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An anthology starting with Francis Bacon and Ben Jonson going up to Thomas Carlyle and John Ruskin. Solid choices though the double-column format may make reading a bit tricky. Essay titles can be amusing in their own right: "Meditation Upon a Broomstick" (Swift), "The Talent of Secrecy" (Cowley), "The Praise of Chimney-Sweepers" (Lamb), "The Nobleness and Loveliness of Colour" (Ruskin).
Cochrane (dates unknown) was a literature specialist for the Chambers publishing company in Edinburgh and was an expert on the Border. His other works include The British Letter Writers, Treasury of Modern Biography, Heroes of Invention and Discovery and The English Explorers.
