The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1870-01-09
REGINALD CARDINAL POLE.

! =
=. DIR. Hook, the Protestant Dean of Chichester
ms well known to he n writer who stands s;
marked contrast TO the horde of scrihes law
ana clerical, IN whose eyes every word ont OF
b,,'' nc tilnes mas jaundiced hue. He has
pplhc III ms historic writings honorable and
! nnPrcludlced testimony against the coIutnry,
Oh those who. IN order to POSSESS Themselves Cf
the SPOTS oil the English religious houses, took
cue cue dlSgracefni means of blackening their fair
ilihe and detr&cting from their public usefnI
ness The present yulnnte of his Lives of the
~ GhplshnPs OF Canterbury, in which he, treats
OF hegnaId Cardinal Pole, comes recouIrnc,I1
cd, therefore, To the Catholic reader os fI,e ~
auction OF one who, though ne sees disnufsl
Ge5GraaiE fE2m H. fttte. As the fest
of calm aud dispassionate inqniIy, he arpifns
at conclusions adverse to those OF the ll5nli1 of
PfoieSt0nt wriiers~- his opinions u-e<dcaesS9fi-
ly entitled to great Difference andITntist graft
fy the Catholic student of history MS much us
they should arrest the Judgment of those who
previously have seen tho matter in the oppo-
site light. brief abstract of the life of Car
dinal Pole, with such light as Dr. Hook casts
upon 1t, can sCDrccIy fRl, therefore, to be in
tcrestin@. -
RcgiiiaI4IoIe was born A. ID. 1900. He was
Of roXpf ABSTRACTION, his mother Margaret being
the/naUghtcr of that Duke of Clarence who
was drowned, tradition and Shakespeare say,
in Il butt of MalmScy. So he claimed cousin
ship with the king, though his father was
merely a Welsh gentleman named Richard
Pole, who, being patronized by Henry VII,
was made governor of-Harle@A Castle and
pickings also fell to this lucky Welshman's
share when he administered the estates belong
ing to his brother-n-law, the Earl Of Warwick
and Salisbury, ''who had been attaintcd and
beheaded because he might at any time have
appeared, from his ncarncss to the crown, as a
prctendcr;' bat old Pole did not long enjoy his
wealth and honors, for he died when his
Reginald was five years old, leaving behind
him the reputation of having been "a valiant
and highly accomplished gentleman" AS some
compensation for his loss, his widow received
of Of S,,1I
high in favor at Henry Wills Court, well
bosom friend to the Queen Catherine and wet
nurse to the Princess Mary.
Thus Reginald brought upon familiar
terms with his royal TcfatfuuS; and the king,
who took an interest in the boy, and acknowl-
edged him as kinsman who had a to eS-
pcct the patronage of the crown" assigned
funds for his education out of some of the con
HSeated ecclesiastical property, and determined
that he should enter the Church. At II years
Of age Reginald went 80 Oxford matriciIat ted
at Mugaalcn- College, and gained the friendship
of divers men OF note, Ihoufds Linacre aud
William Iatimcr being Of the numbcr. Pre-
fcrncnt WAS soon showcrcd upon linn. Al
though he not in holy orders, two pre-.
corrupt manner of tbe~time; when he II,
and thus assurcd-nf an incoInc-for his duties
couid be pcrtnrnicd by deputy-hc departed to
finish his CducatlOn at PadGa. Here he was
TFEofGiVCd with the honor CtUG to Il THsutJTET of
thc'rOyal family of England" and, keeping
good establishment, he was enabled to enter
of whom he formed friendships which ended
only with his life, and which testify not only
to his taste for literary society, but the anna
bility of his disposition. After stay in Italy
Of six years, during which time he produced
the best of his literary works, the life of n
learned man named LOngOlins-he returned TO
England III 1927, where his reception from. hia.
the king included, was gracious in
the extreme. Policy on the kings part had
something to do with this, for Henry had be-
gun to take steps for a divorce from his lawful
wife, and rs a retaining fee on his side, he of
fcrcd Pole the ArchbishOpric of York. Pole re-
fused the tempting bait, out of personal regard
for the QHecn, according 10 DR.. Hook bur Ca
underwriters claim for hun, with more Justice
1t seems to ~, to have even then had the con
sciemtious feeling on the subject to which he
afterwards gave such very bold expression. At
all events, he declined the bride under the
plea of desire 10 traErrl, for which he obtain
ed permission Of the King aud Henry parted
" It'll him in sorrow rather than in anger, al
lowing him to retain CHS prcferments, his
cmoumeuts, his splendid allowances sand in
point Of fact, he retained them for four years"
lie had not quarrcled with the King as yet, tut
merely declined to declare on his party, and an
nouuccd that he would abide by the Popc's de-
cison in the case. Pending this jud gment, he
went Tor AvignoG, and devoted himself for the
time to the study of sacred literature, and from
thence, after years stay, finding that the eli
mate did not agree with him. once more took
up his residence at Padua, .' n
At this. time came the epoch in Poles career
about which historians differ most strongly.