“THEY COMPLAIN THAT THE TWOPENNY TRASH IS READ.”
The ruin which was overtaking all the agricultural interest during
the last years of the Regency, put a finishing stroke to the little
estate at Botley. It had been heavily mortgaged for some years past;
and upon Mr. Cobbett’s return from America, he found himself stripped
of everything in the shape of realizable property. The profits from
the _Register_ were comparatively smaller than of old; for, although
the circulation was prodigious, the expense of its distribution was
also very great. The establishment of another daily paper[1] probably
added to his pecuniary difficulties. At last there was no resource
but bankruptcy, which took place in the course of 1820. The creditors
were few, and acted very generously; and Mr. Cobbett afterwards refers
to them with the kindliest feelings. One of them, indeed (Mr. George
Rogers, of Southampton), went further; and paid the damages and costs
in Wright’s action, which followed very soon after the certificate in
bankruptcy was issued. The low ebb at which his fortunes now stood, are
best described in Cobbett’s own words:--
“In January, 1821, my family, after having for years been
scattered about like a covey of partridges that had been sprung
and shot at, got once more together, in a hired lodging at
Brompton; and our delight, and our mutual caresses, and our
tears of joy, experienced no abatement at our actually finding
ourselves with only _three shillings_ in the whole world; and
at my having to borrow from a friend the money to pay for the
paper and print off the then next Saturday’s _Register_!”
To live in London, however, or even near it without “fruits and
flowers,” was out of the question. Accordingly, we find Mr. Cobbett
soon settled at Kensington, cultivating a plot of land as a seed-farm;
and his politics and his satire are, thenceforth, mingled with the
mysteries of trees and turnips, corn and apples. Unable to resume the
practice of planting, for himself, upon a large scale, Mr. Cobbett
gave a great impulse to the formation of plantations, on the part of
gentlemen who could afford to do it. His old friend, Lord Folkestone,
was especially encouraged to improve the grounds at Coleshill by
further plantings, and covered many acres with his favourite acacia,
then better known under its American name of locust-tree. So great,
indeed, became the rage for this particular tree, that more applicants
came to Kensington for the seeds than could be served with those
imported from America; and Cobbett actually had to purchase them
sometimes from the London nurserymen, in whose shops they were lying
neglected under another name.
The story of Cobbett’s planting and seed-farming would make an
interesting volume. It became the fashion, after his death, to decry
his successes,[2] and to minimize his qualities as a farmer; and
perhaps with some justice, as regards this latter part of his life, as
his hands were always too full of more stirring matters. But he did
unquestionable service to the art of planting; and in promoting the
restoration of woods and coppices, which had so fatally suffered from
the felling and clearing brought about by the war, and by the efforts
made by so many persons to save their property by the sacrifice of its
timber. And, besides this practical part of the business: ever ready
to put his notions into print, he must needs produce more books, in
order to popularize his plans; books, however, which have met with
comparative neglect, of late years, on account of their special nature.
Rural economy and domestic economy are matters which, treated as social
arts, get so modified by the rapidly-changing currents of our time,
that the mode of one generation is lost amid the fads of the next. But
the peculiar merit of Cobbett’s books was their readableness; and,
whilst such matters as the Currency and the Corn Laws could be rendered
entertaining by his facile pen, it was natural that rural affairs, in
which he delighted, and amongst which he heartily believed that the
highest domestic felicity was to be found, should derive from that pen
the highest charms. There never lived, probably, a writer to equal
Cobbett in rural description: one who could, in the midst of some angry
polemic, so readily turn off for a moment and present his reader with a
country picture; perfectly life-like, glowing with colour and realism:
who could make a mere gardening book entertaining.
Whilst in Long Island, Mr. Cobbett had prepared an “American Gardener,”
which he published, soon after his return to England; dedicating it to
one of his neighbours out there. The “English Gardener,” published a
few years later, was a reproduction of this, adapted to the differing
conditions of his own country. “The Woodlands,” published early in
1825; a new edition of Tull’s old book on “Horse-hoeing Husbandry,”
in 1822; and a guide for the cultivation of Indian corn, completed
a useful series of books on rural affairs. All these are marked by
sufficient egotism; but they are far more practical than the general
run of such works. There is so much painstaking description, and so
much lively illustration, that the reader is forced to take an interest
in what he is reading. It is almost impossible for one to take in hand
the “Woodlands,” without wishing to become a planter.
