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 186

��NOTES BY THE WAY.

��Irvvin E. B. Cox.

Horace Cox.

��Death of Serjeant Cox.

��The Psychological

Society

founded by

him.

��accuse it of " vulgar insolence and coxcombry " and " the coarsest vulgarity." As we parted he said, " You have The Athenceum to be proud of, and we have The Field" His sudden death on the 13th of January, 1865, was a loss which seemed to be almost irre- parable ; but Mr. Irwin E. B. Cox, who was editor of The County Courts Chronicle and sub-editor of The Law Times stepped into the breach, gave up his career at the Bar for the time being, and assumed the control. He had as his assistant his cousin, Mr. Horace Cox, who has now the entire responsibility of the large business of Windsor House in his hands. This development has been enormous. The machine-room is one of the finest in London, and contains nine rotary machines besides thirty-four flat machines. These are kept at work almost day and night. The amount of paper used per week is 800 reels, besides 1,200 reams of quad-royal art paper. If the paper duty still existed the amount payable weekly would be 12,180?. Of course, this consumption of paper includes other publications than those issued from Windsor House.

The death of Mr. Serjeant Edward William Cox took place suddenly on the 24th of November, 1879. He was born on the 8th of December, 1809 ; he went to Oxford, and was intended for the Church, but adopted the profession of a solicitor at Taunton, and was eventually called to the Bar. He had strong journalistic tendencies, his first venture being The Somerset County Gazette. On coming to London he started The Law Times. He was a prolific writer, and the ' Dictionary of National Biography ' (vol. xii. pp. 409-10) gives a list of twenty-nine of his books, his first being a collection of poems entitled ' The Opening of the Sixth Seal.' The others include many well-known legal works. One, ' The Law and Practice of Joint-Stock Companies,' has been through six editions.

On the 22nd of February, 1875, he founded the Psychological Society of Great Britain, and devoted much time to Spiritualism, in which he was a most consistent believer, writing several books on the subject. He was twice married, his second wife being the only daughter of J. S. M. Fonblanque. He was a man full of kindli- ness and honesty. An appreciative notice appeared of him in The Athenceum of the 29th of November, 1879 ; and his portrait was given in The Illustrated London News of the 6th of December, 1879.

The rapid increase in the sale of The Field can be seen at once upon reference to the official stamp returns. For the year 1854 the number used was 167,217. It must be remembered that this represented the entire sale. In 1856, the second year of Mr. Cox's proprietorship, this number, notwithstanding the repeal of the compulsory stamp, was exceeded by a thousand, and in 1857 the return shows the number had increased to 240,500.

The present circulation of The Field is not quoted, but it must be large. Its issue for the 15th of August, 1908, consisted

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