The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1883-05-09
THE QUEENS WATCH DOG.
Joz-N BROWN, THE PERSONAL AT
PENDANT OF VICTORIA.

John Brown, the well-knOwn per
.0nal attendant of Queen Victoria.
who died recently at Windsor castle,
at the age of ffty-six, had passed thir-
ty-four years in the service of her
ma ty and the late prince consort.
John Brown in England was much
more widely known than many Of the
members of the nobility, and through
out the long years of his faithful SER
vice the queen was attached to him so
greatly that he often became bone of
contt ntion among the courtiers who
were jealous of his influence over her
majesty. lie was Scotchman, the son
of small farmer who lived at the
Bush on the opposite side to Balmoral.
lie began his service in the royal
family as a giliie, in 1919, and was Sc
IecteI by Prince Albert and the queen
TO go with her majesty's carriage. He
was with Victoria continually during
her life II the highlands of Scotland
from 1S4S to 1861, entering the service
of the royal pair permanently in 1851,
when his duty was to lead the queens
pony on her excursions. After the
death of the prince cons,rt in 1861,
| Victoria became more than ever at
tachel to her humble Scotch servant,
and in December, 1865, she promoted
him to TIE position of personal attend
ant or body guard to herself. From
that time until his death the queen
never appeared in public without John
| Brown, and he followed her every
! where. His wishes were often much
more potent than those of the men,
bers of the court, and whenever he
was i'll Scotch physician was brought
from Scotland t. attend him, because
John had no faith in English medical
skill OF late years Browns overbear
ing and dictatorial manners have
eau u,ed a good deal of unfavorable COM
ment among the nobility and others,
whom he annoyed when they were
visiting the queen. He was not liked
by the Prince of Wales or the Duke
of Edinburgh, who complained that he
did not know lis place; but the more
he was snubbed by mob es and princes
the more graciously the queen smiled
upon him and added to the favOrs
which she bestowed on him. Among
the special favors granted him was the
exclusive right to shoot over some of
.he royal preserves, and quite recently
the queen threw open the state apart
ments at Windsor, at his request, for
The mayor of Windsor, after having
refused to do so for others Of high rank.
John Brown proved an invaluable man
to the queens household, and his per
sonal attachment to his mistress was
undoubted. Ills personal anxiety on
her account amounted almost to a
mania. 1t is said that he was greatly
worried two years ago when the queen
was shot at by "a lunatic, because he
had not been able to prevent the shot
from being fired, and because the man
was captured by strangers in the
crowd instead of himself.
John Brown was not treated by
I the queen as mere servant.
He was rather friend and con-
filent.al adviser He was not Of
Importance enough TO be admitted
to the royal table, but he was too great
man to eat with the servants of the
household, and the result was that
when the queen travelled three lunches
ha to be prepared-one for the royal
, Ta-ty, Cne for the servants and third
one for John Brown. 1t is said that
John, with the proverbial Highland
shrewdness, feathered his nest well
during the long years of mis- service
A recent London letter speaking of
him, shows the familiarity which ex-
istel between him and the queen, and
the trouble which it caused at court:
Ladies in waiting of exalted rank"
it says. - have rebelled openly against
the brC ach Of etiquette his familiarity
has created, and refused to be made a
party to it; but, slubbed by them, he
was only the more graciously treated
by his royal mistress. He follows the
/ queen like a shadow from palace to
palace, in public and in private, behind
her chair at her meals, in the
rumble of her carriage in her
Grlyes, bending over to eX-
change a few words, and calmly
possessing himself of her field-glass
to inspect some distant maneuver at a
review" The queen herself, writing
of John Brown in 1867, in a foot-n9te
in her journal of Our Life in the
Highlands" says: "His attention,
care and faithfulness cannot be, ex-
ceeded, and the state Of my health,
which of late years has been sorely
tried and weakened, renders such
qualifications most valuable, and, in
deed, most needful, in a constant at
tendant upon all occasions. He has
all the independence and elevated
feelings peculiar to the Highland race,
and is singularly straightfoI ward, sim
plaminded, kind-hearted and disinter-
e ted, always ready to oblige and of dis
cretion rarely TO be met with" Brown
was a heavily built, hne-loolIing Scotch
man, six feet one inch in height, with
A broad chest and well-deyeloped
muscle. He had a large, full face and
high forehead. a well-shaped head,