The “Cottage Economy” was a small work, exclusively for the use of
cottagers, with the aim of bringing them back to the habits and ways of
their grandparents; in reviving the arts of making bread and brewing
beer at home; of keeping cows, poultry, and bees; and, generally,
showing the way to become independent of shopkeepers and tax-gatherers.
All this Cobbett had seen in his youth, and he was determined to revive
these things, if it was to be done. And the immediate popularity of
these rural books, coming, as they did, at a period when people were
making most desperate efforts to keep the wolf from the door, showed
forth an unquestionable fact,--that the people wanted sympathy and
guidance, and the means of self-improvement, and were well satisfied
to get so much from the man who was fighting their battles for them in
another way.
As one example of the amount of influence Cobbett obtained over people,
in minor domestic matters, the following may be given:--From a farmer’s
daughter in Connecticut, who had sent over to the Society of Arts a
straw-bonnet of her own making, he obtained some particulars as to the
mode of preparation. Having published the matter in the _Register_,
an importer of Italian straw applied to Mr. Cobbett, requesting to
know whether he could undertake to get some American straw imported.
Upon seeing some samples of the straw from which the Leghorn hats were
made, and looking at it “with the eyes of a farmer,” he perceived
that it consisted of dry oat, wheat, and rye stalks, mixed with those
of certain common grass plants. This discovery made it clear to him
that there was no need of importation; and, proceeding in his usual
energetic way, he soon had straw hats and bonnets prepared from English
grasses. This opened up a new industry, not only in the homes of the
labourers, but on the part of some manufacturers; and its success was
so far recognizable, that the Society of Arts, in the year 1823, gave
Mr. Cobbett their silver medal, as a token of their approbation. ENVY
caught sight of this, of course, and asserted itself as usual, with
newspaper paragraphs headed, “The Society of Arts humbugged at last!”
and so on; but what was that, to disturb the well-earned delight of the
man who could ride about the country, and see and hear for himself
many a poor cottager at work, otherwise unable to earn a livelihood:
who could print letters of grateful thanks from every quarter of the
kingdom?
The attempt to naturalize the maize plant was another singular effort
of Mr. Cobbett’s; the complete success of which, however, was too much
to expect from the English climate. But, by the application of a good
deal of zealous labour and attention, many persons did succeed in
producing good crops; and there was not only bread made from “Cobbett’s
corn,” but paper was made from the stalks.
A most particular aversion of Mr. Cobbett’s was the potato.
“This root is become a favourite because it is the suitable
companion of misery and filth. It can be seized hold of before
it be half ripe, it can be raked out of the ground with the
paws, and without the help of any utensils except, perhaps,
a stick to rake it from the fire, can be conveyed into the
stomach, in the space of an hour. We have but one step farther
to go, and that is, to eat it raw, side by side with our
bristly fellow-creatures, who, by-the-bye, reject it as long
as they can get at any species of grain, or at any other
vegetable. I can remember when the first acre of potatoes was
planted in a field, in the neighbourhood of the place where I
was born; and I very well remember that even the poorest of
the people would not eat them. They called them hog-potatoes;
but now they are become a considerable portion of the diet of
those who raise the bread for others to eat.”
This passage is from a Botley _Register_, of 1813; but it will
represent Cobbett’s notions and feelings on the matter during all his
life--from the scarcity-period at the beginning of the century (when
bills were introduced in Parliament to “encourage” the growth of
potatoes; and Ministers of State, at their grand dinners, used fried
potato-cakes, as a substitute for bread), to the time when he came to
predict a disastrous Irish famine. And it would be hard to deny the
force of his arguments; the burden of which was, that in order to keep
a people in a condition of semi-barbarism, little else was necessary
than to cause potatoes to be the general food of the country. A knife
(he pointed out) which even savages rarely dispense with, is not
required by the feeder on potatoes. No forethought, and only a minimum
of industrious attention, are needed. The love of ease, so natural to
mankind, soon prevails, in the absence of incitement to labour--a safe
commonplace; but one of vital importance to be borne in mind, when the
thoughtless, and the ignorant, and the purse-proud are content to see a
whole class of their fellow-beings ranked just above the swine.
