The Sun.
London, England, 1847-06-09 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON,

LITERATURE,

THE CARDINAL'S DACGHTER. A IVcrel. 13y
the late 1?()L-rt Mackenzie Danir,l. 3 Vas.

There is something inexpressibly mournful in the
appearance of a posthumous work. It is impossible
to turn over pages traced by a band now powerless—
to ponder over thoughts conceived by a brain now
inanimate—to respond to emotions which once in-
spired a heart that now can beat no more—it isim-
possible to dwell upon such themes without their
eliciting our warmest sympathies and evoking salt
vet not necessarily gloomy thoughts. Not necessa-
rily gloomy; for although, perhaps, the deaths of men
of genius strike us more forcibly than any
others, bringing, as they do, into more striking con-
trast the vitality of the mind and the mortality
of the body, yet, from that very reason, there is, or
there should be, less of gloom, though perhaps more
of sorrow connected with their departure. We may
lament that the ardent heart is cold, and the thought-
ful mind inactive, yet we can rejoice that the con-
ceptions of that mind, and the emotions of that heart,
are still before us, and will not readily pass away.
Then, indeed, do we perceive, with how great a re-
sponsibility, the possessor of great talents is invested:
it is his to exert influence for good or for evil, not
only.during his existence, but when he himself shall
have passed away, and he cannot, for the universe, re-
gal a sentence he has uttered.;Such thoughts are natu-
rally suggested to us by the present work—the last
work of Mackenzie Daniel, a writer of great
talents and great promise; whose former writ-
ings—the " Scottish Heiress," the "Young Widow,"
and others had already acquired for him no incon-
siderable reputation, and had obtained for him, more-
over, the honourable and distinguishing soubriquet of
" The Scottish Box,"—a title better calculated to give
a favourable impression of his talents than the most
elaborate commendation. The preface to this work
tends to enhance the melancholy impression which its
appearance cannot fail to inspire. We are here told
how the publication of the " Cardinal's Daughter"
was delayed for some time, in order that its author
might, by editing " The Poor Cousin," introduce his
wife to the notice of the public, perhaps under the
conviction "that in a short space she would be left to
obtain, by her own exertions for herself and children,
that livelihood which, though at most severe
sacrifices of mind and body, he had hitherto
supplied." Happily, her former work succeeded,
and we find another is now advertised by
the widow of Mackenzie Daniel ; heartily do we
wish her success in her onerous position ; and that
success not only for her own sake, but from respect
to her husband's memory, we trust we are justified
in anticipating she will obtain. It is necessary, how-
ever, that we say somewhat regarding the "Cardinal's
Daughter" itself. It has given us no little satisfac-
tion to find that we may most truthfully commend it,
for in the present instance criticism would be an in-
vidious task. Nevertheless, we must own that it
was with conflicting opinions that we commenced the
perusal of the first volume—if the name of the au-
thor prejudiced us in favour of his work, the name
of the work itself produced a contrary effect. The
recollection of the maxim—De mortwx nil nisi honum

—disposed us to refA•ain from any criticism upon the
author so recently deceased, but the recollection
of the very same motto disposed us, also, to
protest against all calumnious imputations upon the
memory of one also protected by the sacred aegis of
the tomb, although centuries have passed over his
grave. It was, therefore, as we have said, with no
inconsi.lerable satisfaction, that we found our mis••

izivings quite uncalled for, end the " Cardinal's
Daughter," entitled to an honest commendation.
The character of Cardinal Wolsey, the most promi-

nent and most interesting personage in these volumes,
is, always excepting the introduction of one incident,
which happily is but briefly alluded to—the
incident of course which gives its . name

to the tale—is, perhaps, pourtrayed as favour-
ably as if the author had been his very sincere
admirer. Indeed it is evident that he was so, and it
is hardly possible to read these volumes without
,haring in his sentiments—it is hardly possible to read
without admiration his vivid portraiture of "that
glorious mind which had burst like prisoned flame
over difficulties which environed it and snapped the
iron chains which bound it to neglect—that lightening
energy of character which had rendered him
triumphant at home and abroad—feared by those who
hated him, and respected by those who derided his
birth, and which had stamped upon the countenance
of Wolsey a character of greatness which no bearing
could disguise." Moreover, he tells us that " gene-
rous, ►igorous, and lofty as his character was, tem-
pestuous and daring as his life had been, there
were still elements of the richest affection in

