g to pledge himself not to repeat,--or
illustrating the nature of English education by representing
Englishmen's complete knowledge of the Ilissus, which he had once seen
dammed up by washerwomen, and their utter ignorance of the Mississippi,
flowing its two thousand miles through a magnificent country peopled by
their own race. But these partisan sneers could not affect the judgment
of any who knew Mr. Cobden, or those who read his works on Russia and
the United States and his pamphlets on subjects of current interest,
that his classical and historical culture was equal to that of the
majority of his critics, whilst his acquaintance with general philosophy
and political economy was remarkable.

Mr. Cobden left the ordinary business of the warehouse in which he was
employed to become a commercial traveller, in which capacity he gained
much knowledge of Continental peoples and their languages. At length he
was able to establish himself in the calico business at Manchester, in
the firm "Richard Cobden & Co." The "Cobden prints" became celebrated,
the business flourished, and Mr. Cobden, at the time when he began his
political career, was receiving, as his share of the income, about
forty-five thousand dollars per annum. It was probably about the year
1830, when England was feeling the first ground-swells of the great
Reform agitation, that Mr. Cobden felt called to give himself entirely
to his country's service. He resolved, however, to study for some years
with reference to public questions. In 1834-5 he made a tour through
many countries, including Egypt, Greece, and Turkey, Canada and the
United States. On his return he wrote several pamphlets, in the name of
"A Manchester Manufacturer," which excited attention, and one ("England,
Ireland, and America") a lively controversy. About this time appeared
his first contribution to the Eastern question in a little work entitled
"Russia." In all these his fundamental ideas--Retrenchment,
Non-Intervention, Free Trade--were set forth in a very spirited and
eloquent way. It is now very evident that Mr. Cobden was the product and
utterance of his country at that time; and though he was held to be an
economical visionary, never was visionary in conservative England
blessed with seeing his visions so soon harden into facts. But he was
not so absorbed in national politics, and in his proposed "Smithian
Society," in which the "Wealth of Nations" was to be discussed, as to
forget the m