TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE: Volume I is available as Project Gutenberg ebook
number 49844.
WILLIAM COBBETT.
A BIOGRAPHY.
VOL. II.
LONDON:
GILBERT AND RIVINGTON, PRINTERS,
ST. JOHN’S SQUARE.
WILLIAM COBBETT:
_A BIOGRAPHY_.
BY EDWARD SMITH.
IN TWO VOLUMES.
VOL. II.
London:
SAMPSON LOW, MARSTON, SEARLE, & RIVINGTON,
CROWN BUILDINGS, 188, FLEET STREET.
1878.
[_All rights reserved._]
CONTENTS.
PAGE
CHAPTER XIV.
1805-1806.
“I NEVER SAT MYSELF DOWN ANYWHERE, WITHOUT MAKING THE FRUITS
AND FLOWERS TO GROW” 1
CHAPTER XV.
1806-1807.
“I DID DESTROY THEIR POWER TO ROB US ANY LONGER WITHOUT THE
ROBBERY BEING PERCEIVED” 24
CHAPTER XVI.
1807-1809.
“THEY NATURALLY HATE ME” 45
CHAPTER XVII.
1808-1809.
“THE OUTCRY AGAINST ME IS LOUDER THAN EVER” 63
CHAPTER XVIII.
1809-1810.
“COMPARED WITH DEFEATING ME, DEFEATING BUONAPARTE IS A MERE
TRIFLE” 88
CHAPTER XIX.
1810.
“THE FOLLY, COMMON TO ALL TYRANTS, IS THAT THEY PUSH THINGS
TOO FAR” 114
CHAPTER XX.
1810-1812.
“TO PUT A MAN IN PRISON FOR A YEAR OR TWO DOES NOT KILL HIM” 127
CHAPTER XXI.
1812-1816.
“THE NATION NEVER CAN BE ITSELF AGAIN WITHOUT A REFORM” 149
CHAPTER XXII.
1816-1817.
“BETWEEN SILENCE AND A DUNGEON LAY MY ONLY CHOICE” 173
CHAPTER XXIII.
1817-1821.
“WHATEVER OTHER FAULTS I MAY HAVE, THAT OF LETTING GO MY
HOLD IS NOT ONE” 198
CHAPTER XXIV.
1821-1826.
“THEY COMPLAIN THAT THE TWOPENNY TRASH IS READ” 229
CHAPTER XXV.
1821-1831.
“I HAVE PLEADED THE CAUSE OF THE WORKING-PEOPLE, AND I SHALL
NOW SEE THAT CAUSE TRIUMPH” 249
CHAPTER XXVI.
1832-1835.
“I NOW BELONG TO THE PEOPLE OF OLDHAM” 275
CHAPTER XXVII.
1835.
“I HAVE BEEN THE GREAT ENLIGHTENER OF THE PEOPLE OF ENGLAND” 291
APPENDIX: BIBLIOGRAPHICAL LIST OF WILLIAM COBBETT’S
PUBLICATIONS 305
INDEX 321
WILLIAM COBBETT: A BIOGRAPHY.
CHAPTER XIV.
“I NEVER SAT MYSELF DOWN ANYWHERE, WITHOUT MAKING THE FRUITS AND
FLOWERS TO GROW.”
The summer of 1805 finds Mr. Cobbett again at Botley with his family.
A letter to Wright, dated 5th July, says, “I have found here a most
delightful house and a more delightful garden.” Preparations are being
made for a prolonged stay, and for the occasional entertainment of his
correspondent: “I have given you a deal of trouble, and hope that you
will find hereafter some compensation during the time you will spend at
Botley.” The carpets are to be taken up (in Duke Street), and all the
bedding, &c., to be “removed upstairs, packed in mats or something.” On
the 28th of July Cobbett writes--
“I am glad that you are like to close your labours so soon,
for I really wish very much to see you here, and so do all the
children and their mother, all of whom have delightful health;
and Mrs. Cobbett is more attached to Botley than I am--one
cause of which is, she has made her servants humble, and she
bakes good bread. I shall have made it a delightful place
before you will have finished your volume.”[1]
There is a good deal about Botley and its neighbourhood to charm the
tastes of men like Cobbett. A fine open country, which was then to a
great extent unenclosed--it was a genuine agricultural and sporting
district, of which the little town was the centre. It was quiet enough,
not being on the road to anywhere; and the people were as quiet as the
village.
