Charles Bradlaugh: a Record of His Life and Work, Volume 1 (of 2): With an Account of his Parliamentary Struggle, Politics and Teachings. Seventh EditionRobertson, J. M. (John Mackinnon)
History
Charles Bradlaugh: a Record of His Life and Work, Volume 1 (of 2): With an Account of his Parliamentary Struggle, Politics and Teachings. Seventh Edition
Robertson, J. M. (John Mackinnon)
Bradlaugh, Charles, 1833-1891
The question will probably have presented itself to many minds, If Mr
Bradlaugh was giving up so much time to public work, to lecturing,
reform meetings, debating, etc., how was he living the while? what
was his home life, and in what way was he earning his bread? It will
be remembered that, after leaving the army in 1853, he was before the
year was out in the employ of Mr Rogers, solicitor, of 70 Fenchurch
Street, first as "errand boy" at 10s. a week, and then as clerk at a
slowly increasing salary. After a few months at Warner Place, he and my
mother went to live in a little four-roomed house at No. 4 West Street,
Cambridge Heath, where my sister Alice was born. In the previous
January my father had had a very troublesome piece of litigation to
conduct for his firm at Manchester. Often and often has he told us the
story of it, and he used to work us up into a state of excitement by
his graphic account of his capture of two men at night from a common
lodging house in one of the low parts of Manchester; of his interview
at the Albion Hotel with Mr Holland, a surgeon implicated in the case,
who, when my father rose to ring the bell for some lemonade, mistaking
the intent, rose in alarm, and cried, "For God's sake, don't!" These
and other episodes in the case remained clearly enough in my memory,
but when I wished to retell the story in a connected form, I found
myself altogether at a loss. First of all, I could not remember that my
father ever mentioned the date of these legal adventures, and without
the date I could do little in the way of searching for press reports.
However, I found a clue to this in the following letter, which was
amongst those papers of my mother's which, as I have said, I looked
through quite recently for the first time:--
"North Camp, Aldershot,
"29th January 1856.
"Madam,--Mr Bradlaugh has been kind enough to send me, during the
last few days, some Manchester newspapers containing reports relative
to the case of suspected poisoning. Not knowing where to address him
now, I take the liberty of writing to you. Will you be so kind as to
convey to him my thanks for the papers, and my hearty congratulations
on his having obtained the management of the prosecution; it is an
opportunity of distinguished service. With his wonderful acuteness and
energy (Mr Bradlaugh and myself are such old and close friends that
we do not mince words in speaking of or to each other) he will surely
distinguish himself, and thus, as I suppose and hope, begin a fair way
for promotion, as we phrase it. Watching the case with great interest,
I thought his cross-examination of Mr Holland, the surgeon, extremely
good and well conducted; but as this is merely an unprofessional
opinion, he will not care much for it, although so favourable.
"Trusting that yourself and the other members of the family are
enjoying good health, I have the honour to be, Madam, yours most
respectfully,
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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