Some curious notions used to get afloat, concerning cheap food for the
poor. There was the Duke of Richmond’s celebrated discovery of the
nourishing qualities of curry-powder; and the recipe of another clever
fellow, for making _flint-soup_. Milk, produced by animals fed upon
stewed straw, was discovered to have great fattening properties.…
Yet, with all this considerate device, the ungrateful wretches still
whined for their beer and bread and bacon, the dietary of their
forefathers. And the editor of a certain “diabolical” publication
persisted in telling them that they ought to have it, and they could
have it; for, at the time that the ordinary Wiltshire fare was _1¼
pound of bread and a halfpenny_ per day, he was giving to his own
labourers, at Barn Elm, 1 lb. of meat or bacon, 1½ lb. of flour,
besides cheese and beer, per day; and three shillings a week in money.
And there was so much wanton cruelty and insolence, under the
poor-relief system of those days. Gangs of labourers would be set to
work, the leader having a bell round his neck; men were set to _draw_
carts, like so many convicts, instead of using wheel-barrows; and,
when there was no immediate work on hand, you might see one carrying a
heavy stone up and down; or digging a hole in the ground one day, and
filling it up again the next. How all this went on, in England, for ten
or twelve years, scarce half a century ago, is past comprehending. It
is, however, a fact, that people could not only permit it, but permit
it without shame; and could venture to call those persons “diabolical
villains,” who blushed for the country which proclaimed itself “the
envy of surrounding nations.”
Those who blushed for their country: those who spent their lives in
the endeavour to arrest the hand of her oppressors: justly scorned the
pleas of submission and contentment, put forth by many well-meaning
persons in the shape of “religious” tracts. The man before us (one of
that class who practise a good deal more than they preach; who act
righteously before they inculcate righteousness on the part of others)
could only see, in these precious handbills, inducements to submit to
social degradation. But, in truth, acute suffering on the part of the
labouring-classes was teaching them as much as Mr. Cobbett, or any one
else, could do. To see the name of some fat pluralist on the title-page
of a tract against “repining;” to listen to advice and exhortation,
based on the comforting prospects of another and better world, on the
part of men who were themselves making sure of this one; to see the
names of the committees and promoters of this officious piety, and find
that they were, in many instances, the names of those who had given
a helping-hand to repression; and who continued to inculcate passive
obedience, and the extreme naughtiness of the poor wretches in wanting
to know something about the real causes of their misery, was too much
for millions of the unprivileged and unendowed. They could see, plainly
enough, who were the real Sowers of the Wind. And, perhaps, the Church
of England has come to see, for herself, how we have reaped a whirlwind
of religious indifference; in spite of “revivals,” and “restorations,”
and “extensions,” and “functions,” and potterings without number.[3]
* * * * *
Not the least important contribution to the cause of the people, on
the part of Mr. Cobbett, was his “History of the Reformation.” A
curiosity in literature; a clumsy, hastily-drawn indictment; the sport
of Protestant controversialists; the work yet served a noble purpose.
The scale of misrepresentation and calumny had been too long on one
side, and there wanted a thumping weight to restore the balance. And
when the world discovered that the story of the Reformation in England
had its very dark as well as its very bright side: when people learned
what utterly selfish ends it had promoted: the world took a long step
forward; stepped up to scrutinize it closely. And if the world found
that the rough rude hand of this literary pre-raphaelite had brought
some features into disgusting prominence, it was no more than was to be
expected, sooner or later. The mere controversy, concerning the mutual
recriminations of Papists and Protestants, and concerning their cutting
of each other’s throats, is nothing. All that will be going on when the
New Zealander comes. But the political nature of that great convulsion,
and its important social results, particularly with regard to the
shameless transfer of property into the hands of court-favourites, had
need to be shown up with a relentless hand.
