which stamps them with a special charm, for which we might search in vain through the whole of our ablest political writers.

When Cobbett returned from America, he was an ultra Tory, and he continued to support ministers for the first two or three years of his journalism with the most enthusiastic zeal and devotion. In his Register, however, he very soon began to show a spirit of independence in his remarks on public affairs, which could not fail to sever his connection with the Churchand-king party, by whom he had been received with open arms when he landed in England.

For the freedom of his remarks he incurred a sentence of libel, and was committed to Newgate prison... In July, 1812, he was again set at liberty with the character of a martyr in the cause of freedom, and the reputation of being the ablest and most daring champion of the people's cause. But his imprisonment, and the fine of 10007., which he was obliged to pay for the freedom of his remarks on flogging, gave a serious shock to his circumstances, and ultimately tended in no small degree to land him in those pecuniary embarrassments which caused him again to leave the country for America in 1817.

Cobbett remained in America about two years and a half, during which time he kept up his Registers regularly, showing up the "sons and daughters of corruption " as fearlessly as ever. In addition to his literary labors, he took a farm, where he sustained a very serious loss of property by a fire which consumed his dwelling-house and the greater part of his farming stock... This blow seems to have made him think of returning home once more, now that England seemed as if it would weather the storm. Accordingly, he left New York in October, 1819, and arrived at Liverpool on the 20th of November.

Soon after his return from a tour in Scotland, the first general election under the Reform Bill took place, when Mr. Cobbett, who had been brought forward as a candidate both at Manchester and Oldham, was returned for the latter borough by a majority of four to one over his opponents.

The friends and admirers of Mr. Cobbett, who had been so anxious to see him in parliament, had now obtained their wish. He was now a portion of the "collective wisdom; nor was it long before he took occasion to give the House a sample of his eloquence. In the debate on the choice of a speaker, on on the 31st of January, 1833, he delivered his first parliament

ary speech, which excited no small amount of good-humored merriment, by the homely, colloquial style in which it was couched, not less than by the originality of his remarks.

In spite of his temperate habits, his naturally robust health gave way under his exhausting duties. With a few fluctuations, he lingered for a short time, during which he recovered so far as to be able to talk in the most sprightly manner upon politics and farming, and to express a wish for "four days' rain for the Cobbett corn and the root crops."

The

On the day previous to his death, he could not rest in the house, but insisted on being carried round the farm. strong man, who had hardly ever known what illness was, seemed as if he would set disease at defiance to the very last. That night he grew more and more feeble-the journey round the farm had been the last flicker in the socket. About one o'clock on Thursday morning, the 18th of June, 1835, William Cobbett expired, in the seventy-fourth year of his age.

On the 27th of June, the funeral took place from Normandy Farm. By the time it had reached Farnham, it was swelled by thousands of laborers in their smock frocks and straw hats, who followed the procession to the churchyard, and there the mortal remains of one of England's heroes were deposited beside those of his humble ancestors. Chambers' Misc.

GIFFORD; THE SELF-TAUGHT SCHOLAR.

I WAS not quite thirteen when my widowed mother died; my little brother was hardly two; and we had not a relation nor a friend in the world. Everything that was left was seized by a person of the name of Carlile, for money advanced to my mother. It may be supposed that I could not dispute the justice of his claims; and, as no one else interfered, he was suffered to do as he liked. My little brother was sent to the alms-house, whither his nurse followed him out of pure affection; and I was taken to the house of the person I have just mentioned, who was also my godfather.

Respect for the opinion of the town induced him to send me again to school, where I was more diligent than before, and more successful. I grew fond of arithmetic, and my master began to distinguish me; but these golden days were over in less than three months. Carlile sickened at the expense; as the people were now indifferent to my fate, he looked round for an opportunity of ridding himself of a useless charge.

and

My godfather had humble views for me, and I had little heart to resist anything. He proposed to send me on board one of the Torbay fishing-boats; I ventured, however, to remonstrate against this, and the matter was compromised by my consenting to go on board a coaster. A coaster was speedily found for me at Brixham, and thither I went when little more than thirteen.

My master, whose name was Full, though a gross and ignorant, was not an ill-natured man, at least, not to me; and my mistress used me with unvarying kindness, moved perhaps by my weakness and tender years. In return I did what I could to requite her, and my good-will was not overlooked Our vessel was not very large, nor our crew very numerous. On ordinary occasions, such as short trips to Dartmouth, Plymouth, &c., it consisted only of my master, an apprentice nearly out of his time, and myself: when we had to go farther, to Portsmouth, for example, an additional hand was hired for the voyage... In this vessel "The Two Brothers," I continued nearly a twelvemonth; and here I got acquainted with nautical terms, and contracted a love for the sea, which a lapse of thirty years has but little diminished.

