The Sun.
London, England, 1862-12-05 00:00:00

TILE CARDINAL.

No man of his time possessed higher and nobler qualities
than the illustrious Reginald Pole. Sanctity of manners,
erudition, wisdom, eloquence, combined to render bins ono
of the most shining lights of the age. Devout without
bigotry, tolerant, strictly conscientious, and pure-minded,
ho was utterly free from debasing passions. Guile and
hypocrisy formed no part of his character. Self-denying,
abstinent, and laborious, he was ever generous and charit able.
Descended from the royal house of York, his soother being
Margaret, Countess of Salisbury, daughter of the Duke of
Clarence, brother to Edward IV., Pole attached no undue
importance to this adventitious circumstance, but main-
tained an almost apostolic meekness of deportment. At
the advanced period of life he had attained at the period
of cur history, his looks wore in tho highest degree vener-
able and impressive, offering a complete index to his cha-
racter. A master of the Latin language, which 110
spoke and wrote with facility and classical elegance,
ho had delighted in earlier years in the Greek poets
and philosophers, but of late had mained his studies wholly
to theology. At one time he had enjoyed the favour of
Henry VIII., who was fully alive to his great merits, but
ho incurred the displeasure of the tyrant by the bold
opinions ho delivered as to the injustice of Katherine
Aragon's divorce and the king's marriage with Anne
Boleyn. This opposition to his will was never forgiven by
the implacable monarch, and unable to get Pole, who had
taken refuge in Italy, into his power, he deprived him of
his benefice and possessions. declared him guilty of hie&
treason, laid a price on his head, ana souglit to procure hid
assassination. At last, unable to accomplish his fell pur-
pose, Henry wreaked his vengeance on the Cardinal's
mother, the venerable Countess of Salisbury—the last •f
the whole blood of the royal line of Plantagenet—on hie
brother, Henry Pole, Lord Montague, Sir Edward Nevi],
Sir Nicholas Carew, and other of his friends, all of wbora
were attainted of high treason, and brought to the block. The
slaughter of the aged and unoffending Countess, who was
only put to death because she was Pole's mother, is, per-
haps, the deepest stain on Henry's character. These whole-
sale murders deeply afflicted Pole, and cast a gloom over
the rest of his days ; but ho did not cry out for ven-
geance upon the perpetrator of the foul crimes, knowing
that Heaven would requite him in duo season.

How requited his eminence was, shortly afterwards
the romancist immediately goes on to relate, by the
election of Cardinal Pole as the new Pope on the
death of Paul 111. in 1549--an offer of the tiara
snatched back from his reach, however, during hi!
momentary hesitation about the acceptance of it!
Another still more startling recompense to Cardin°
Pole for his past misfortunes being the astounding
offer to him by Queen Mary of her hand, ands of
course, with it a share of her throne ! The Cardinal
(like Antonelli nowadays) being only a Deacon:
and a dispensation being talked of at the time ae
just possibly capable of being procured from the
reigning Pontiff. Cardinal Pole himself, however,
is described as simplifying the difficulty by respect'
fully, though gratefully, declining the alliance;
Here, however, is Mr. Ainsworth's first mention of
the royal hero of his new story : $

PHILIP OF SPAIN.
Philip, who was then a widower—his wife, Dona A1:1-riPy
Princess of Portugal, having died in 1545, in giving birth
.
n-
to a son, Don Carlos—readily acquiesced in his father ,''
scheme, as he fully recognised the vast importance of tile
match, and Mary alone had to be consulted. But little
apprehension could be entrtained of her refusal. All tha
advantages were on the Prince's side. Eleven Yefife
younger than the Queen, who was then thirty-eight, rhihr
was not merely in the very flower of manhood, but
tremely handsome, and, as heir to a mighty monarchY, un-
questionably the greatest match in Europe. No Prirle°e4
however exalted, on whom he deigned to smile, would re-
fuse him her hand.

Although no more than the three opening elatPtell
of the romance make up the first instalnYmt of It,
adorning the current number of Bengey, it even
now gives promise of proving one of its indefatig'
able author's most brilliant performances.

ST. TIOMAS'S HOSPITAL--A N-EIV

FREAK.