“… Two doctors, one parson. No trade, except that carried on
by two or three persons, who bring coals from the Southampton
water, and who send down timber. All the rest are farmers,
farmers’ men, millers, millers’ men, millwrights, publicans who
sell beer to the farmers’ men and the farmers; copse-cutters,
tree-strippers, bark-shavers, farmers’ wheelwrights, farmers’
blacksmiths, shopkeepers, a schoolmistress; and, in short,
nothing but persons belonging to agriculture, to which, indeed,
the two doctors and the parson belong as much as the rest.”
As Cobbett himself described them a few years later. The creek of the
little river Hamble touches the end of the principal street; and here
was a tiny wharf, and a miller’s house. On the farther side of the
creek stood the “delightful house and more delightful garden,” which
promised such bliss. Here is one of the first resulting joys:--
“Now, I am going to give you a commission that you must do us
the favour to execute with the least possible delay. It is
to find out where fishing-nets are sold, and to buy us a net
called a Flue or Trammel net. It must be five feet deep, and
fifteen yards long; with plenty of linnet, and not too coarse.
We have a river full of fish sweeping round the one side of
our little lot of land; but for want of such a net, we catch
comparatively but few. It will not cost above three or four
pounds, and we shall gain that in fish in a month. But the
salmon-peel are now coming up with the spring tides, and we
hope you will be able to send us the net by the Southampton
night coach of Monday, to be left at the coach-office till
called for. If you should miss that coach pray get it off by
the next after; for this is a subject with regard to which
none of us have any patience. The net is for jack, trout, and
salmon-peel, &c.”
“… The net is excellent. Plenty of fish. Nobody has such an one
in this place!”
“… Since last Saturday morning we have caught nearly as many
fish as would sell in London for as much as the net cost you.
We have, indeed, famous sport; and I wish to know if Mr.
Windham be in town, that I may send him some of this excellent
fish. When you come yourself we will show you what we can do;
and I really hope that you will be able to get here soon.”
Now, quiet Botley began to rub its eyes. Here was a new neighbour who
kept the wheels of life well greased. Visitors came to and fro; and
the coach, or the waggon, had more parcels to carry. The precious
scribblings from Botley House augmented the weight of the post-bag.
As autumn drew nigh, the bucolic pulses were quickened by the rumoured
revival of English rustic sports. So, quiet Botley was awakening into
something like fame.
One of Mr. Windham’s well-known fancies was the noble art of
self-defence. Cobbett was entirely with him there; and it so happened,
about this time, that a fatal case of pugilism had brought the matter
before the public. Mr. Cobbett defended Boxing in the _Register_, and
resolved to promote all kindred manly exercises.
Accordingly, a festive gathering was prepared, for this very first
autumn. Here is a copy of the handbill:--
“SINGLE-STICK PLAYING AT BOTLEY, NEAR SOUTHAMPTON.
“On Friday, the 11th of October, 1805, being Old Michaelmas
Day, will be played in the village of Botley, a grand match at
single-stick. The prizes will be as follows:--
“1st prize, Fifteen guineas and a gold-laced hat.
“2nd “ Six guineas and a silver-laced hat.
“3rd “ Four guineas.
“4th “ Two guineas.
“The terms, as to playing the ties, &c., will be announced upon
the spot. Those who have played for and lost the first prize,
will be allowed to play for the second; those who have lost the
second will be allowed to play for the third; and those who
have lost the third will be allowed to play for the fourth. The
playing will begin at eleven o’clock in the morning; and, if
possible, all the prizes are to be played for on the same day.
For any further information that may be required, application
may be made, either in person or by letter, to Mr. RICHARD
SMITH, of Botley.
“Gentlemen coming from a distance will find excellent
accommodation of every kind at and in the neighbourhood of
Botley, which is situated at only about five miles from
Southampton, and at less than four miles from Bishops Waltham.
The distance from London, through Farnham, Alton, and Bishops
Waltham, is a short day’s journey, being barely sixty-eight
miles.
“_Botley_, _23rd September, 1805_.”
This announcement, scattered over Hampshire and Wiltshire, brought a
good company together, and was the precursor of future successes of the
same character. As a matter of course, however, Envy made of it another
nail for the coffin of Mr. Cobbett’s reputation;--these things were
_so_ demoralizing.
