long had a particular regard for Lord Dufferin after he persuaded municipal officials not to tear down the walls of the Old City to accommodate the provincial capital's expansion. Lord Dufferin established the Governor General's Academic Medals to reward excellence by Canadian students in high schools, colleges and universities, and they are still awarded today. After serving in Canada, Lord Dufferin was appointed Viceroy of India (1884 to 1888), took up several high-profile ambassadorial posts, and died in Ireland in 1902" (Heraldic Symbols in the Senate Speaker's Chambers/ Parliament of Canada online). He also went on a journey to the North Atlantic in 1856 on the schooner Foam, visiting Iceland, northern Norway and Spitsbergen. His travel account "Letters from High Latitudes" (London, 1857) "was extremely successful and can be regarded as the prototype of the comic travelogue" (Wikipedia)..