New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-09-16


iuence was purely healthful. He woke up 10 II
a little late as he says. but just In time to nave
his attachment to the Church OF England
strengthened II he emerged from the con-
fusion with an unexpected liking Tor hoine' he
was still In full sympathy with those IDEAS vi
the English Church which were cherished oy
his father He seems to have taken pride long
ago IN being at all events less of a Catholic than
Mr. Gladstone.
Rut that which tended only to make the com
ing equity lawyer prosperous had the reverse ell
foot unon the fortunes of his brother who in
tended for holy orders. The mind OF william
Palmer fell upon some insoluble problems as TO
which OF the great historic churches has the
right OF 1t in their mutual disputes. and whether
or not the unity of these churches Is possible.
These the main questions. but they involved
an infinite number of others about the smallest
practices Of ritual well as the largest areas OF
doctrInal controversy How should the English
clergyman wear a stole? was one Of these; and IL
is only one instance of a lifelong habit that Will
lam Palmer solved this to the satisfaction OF no.
body in the United Kingdom except himself or
course. not everybody can appreciate the import
ance of such question. Even those who tried to
sympathze with William Palmer talked irrev-
erently about sashes as II they had in mind mere
worldly trappngs The trouble was that to him
the matter was just as important in its place as
the design which ne afterward cherished OF bring
ing the Orthodox Church and the Church Of Eng
land into one communion. All that he dd was
with strenuous effort and endless study Few
men were more learned than he. His industry
was attested by his elaborate work in six vol
uYnes on the life OF Russian Patriarch and Re
former Neon; the novelty Of his methods in his
study OF Egyptian chronology. and his power or
stirring up other people take share In his agi-
tations in the fact that there was time when
he had all the dlgnitaries Of the Orthodox Church
from Mount Athos to st. Petersburg. all the bsh
ops Of the Scottish Episcopal Church. and nearly
all the wise men OF oxford brooding over his at
tempt to communicate In Russian church. In
connection with this episode OF ecclesiastical
knight -errantry William Palmer had written in
English and translated into modern Greek-he
would have been equally capable. it seems. OF
turning them into good Russlan-certan disser-
tations on the history, doctrine and practice or
the Greek Orthodox and Anglican churches 1t
was this book that caused loss Of sleep at OK
ford Not so very long before the sardonic Will
lam George Ward had smilingly submitted to the
loss OF his degrees and his fellowship, and mad
turned to the Catholic Church. William Palmers
case had similar aspect. and there were threats
Of a similar procedure. Only his personal excel
| lence and his really great learning seemed to
stand in the way of summary discipline.
Though William Palmer ended by becoming
Catholic after his fathers death, 1t does not APP
pear that his difficulties ever wholly re-
moved. Outwardy he chose at last ground on
which to stand Inwardly his indecision remained.
But throughout his struggles of faith he reveals
fine character Of the kind only family reflected
in romances like the one which Froudc wrote in
tbo o,I fap
book of Mrs. Humphry Ward. But fiction is
triling enough alongside the inner conflicts Of a
real and living soul at odds with itself. 1t is neel-
less to say that Rounded Palmer had such in
ternal controversies His disposition any
thing but retrospective. AS to absolute truth. he
betrays the tendencies of a casuist He never had
any trouble over the problem whether lawyer
should take case unless he is certain that he is
in the right. 1t is just the uncertainty of human
affairs that to give him zest for life and for
his task. 1t is his delight to show that he knew
when to expect advancement. He disclaims all af-
fectation Of surprise when the Government raises
him by successive steps to the Attorney-General-
ship His narrative ends there. he would be
equally candid doubtless. about the later honors
of his long career. The contrast between him and
his brother William is one endlessly suggestive.
1t was not the more fortunate man who was the
greater Of the two But his life is the more COM
| forting to read. In all matters that come to
practical test he has decided convictions He
| Yields nothing to the prejudices of the men OF
| Plymouth when they elect him to Parliament.
| They must take him with his High Churchman-
| ship not at all. They must expect him to vote
his conscience dictates In Parliament he is
never the strict party man. He earnestly opposes
the disestabshment Of the Church in Ireland.
| He Is a strenuous adherent Of tradition on the
! Sunday question Everywhere he clings to those
ideas which manifesty due to his mental in
heritance from line Of conservative ancestry.
This fact gives peculiar interest to his frequent
reference; to Mr.. Gladstone. These begin with
! Gladstone'S famous speech in the oxford Union,
which presaged his trumphs politician. As
time goes on they change their tenor. Rounded
| Palmers comparatively narrow horizon does not
enable him to guess what Gladstone will do next.
| The comparative certainty Of his own career does
not enable him to divine the purposes of man
| who Is manfestly calculating the forces OF the
whole nation He sees Inconsistencies. and after
a while begins to expect them the rule and not
the exception in Cladstones career. Up to the
point where these volumes end Mr.. Gladstone
was, however. still member for oxford He is still
'muzzed." TO use his own phrase and Lord Sell
borne expresses no regret at remembering that
this the If all the passages in these vol
umes where Mr. Gladstone is mentioned COM
pared there will be found in them on the whole,
something Of the bewilderment which a positive
and definite mind Is apt to feel In the presence of
a mind that is beyond its measure. There is some
| thing of the same tenderness. too. that the
thor shows In mentioning his brother tender
| ness that waivers between indulgence and rever-
ence.
| Americans will thank Lord Selborne for his
! chapters the disputes with Great Britain grow
| ing out Of our Civil War. Not that they make any
| novel disclosures But they estimate In dis
croat uav the difficulties which enVrOned the law