LETTER TO MRS. COBDEN, COVERING RESOLUTIONS OF THE REPUBLICAN STATE
CONVENTION OF MASSACHUSETTS, OCTOBER 5, 1865.
The letter of Mr. Sumner first appeared in the London papers.
BOSTON, October 5, 1865.
MY DEAR MADAM,--I have been charged by the State Convention of
the Republicans of Massachusetts, over which I had the honor of
presiding, to communicate to you resolutions unanimously adopted
by them, expressing their grateful regard for the memory of your
late husband, and their sympathy in your bereavement.[256]
Knowing Mr. Cobden personally, as I did for many years, and
corresponding with him on public questions, I confess a sense
of personal loss beyond even that of my fellow-citizens. He was
the good friend of my country, and he was my own private friend.
Therefore, in making this communication, I desire to express my
own individual grief.
His lamented death has caused a chasm not only in his own home
and country, but here in the United States. We all miss him and
mourn him. He was a wise and good man. An Englishman by birth,
his heart and all his faculties were given to mankind, knowing
well that the welfare and true glory of his own great country
were best assured by such a dedication.
Hoping that you may be consoled in your sorrow, and that your
children may be blessed in life, I ask you to accept the respect
with which I have the honor to be, dear Madam,
Your very faithful servant,