The revels being over, preparations for extensive planting were made,
the month of October being largely taken up with the transfer of
apples, pears, rose-trees, &c., to the newly cleared ground. A letter
of the 4th November says,--
“I have almost got my trees planted, and shall have done
completely in one week from this day. Excuse all this gardening
plague, and look forward to the time when you are to find a
compensation in the fruit.”
The following, dated Botley, 1st December, 1805, throws much
interesting light on then current prospects:--
“DEAR SIR,--On the other side you will find letters for William
and Nancy, which you will be so good as to cut asunder and give
to them respectively.
“Mrs. Cobbett and I have now fixed upon our plan and scale
of living, and we mean to carry it into effect directly.
We intend to live here from the 1st of May to the Queen’s
birthday in every year; to take a lodging in town for the
three winter months; to put three of the children to school
almost immediately; and, of course, to get rid of the house
and furniture in Duke Street, as soon as I can get to town and
put up the curtains, so as to make the house look neat and
handsome. Of this you are to speak to nobody. I tell it you for
your own information, and that you may be thinking of a place
for a store-house. Suppose a winter lodging for thirteen weeks
to cost us three guineas a week--that is 40_l._ Suppose my
coach-hire to cost 20_l._ a year (ten trips between London and
Alton)--that makes 60_l._ Suppose 20_l._ a year for store-room
(it will not be above half that)--that makes 80_l._ a year.
Very well: the house-rent, the taxes, the water-duty, and the
interest of money upon goods and wear and tear of goods in Duke
Street (besides the interest upon what I paid for the lease),
amounts to more than 240_l._ a year. The garden-stuff here is
worth 25_l._ a year, exclusive of fruit of all sorts. The milk
will not cost us above a third part of what it costs in town;
bread is one-ninth cheaper (an immense sum in the year); the
meat about an eighth cheaper. In short, I am fully convinced
that exclusive of the consideration of health, and taking into
the account postage, &c., &c., attendant upon this distant
situation, that the saving would be at least 300_l._ a year.
Fuel at Botley is little more than half the price of fuel in
London. So much for that.
“Now, as to the present, my intention is to go to town as
soon as this job shall be safely over. Then to let the house,
and settle all about that matter. In the meanwhile, pray go
on with your preparations. I like the type very well indeed;
and, having now done with my improvements and planting (which
has been most fortunately finished) I shall set myself about
the prospectus, and shall, in short, make every preparation
for most strenuous exertions. The post of to-day is not yet
come in: it may bring me something. My present intention is to
_fill_ the next sheet with an address to the people of England,
calculated to make a deep and lasting impression upon them. I
shall endeavour to show them what has been the cause of all
their present dangers; and shall tell them that, in a future
sheet, I will endeavour to convince them that such and such are
the means of salvation. The time is most favourable for making
such an impression; and, please God, I will not let it slip.
The crisis, which I have always foreseen, is approaching, fast
approaching; and it will require all our vigilance and all our
courage to save our country, and at the same time to maintain
the throne of our beloved and gracious old king.…
“… The post is come. Thank you for your attention. The
Bulletins may be set up for another number; but I shall, if I
live and am well, _fill_ the next in the manner I tell you.
Adieu. Thank you very kindly for the hare. Watch the papers
well. Pray take care of the children. Thank you for William.
“WM. C.”
The newly projected great work is “The Parliamentary History,” which
is to contain a full report of all the recorded proceedings, from the
earliest times to 1803, when “The Debates” were commenced. A prospectus
appeared in the ensuing February. This valuable collection was
completed in sixteen volumes, and has long since been an indispensable
adjunct to a respectable library. Yet the name of its projector has,
unaccountably, become dissociated from it.
* * * * *
There is reason to believe that these enterprizes were entailing
pecuniary embarrassment. The increasing sale of the _Register_ was
producing a splendid income; but so much new printing--a greater
part of which would require time for it to fructify--along with the
settlement and extensive improvements at Botley, could not but exhaust
Cobbett’s resources for the time. In fact a purchase of premises at
Droxford (a few miles from Botley), about this time, was made with
borrowed money. Another scheme, early in 1805, had been a downright
failure: this was “Cobbett’s Spirit of the Public Journals for 1804,”
being letters, essays, &c., taken from the English, American, and
French journals; a work of inestimable value to the student of history
and politics, but unattractive to the general reader. The following
extract from a letter to Mr. Wright, dated October 16th, 1805, makes
ominous reference to the money question:--
“… I have this one caution to give you, which I beg you will
observe; and that is, never speak nor hint, in the presence of
Mrs. Cobbett, anything relative to my pecuniary concerns, or
concerns in trade, of any sort or kind. She has her own ideas
about such matters, which cannot be altered.
