Read Online John Brown by Raymond Lamont-Brown - Free Book Online
Authors: Raymond Lamont-Brown
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was published by ‘One of Her Majesty’s Servants’ in 1897, in a privately circulated publication entitled The Private Life of Queen Victoria . It averred:
Nearly the most charming and womanly phase of the Queen’s character is displayed in her relationship to her servants. Of course, all her subjects are her obedient servants, and the greatest grandee of all her large household is bound to render her loyal and faithful service, and indeed does so cheerfully. But I would speak of those humbler beings whom the average man and woman treat as mere menials, but who are, in the eyes of Her Majesty, fellow creatures and friends. There are few people in the world who have received such kindnesses from the Queen as her servants, and few who regard her with more sincere devotion and admiration.
And, indeed the Queen’s servants should be faithful to her, for she stands by and protects them to the last. The small lodges at Windsor, Osborne and Claremont [Claremont House, near Esher, Surrey, Queen Victoria’s childhood home], and the many cosy cottages at Balmoral are filled by men and women who have grown grey in the service of the Royal Family. It is the same at Hampton Court, her palaces in London, and houses at Richmond and Kew. Wherever the Queen has any personal jurisdiction and a post or home to give, there may be found old retainers who have served not only her gracious self, but any member of her family. The royal gardens and kitchens, laundries, farms and stables are full of such ancient folk, many of whom remember the Queen as an infant, and whose only talk is of the beneficence of their beloved royal mistress . . .
At the same time it must not be thought that the Queen is a weak mistress. Far from it. The service she exacts is always most responsible, and she desires that it should be performed punctually and well. She is, herself, far too thorough and hardworking a servant of her State and her People not to appreciate and expect the first fruits of everyone’s powers. The Queen is a strictly just and honourable woman and expects justice and honour from those about her, from the highest to the lowest.
These character traits of Queen Victoria greatly appealed to John Brown; he believed this was how employers should behave, and his respect for her grew as he got to know her better.
When Queen Victoria came to the throne there were two Deans of her Chapel Royal in Scotland, as well as the Dean of the Thistle. These appointees, part of the Royal Household in Scotland, she met but rarely. The Scottish clergy she encountered most frequently were the Presbyterian ministers of Crathie within the united parish of Crathie and Braemar, and the influential Presbytery of Kincardine O’Neil, Synod of Aberdeen. These were not employees of the Balmoral estate but fiercely independent clergy in the spirit of the Disruption of 1843 which had split the Scottish Kirk in matters such as education, poor relief and clergy placements. Thus the clergy were still very influential in Scottish parishes as teachers, counsellors and welfare officers. And as Dr R. Wilson McNair pointed out in his Doctor’s Progress : ‘Everyone sat “under” one or other of them, and it was a point of honour to uphold your choice as the finest preacher in the country.’
By and large the Queen got on well with her Crathie clergy, who were invited to a wide range of royal functions to read prayers, say blessings and generally socialise. Among long-standing ministers like the Revd Archibald Alexander Campbell (d. 1907), there were colourful pastors such as the Revd Archibald Anderson (d. 1866) and the Revd Dr Norman MacLeod (d. 1872); the latter, famed for his extempore sermons, introduced the Queen to the works of the poet Robert Burns by reading them to her, and the Queen turned to him for spiritual succour after the death of Prince Albert. The Revd Anderson was deemed a ‘character’ and many a royal anecdote about him abounded in the parish and
Nearly the most charming and womanly phase of the Queen’s character is displayed in her relationship to her servants. Of course, all her subjects are her obedient servants, and the greatest grandee of all her large household is bound to render her loyal and faithful service, and indeed does so cheerfully. But I would speak of those humbler beings whom the average man and woman treat as mere menials, but who are, in the eyes of Her Majesty, fellow creatures and friends. There are few people in the world who have received such kindnesses from the Queen as her servants, and few who regard her with more sincere devotion and admiration.
And, indeed the Queen’s servants should be faithful to her, for she stands by and protects them to the last. The small lodges at Windsor, Osborne and Claremont [Claremont House, near Esher, Surrey, Queen Victoria’s childhood home], and the many cosy cottages at Balmoral are filled by men and women who have grown grey in the service of the Royal Family. It is the same at Hampton Court, her palaces in London, and houses at Richmond and Kew. Wherever the Queen has any personal jurisdiction and a post or home to give, there may be found old retainers who have served not only her gracious self, but any member of her family. The royal gardens and kitchens, laundries, farms and stables are full of such ancient folk, many of whom remember the Queen as an infant, and whose only talk is of the beneficence of their beloved royal mistress . . .
At the same time it must not be thought that the Queen is a weak mistress. Far from it. The service she exacts is always most responsible, and she desires that it should be performed punctually and well. She is, herself, far too thorough and hardworking a servant of her State and her People not to appreciate and expect the first fruits of everyone’s powers. The Queen is a strictly just and honourable woman and expects justice and honour from those about her, from the highest to the lowest.
These character traits of Queen Victoria greatly appealed to John Brown; he believed this was how employers should behave, and his respect for her grew as he got to know her better.
When Queen Victoria came to the throne there were two Deans of her Chapel Royal in Scotland, as well as the Dean of the Thistle. These appointees, part of the Royal Household in Scotland, she met but rarely. The Scottish clergy she encountered most frequently were the Presbyterian ministers of Crathie within the united parish of Crathie and Braemar, and the influential Presbytery of Kincardine O’Neil, Synod of Aberdeen. These were not employees of the Balmoral estate but fiercely independent clergy in the spirit of the Disruption of 1843 which had split the Scottish Kirk in matters such as education, poor relief and clergy placements. Thus the clergy were still very influential in Scottish parishes as teachers, counsellors and welfare officers. And as Dr R. Wilson McNair pointed out in his Doctor’s Progress : ‘Everyone sat “under” one or other of them, and it was a point of honour to uphold your choice as the finest preacher in the country.’
By and large the Queen got on well with her Crathie clergy, who were invited to a wide range of royal functions to read prayers, say blessings and generally socialise. Among long-standing ministers like the Revd Archibald Alexander Campbell (d. 1907), there were colourful pastors such as the Revd Archibald Anderson (d. 1866) and the Revd Dr Norman MacLeod (d. 1872); the latter, famed for his extempore sermons, introduced the Queen to the works of the poet Robert Burns by reading them to her, and the Queen turned to him for spiritual succour after the death of Prince Albert. The Revd Anderson was deemed a ‘character’ and many a royal anecdote about him abounded in the parish and
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