London correspondence of the Press. It is an enormous power;
whether they use it aright, who can say?

I had, after I left college, written reviews and articles. But in 1850
Mr. John Cassell engaged me as sub-editor of the _Standard of Freedom_,
established to promote the sale of his coffees, or rather, in consequence
of the sale of them--to advocate Free Trade and the voluntary principle,
and temperance in particular, and philanthropy in general. In time I
became chief editor, but somehow or other the paper was not a success,
though amongst the leader writers were William Howitt and Robertson, who
had been a writer on the _Westminster Review_. It was there also I saw a
good deal of Richard Cobden, a man as genial as he was unrivalled as a
persuasive orator, who had a wonderful facility of disarming prejudice,
and turning opponents into friends. I fancy he had a great deal of
sympathy with Mr. John Cassell, who was really a very remarkable man.
John Cassell may be described as having sprung from the dregs of the
people. He had but twopence-halfpenny in his pocket when he came to
town; he had been a carpenter's lad; education he had none. He was tall
and ungainly in appearance, with a big head, covered with short black
hair, very small dark eyes, and sallow face, and full of ideas--to which
he was generally quite unable to give utterance. I was always amused
when he called me into his sanctum. "Mr. Ritchie," he would say, "I want
you to write a good article on so-and-so. You must say," and here he
would wave his big hand, "and here you must," and then another wave of
his hand, and thus he would go on waving his hand, moving his lips, which
uttered no audible sound, and thus the interview would terminate, I
having gained no idea from my proprietor, except that he wanted a certain
subject discussed. At times he had a terrible temper, a temper which
made all his friends thankful that he was a strict teetotaler. But his
main idea was a grand one--to elevate morally and socially and
intellectually the people of whose cause he was ever an ardent champion
and true friend. He died, alas too soon, but not till he saw the firm of
Cassell, Petter, and Galpin one of the leading publishing firms of the
day. _The Standard of Freedom_ was incorporated with _The Weekly News
and Chronicle_, of which the working editor was Mr. John Robinson--now
Sir John Robinson, of _The Daily News_--who was at the same time working
editor