298 Life and Times of " The Druid' 



into the Sheffield Courant, he opened com- 

 munication with its Editor which he main- 

 tained from that time forward until his death, 

 and wrote a series of letters in that paper, 

 some of which were afterwards published 

 separately. 



It was probably in consequence of the 

 example thus set by his idolised master that, 

 from his very earliest years, "The Druid" 

 was prompted by an ardent desire to see 

 himself in print. His earliest prolusions at 

 Rugby School have already been noticed, but 

 after his marriage he lost no opportunity of 

 writing political articles in every paper to 

 which he could gain access ; nor was it long 

 before some of his articles found favour in 

 the eyes of leading statesmen of that day. It 

 has already been mentioned that his justifica- 

 tion of the course adopted by Sir Robert 

 Peel in repealing the Corn Laws was so well 

 reasoned and so admirably expressed that it 

 caught the quick eye of Sir James Graham 

 (then Home Secretary), who sent for " The 

 Druid " and offered him an appointment in 

 the Civil Service if he cared to accept it. 

 " The Druid," however, refused to sacrifice 