Wolsey's heart," and so far from joining with
those who have accused him of avarice, twice
he assures us that, on the contrary, his " nature was
bountiful as the day." The character of Wolsey,
then, inasmuch as he appears in these volumes, is
calculated to elicit not only admiration but sympathy
also, and also, to a certain extent, affection. And
we are glad to find it so. Such are the sentiments
with which we would willingly regard hips; for; of
all the errors of which history may accuse him, and
all the faults which his enemies may impute to him,
are in our minds effaced by the recollection of bis
terrible reverses, and the dignified humility with which
he bore them. To us he never appears as the powerful
Cardinal an d imperious Chancellor. We recal him rather
in the last, the least pompous, but most imposing scenes
of his momentous life. We see him in his mournful
entry into the monastery of Leicester—another in-
stance of the mutability of fortune ; we listen by his
dying bed to another lesson on the duties of life—
another confirmation of the words of him, Who, a
Prince himself, yet bade us " Put not our trust in
princes, nor any child of man, for there is no help in
them 1" With such associations of the character of
Wolsey, Mr. Mackenzie Daniel's portrait of him well
accords. The following is an extract from his survey
of his character :
"He was the last of the priests—the noblest and the
best of them. Eloquent, learned, vigorous, and proud,
he ruled the kingdom with honour to himself and glory
to the brutal- monarch who delegated him the power.
Learning flourished, order reigned, and justice was ad-
ministered between man and man. He united the nations
of Europe by a treaty which influences their independ •
price, even at the present day. He reformed abuses at
home and gave a Magna Charter to Christendom. He
was the first statesman which England ever had, and
Wolsey, in spite of his courtier's guise and his cardinal's
gown, was a thorough Englishman. Haughty, fearless,
and jealous of the honour of his country, he treated the
sovereigns of Europe as his equals, if not, indeed, in
something of the same spirit in which the proud English
barons in former days treated the Gascon lords. He
curbed the power even of the Pope, and took out its
sting as far as it affected England. He held his own
land to be the noblest in the world, and loved it with the
fondness of a patriot. His attachment to his country
'Nev. rated him obtaining the papal throne; the sovereigns
of Europa dreaded the influence which his elevation
would give to England, for Wolsey after all was more of
an Englishman than a monk.
" His splendour, his pomp, and arrogant state, have
been chronicled as sins against him. But these were so
united with munificence and hospitality, that they
almost ceased to be such; his tastes were magnificent,
and his bounty that of a prince. He was the generous
patron of learning and the arts, a lover of honour and
Justice, and although a courtier and a cardinal, an
honest man. He died in the sincerity of the faith which
he upheld—in the, language of Shakspeare, he died
fearing God.'
" His character was superior to craft; he ruled by the
force of his genius, and influenced the minds of men by
a dignified exterior, a commanding eloquence, and a
conduct uniformly great. The errors of his youth were
many; they were such as were unfitting a priest, but his
qualities of heart, his impetuous fervour, the warmth and
generosity of his feelings must palliate them in the eyes
of the severity which is just.
" He was hated and honoured by all classes in Eng-
land. The nobles feared him for his vast talents, the
power he wielded, and the influence he possessed at
home and abroad; the clergy complained of his repeated
reformation of clerical abuses, yet looked up to him as
their champion and their stay; and the people mur-
mured at his exactions, yet flew to him for justice when
their private rights were invaded, nay the very rabble
that fell before him in the mire, and in the days
of scarcity thronged his palace gates to receive his
bounty, spoke with rancour of the arrogant state of
the imperious and magnificent priest. And Wolsey
knew all this well—no man, as has been before,observed,
ever held public clamour in greater contempt than he.
The Pope and the Princes of Europe he also despised,
and made himself their arbitrator. The only man whose
power he respected, was the tyrant who destroyed him."
Many of the descriptions in these volumes are very
effective, those especially which depict the appear-
ance of London in the days of Henry VIII. are
peculiarly interesting, as showing how many changes
time has made. It is strange, indeed, to wander in
imagination along the fields, skirting the " Strand'
of the river Thames, to pay a visit to a " convent"
whose " garden" is now our market. Associations
such as these render these pages very attractive, and
the attraction is in nowise decreased by the author's
manner of relating them. His style is most ani-
mated, and frequently most eloquent. The fictitious
tale which, of course, is the ostensible object
of the book, is in reality, and very natu-
rally, but a secondary consideration. The interest
attaches itself to the historical events, and the his-
torical character, and these are necessarily most en-
thralling. Perhaps it were imposiihle to find any
epoch which furnishes so many marvellous events,
and such astounding changes, crowded into so short a
space as those here detailed to us. Many dioramas
pass before our eyes, each marvel is eclipsed by the
succeeding one ; for instance, near the beginning of
the third volume, we find a heartrending picture of a
public execution, namely, that of a young girl sur-
named the " Maid of Kent," a religious enthusiast,
respects, another Joan of Arc, who,
like indeed
her,,
e,
ri,ntomoa,ny
is tried as a witch. While we are yet
lamenting her fate, and sympathising with the indig-
' , nation of her friends, who now sought
7 for the intercession of Anna Boleyn, and
sought for it in vain, ws turn over

