He was a favourite of the Queen, and she gave him as a residence a
house and grounds in Richmond Park. He was a man of the world and
an agreeable talker, very well read, fond of quoting poetry, and
especially pleased if he could indulge in reminiscences in his own
circle of what his royal mistress had said at her last visit.
Finally, mention must be made of one who, though he held no high
position of State, can with justice be regarded as both friend and
adviser of the Queen--John Brown. He entered the Queen's service at
Balmoral, became later a gillie to the Prince Consort, and in 1851
the Queen's personal outdoor attendant. He was a man of a very
straightforward nature and blunt speech, and even his Royal Mistress
was not safe at times from criticism. In spite of his rough manner,
he possessed many admirable qualities, and on his death in 1883 the
Queen caused a granite seat to be erected in the grounds of Osborne
with the following inscription:
A TRUER, NOBLER, TRUSTIER HEART, MORE LOVING
AND MORE LOYAL, NEVER BEAT WITHIN
A HUMAN BREAST.
CHAPTER XIII: _Queen and Empire_
What should they know of England who only England know?
The England of Queen Elizabeth was the England of Shakespeare:
This royal throne of kings, this scepter'd isle,
This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars,
This other Eden, demi-paradise;
This fortress built by Nature for herself
Against infection and the hand of war;
This happy breed of men, this little world,
This precious stone set in the silver sea,
Which serves it in the office of a wall,
Or as a moat defensive to a house,
Against the envy of less happier lands;
This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England.
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