“I have never mentioned the Spirit of the Public Journals to
her; and there is no occasion for it. She knows I have lost so
much by printing, &c., that she is fearful of everything of the
kind. I cannot blame her anxiety; but as I cannot remove it, it
is better not to awaken it. Always reserve these matters for
_tête-à-tête_ opportunities.”
And, on the 29th December, in a letter to Mr. Wright, thanking him for
his editorial labours, and expressing pleasure at having been the means
of giving him another lift in the world, there is some sensitiveness
upon money-matters:--
“My wishes, my wants too, and your own taste, turn of mind,
and talents, have all conspired towards placing you beyond the
reach of anxiety. But you should now look further. You should
economize as much as possible.… A horse, a cow, a house, is
soon gone in even trifling things, which we give into from mere
want of thought, and not from our love of things themselves.”
A more interesting message occurs a day or two later:--
“Mind the twelfth-cake. A good large one!”
The plan proposed, of spending three months of the year in London
lodgings, does not appear to have been carried out. During the spring
of 1806, Cobbett was living for a short time at Parson’s Green, Fulham;
and in June he returned to Botley, permanently, only going up to London
when occasion needed.
* * * * *
The year 1806 was pregnant with importance concerning the future of
this country. The accession of “All the Talents” to power, after the
death of Pitt, marked its commencement; and the nation was alive with
hopes. Another abortive attempt was made to negotiate peace with
Napoleon. The affairs of India, Military Reform, Lord Melville’s
Impeachment, filled the public mind. But one matter, above all, which
now came to the front: and which, after many years of lagging, now had
a fair start,--was that of Parliamentary Reform.
And that which, at length, furnished the motive power to the wheels
of Parliamentary Reform, was no other than the invincible _Weekly
Political Register_ of Mr. William Cobbett. Fitful had hitherto been
the progress made. Few persons of position had been in earnest about
it. Very few had dared to give definiteness to their opinions; and
the number of those who could be called advocates of Reform, could
be counted on the fingers. The most prominent of these was Major
Cartwright.[2]
So, upon Mr. Cobbett’s wit and energy being devoted to the discussion
of public abuses, and the only real remedy for them, he found himself
surrounded by a new class of friends. Cartwright, Burdett, Bosville,
and others, no longer singly held their cry, but rejoiced in their
new exponent. Here was a man who had been learning all his lifetime,
and who could manfully confess his political errors, not only in
mere general terms, but to points of detail;--a man who had acquired
the high privilege of being maligned, misrepresented, and threatened
for the odious crime of speaking the truth in clear and unfaltering,
although sarcastic, terms:--one “to whom the public eye turned for
light and information.” That was the view, at least, taken by many of
the correspondents of the _Register_. So, if Mr. Cobbett was heaping up
wrath in one quarter, his name and his talents were being recognized in
another. The people were looking to him,--not the “swinish multitude”
of Mr. Burke, nor the “lower orders” of Mr. Wilberforce, but the people
who paid the taxes and wanted to see where the money went to.
There was a Mr. Robson, M.P. for Honiton, who particularly “wanted to
know,” and insisted on knowing, the truth about certain abuses in the
Barrack Department. The truth came out, with a story very much akin
to a dead-and-buried affair, in which a former Serjeant to the 54th
regiment was concerned. Mr. Cobbett took it up, and even assisted,
by interviews with the parties concerned, in helping to expose the
matter. The incident is chiefly noticeable, in this history, as being
the occasion, alas! of a divergence of sentiment between himself and
Windham; who, as Secretary at War, had not met Robson’s motions for
inquiry in a spirit according with the professions of his out-of-office
days. “Surely there is something in the air of the offices that lowers
the minds of men!” was the exclamation of Cobbett; “it was with still
better reason than I thought, that I recommended a clean sweeping and a
fumigation of the haunts of the Pitts and the Roses!”
