New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-11-06
NEW PUBLICATIONS.
"REMINISCENCES OF Golden.

"REMINISCENCES OF CObDEN'
"REMINISCENCES OF RIcHARD CoBpnE BEN. Com c. nv
piled by Mrs Sails Schwa6e VIII fTeia Tisbey
Unwin New-York: G. p. Putnam's Sons.
This volume includes letters. speeches. ana
other material relating to Cobden's career suDse-
ouent to the triumph Of free trade In England
and ending with the Anglo-French ComHerc'ai
Treaty of 1860 Much Of this time. when Coooe"
was not In Parliament he was endeaVoi"s ~
inspire the economists Of the Continent WIN '"e
same enthusiasm that he felt Tor MS ooc'''he'
Wherever he went in his travels ne was enter
tained beyond the limit OF his patience. he hateo
public dinners almost as cordially as ne oio wal
mr. the Corn laws. But he learned to enoure
them, and even to make post-prandiai speecn.'
in French The outlook for free trade, az ne ao-
vocated 1t, seemed to him bright IN those DAYS
One cannot help wondering how II wouid 'oo"
10 him now. II he could repeat his Journeys over
Western, Central and Southern Europe Inc ha-
tions, on the whole. are as far from accepting
his views as they ever were. either IN the ma''er
of duties or in that Of war.
Those were the times Of the controversy over
Schleswig- II ostein. Of the conflict IN the Cr'mea
of Louis Napoleon's quarrel with Austria anu VI
the beginnings Of Garibadis struggle for ltal-
ian liberty and union The Indian mutiny be-
longed there Also we'll as more than one chap-
ter OF British aggression in various parts OF the
world Almost the only military achievement
that won his approval was that Of Garibaldi' ana
even in that case he thought the Italians unnt
for the liberty which they craved The en're
course Of English aggression IN INDIA met MS
warmest dsapproval But his bitterest censure
was reserved for the Crimea- He described Eng
lands attitude in that as an alliance with
no In
He described the British soldiers snit against
Russia as boys who had not yet attained their
growth: and he. replied with fierce contempt 10
those who seemed to think that Divine Provi-
dence was concerned in the effort to chastise
Russia. Golden carried his opposition to war to
the length even of opposing subscriptions to
loan for military purposes. On the other hahe.
he was a strenuous advocate Of public schooi
srste,n for England at any cost. 1t was the de-
vices for popular education that awakened MS
hearty admiration for the United States But ne
also praised this country for its moderate tarlns
and drew a sharp contrast between the eagerness
With which Americans volunteered for the Mex
lean War and the caution with which English
men of mature years evaded service in the
Crimea
What the reader will look for in vain In this
book is anything like complete mental picture
Of the man. II he was rather prosalc nature.
profoundly interested in few great topics OF INC
times. and absorbed In two or three measures OF
reform, then the papers here printed are ade-
ouate for a character study. But the character
is of the simplest Literary illusions are con-
spicuous by their absence from these letters. Inc
reader finds with pleased surprise In the CLOSING
pages a paragraph about the success OF MIS-
0askelrs biography Of Charlotte Bronte, put ne
will ind little else Of the same sort NOR oio
Golden show any Of the traits Of the observant
traveller. He met many men OF distncton' out
he paid no heed to their peculiarties Inc I'M
gers of one hand would suffice to reckon his store
of adjectives for defining the various PERSONAL
ties with whom he came In contact He was not
even interested in himself. apparently outside OF
curiosity as to what he could accomplish. or sat
isfaction over what he had done. A, defeat IN
Parliamentary election only ELECTS the con1es-
sion that It was a nauseous dose. which he hopes
viii be beneficial He evidently loved life IN the
country, but It is useless to look for any details
from him on the subject If he remarks that he is
getting to be a very good farmer, that must SUI
ace. Still, he does give one glimpse Of Mrs. Cob
den going about the lawn with "spud." digging
ND the weeds and the al.us..1l is not without Its
homely charm. You %. that this worthy couple
could not endure life that was not full OF useful
activity. They were not In the world to play
but to work 1t is in harmony with this charac-
teristic that the present volume should be pub
iished. not merely as a memorial but 4 r the ben
eft of the Froebel Educational institute. The
cause Of education is Mrs Schwabe's object In
life, ard in her "reminiscences Golden Is still
laboring for purpose which he would have
deemed useful. Lord Farrers introduction en-
phasizes the simplicity of Cobdens character.
the best point being the comment on the straight
forward way in which he accepted the total loss
of popularity due to his opposition to the
Crimean War.