He was a man who saw and thought for himself, while he was willing to learn from everybody. He travelled a great deal, and thus gained a stock of information that proved of much value. He was not an orator, but his simple, honest, straightforward style of speaking was most convincing. He ruled men by appealing to their common sense, and showing them wherein lay their own interest; {358}therefore was he most fitted by nature to succeed in his arguments against the corn laws. His strongest ally was Mr. Bright, an orator of the most brilliant type. Mr. Bright had a commanding presence, a fine, broad head, a handsome, expressive face. He had not read many books; but those he had read he knew thoroughly, and the principal ones were the Bible and Milton. Mr. Bright was a Quaker and a manufacturer of carpets. His business was a prosperous one, and he had amassed a large sum of money; therefore, when he made his appearance in parliament, his eloquence had a disinterested ring; no one could accuse him of pleading his own cause alone. Mr. Cobden and Mr. Bright met for the first time when both were interested in the question of education, and each was struck with the peculiar ability of the other. They became friends, and when Mr. Bright was in deep grief after the death of his young and lovely wife, Mr. Cobden made him a visit of condolence. After expressing what his heart dictated, it suddenly occurred to him that work would offer the greatest relief to his stricken friend,--work for the alleviation of other's misery. "Come with me!" he said, after a pause. "There are thousands and thousands of homes in England at this moment, where wives and mothers and children are dying of hunger. Come with me, and we will work for them, and never rest until the corn laws are repealed." The invitation was cordially accepted; and these two men formed a bond of friendship so strong, so close that until the death of Mr. Cobden the name of one was scarcely ever mentioned without that of the other. Their gifts were exactly suited to each other; for each possessed something that the other needed, and together they became a power that stopped at nothing short of complete success. {359}But before free-trade was fairly established many converts had to be made, and much opposition had to be put down. A favorable effect was produced by a letter from Lord John Russell, at the time of the potato-rot in Ireland, which threatened to produce a famine. This letter had a great influence on Sir Robert Peel, as it convinced him of the necessity of doing something for the advancement of trade, and prompted him to favor the repeal of the corn laws, for which he was, as we have said, so severely condemned. Before introducing another statesman, who became prominent at this time, a few pages must be devoted to the queen and her family.