The occasion, of this “History of the Reformation” being projected, was
the rapidly-growing feeling on the subject of Emancipation. Mr. Cobbett
had long proclaimed equality of political rights for the Catholic,
the Unitarian, and the Jew; and regarded them as oppressed people,
as long as their theological disabilities remained.[4] We laugh
now-a-days, at such fears as then existed concerning the removal of
these disabilities; but we are out of the wood; and the few persons of
superior mental stature who, in those times, persisted in declaring to
the cowards beneath them, that there was more safety in moving on, than
in standing still, had to make their voices heard above a fearful din,
of incrimination, and calumny, and petty party strifes.
So, by the time that the cause of Emancipation had taken hold of the
public mind: when the press, at last, took it up warmly, and O’Connell
was leading the agitation in Ireland: Cobbett had lashed himself into
a perfect fury, toward the opponents of religious equality, and toward
the inheritors of the Church domains. The ease-loving character of
the parsons of his day, the growth of a plutocracy, and the debased
condition of the poor: spake too ominously of national decadence. The
increasing perils of the country, with all parties trying, at last, to
propitiate the Parliamentary Reformers at the same time that they had
mortal dread of them, kept his mind at fever-heat; and Mr. Cobbett was
less than ever disposed to stay his voice or his pen, when conviction
had once seized him. He had nothing to gain, and nothing to lose, by
expressing his convictions. Given a fight, he was certain to be seen in
the thickest of it.
The urgency of the matter, and the readiness of the public mind to
accept a broader view of the Reformation story, were shown, by the
immediate success of the History. Published weekly, at a low price,
the early numbers reached a sale of upwards of forty thousand; and
very little time elapsed, before the work had flown all over Europe
and America. The fanatics did not like it, and they don’t like it
now.[5] There are persons about us, in these latter days, who consider
Emancipation as one of our great national sins, on account of which we
shall yet be heavily scourged. “LET THEM CURSE, BUT BLESS THOU!”
The thing did not aim at proselytism; the writer had no intention, nor
any expectation, of that. He did expect, however, to see thousands
and thousands of converts to the cause of tolerance; and there can
be no doubt whatever, that Cobbett’s “History of the Reformation”
gave immense impulse to that cause. And, if the book had only been
called “The History of the Great Spoliation,” the fanatics would have
been disarmed, and perhaps joined with the author in his passionate
denunciations; instead of wilfully and wickedly misconstruing his
motives, and distorting his arguments.
But the prejudice with which we go through the world is quite as gross
as the ignorance with which we enter it; and when we have stuck up such
a word as _Reformation_, and fallen down and worshipped it for a time,
we soon become incapable of forming just judgments.
* * * * *
The list of Mr. Cobbett’s books, which were directly intended to help
the cause to which his life was devoted, is complemented by adding to
the above-named, “The Poor Man’s Friend;” “Twelve Sermons;” and “The
Emigrant’s Guide.” The first of these he called the most learned work
that he had ever written. It consisted principally of short papers on
the rights and duties of the poor; which were published monthly, and
addressed to the working-people of Preston, after his unsuccessful
contest at the election. But the Sermons are better deserving of the
palm of superiority. The reader cannot open a page of this volume,
without being powerfully struck with Cobbett’s ability to handle any
subject illustrating man’s duty to his neighbour. Of course, there is a
little touch of politics underlying it all, although only perceptible
to one familiar with his political writings; but it is not one whit too
much to say, that this volume of sermons would do honour to any Divine,
in any Christian Church.
The “Sermons” had a tremendous popularity, for several years. As
monthly tracts, they had been originally published in avowed rivalry
to the vapid productions of religious doctrinaires, and of the
preachers of contentment and resignation under conditions of obvious
misgovernment. Some of the clergy had the good sense to use Cobbett’s
sermons in their own pulpits; it is to be hoped without generally
avowing the source of their inspiration. One reflection persists in
intruding itself upon the reader of these tracts; that when men come
to enter the ministry, after having been buffeted about the world a
bit, and having learned something of human nature, instead of being
delivered from a cloister (as from some manufactory), they will
understand their business better, and soon have less cause to whine
about the “spread” of infidelity and immorality. Until then, things
will go on as they do now.