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It will be easily conceived that my life was a life of hardship. I was not only a ship-boy on the high and giddy mast," but also in the cabin, where every menial office fell to my lot; yet, if I was restless and discontented, I can safely say it was not so much on account of this, as of my being precluded from all possibility of reading; as my master did not possess, nor do I recollect seeing during the whole time of my abode with him, a single book of any description, except the “Coasting Pilot."... As my lot seemed to be cast, however, I was not negligent in seeking such information as promised to be useful; and I therefore frequented, at my leisure hours, such vessels as dropped into Torbay.

On Christmas Day (1770) I was surprised by a message from my godfather, saying that he had sent a man and horse to bring me to Ashburton, and desiring me to set out without delay. My master, as well as myself, supposed it was to spend the holidays there, and he therefore made no objection to my going. We e were, however, both mistaken.

Since I had lived at Brixham I had broken off all connection with Ashburton. I had no relation there but my poor brother, who was yet too young for any kind of correspondence; and the conduct of my godfather towards me did not entitle him

to any portion of my gratitude or kind remembrance. I lived, therefore, in a sort of sullen independence on all I had formerly known, and thought without regret of being abandoned by every one to my fate.... But I had not been overlooked. The women of Brixham, who travelled to Ashburton twice a week with fish, and who had known my parents, did not see me, without kind concern, running about the beach in a ragged jacket and trowsers. They mentioned this to the people of Ashburton, and never without commiserating my change of condition... This tale, often repeated, awakened at length the pity of their auditors, and, as the next step, their resentment against the man who had brought me to such a state of wretchedness. In a large town this would have had but little effect; but in a place like Ashburton, where every report speedily becomes the common property of all the inhabitants, it raised a murmur which my godfather found himself either unable or unwilling to encounter; he therefore determined to recall me, which he could easily do, as I wanted some months of fourteen and was not yet bound... All this I learned on my arrival; and my heart, which had been cruelly shut up, now opened to kinder sentiments and fairer views.

After the holidays, I returned to my darling pursuit, arithmetic: my progress was now so rapid, that in a few months I was at the head of the school, and qualified to assist my master on any extraordinary emergency. As he usually gave me a trifle on those occasions, it raised a thought in me, that, by engaging with him as a regular assistant, and undertaking the instruction of a few evening scholars, I might, with a little additional aid, be enabled to support myself... I was in my fifteenth year when I built these castles in the air; a storm, however, was collecting, which unexpectedly burst upon me and swept them all away.

On mentioning my little plan to Carlile he treated it with the utmost contempt, and told me, in his turn, that as I had learned enough, and more than enough, at school, he must be considered as having fairly discharged his duty, and so, indeed, he had; he added, that he had been negotiating with his cousin, a shoemaker of some respectability, who had liberally agreed to take me without a fee as an apprentice. I was so shocked at this intelligence that I did not remonstrate, but went in sullenness and silence to my new master, to whom I was soon after bound till I should attain the age of twenty-one... The family consisted of four journeymen, two sons about my own age, and an apprentice somewhat older. In these there was nothing remarkable; but my master was the strangest creature,

He was fond of controversy, and as his views were narrow and limited, he entertained no doubt of their infallibility, and, being noisy and disputatious, was sure to silence his opponents. He became, in consequence, intolerably arrogant and conceited... He was not, however, indebted solely to his knowledge of the subject for his triumph; he was possessed of a Dictionary, and he made a most singular use of it. His custom was to fix on any word in common use, and then to get by heart the synonym or periphrasis by which it was explained in the book; this he constantly substituted for the simple term, and, as his opponents were commonly ignorant of his meaning, his victory was complete.

I possessed at this time but one book in the world: it was a treatise on algebra, given me by a young woman, who had found it in a lodging-house. I considered it as a treasure; but it was a treasure locked up; for it supposed the reader to be well acquainted with simple equation, and I knew nothing of the matter. My master's son had purchased "Fenning's Introduction:" this was precisely what I wanted; but he carefully concealed it from me, and I was indebted to chance alone for stumbling upon his hiding-place...I sat up for the greatest part of several nights successively, and, before he suspected that his treatise was discovered, had completely mastered it. I could now enter upon my own; and that carried me pretty far into the science... This was not done without difficulty. I had not a farthing on earth, nor a friend to give me one: pen, ink, and paper, therefore were, for the most part, as completely out of my reach as a crown and sceptre. There was, indeed, resource; but the utmost caution and secrecy were necessary in applying to it. I beat out pieces of leather as smooth as possible, and wrought my problems on them with a blunted awl; for the rest, my memory was tenacious, and I could multiply and divide by it to a great extent.

a

Hitherto I had not so much as dreamed of versifying-indeed, I scarcely knew poetry by name; and, whatever may be said of the force of nature, I certainly never "lisped in numbers❞ A person had undertaken to paint a sign for an alehouse; it was to have been a lion, but the unfortunate artist produced a dog. On this awkward affair one of my acquaintance wrote a copy of what we called "poetry": I liked it; but fancied I could compose something more to the purpose: I made the experiment, and by the unanimous suffrage of my shop-mates, was allowed to have succeeded.

This and other efforts were always attended with applause, and sometimes with favors more substantial: little collections