t almost say of despair,
for the life and sunshine of my house had been extinguished." Cobden spoke
some words of condolence, but after a time he looked up and said, 'There
are thousands of homes in England at this moment where wives, mothers and
children are dying of hunger. Now, when the first paroxysm of your grief is
past, I would advise you to come with me, and we will never rest till the
Corn Laws are repealed.' "I accepted his invitation," added Bright, "and
from that time we never ceased to labour hard on behalf of the resolution
which we had made." At the general election in 1841 Cobden was returned for
Stockport, and in 1843 Bright was the Free Trade candidate at a by-election
at Durham. He was defeated, but his successful competitor was unseated on
petition, and at the second contest Bright was returned. He was already
known in the country as Cobden's chief ally, and was received in the House
of Commons with a suspicion and hostility even greater than had met Cobden
himself. In the Anti-Corn Law movement the two speakers were the
complements and correlatives of each other. Cobden had the calmness and
confidence of the political philosopher, Bright had the passion and the
fervour of the popular orator. Cobden did the reasoning, Bright supplied
the declamation, but like Demosthenes he mingled argument with appeal. No
orator of modern times rose more rapidly to a foremost place. He was not
known beyond his own borough when Cobden called him to his side in 1841,
and he entered parliament towards the end of the session of 1843 with a
formidable reputation as an agitator. He had been all over England and
Scotland addressing vast meetings and, as a rule, carrying them with him;
he had taken a leading part in a conference held by the Anti-Corn Law
League in London, had led deputations to the duke of Sussex, to Sir James
Graham, then home secretary, and to Lord Ripon and Mr Gladstone, the
secretary and under secretary of the Board of Trade; and he was universally
recognized as the chief orator of the Free Trade movement. Wherever "John
Bright of Rochdale" was announced to speak, vast crowds assembled. He had
been so announced, for the last time, at the first great meeting in Drury
Lane theatre on 15th March 1843; henceforth his name was enough. He took
his seat in the House of Commons as one of the members for Durham on 28th
July 1843, and on 7th August delivered his maiden speech in support of a
motion by Mr Ewart for r