At this juncture, Mr. Cavendish Bradshaw, the second member for
Honiton, accepted an office which required him to vacate his seat. Upon
seeking re-election he found an unexpected opponent in the person of
Mr. Cobbett, who hastily issued an address to the electors, offering
his services, in the event of no other public-spirited man coming
forward. At the last moment, Lord COCHRANE appeared, having in the
meantime read Cobbett’s letter to the electors; and the latter withdrew
in Lord Cochrane’s favour.[3] Mr. Cobbett, however, made a long speech
at the hustings, in temperate but most eloquent terms; ridiculing the
claims of a sinecure-placeman upon the constituency. Mr. Bradshaw’s
remarks were short; but they included the instructive information
that the last speaker was a “convicted libeller.” Well, the people of
Honiton couldn’t afford to throw away their two-guineas-a-head; so, Mr.
Bradshaw was re-elected.
A dissolution of parliament was now imminent, and the new forces
promised themselves a glorious time of it. The following letter, dated
Botley, 7th July, points to the increasing prominence of Mr. Cobbett’s
share in the campaign:--
“… As to Mr. Robson’s re-election, I verily believe he would
carry it for Westminster; and I would go up and aid him with
all my might if he would stand upon my principle. He would
surely carry it. Let me know when the dissolution is to take
place. Give me, in your next letter, the very best intelligence
you can get upon the subject, for I must begin without loss of
time, to address the electors all over the kingdom.
“Between you and me, my opinion is, that _I should not come
forward now_, unless some body of electors were to call me
forward.[4] Most men like me have been ruined in reputation by
their haste to get forward. If the great objects which I have
at heart could be accomplished without my being in parliament,
I should greatly prefer it. I should first attend to my own
family. I am perfectly sincere in all my public professions.
But I will flinch from nothing that may tend to effect the
great purpose of saving the country, which is now, every day,
in more and more danger.… I wrote to Mr. Paull yesterday. I
highly approve of his activity and zeal; but he is, be assured,
too fond of the Bond Street set--has too great a desire to
live amongst _the great_, to aim at the only objects that can
save the throne and the liberties of the people.
“P.S.--We have at last got some rain, which was wanted to
prevent my trees from being totally burnt up.”
And, on the 17th:--
“… I hope Mr. Robson will come down here this summer, and he
and I will then settle upon a general scheme for an examination
into the public expenditure. We will leave no branch untouched.
Pray give my best respects to him, and tell him to take care of
his health. Tell him that if he intends to stand for Honiton,
he shall have my aid in preference to all other men upon earth
and my aid is something, after all. I think him the most
valuable man in parliament, and I hold it my duty to assist him
in all his endeavours.”
The following extracts from letters of July-October, will illustrate
several incidents and opinions:--
“… You opened my nephew’s letter, which I have before told
you I have an objection to. This is what you would not like;
and, in short, it is what I must say that I cannot permit.…
You opened a letter from Mrs. Cobbett’s brother to her; and I
did hope that my remark at the time would save me the pain of
making a direct injunction like this. I am in no anger, and I
wish to have no answer. The thing is now gone from my mind, and
there, I hope, it never will return.”
“… I greatly approve of what you are about to do with respect
to Mr. Finnerty, to whom I beg you to present my best
respects. As to Westminster, I hope Fox will live long yet;
for I am always afraid, that if he were dead, tyranny, sheer
unmixed _tyranny_, would be let loose upon the land. I am in
no haste to become anything but what I am; and never will
I be anything else by the usual base means resorted to by
candidates. The time must come, when either such principles as
mine will prevail, or when no principles at all will be of any
use.”
“… Last Friday, I caught a very bad cold indeed, a-fishing,
which I have not yet got rid of, though I rode ten miles this
morning.…
“Lauderdale is off, I hear, but I do not believe there will
be any peace. It is not the least consequence, however, to
anybody. Our affairs in this country will march on steadily
towards the great point at which, sooner or later, they must
arrive.
“I want to know, by return of post, whether Mr. Robson intends
to stand for Honiton; for if he does not, another person has
asked me to write thither in _his_ favour. This is of great
importance; for, I have told the person that I will so write,
if Mr. Robson does not stand; but, if he does, I am decidedly
for him in preference to any other man. Pray get me the
necessary information upon this head.
“Lord and Lady H. Stuart come here to-morrow; Mr. Paull will
come on Friday and stay till Sunday most likely; and on Sunday
comes another person for two days; so that you had better
come on the 12th or 13th [August] instant; for we shall have
no leisure at all if anybody is here.… Your pain in your side
should be taken care of. I am sure country exercise is the
thing. I speak from experience. A jolting upon the coach-box is
excellent.”
