Note 4 — Chapter XX · “TO PUT A MAN IN PRISON FOR A YEAR OR TWO DOES NOT KILL HIM.”

Francis Maseres (1731-1824), Cursitor Baron of the Exchequer, came of a Huguenot family, and was a man of high cultivation, being especially distinguished for his mathematical attainments and his knowledge of English constitutional history. Although his name is now almost forgotten, he produced a number of short essays and treatises on his favourite subjects, many of which, however, are buried away in the newspapers of his time, Cobbett’s Porcupine being one to which he contributed. Maseres was a moderate Reformer, and what opinions he had were rather allowed to filtrate through his own select circle of friends than pushed forward into naked notoriety. He pursued a quiet, intellectual life, and devoted a large portion of his means to charitable and liberal purposes. Cobbett never mentions his name without affectionate reverence.