The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-01-08

DIS Il spiritual peer III bAA1 Ait01N VI IVA -
| his heart was set on liberating the
Church of England from its bondage to
| the civil power. A period of ''declen-
sion" in which Manning was defeated
as a candidate for the premiership OF
Lincolns Inn and, harried By ecclesi-
astical and social worries, fell into a
rather morbid condition, was followed
| by d period of great storm and stress,
| of association with Mr.. Gladstone and
activity over the dis-establishment of
| the Irish church After a severe III
ness, Manning made a prolonged spirit
ual retreat in the Catholic countries of
the continent The diary which he
kept is published in full, and gives in
teresting glimpses OF his gradual change
of mind Politics and churches seem
| to have been the chief interests of
| Manning. then archdeacOn of Chiches-
| ter. and the pages are filled with OBJ
! serVations regarding relics, the celebra-
ton of mass, compline. the interior and
! exterior construction of churches, in
! tervieWs with priests and nuns, and so
on.
| Toward the artistic and natural beau
| ties of Rome and its historic interests,
/ he shows singular apathy, but he was
at home in the churches 4 deVout and
edited listener to the preaching friars,
/ a reVerent WOrshipper at mass and BEN
/ ediction. He even knelt in the streets
of Rome to receive the papal blessing
/ Two important events he passes over
with the mere record of the fact-his
meeting with John Henry Newman,
| then preparing for the priesthood under
the shadow of St Peters, and his pri-
Vate audience with Pope Plus TX
| On the perusal of this diary, the first
thought is, as Mr.. Purcell suggests,
/ How came it that the writer did not
forthwith join the Roman Catholic
church? Mr.. PurcelIs reply is that it
/ is not easy for a man of Archdeacon
Manning's character and cast of mind
to admit in public that he was in error.
! or 10 throw over the convictions of a
lifetime. As for the constant part, he
took in Roman Catholic worship, the
| biographer claims that Manning but
discharged his duty as an Anglo-C Cath
ollc. The diary of the continental trip
closes in June. 1S4S; it was not till De-
cember, 1850 that he offered to resign
his office in the English church. and not
till April 6, 1851, that he was received
into the church. For five years prior
to that he had, according to his bio
grapher, borne witness, with growing
clearneSS and conviction. to the unity
infallibility and divine character and
origin of the Catholic church, and yet
all the while he was careful to maintain
the outward semblanCe of Anglican
ism, preaching what he did not believe
and believing what he did not preach.
1t seems to be a matter of temperament
what name you give to such course.
Manning's conversion found him, at
the age of A. about to begin life anew.
a stranger among strangers With the
exception of Robert Wilberforce, all of
his friends and fellow workers in the
Anglican cause stood aloof from him
He lived as an alien among them, like
an exile in his own land. Ten weeks
after his formal adoption of Roman
Catholicism, he received holy orders
and soon after turned with enthusiastic
determination to the foundings of a
community of secular priests for work
among the Roman Catholic poor of
London; from then until 1876 his life
was divided between the English Ro-
man Catholic church and the vatican.
AS he grew older, certain of his char
acteristics deepened He had always
| been fighter: he now became cantan-
kerous, quarrelsome and somewhat ar
rogant. 4 hate that man: he is such
forward piece was the criticism
of fellow priest shortly after Man
nings admission to the priesthood. He
was perpetually involving himself in
quarrels,, and writing long, long letters
to his superiors in justification of his
own motives and acts, and in blame of
others. The atmosphere Of cheap poll
tics in which he lived is almost incred-
fble. Controversy, recriminaion, eX-
PLANTATION, denial, ill these years until,
returning 10 Rome the year after his
elevation to the cardinalate, Manning
found his prestige at the vatican gone.
He visited Rome twice after that, his
farewell visit being in 1883, when his &C
tive relations with Rome came to an
end
From the storm and stress which
mark these middle years of his life it
is pleasant to turn to the philanthro-
pies and social reforms in which the
last twenty years We're engaged. The re-
lief of the starving poor of Paris during
the siege. the international prison con-
gress, the cause of temperance, home
rule, the Society for the Protection of
Children, -vivisection and the
"Dockers' strike Of 1889, were among
the public works to which he lent him
self heartily. In the latter days of his
life, every one who had a cause" or
a mission or a message" or a
grievance was sure Of a sympathetic
hearing from the cardinal archbishop:
only the "shrieking sisterhood" failed
to gain footing at his house. He de-
clined to give his sanction to the So
l--eJ ASA / 1 S4iiDLll45 A4it sop4tdl Itl3ntS OF
Women or even to meet the more i'm
portant members of the sisterhood.
A charming companion and brilliant
conVersationalist in his old age he was
singularly lonely. With his eccIesiasti
cal associates he was on pleasant but
not Intimate terms. He was out of toucb
with the Roman Catholic laity of Eng
land. The intimate friends of the Angii-
can days had either died or been es-
ranged from him. He was alienated
alike from John Henry Newman and
from William Ewart Gladstone. His one
intimacy was with Herbert Vaughan
ter
1t was as an Ecclesiastical states
man. says Mr.. Purcell. that CARDINAL
manning is most unique and interest
ing. lie was not man of letters like
cardinal Newman, neither was he
great original force, like Newman. he
was master rather than leader Ge-
mus, OF the hlghest order Of Intellectual
power given but to few. tho elect
among men, was denied to him Meet
siVe and profound and subtle tbougbt
penetrating, as far as the natural linifS
allCW' INTO the origin of things. human
ana divine, which constitutes ~.
thlhker. was not his Neither ,yas he
possessed Of the divine afflatns tho
poet gift which gives light and eIo,,.
ana warmth, and life that never die.
70 ~ the works Of an inspired writer >
- " az essentially man Of action
20 49, HaliFc feSt!essnesE and activity
81 temperament made an o,,tIat ~,
themselves through all the s, UI,st ioi
changes Of life, and were sfiIle,I i 80
py lhe lniIrmities Of ago. So,n6ti,1dSs
mistaken IN judgment. often H. 49,,
'IctTHlhE men and THINGS horn IA,