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1. From a Background of Privilege
- Wilfrid Laurier University Press
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Although we were only a few yards from shore the yellow waters swirled by ominously. I looked at the gap between the ship and the nearest sampan that had hooked on to the side of the steamer and I wondered if I would make it with my precious bundle in my arms. A fellow missionary went first and stood in the sampan with a reassuring smile, while Jim went to the baggage hold to supervise the unloading of our trunks and bags. I looked at the rushing waters, then at the two British officers whose coolness and confidence inspired me to go ahead. The captain held the baby while the chief officer handed me down to our colleague in the sampan and then gave me the baby without dropping him in that gap of terrifying river. (“Life with Jim”) Nothing in her twenty-nine years had prepared Mary Elsie Austin for those fearsome moments on the Yangtze River. For the chaotic reality that was warlord China in 1926. Born April 13, 1897, she grew up surrounded by silver candlesticks and white linen tablecloths. Her home was a large custom-built turreted mansion on the banks of the placid Thames River that ran through Chatham, Ontario. Her father, Charles Austin, owned the largest department store in Kent County. When Mary was thirteen, he was elected mayor. The Austins were the first family in town to own an automobile. At age fifteen , taking a year off from school, Mary accompanied her family on a three-month trip to Europe, visiting museums and art galleries and staying in fine hotels. Mary was intensely close to her mother, Mary Elizabeth (Minnie) Chapman, the daughter of a Methodist preacher. As long as I could remember [Mother] had been keenly interested in public affairs and for several years was the president of the Women’s Canadian Club as well as the Women’s Missionary Society Auxiliary in our church. Although her education was somewhat limited she kept herself informed 1 From a Background of Privilege 13 and was able to chair public meetings as well as to be hostess to distinguished guests who were the speakers and usually stayed in our home. The guest she enjoyed most was Mrs. Pankhurst, the leader of the suffragettes in England, whose views Mother heartily shared. (“Life with Jim”) Mary’s relationship with her older sister Jane was intense and turbulent. Candid in their criticisms of each other, both remained fiercely loyal. Jane was scathing in her criticism of the psychoanalytic insights that were to become so dear to Mary’s heart, but never missed sending parcels for Christmas and birthdays. For her part, Mary thought Jane was over-preoccupied with keeping up appearances, foolishly sentimental and domineering, but often wrote to her personally about family and other matters. In spite of mixed feelings, the connection remained important to both of them. As a young child, Mary was seriously ill three times—diphtheria at age six, scarlet fever a year later and typhoid on another occasion. Her stamina was permanently undermined, which she experienced as a humiliation. In addition, soon after she started school she began to stutter . Over time, she grew to believe that her stuttering was her “chief personality disturbance.” After turning thirty she wrote more about this part of her life than any other which suggests how deeply she experienced stammering as a major physical and psychological handicap, one that even influenced her choice 14 China Diary: The Life of Mary Austin Endicott Minnie Chapman Austin. Charles Austin. Photos: Margaret Edmunds, Chatham. [3.215.77.96] Project MUSE (2024-03-29 11:44 GMT) of university courses. In 1927 Mary revealed details of the struggle to overcome her disability in a long letter to her chief confidante, Freda Waldon, a librarian in Hamilton and godmother to her first child: I remember my mother telling me to go slowly or say it over again. She said she had also stammered when a little girl and Grandfather cured her by stopping her and saying, “Take your time, my little dear.” She used to tell me this, and tried the same dodge on me but it only made me very angry and hot inside, although I wanted very much to do it.… When I was fourteen I spent six weeks in the home of a minister who cures stammering. His methods were solely mechanical, breathing exercises, practice in reading slowly and so on. [Although I was repelled by his personality...