But what are the faults of a life compared with its purpose? Did the Hebrews fail to recognise Samson as one of the greatest of their heroes, because his weakness and folly on one point rendered all his prodigious efforts for their deliverance abortive? The Word of God taught them to judge a man not by the result of his life, but by its object; not by its weakness or its strength, but by its spirit. Judged by this standard, Cobbett will more and more appear what he really was—a great English patriot. The paramount object of his life was the. well-being of England. To that end he devoted all he possessed; to it he sacrificed his own interests, and the interests of those who were dearest to him.
His critics cannot understand a man who at one time works with Tories, at another time with Radicals, who defends in turn the National Church, the old Catholic Church, and Dissent. See, say they, he has not one Mrs Cobbett amongst his opinions. No, indeed, for he was a man who lived by convictions, not by opinions. For these convictions he fought, using opinions just as a warrior would a sword and a shield. And chiefest among all his convictions was this: that nothing unfair, unjust, or unrighteous could be for the true prosperity of England, however firmly it had come to be established by law or by public opinion.
A few more struggles, and this career, so deeply interesting to Englishmen, comes to a close. In 1826 he made another attempt to enter Parliament for Preston, this time having for his adversary the late Lord Derby, then Mr Stanley. The enthusiasm among the Lancashire artisans was intense. On his road to Preston he passed through Bolton, and several other towns and villages. Thousands of the working people, bearing flags and banners, and carrying green boughs, turned out to welcome him. Standing upon the seat of his carriage with his hat off, the people followed with the cry, "Here's the cleverest man in England;" "Here we have got the cleverest man in England." That day was one of the proudest in his life; in it he realized his kingship over the hearts of men. "The King," he said, "had some precious praises bestowed upon him by his Irish, Scotch, and Hanoverian subjects; in exchange for the whole of them I would not give the words of a poor weaver at Blackburn, who, lifting his little girl up in