the page, and read an elaborate description of that
Queen's triumphant entry into London, and corona-
tion at 1","(-strnin,t.r A.1;;-;ey ai J then'_re haveceased to marvel at the extraordinary magnificence
which surrounded her, and the lofty pinnacle to
which she had ascended—in her turn, she calls for
our sympathy and sorrow, and we are almost in-
clined to weep over her appalling fate. Such transi-
tions are really amazing. Most assuredly, did any
writer of fiction presume to pourtray such scenes—
did he show to us such a husband as Henry
d he tellus of such alternations of fortune as were con-
stantly witnessed in his r,iign ; above all, did he speak
of a powerful people who allowed such things to be,
most assuredly we
should lay aside the volume, and
denounce its author as a gross libeller upon human
nature. And yet such things have been, and in this
our England, some few centuries back. The remem-
brance is humiliating; let us trust it may be benefi-
cial. Sore such thought evidently occupied the
writer of these pages. Through his whole work we
find a continued strain of indignation against such
tyranny as he depicts, and an earnest love for such
liberty as his hero strives for. The great
religious struggle which took place during the period
of which he relates is in his pages made secondary to
the great struggle of some independent spirits, not so
"rights."
The for religious as for civil liberty and
The controversy between " Catholics " and Here-
tics," is of course alluded to, but briefly, and to a
certain degree impartially. For instance, though
Ralph Brandon, the hero, in one of his eloquent de-
clamations, reviles the conduct of the Church, in a man-
ner almost approaching to sacrilegious scurrility, yet
at a religious ceremony in Westminister Abbey—that
Abbey which the author very beautifully speaks of as
the poetry of the past—" its walls are blazoned
with our glory, and its pavement sepulchred with
our kings," this very same Ralph is described as being
deeply moved by the beautiful solemnities of the
Catholic Church; he felt that after all there is some-
thing more in religion than the outward form—he
stood amid the kneeling worshippers in a scene cal-
culated "to banish from the mind the sins of the
Church, and make the fiercest Reformer think upon
his own." It is unnecessary to enter further into the
merits of this work, we would rather commend it to
our readers, both for its own sake and its author's, and
whatever may be the individual opinions about some
portions of it, we are assured that all who read it
will, like ourselves, respond to the concluding lines of
the introductory preface, and " will close the volume
with a feeling of regret that no future pleasure can be
hoped from the pen that peurtrayed its vivid scenes."