“… I am particularly interested by what you say about Mr.
Robson’s views with regard to the next parliament; and I
think with you, that for him to be safely returned is an
object of the very first consequence.… But, proportioned to my
anxiety for his election, is my hope that what I have heard
suggested is not true, viz., that he has an understanding
with Bradshaw. That were disgrace, indeed! Disgraceful in
all manner of ways; for how could he raise his voice against
pensions and sinecures, after having acted in conjunction with
a sinecure-placeman? This would be so shamefully bad, that I
cannot think of it without shuddering. Surely Lord Cochrane and
he could carry it for Honiton:[5] but then, Mr. Robson must,
and without loss of time, make his declaration both to the
borough and to Lord Cochrane, or else, he may depend that the
whole force of the Cochranes will be brought to bear against
him.”
“… I have put off what I intended to write until to-morrow. To
this I have been moved, in part by a desire to see the _Morning
Post_ before I begin; but, in truth, much more by a desire to
go and see a new pointer of Farmer Hoad’s hunt. This, viewed in
the abstract, is very bad; but, when it is considered that this
exercise gives me health and nerves, and that these produce
_Registers_, the time is not thrown away.…”
“… The _Morning Post_ man labours hard.[6] But it will nought
avail him. He must give us a good reason _why_ the Princess
does not publish the report and evidence, or he had better hold
his tongue.
“I had forgotten the HATS. Get them from the same man:--
(gold-laced)
[Illustration: Single-stick prize, won at Botley, 8th
September, 1806. 20 guineas.]
And one silver-laced, the same words, only 10 guineas in the
centre. The city of Salisbury has advertised that a match will
take place there on the 17th instant, ‘similar to that at
Botley.’ The hats must be here on Saturday at farthest. They
need not be very good. A hat at a guinea will do very well; and
as to the lace, I am sure that it need not cost more than about
a guinea-and-a-half. However, do the best you can.
“Lord Cochrane is here, hard at work a-shooting, but Mr.
Johnstone is not yet arrived.”
“We shall be in town to-morrow night, and I wish you could come
to me about 10 o’clock at Col. Johnstone’s in Harley Street.
“A glorious match have we had! A fine day, and a company of
people not less than six thousand in number. The whole of the
village was full. Stages, in the form of amphitheatres, were
erected against the houses, and, perhaps, seats let to the
amount of thirty or fifty pounds! Every gentleman round the
country was here. The subscription pays the whole of all the
expenses, without throwing any more than my single guinea and
the price of my dinner upon me. The city of Salisbury will
not equal this, take my word for it. There were twenty-three
players. The first prize went to Somersetshire, and the second
to Wiltshire. But the great contest was between the former
county and Hampshire.”
“… The little mare went off on Friday. Keep her well, use her
regularly and gently, and I hope she will prove of use. William
followed her with his eyes as long as he could get a glimpse of
her; and the poor dear fellow could not speak a word all the
evening after she went off. He was made somewhat more happy by
my assuring him that she was not sold, and that she was gone to
you. Fit her well with saddle and bridle, and have a curb, for
she is apt to run off, though _your weight_ will be a tolerably
good curb. The main thing is to see her well fed upon good hay
and oats.”
“… The little dogs came very safe; and they are both (having
been new named Tipler and Daisy) at Steeple Court Farm, there
to be reared up to dog-hood. I was yesterday at Meon Stoke,
where we had some very fine coursing. We found five hares. Two
stole off; three we coursed, and killed two. There was one
large greyhound dog; but my little bitches beat him hollow.
They go like the wind.… Lord Northesk, who lives at Rose
Hill, near Winchester, has been here again to invite me there
a-coursing; and I shall go next Saturday, if I am alive and
well.”
“… As to your coming down, when you do come, I wish you to stay
a week or ten days. You must go with us a-coursing; and I will
take care to have a good field for sport provided.… If you
never saw any coursing, you have a great pleasure to come; and
you will see William ride his pony and leap over the ditches.”
Amongst new acquaintances of this year was no less a person than Dr.
