"The procession proceeded in solemn order down the Grange Road, until it reached the College, when it turned to the left, and passed on to the eastern entrance of the new burying ground, and from thence proceeded to the grave, near the opposite extremity of the cemetery, which was destined to be the final resting place of the aged patriot. The persons who composed the cortège having been formed in order round the grave, the sublime and solemn ritual of the Church of England was read in a feeling and impressive manner by the Very Reverend the Dean, the coffin being at the proper period of the service committed to the bosom of the earth in profound and solemn silence. When the service was concluded, a great many persons approached the border of the grave to take a farewell look at the narrow tenement which now contained the remains of a man who, but a few short hours back, had occupied so prominent a position in his native land. Many a sigh was breathed, many a tear was shed upon that grave; and many and various were the expressions of affection and regret which there found utterance, and which seemed to say
'We ne'er shall look upon his like again.'
"On no similar occasion had there ever been collected so large a concourse of persons in this island. Some pains were taken to ascertain the number of those who entered the burial ground, and it is believed that they considerably exceeded 4,000. An equal, or perhaps a larger number, were dispersed, as spectators, in the Grange Road and adjacent parts. Every house that commanded a glimpse of the procession, or the interment, was crowded. The windows, even, to the attics, were peopled; whilst walls, gardens, and every spot from which any thing could be seen, were in like manner occupied. Notwithstanding the extraordinary number of persons collected, a very creditable degree of order and decorum was maintained throughout the whole of the proceedings."[163]
The union jack was hoisted half mast at Fort George and Castle Cornet from the day succeeding the bailiff's death to that of his funeral, on which days also the bells of the parish church of St. Peter-Port were tolled, and the flags of the vessels in the two harbours and roadstead were hoisted half mast. On the day of the interment, the shops in St. Peter-Port were entirely closed until the mournful ceremony was completed.
The lieutenant-governor of the island, Major-General Napier, the celebrated historian of the Peninsular war, evinced, in a manner as creditable to his feelings as it was gratifying to those of the family, an anxious desire to pay every respect to the memory of the deceased, his excellency, with the officers of his staff, and Lieut.-General Ross, and Lieut.-General Sir James Douglas, ex-lieutenant-governors, attending the funeral in full uniform, as did all the officers of the garrison, and the officers of the five regiments of militia. All the civil and military authorities, as well as the whole of the clergy of the island, were present.
The following remarks are extracted from a long and ably written article of nearly two columns, in the Guernsey Star of Monday, September 26, 1842, in which the last moments and character of Mr. Brock were feelingly portrayed by the editor, an English gentleman:
"Mr. Brock's career, his talents, his services, and his amiable qualities, are so familiar to every native and inhabitant of Guernsey—they have, as it were, become so much the common property of the community—they have been so much the objects of their study—so constantly the theme of their praise and admiration—that it may seem almost a work of supererogation in us to make any observation on them on the present melancholy occasion. We cannot, however, allow the grave to close upon him without strewing it with some of those offerings of respect and praise which spontaneously spring to our hand as we pen the notice of his death. We feel that we enjoy considerable latitude on this occasion, because, from having been for years the political antagonists of Mr. Brock, and having braved his hostility when living, our tribute to his memory cannot be looked on as other than the genuine offspring of our feeling and our judgment.
"Mr. Brock was not an ordinary man. He was constituted of materials which would have led their owner to distinction in whatever sphere he might have been placed. Indebted but little to early education, he possessed within himself a faculty of extracting knowledge from every thing that came within his observation; and, gifted with a powerful memory, a reflecting mind, and the art of methodizing and arranging the ideas and information which he acquired, he was enabled at all times to bring a mass of well digested and pertinent knowledge to bear upon and illustrate any subject which he was required to discuss. He had a singular talent for comprehending principles and for seizing information, and arranging and applying it; so that there were few subjects upon which he entered on which he could not lay down sound principles, and illustrate and maintain them by sound arguments. Too confident of his strength, and perhaps over-elated with his many victories, he would sometimes venture on untenable ground, and expose himself to the inroads of an able enemy; but these indiscretions were of rare occurrence, and the memory of his temporary checks was generally cancelled by the skilfulness of his retreats.
"If Mr. Brock was thus distinguished for his mental powers, he was no less so by the strength and felicity of his style of writing. He had the rare talent of putting proper words in their proper places. He wrote English with English plainness and English force. There was nothing affected or modish in his manner. He gave his readers an impression that he was clear in the conception of his own meaning, and he made it equally so to them. He aimed at no ornament: the beauty of his writings consisted in their perspicuity and strength. A verbal critic might discover inaccuracies in his compositions, but the man of sense would find in them nothing unmeaning—- nothing useless—nothing vapid. He was not a turner of fine periods—he was not a fine writer—but he wrote with strength, precision, and lucidity; and his compositions, even where they failed to produce conviction, could never be read without creating respect for the masculine talents of their author......