206 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch. 



her over. She seemed simple and earnest, and 

 held her audience. What she said was true and 

 sensible, and not exaggerated." 



His book on Free Trade went into a second 

 edition towards the end of the year. Its success 

 was, in part, due to the individual and independent 

 way in which he addressed himself to this greatly 

 vexed question. One Liberal candidate writes 

 that he proposes giving a copy to a " leading 

 resident in each village — not only on account of 

 its intrinsic merit, but because I think that your 

 name may induce Conservatives and Liberal 

 Unionists to read the book. The ordinary Free 

 Trade Tract they would not look at, and anything 

 emanating from the Cobden Club they would not 

 touch with their fingers." 



It is quite true that his character and freedom 

 from any suspicion of violent Party bias gave 

 a peculiar value to anything that he wrote on a 

 political question. 



The " popular " books, so to speak of them, 

 continued to enjoy a wonderful success. There 

 was a second edition of the Esthonian edition 

 of The Pleasures of Life. The account of this 

 seventieth year of his life may close with an 

 extract from a letter received about this time 

 from a Californian correspondent. It is typical 

 of an immense number of its kind received from 

 all parts of the world ; and whatever be Lord 

 Avebury's place in English literature, it is prob- 

 able that no other writer has ever had so many 

 letters of gratitude from readers, unknown to 

 him personally, of many nationalities. 



