passion, and seeking fame and power at any cost. His appeals were always made to the intelligence of his hearers, and his demands for reform were based on what he conscientiously regarded as principles of justice. Throughout the American war, 1861-65, he sought to direct public opinion against the slave-holding interest. George Odger was born at Rogborough, near Plymouth, in 1813. His father was a Cornish miner, and so poor that he was obliged to send his boy out to earn his living at shoemaking as soon as he was able to work. It goes without saying that under such circumstances he had no advantages of education, and that he was indebted to his own efforts for any measure of culture displayed in later life. In his youthful days he made diligent use of every moment of leisure for the purpose of study, and acquired an amount of general information which was of immense service to him as a public speaker. His first attempts at speaking were made in connection with the Reform movement. He rapidly acquired influence among the working class, and was well known and respected both in London and the provinces as a safe leader and counsellor of the people, so that in the Liverpool and Kendal strikes he was accepted by both masters and men as a mediator. In 1868 he stood for a time as a candidate for the newly made borough of Chelsea, and in the following year he was accepted by a large party as a candidate for Stafford, but in each case he retired from the contest lest his candidature should damage the interests of his party. In 1870 and 1874 he contested Southwark as a working-man's candidate, but was not successful. In the former of these contests he polled only 300 fewer votes than the elected candidate. George Odger never followed any other trade than that of a shoemaker, and was always in very humble circumstances. Shortly before his death a subscription was raised by the Trade Union Congress at Newcastle to supply the wants of his declining years, and in consequence of the esteem in which he was held, "the result was liberal and prompt."[181] After a long illness he died at his residence, Bloomsbury, London, 3d March, 1877. [181] "The Oracle," vol. vi. pp. 154, 237. London: 155 Fleet Street. The honor done him at his funeral was such as many a nobleman might envy. The _Times'_ report of the funeral says: "The remains of Mr. Odger were borne to the grave at Brompton Cemetery with all the honors of a public funeral. The crowd around the house of the deceased was immense." The Shoemakers' Society, to which Odger belonged, held the foremost place in the long procession which accompanied the remains of this illustrious shoemaker to the grave. Members of the House of Commons, and other men of position and influence in the great city, stood side by side with the working-men of Clerkenwell, Southwark, and Bloomsbury, to pay their last tribute of esteem to the memory of this truly estimable man. [Illustration: J. G. WHITTIER] AMERICA.