Mitford, probably introduced to Cobbett by Sir William Elford, who was
a vigorous Windhamite. The Doctor’s passion for coursing consolidated a
friendship which lasted for several years; and we find Cobbett visiting
him in December, 1806, at Bertram House, near Reading, from which place
several articles in the _Register_ are dated. Miss Mitford has several
pleasing recollections of Cobbett, for whom she had considerable
esteem.[7]
But, of all his Hampshire friends, there was none so staunch as
Viscount Folkestone,[8] a rising whig politician of the day; a man
who endeavoured to carry the principles of his pretentious Party into
practice, and honestly believed that Mr. Cobbett was, with all his
untamable vigour, one of the best exponents of the current political
aspirations. Although the time came when, in 1834, their opinions
diverged on the Poor Law question, their mutual regard lasted to the
very end.
FOOTNOTES
[1] The Parliamentary Debates.
[2] John Cartwright (1740-1823) was the boldest and the bravest
champion of free speech, for forty years or more, during the reign of
George the Third. Indeed, he was not unjustly styled “the Father of
Reform.” In early life he was in the navy, but left it after a short
period of service, and became an officer in the militia. He produced a
number of pamphlets, advocating all those ideas of popular rights which
have since his time been generally accepted in England, the first one
being in support of American Independence, published in 1774. But his
writings were heavy in style, and could not live beyond his own times
and the occasions which they served.
Major Cartwright’s personal character was lofty and amiable, and
Cobbett appears to have regarded him with peculiar affection. On one
occasion of the Westminster Anniversary Dinner, in 1816, an opportunity
occurred, under the following circumstances, of entering upon a
protest, against the Major being overlooked among the new men who
were finding it worth their while to pin their faith to the cause of
Reform:--After the two members were toasted, as usual, there appeared
the name of Brougham! Mr. Cobbett’s wonder at this was changed into
indignation upon finding Major Cartwright’s name at the bottom of the
list; and he declared he would not sit any longer at the table unless
an alteration was made. So Brougham’s name was taken out, and the
Major’s put in its place.
[3] “When I went as a candidate to Honiton, in the year 1806, I
began by posting up a bill, having at the top of it this passage of
Scripture, ‘Fire shall consume the tabernacles of bribery.’ After
this I addressed myself to the people of the place, telling them how
wicked and detestable it was to take bribes. Most of the corrupt
villains laughed in my face, but some of the women actually cried out
against me in the streets, as a man that had come to rob them of their
_blessing_!” (_Register_, xlviii. 500.)
[4] The following advertisement, to the Electors of Westminster, was
addressed to them in September, and appears in the _Morning Post_ of
the 19th:--
“Gentlemen,--Having, some time ago, publicly stated that, at the
General Election then looked for, and in the case then supposed, it
appeared to me that I ought to offer myself to you as a candidate;
having now been informed that, in consequence of that statement, a very
general expectation has been entertained that, upon this accidental
occasion, I should so offer myself; and having, by many individuals
of your respectable body, been pressingly urged to fulfil that
expectation; thus situated, I think it my duty, _first_, explicitly
to declare that, for the present, I relinquish the honour intended
me, and for this sole reason, that at this time I find it would be
next to impossible for me to devote myself wholly and exclusively to
the discharge of the great duties which, by your suffrages, would
necessarily be imposed; and, _secondly_, to warn you against the
calamity, the shame, the deep disgrace, that await you and your country
if, yielding to the venal solicitations of the stewards and butlers of
noblemen, you condescend to become the menials of menials, the laquies
of laquies,--and suffer the popular, the industrious, the enlightened
and public-spirited city of Westminster, hitherto considered as the
ever-burning lamp of the liberties of England, to be handed to-and-fro
like a family borough. Confidently trusting that you will, with
indignation, resent any project for thus extinguishing the fame of your
city and degrading the character of her electors; confidently trusting
that, when you consider that it is to you all other free cities and
boroughs look for an example, you will tear in rags the gaudy livery
now tendered for your backs; confidently trusting that, when the
question is _freedom_ or _bondage_, you will suspend all animosities
and differences, and act with a degree of energy and unanimity that
shall at once and for ever blast the hopes of all those who would make
you the instruments of your country’s ruin; thus trusting, and with a
mind full of gratitude for the goodwill which many of you have taken
occasion to express towards myself,--I remain, &c., WILLIAM COBBETT.”
Oddly enough, this advertisement precedes a highly abusive paragraph on
“this low-bred man.” The _Post_ was a good hater of the lower orders.
[5] In the end, Bradshaw and Cochrane were elected, and Mr. Robson
found a seat as representative for Oakhampton.
