the house, especially in damp
and foggy weather. In November 1864 he went down to Rochdale and
delivered a speech to his constituents--the last he ever delivered. That
effort was followed by great physical prostration, and he determined not
to quit his retirement at Midhurst until spring had fairly set in. But
in the month of March there were discussions in the House of Commons on
the alleged necessity of constructing large defensive works in Canada.
He was deeply impressed with the folly of such a project, and he was
seized with a strong desire to go up to London and deliver his
sentiments on the subject. He left home on the 21st of March, and caught
a chill. He recovered a little for a few days after his arrival in
London; but on the 29th there was a relapse, and on the 2nd of April
1865 he expired peacefully at his apartments in Suffolk Street.

On the following day there was a remarkable scene in the House of
Commons. When the clerk read the orders of the day Lord Palmerston rose,
and in impressive and solemn tones declared "it was not possible for the
House to proceed to business without every member recalling to his mind
the great loss which the House and country had sustained by the event
which took place yesterday morning." He then paid a generous tribute to
the virtues, the abilities and services of Cobden, and he was followed
by Disraeli, who with great force and felicity of language delineated
the character of the deceased statesman, who, he said, "was an ornament
to the House of Commons and an honour to England." Bright also attempted
to address the House, but, after a sentence or two delivered in a
tremulous voice, he was overpowered with emotion, and declared he must
leave to a calmer moment what he had to say on the life and character of
the manliest and gentlest spirit that ever quitted or tenanted a human
form.

In the French Corps Legislatif, also, the vice-president, Forcade la
Roquette, referred to his death, and warm expressions of esteem were
repeated and applauded on every side. "The death of Richard Cobden,"
said M. la Roquette, "is not alone a misfortune for England, but a cause
of mourning for France and humanity." Drouyn de Lhuys, the French
minister of foreign affairs, made his death the subject of a special
despatch, desiring the French ambassador to express to the government
"the mournful sympathy and truly national regret which the death, as
lamented as premature, of Richard Cobden had ex