Seven Lectures on the United Kingdom for use in India / Reissued for use in the United Kingdom

by Halford John Mackinder

It took the whole of the Middle Ages—a thousand years—to establish law and justice and order in England, a fact which shows with what care order should be treasured, once it has been attained. But at last men began to feel that even their rulers, who in a rough age are liable to attack, might leave their houses unfortified, and place them in the midst of pleasant gardens. This was the beginning of Modern Times. Here is Hatfield House, built for one of England’s most famous statesmen, the Lord Burleigh, who three hundred years ago, served one of her greatest monarchs, Queen Elizabeth. A few years ago Hatfield was the home of another British statesman, Lord Salisbury, who was a descendant of Lord Burleigh, and served a still greater monarch—Queen Victoria. You see how different from a castle is the appearance of this house. It has square broad windows, giving a flood of light within, even to the ground floor; for the men who built it had no longer to fear that they would be attacked by arrows and by guns through their windows, and therefore they could afford to let in the light of the sun, which is loved in this cool Northern land.

But you must not think that all of England’s greatness has been made by her rich and powerful men. It is the glory of England that some of the most valuable things done for her have been done by poor men. You remember from the second Lecture that in Westminster Abbey, not only was our King-Emperor crowned, with the dignitaries of the empire round him, but also that there is a space called the Poets’ Corner, where are the tombs and monuments of some of the chief writers who have inspired the English with ideals of order and justice and freedom. These poets were mostly poor men—some of them very poor.

23.
Stratford-on-Avon.

Here in the town of Stratford-on-Avon, in the centre of England, is the humble cottage, still preserved with care, in which at the time when the splendid house of Hatfield was built for Lord Burleigh, there was born and lived the greatest of all English writers, Shakespeare. To-day, in every town in which the English live throughout the world there are copies of at least two books, the holy book of the English—the Christian Bible—and the book full of human wisdom, which was written by Shakespeare.

24.
Blenheim.

In London, in the Cathedral of St. Paul, we saw the monuments over the tombs of Nelson and Wellington, the sailor and the soldier who won the victories of Trafalgar and Waterloo. Two hundred years ago, that is to say a hundred years before Nelson and Wellington, there lived another great general, who commanded the armies of England and won victories in the days of Queen Anne. He was the Duke of Marlborough, and this is the house, Blenheim Palace, which England built for him in gratitude for the victories he had won. In our own times, Queen Victoria and King Edward have given rewards to Lord Roberts and Lord Kitchener, whose names and deeds you know. Blenheim, as you see, is a modern palace, not a fortified castle of the Middle Ages. But it is built in the ancient style, for there was law and order in the Empire of the Romans, and they also could therefore build spaciously and openly.

25.
Eton—from Playing Fields.

26.
Eton—from the River.

27.
Eton—4th June.

Now there is one kind of old building in the land of England which we have not yet mentioned, though it is very interesting and very important. The youth of the English race, and especially that part of it which in after years is to work for Government at Home, in India, and in the Colonies, is carefully brought up in the midst of monuments of the past. For Englishmen wish that the citizens of the British Empire should not think too greatly each of himself, but should think greatly of the State which they serve. Therefore they bring up their youths to know that among their ancestors there were also men who did good work for the Nation. The highest thing an Englishman can do is to play his part well in his generation by adding a little to the great scheme of order and freedom which we call the British Empire. This is the ancient building of Eton, the chief of the public schools of Britain. It was founded by one of the Kings of England under the shadow of Windsor Castle. Here is another view of it, taken from the Thames, which flows between Windsor and Eton. And here are the boys amusing themselves in boats on their annual festival-day. The view, as you see, contains the Round Tower of Windsor Castle.