TO TILE EDITOR OF TIM SUN.
Sir.,—Can there be any firandation for the in'
, credible rumour that, after their extraorainal
gyrations on behalf of their hobby of
country air
and sanitary specialities, the managing gnntlenlen
at St. Thomas's have it now in contemplation 0
transplant the institution to (of all places in the
world !)—Myatt's Kitchen Gardens.
It may be that the report is spread by some ffiee;
tious idler, who, knowing that the public is pre
pared for any amount of erratic exhibitions on t.
part of the committee, is amusing himself With e2l
periinents as to the extent of absurdity and jec°n,
s!stency which people think them capable of. et.
But, to deal seriously with a serious sublet
There does appear now reason to believe t"triith-y
new scheme has been entertained by theta. '-rej..
thus stultify all their recent proceedings Oa, Ppif,
testations, and especially the " arguments" 01 eked
complacent Dr. 'l'urle, so gratuitously pitch the
the
into their report, and so effectually confuted by ,
medical officers of the hospital ; by Dr. Brist°7o
Mr. De Morgan, Mr. Risdon Bennett, turn °tip
aliis, as well as by the whole weight of 860
opinion and common sense.
With
0
Myatt's grounds consist of a piece of .- mist
rich, damp, clay soil—a kind of soil which, W`
pt
excellently adapted for briekmaking and luluritho
strawberries, is in commensurate ratio unfit fer
.
site of a new hospital. It is, moreover, in a 1)°,.91 thtioo,e
bringing it undesirably into contact with
noxious unfragrant atmospheric influences o;reet
loped from the manufacturing districts of oso
Lambeth—an objection which one would suPPro.,
potential in the eyes of Mr. Baggalav and his Pro,
sylvan friends. A railway viaduct runs with or
sounding din through the property, and the c°ely
pany have formed an extensive depot, on Will
they may at any time construct ranges of cold
ovens. I need not expatiate on the fragrant °se
salubrious odours inevitably associated with theta
operations, and how enlivening must be the effect or
the surrounding air! To conclude—this PoPheros,
is, as compared with the present site of the The
pital, virtually isolated from great roads. ob
latter are literally in the centre of Duly
on
avenues of approach, whilst there are of
two main roads within a reasonable distane_m_
Myatt's grounds. Even if regular omnibus acrcouads
modation could be depended on along these_ a railo
people would have to be dropped about half
from the spot. In fact, the main °fia--- nitbeell-ar trAa6n;
stops at Kennington and Camber
gc:lity will et
one having a little knowledge of the °ap, the isolation
once perceive, by a glance at the map,
and practical remoteness of the place. oat'
urposeS.
mittee to display their ingenuity at cross p
It is a most egregious position for the grand c
,In illustration of the contrast between the tv'e
London General Omnibus Comp
early a thousand times daiiri
localities, let me remark that, oannyfoaulronl ien,etshehfcathl_lii,
ties pass and repass n
ten different streets lead
ea;
eludes only the carriages of the company just nevi
within stone's throw of thleoprmesaeinntrsoiated,sf.rommrshiferr
It does not include either private omnibuses, or hose
which stop at the Elephant and Castle, Close lc;
Alyatt'sgrounds, on the contrary, are destitute---.6,,f
spots near London ao much so—of such facilities
approach.
Checked and rebuked in the attempt to reall
their impracticable sylvan project, the gillona
committee (supposing there be any gr°llo
for ,t
the rumour referred to) would alai
appear disposed to rush into an opposite and eqh, 11
wanton eccentricity—direct)y contradictory' tlitli9l,t
their previous sayings and doings—and this, wi
the present site is, by every day
's experience, P
i,,-tation to
proving its eligibility and admirable at_

its uses. _
Without imputing to them any wickedly deli-
crate treachery to duty, if the statements respect,"
b,
ing this.pr6ect be authentic, the circumstance w it'
conclusively provnthe -hopeless incompetence of )11.'
Daggallay and his cif ele, and tho correctness of the
opinion indicated by the public press, that the Pr°-
Per, the decorous, and necessary course for thes°
gentlemen is to discontinue the assumption of a des'
potic authority which they have mismanaged 6°
calamitously.—Yours, sir, very obediently,
SPECTATOR,