* * * * *
That racy volume, “Rural Rides,” came forth to the world in a
sufficiently unpretending manner. It was a mere reprint of articles
from the _Register_, which had been generally written at the close of
a day’s journey, and without any special object but current reports
upon the condition of the people and the country. But none of Cobbett’s
writings have been so much quoted as the “Rural Rides,” a fact which
is easily understood, considering the circumstance that what would
deter most people from literary drudgery, was the very reverse to Mr.
Cobbett. A day’s exercise would impart fresh vigour to his mind, and
wings to his pen; and the result is, in this case, one of the very
liveliest books in the English language.
It was in the autumn of 1821 that the first journal was undertaken.
Cobbett’s own affairs were getting more comfortable; he lived quietly
at Kensington, not often troubling himself with the publishing-office;
and the experiment, of going round to see the farmers for himself,
was just in his vein. Agricultural distress was nearly at its worst,
and the troubles of the farmers formed the leading topic of the day.
Beef and mutton fetched an average of 4½_d._ per lb., in the month of
November; and all rural produce was at a similarly reduced figure. So
Mr. Cobbett started off, on horseback, through Berkshire and Wiltshire
to Gloucester and Hereford, returning by Oxford to Kensington; with
such satisfaction, that he spent much of the winter in similar journeys
through parts of southern England. All his intense interest in rural
affairs, and the welfare of the country folk: his close observations
on soil, and climate, and produce, and his sarcastic reflections on
domestic politics, were here served up for his readers in better style
than ever. And, at last, having employed a part of the ensuing four
or five years in the same manner, and reprinting the journals into a
volume, the result was a picture of the cotemporary domestic affairs of
England which it would be vain to seek elsewhere. In short, given an
inquiry into the condition of the people, at this troublesome period,
there could not, possibly, be better means of enlightenment than that
of taking Cobbett’s “Rural Rides;” and, making it the basis of such
inquiry, to group around it the necessary information and statistics
furnished by official reports. While, to the value of Cobbett’s
accurate and vivid descriptions of rural scenery, the use made of
the “Rural Rides,” on the part of guide-book makers, is sufficient
testimony.
The more important result, personally, of these rural journeys, was the
frequent opportunity afforded to Mr. Cobbett of meeting the farmers
at their market dinners and county meetings. This added immensely to
his influence; his opinions, especially on the currency, began to take
hold upon men, who had hitherto read his writings with some degree of
dislike and dread; and a very short time elapsed, before there were
found more Cobbettites in the country towns, than in the larger centres
of population.
Another series of rural rides was commenced in 1829. These were more
distinctively political tours; and extended to more distant parts,
including the manufacturing towns of Yorkshire and Lancashire. The
reception Mr. Cobbett met with, and the overflowing attendances upon
his lectures, showed, in a surprising degree, the hold he had obtained
upon the minds of the working-people. Parliamentary Reform was, at
last, no longer to be delayed; and while the Russells and the Greys
were getting a due share of credit, for their endeavours to force on
the Great Plunge, there was no questioning to whom principally belonged
the distinction of having made it inevitable.
FOOTNOTES
[1] _Cobbett’s Evening Post_ (Wm. C., Jun., printer and publisher,
269, Strand) was started on the 29th January, 1820, and ran for about
two months. The early numbers are largely devoted to the Coventry
election. On the 28th March a notice is given that the paper will be
discontinued, with a remark that, “at the time when this undertaking
was resolved on, it was uncertain what one could do, and could not
do, in the state of slavery in which the new laws placed the press.”
The _Register_ was missed on one or two occasions, and it was found
that the attempt to carry on both would be “to make both indifferent;”
besides, people both preferred the _Weekly Register_ and found that
Cobbett could, in that, do better justice to his powers.
[2] _Vide_ Loudon; also Donaldson’s “Agricultural Biography.”
[3] One of Cobbett’s bits of “verse” is upon the wickedness of
_repining_:--
Come, little children, list’ to me
While I describe your duty,
And kindly lead your eyes to see
Of lowliness the beauty.
’Tis true your bony backs are bare,
Your lips too dry for spittle,
Your eyes as dead as whitings’ are,
Your bellies growl for vict’al;
But, dearest children, oh! believe,
Believe not treach’rous senses!
’Tis they your infant hearts deceive,
And lead into offences.
