The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-12-18

than It was % years ago. Today 1t
teaches things that 1t learned It's chill
dren to abhor 2h years ago. John Bull
has changed in the time that has passed
! during the nineteenth century and he
thinks today as John Henry Newman
taught him to think.
He has affected English literature
with his writings and he IS without
doubt next to William SHAKESPEARE, the
great English scholar. Take Harvard,
Brown, Yale and other places where
they know 1t all, the professors will tell
you that to know English literature you
must read Cardinal Newman's works
and yet you must not believe what he
says; you must not believe his con-
illusions are correct; but yet you must
read his works. This reminds me Of a
man giving person medicine and say
ing you must not take this, it won't do
you any good, but still you had better
take 1t, as the taste is so sweet that
am sure you will like and benefit by it.
Cardinal Newman in his life has
bridged the yawning gulf Of misunder-
standing which existed between other
religions and the Catholic religion.
When he first went to Rome it was he
who made the entering wedge by which
one million Of eyes were allowed to look
in and see the Catholic religion, and he
also made the opening by which the
| Catholics Of the world could look out
and see other religions and other people
and learn that every one else was not in
| bad faith. AT that time Dickens, Scott
and Thackeray were teaching that Rome
was the home Of namby-pamby men and
| old women, and it was through the
doings Of this great man that it was
proved to the world at large that such
was not the case.
He never provoked an argument, he
never raised his voice against others,
and yet you could take all the brains
to be found in your colleges and roll
them into one pellet and they would be
lost and completely concealed by the
| brains and creYices of Newman's.
He never could bear to hear people
of his embraced faith talk of men in
bad faith. He would always tell of the
| 40 years he spent among them and ask
if it would have been possible for him
to appear before them after having
| spent 45 years OF his life in different
religion. and then get up and say that
all who did not agree with him were
in bad faith.
"At the age OF four he could read
Latin and at seven he could read
Greek. He never had to learn French
and German, as they were apparently
born with him. He was a wonderful
child, and he was born and put into
the world by the hand of God for a pur-
pose. His mother tells that he would
rise up in the middle of the night and
she would have to go his bedside while
he was yet youth and stay with him
until the gray streaks of dawn were
breaking, because he would be unable
to sleep because of the fears he had of
his own damnation.
Take youngsters of today and tell
them that they may go to hell when
they die, some of them will tell you
that they don't care much, and you can
tell men the same thing at all ages
and receive the same answer.
The religion of his parents was
vastly different from that Of the one he
adopted. His brother Francis died at
the age of 80 and said to a priest who
attended him; 20, father, l know your
motive is good and if there is any God
L hope you will pray for me-" Cardi-
nal Newman was a man with a fixed
idea. Carlisle says that if you see a
man coming down the street with a
fixed idea in his head, dodge him, and
II it's woman, pray for salvation. If
a man comes to your house and wants
to put In Is volumes of books for SO a
| volume. he Is a man with a determined
idea You will find, on telling him that
you don't want to pay for the books.
he will tell you he will put them in and
you can pay him 10 cents a week for
the rest Of your life. If you still re-
fuse, the book agent will, nine times
out of ten persist in living with you
for the rest of your life if you don t
do what he asks Here is a man with
a fixed Idea He has a purpose. and he
Intends to carry it out. He saws wood
for 10 months If necessary to
accomplish his purpose. The nineteenth
century man gets up on the lecture
platform and looks wise. The hall is
lit up by electricity and looks very fine,
by means of using that which has been
gained by the onward march Of prog
ress, but as far as the lecturer ia con-
eerned, we would be burning rush
lights to this day
AT the age of IA Cardinal Newman
entered Oxford, and he had been there
but one year and half when he dis
puted one of the professors.
Oxford, place which had struggled
on for 800 years. and place where the
undergraduates sat and threw spitballs
and other things around the room.
John Henry Newman entered this place
at the age Of ID, and in one year and
a half disputed one of the professors
1t was unheard of, and 1t shows that
at this early stage of life, he was
starting out to accomplish that fixed
idea in his mind. to get in the opening
wedge, to have truth and integrity win
in the end, His life has been a noble
one.
His picture hangs in my house, the
gift to me Of my sister. Beside that
is picture Of an old monk playing a
violin. He plays away, and through
the opening in the portico underneath
which he is sitting can be seen the
laborers in the field At the door can
be seen young girl who looks as
though she had just run away to es-
cape from something, and the express
sion on her face shows that, while she
does not want to come in to the old
monk, she is attracted by the sweet
music which goes forth from his old
violin. The picture is entitled An
dante Consolidate. Nothing could bet
ter illustrate the life of the great Car
Ginal Newman. He has played his
Andante Consolidate, and all the world
pauses at his door, attracted by the
sweet music he sends forth from his
violin. They like it. 1t appears as
coming from the heart, and, although
they would like to break in on him.
they hesitate on the threshold. Through
the portico of his surroundings can be
seen the world toiling away to accom-
plish something. Ministers toll away
to discover some mistake of the HOLY
Ghost, others toll away at other things.
but he goes on playing his Andante
Consolidate, with the whole world at
his back. They would not 20 in. obi
no, but nevertheless they are attracted
by his sweet music"
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