he end of
April. Seventy-nine thousand pounds were contributed; it would have
been twice the sum, but for the distress, and the disturbance of
public affairs by the torrent of revolution which was sweeping over the
continent. The birthplace of Mr. Cobden, in Sussex, was purchased for
him, and the remainder of the money invested according to his wish. A
sum of L10,000 was raised for Mr. Bright, whose services, however great,
were justly deemed inferior to those of Mr. Cobden. Mr. Bright, however,
was supposed to possess considerable pecuniary resources, although he
also spent freely his private property for the public welfare; and it
was alleged that, but for his liberality in this respect, Mr. Cobden
could not have maintained his post in the face of so many personal
sacrifices. Mr. Bright was the less popular man of the two, partly from
temper, and a certain _hauteur_ which contrasted unfavourably with the
more simple and cordial manners of Mr. Cobden, partly from his religious
opinions bringing him, under a sense of duty, into collision with
the Established Church on various irritating questions, such as
church-rates. The general attainments of Mr. Bright were higher, and
his oratorical talents far superior to those of Mr. Cobden. The latter
frequently fell beneath his ordinary standard of effectiveness, Mr.
Bright scarcely ever. The author of these lines has frequently attended
public meetings in which these gentlemen took part, and he hardly
remembers a single instance in which Mr. Blight's speech did not possess
a high order of eloquence; whereas many of Mr. Cobden's speeches were
only interesting on account of the facts they detailed, and the clear
manner in which they were communicated.

Some time after these contributions of good-will from the country to the
two principal orators of the Anti-cornlaw League, a similar tribute was
paid to the services of Mr. Archibald Prentice, for many years editor
and proprietor of the _Manchester Times_. This gentleman was the founder
of the Anti-corn-law Association, out of which the League sprung, and, as
an able writer and public speaker, did much to prepare the way for the
men who afterwards conducted that agitation to victory. Mr. Prentice
fought bravely and pertinaciously for the repeal of the corn laws, long
before the wealthy supported it, or the suffrages of statesmen and men
of influence gave it a leading position in the questions of the day.

It was not to the credit