He was of a cheerful disposition, had a quaint and pleasant humour, and he was genuine in courtesy, noble and generous, and kind to all. He died at the ripe age of seventy-six on the 7th of July, 1851, at Rose Hill, and was interred in the Friends' graveyard in Rochdale. No ponderous or ostentatious tombstones mark their resting-places, nor posthumous flattery carved on marble appears there to explain the perishableness of humanity-nor names nor epitaphs, for they speak about the good deeds of their dead by their firesides. No yew-trees spread their sable shade, or with shadowy pomp o'erhang these blended graves; but simple mounds in a grass plot, beautifully kept like a garden, with a small headstone, show the peaceful spot where father, mother, brothers, and sisters slumber beneath the turf where daisies grow. "Here flattery flies you, and ambitious fame And calm content, with heavenly aspect mild, Fas blessed the scene, and on the verdure smiled." CHAPTER III. BOYHOOD AND YOUTH. Birth-Infant Education-His Aunt, Miss Margaret Wood-Ackworth and York Schools-At Newton Academy-He leaves School, and enters his Father's Business-Traits. "The jarring nations he in peace shall bind, And with paternal virtues rule mankind." N writing a biography of "the greatest of living orators," as John Bright has been described by the highest authorities, and one of the most remarkable statesmen in the annals of modern England, much difficulty has been experienced in finding information which has never before been published; and this has been partly owing to the seclusion and modesty of Mr. Bright, and his dislike to being lionized. As a consequence, stories have been promulgated which have misrepresented the noblest disposition and the wisest intellect, and covered, as with a cloud, some of the real individual worth of the right hon. gentleman, whose whole public life has been devoted to the amelioration of the industrial classes and the poor. He sought their happiness rather than glory, and his memory is linked to most of the great national blessings of his day. The life of such a patriot must always prove interesting and instructive, and the passing incidents in the career of such a man are memorable. The general wish is to know more about him-to possess his thoughts, views, and opinions on all the absorbing topics that have arisen during his life, and to hear under what aspect he is disposed to regard the present fertile period of important changes. With his policy are bound up the hopes of the peaceful and well-affected part of the community; and the rising generation would do well to emulate the career of this great Englishman. "One anecdote of a man," Channing once declared, "is worth a volume of biography;" and as we are impressed with the force of this remark, it is our intention, besides resetting gems that adorn Mr. Bright's speeches, to weave into the biography interesting information which is not generally known, and which has been collected specially and solely for this work. His personal character, his habits, his little tastes and peculiarities which survive in anecdotes are all interesting, and will make us more acquainted with him. This information will illustrate the honourable consistency of his career, and show whether the whole course and tenor of his private life was in perfect harmony with the brilliancy and the success of his public service, or whether his intellect was worn, like a stage garment, to be doffed when convenient. If a man devotes his life for the benefit of mankind, humanity fancies they have a right to discuss the perfections and foibles of a distinguished genius, to sum up his merits and defects, and to deduce from them. useful, literary, and moral lessons, for the improvement of the science of human nature. That men of the highest merit are not exempt from human infirmity cannot be denied, and there are few even of the wisest and the best, who, when closely examined, will not, like the diamond, exhibit some flaw, to detract from the purity of their lustre. Bright and noble characters have been sprinkled here and there in all ages, but at no period was a greater number than at the present time, who are wishful to aid in some ennobling cause for the benefit of their fellow-men. The curiosity of mankind delights in detecting the failings of those whose talents or whose fortune have placed them in a distinguished position. In the inmost privacy of Mr. Bright's life there is no marked or unpleasing distinction between the professions and the fame of the statesman, and the pursuits and principles of the man. There is nothing to palliate, far less to conceal. That his character is impregnated with all the severest principles of honour and justice is an admitted truth; and for the milder affections of the heart, and for all the qualities that exalt ordinary life, he is as remarkable as for his genius or his eloquence. Frequently, with public men, many worthy acts and unselfish deeds pass unnoticed, to be remembered only after death. The love of "Our slippery people Is never linked to the deserver Strangers, too, constantly recognise worth which those more immediately benefited have failed to appreciate. Services valued too late remind us of posies strewn over graves-they may be gratifying to the living, they are nothing to the dead. Justice, however, though it may be slow, is sure, and posterity will arise and, awarding its becoming meed to fame, confer immortality. On the night of November 16th, 1811, there was ushered into the world the second son of Martha and Jacob Bright, at their homely dwelling at Greenbank, Rochdale. The child was so delicate that many fears were felt that he would never survive, but by unremitting care he gained strength, and became a fine boy. "Childhood shows the man, As morning shows the day." He was destined to pass through life untainted by the deceptions and sophistries of the world, and certainly, as he rose to manhood, he was never led astray by either personal interest, or by the desire for popularity. His infant education was confided to a Quakeress named Miss Harrison, whose father was the manager for Mr. Jacob Bright. There was a group of cottages near to the residence of Mr. Bright, which were named "Greenbank Cottages," and one of the number was fitted up as a schoolroom, with a playground in front, which was separated from the green fields by palings. It was in this homely cottage that he, with some of his brothers and sisters, received the first rudiments of his education. The elementary part of his training having been completed, we next find him trudging to Mr. William Littlewood's famous school at Townhead, with "shining morning face," but not "like snail unwillingly to school," attired in corduroy trowsers, and cloth jacket and vest. He showed no precocious talents, but possessed an aptitude for mental acquirements, to which his excellent home training must have given an impetus as well as moulding his character, and brought out those grand abilities which have illustrated his long and unsullied career. Master Bright was one of the youngest in the school, and was a great favourite with the schoolmaster's step-mother (the widow of the late Rev. Thomas Littlewood, Baptist minister), who was a venerable and superior and well-educated lady, and who had a great influence over her step-son. The schoolboys were well aware of John Bright's popularity, and when they wished for a holiday, he was deputed by them to make his way into the snug parlour where the good lady sat, and ask her influence in bringing about a holiday. Her kindly intercession seldom failed in releasing the juveniles from school restraint for a brief period, and the popularity of the young deputy rose amongst his schoolmates in proportion to his usefulness. The instruction at Mr. Littlewood's school imparted a sound, fundamental, elementary education, such as the mental capacity of children could analyse and digest, for he was opposed to the plan of learning by rote, as he preferred to cultivate the understanding. He soon discovered the superior ability of his pupil, and it has been affirmed by those who were present that he took more than usual interest in Bright, who even at that time manifested indications of tenderness of heart, combined with firmness of purpose, of steadfast attachment to those who had gained his affections, and of fancy easy to be excited. "Broken seems almost every tie that links That day to this-and to the child the man. The world is altered quite in all its thoughts, In all its works and ways, its sights and sounds; The old familiar faces from the streets, One after one, have now all disappeared, And sober sires are they who then were sons." He was a good player at football and cricket. In summer he often bathed in the River Roach, near Hamer Bottom's Mill, at a place called "Littlewood's Meadow," or "The Meetings," and was an expert swimmer; |