[6] This is with reference to a glorious newspaper squabble, especially
entertaining on account alike of the circumstances which aroused
it and of the combatants engaged. The first attempt to defame the
Princess of Wales had just been made, and the _Morning Post_ took up
the illustrious lady and the “infamous calumny” into its protecting
breast. The fulsome style, and the dark insinuations conveyed, aroused
Mr. Cobbett, and he, while asserting his indifference to the question
until there was really some charge, on one side or the other, upon
which to comment, wanted to know what the _Post_ meant by stating that
the Princess had been guilty of _no levities, but such as no woman in
the land was free from_. Ever the champion of the sex, he begged for an
explanation. Week after week the question was put, and reiterated with
new zest. There was no answer; but only column after column of abuse
upon the head of the “gross and abominable writer,” “this low-bred
man,” this “modern Jack Cade,” &c. “This gross and abominable writer
is exposed to the merited detestation of all classes, especially
the more elevated, whom this writer has, in his revolutionary cant,
described as the well-dressed rabble of the readers of the _Morning
Post_. _We hope the Attorney-General will look to this._” A very
silly and abusive pamphlet followed, under the wing of the _Post_:
“Strictures on Cobbett’s Unmanly Observations relative to the Delicate
Investigation; and a Reply to the Answer to an Admonitory Letter to
H.R.H. the Prince of Wales, containing an Account of the True Cause why
the Commissioners’ Report has not yet been Published, and many other
Additional Facts, &c.” (London, 1806). Here is one of the additional
facts:--“Vain, contemptible slanderer! where in all thy calumnious
pages is one unanswerable argument.”
[7] Among other references to Cobbett, Miss Mitford records a visit to
Botley (“Recollections of a Literary Life,” chap. xvii.):--
“Sporting, not politics, had brought about our present visit and
subsequent intimacy.… He had at that time a large house at Botley, with
a lawn and gardens sweeping down to the Bursledon river.… His house,
large, high, massive, red, and square, and perched on a considerable
eminence, always struck me as being not unlike its proprietor. It was
filled at that time almost to overflowing. Lord Cochrane was there,
then in the very height of his warlike fame, and as unlike the common
notion of a warrior as could be--a gentle, quiet, mild young man.…
“There was a large fluctuating series of guests for the hour or guests
for the day, of almost all ranks and descriptions, from the earl and
his countess to the farmer and his dame. The house had room for all,
and the hearts of the owners would have had room for three times the
number. I never saw hospitality more genuine, more simple, or more
thoroughly successful in the great end of hospitality--the putting
everybody completely at ease. There was not the slightest attempt at
finery, or display, or gentility. They called it a farmhouse, and
everything was in accordance with the largest idea of a great English
yeoman of the old time. Everything was excellent, everything abundant,
all served with the greatest nicety by trim waiting-damsels; and
everything went on with such quiet regularity that of the large circle
of guests not one could find himself in the way. I need not say a word
more in praise of the good wife, … to whom this admirable order was
mainly due. She was a sweet motherly woman.…
“At this time William Cobbett was at the height of his political
reputation; but of politics we heard little, and should, I think,
have heard nothing, but for an occasional red-hot patriot, who would
introduce the subject, which our host would fain put aside, and
got rid of as speedily as possible. There was something of _Dandie
Dinmont_ about him, with his unfailing good-humour and good spirits,
his heartiness, his love of field sports, and his liking for a foray.
He was a tall, stout man, fair and sunburnt, with a bright smile, and
an air compounded of the soldier and the farmer, to which his habit of
wearing an eternal red waistcoat contributed not a little.…
“Few persons excelled him in the management of vegetables, fruit, and
flowers. His green Indian corn, his Carolina beans, his water-melons,
could hardly have been exceeded at New York. His wall-fruit was
equally splendid; and, much as flowers have been studied since that
day, I never saw a more glowing or a more fragrant autumn garden than
that at Botley, with its pyramids of hollyhocks, and its masses of
china-asters, of cloves, of mignonette, and of variegated geranium.
The chances of life soon parted us, as, without grave faults on either
side, people do lose sight of one another; but I shall always look back
with pleasure and regret to that visit.”
[8] Afterwards 3rd Earl Radnor. He died in 1869, at a very advanced
age, after a life of real usefulness. Had there been more such men
as he, the domestic history of England, in our century, would be a
different tale.