The morning call., 1892-11-20
WILLIAM COBBETT.
The Career of a Truly Self
Made Man.
HE FOUGHT FOR MANKIND.
From Farm to the Army-The Wife
He Chose-A Writer of Books
and Educator.
Written for THE MORNING CALI.

4 very interesting figure of the last GEN.
fury and the early part of this is found in
William Goblet. His burly. robust form,
his contentious nature, looms up in England
and America during periods of crises, and
we find him throughout life man fond Of
antagoniSm or lighting, prodigiOus worker,
and always apparently happy with his
back against wall defying his enemies or
Tevilers. and he had abundance of both.
In his personal attributes in domestic life
there is no fault to be found by
the carping He was devoted to his wife
and children, and they were also devoted TO
him. The world was not soured to him in
his domestic circle. But outside of it Cob
bett was always in the hottest of hot water,
and enjoyed it too. He suffered years of
imprisonment and was repeatedly fined,
but his misforlunes never overwhelmed him
and il he satisfied not his ambition he lived
his life and very active it was.
The Encyclopedia Britannica is the monu-
mental labor Of many hands, an admirable
achievement only possible in this century.
Cobbett may be said to have turned out an
encyclopedia of his own. He was a most
prolific writer. There are, perhaps. 80
volumes to his credit, and not trash either.
His English grammar, written In the
eUistolaTy style 10 one of his sons, is per-
haps the plainest and most instructive ever
penned, and certainly the most entertain
Ing. Ii is almost as fascin atng as a
novel, and the public evidently had that
orinion of its merits. He wrote it when
farming on Long Island. and within a
month 10000 copies had been sold. That
was marvellous stroke of success at the
beginning OF this century liz a sparsely
peopled country. His French grammar.
based on the same plan. is quite as fasei-
mating and sound. II interests the learner
fTnm ia last &c
much more than can be said of most gram
mars In any language. They are "dry-as-
dust compilations usually. The epistoIary
style was chosen for good reason. We
are always more interested in things writ
ten to us personally than in things ad-
dressed TO the world generally. That was
Cobbetps reason.
In his start in life, Goblet had few ad-
vantages. In his Peter Porcupine," which
was published in 1886 in America. Cobhett
with tho utmost fraDkness sketches his
career. He disclaims any connection with
any illustriOus family. He says he was
born in "Old England" The country from
whence came the men who explored and
settled North America; the country of
rem, and OF ali those 10 whom this country
Is indebted" We thus see that Goblet
was very proud Of his English origin, and
In many ways he showed il during his life.
AS Peter Porcupine," he goes on TO say
with respect to my ancestors l shall 60 no
-
Tor this plain reason, that l never heard
talk Of any prior to him. He was a day
laborer, and l have heard my father saw
that he worked for one farmer from the day
OF his marriage TO that OF his death, upward
OF forty years. He died before | was born.
but / have often slept beneath the same
roof that had sheltered him and where his
wife dwelt for several years. 1t was little
matched cottage with q garden before the
Goor. 1t had but two windows; a damson
lrc had pno ar1do 01tt -
other. Here / and my brothers went every
Christmas and WhitSuntide, TO spend a
week or two and torment the poor old
woman with our noise and depredations
She used to give us milk and bread for
breakfast an apple-pudding for our dinner.
and piece of bread and cheese for supper.
Her FIRE was made of turf cut from the
DeighboriDg heath, and her evening light
was rush dipped in grease"
Goblet in a sly manner attacks Dr.
Franklin for pretensions of high ancestry.
The following passage is delightfully."- sar-
castle: Every one will. / hope have the
goodness 10 believe that my grandfather
was no philosopher. Indeed. he was not.
He never made lightning rod, nor bottled
up single quart of sunshine ia the whole
course of his life. He was no almanac
maker. nor quack, nor chimney doctor, nor
SOAP boiler, nor ambassador, nor printers
devil; neither was he a deist, and all his
children were born In wedieck. The lega-
and his fail. He beQueathrd no old and
iTrecOverable debts to an hospital: he never
cheated the poor during his life nor Knocked
them in his death"
Goblet was proud of bis fatler-an in
dustrious and frugal farmer, married to a
wife of his own rank, beloved and respected.
and he remarks that if from his ancestors
he derives no hOnors at least he derives no
shame. He hardly remembers the time
when he did not make his own living on his
fathers farm. and his three brothers appear
also TO have made their living lust as in
dustriously. He went to school to an old
woman, who, however, did not succeed in
teaching him his letters. But education
was also carried on in the evening at home
by the father 1t appears that tile father
was partisan Of the Americans during the
war AMI so Goblet came at an early age to
imblbe sympathleS with the cause of the
colonies. The first occasion on which he
heard General Washington's name men,
toned was when his father toasted Wash
ington's health at hop fair.
Born in 1865, Goblet went on a visit to
Portsmouth IN 1882. and the first sight of the
sea gave him an ardent impulse to join a
man-0f- war. He actually got on beard the
Pegasus and offered his services. The cap
tain, however. depressed the ardor of the
volunteer and told him of the hardships he
would encounter. Not being accepted for
service, Cobbett returned to the plow. but
found himself spoiled for farmer. He
set out In 1888 on picnic. He was to &C.
company two or three girls 10 Guildford Fair.
and On the way the stagecoach for London
came up and Goblet changed his
mind. de went In to London and set
loot IN the great metropolis with half a
crown In his pocket. A chance friend pro-
cured him employment in a lawyers Office
ct Gray's Inn, but the work was irksome.
and after month of it Cobbett gave 1t up.
On this matter he thus soIiloquizes:
Gracious heaven! II / am doomed to be
wretched bury me beneath Iceland's snow
and let me feed on blubber; stretch me-
under the burning line and deny me the pro-
pitious dews; nay, ii IL be thy viii suffocate
me with the infested and pestilential air of
Democratic clubroom. but save me from
the desk of an attorney"
From an attorneys desk Goblet went to
Chatham. He enlisted. as he supposed. in
the marines. hoping once moro to get to
sea. but by some accident be took the Kings
shilling tor a marching regiment. He ex-
planned the situation to his CAPTAIN. who
Was an Irishman and who exclaimed. "Me
Lad. you have had a narrow escapeH This
marching regiment was ordered to Nova
Scotla. during the year he remained at
chatham Goblet worked hard to improve
MS mind. de read nearly all the books in
circulating library and literally memo-
rized and digested Louth's English gram
mar. pages OF which he used to repeat TO
himself while on sentry duty. 1t was capi-
tai exercise for his memory In other re-
spects.
On went the regiment TO Nova Scotia.
anc the change draws out this confession:
Nova Scotia had no other charm for me