When frost assails your joints by day,
And lice by night torment ye,
’Tis to remind you oft to pray,
And of your sins repent ye.
At parching lips when you repine,
And when your belly hungers,
You covet what, by right Divine,
Belongs to Borough-mongers.
Let dungeons, gags, and hangman’s noose,
Make you content and humble,
Your heav’nly crown you’ll surely lose
If here on earth you grumble.
[4] “When I hear the Dissenters complaining of persecution, I cannot
help reflecting on the behaviour of some of them towards the Catholics,
with respect to whom common decency ought to teach them better
behaviour. But, whether I hear in a Churchman or a Dissenter abuse of
the Catholics, I am equally indignant; when I hear men, no two of whom
can agree in any one point of religion, and who are continually dooming
each other to perdition; when I hear them join in endeavouring to shut
the Catholic out from political liberty on account of his religious
tenets, which they call idolatrous and damnable, I really cannot feel
any compassion for either of them, let what will befall them. There
is, too, something so impudent, such cool impudence, in their affected
contempt of the understanding of the Catholics, that one cannot endure
it with any degree of patience. You hear them all boasting of their
_ancestors_; you hear them talking of the English Constitution as
the pride of the world; you hear them bragging of the deeds of the
Edwards and the Henrys; and of their wise and virtuous and brave
forefathers; and, in their next breath, perhaps, you hear them speak
of the Catholics as the vilest and most stupid of creatures, and as
wretches doomed to perdition; when they ought to reflect that all these
wise and virtuous and brave forefathers of theirs were Catholics, that
they lived and died in the Catholic faith, and that, notwithstanding
their Catholic faith, they did not neglect whatever was necessary to
the freedom and greatness of England. It is really very stupid, as well
as very insolent, to talk in this way of the Catholics, to represent
them as doomed to perdition who compose five-sixths of the population
of Europe; to represent as beastly ignorant those amongst whom the
brightest geniuses and the most learned men in the world have been and
are to be found; but still, the most shocking part of our conduct is to
affect to consider as a sort of outcasts of God as well as man those
who have, through all sorts of persecution, adhered to the religion
of _their_ and _our_ forefathers. There is something so unnatural, so
monstrous, in a line of conduct in which we say that our forefathers
are all in hell, that no one but a brutish bigot can hear of it with
patience.”--_Register_, xix. 1286.
[5] An unusual number of “answers” to Cobbett’s book have been
produced, some of which are named below. Out of the whole lot there
is not one that does not, once again, manifest the inability of your
controversialist, blinded with dogmatic solicitude, to escape from his
mental prison-house. The reader may be tempted to look at the last on
the list, as being a production of recent times; but the chances are
against his cutting open any pages beyond the introductory chapter.
To say no more than this argues great forbearance on the part of the
present writer.
“Catholic Miracles; illustrated by George Cruikshank; to which is added
a Reply to Cobbett’s Defence of the Reformation.”
“A True History of the Protestant Reformation in England and Ireland;
showing how that event has Enriched and Elevated the Main Body of
the People in those Countries; in a Series of Letters addressed to
all sensible and just Englishmen. In Reply to William Cobbett. By a
Protestant.” (In threepenny numbers, 1 to 5 only published. London,
1825.)
“The Protestant Vindicator; or, A Refutation of the Calumnies contained
in Cobbett’s History of the Reformation; including Remarks on the
Principal Topics of the Popish Controversy. By Robert Oxlad.” (Serial. ?
14 numbers. London, 1826.)
“The Epistles of Ignatius and Polycarp.… With an Appendix, containing
Notes, in which the Leading Arguments of Mr. Cobbett’s History are
refuted.…” (1827.)
“A Brief History of the Protestant Reformation; in a Series of Letters
addressed to William Cobbett.… By the Author of ‘The Protestant.’”
(1826; new ed., Glasgow, 1831.)
“The Social Effects of the Reformation.… By a Fellow of the Statistical
Society.” (“From a Series of Letters which appeared … during the years
1824 and 1825.” London, 1852.)
“A Reply to Cobbett’s ‘History of the Protestant Reformation in England
and Ireland.’ Compiled and Edited by Charles Hastings Collette.”
(London, 1869.)