New-York tribune., 1910-11-23
report sent TO Mrs Gladstone reflects the
in of the encounter:


sneech from Dizzy. polite and for the
most part unobjectionable, and reply
from me to Harcourt chiefly on the per
sonal parts and the general character OF
his Grafton l have really treated him
with forbearance before, but was
Obliged TO let out little to-day
We have, however. for the time escaped
violation of the fundamental principles OF
the Church-God be thanked!
By far the foremost interest of the
present volumes is in the correspondence
dealing with the Anglican revival. the
passing over to Rome of Newman ana
later Of Gladstone's intimates, James H.
Hope and the Rev. Henry S Manning
and with the outcome of the Gorham case
q decision that left English churchmen
with the impression that in matters CT
doctrine. even as in temporals, bench
Of lawyers was TO be the court or last
appeal. a secular tribune wholly foreign
10 the order of the faith. Besides test
ing the fibre Of spiritual life. events like
these were such as to challenge IN Mr..
Gladstone all that sedulous attention TO
involved teehniCalities, constitutional
and confessional, of which his genius
WAS SO capable, so that the letters, by
rFaSOA OF lltSil NDAi4AllH4io VI 11AN ANINN
tions at issue make a useful addition
to the history OF an absorbing decade.
The deliberative quality is so prominent
that. as Mr.. Lathbury observes, 1t
hardly matters 10 whom the letters are
addressed. At times, however, there IS
passionate reaction on the occurrences
that are threatening to change the face
Manning that Newman is to go over:
Alas, alas. for your letter and Ell
closures Of this morning! Ny hrst thought
is Il stagger to and fro. like a drunken
man. and am at my wits END" But even
out of the enOrmlIy OF the mlschie1 arises
some gleam OF consolation. For petWeef,
four and five years he has had TINS Ialal
conviction: he has waited probably in the
hope of its being changed; perhaps ne
may still wait. and Gods ineXhaustible
mercy may overflow upon him and US.
When the stormy period has long
PASSED we find Mr.. Gladstone giving
frank utterance TO his admiration for
Newman. The Cardinals style for eX-
ample: 1T is like the very highest
music. and seems sometimes in beauty
10 go beyond the human" And yet he
thinks Newman is not, and never was,
philosophical philosopher. that is. III
the sense of Butler. Newman's s i'm
patience OF doubt and his premature
avidity for system betray the unpfilo-
sophie mind. Tract Ninety opened
Joint in his armer: IL showed that in
his wonderful genius there was dis
tinct flaw. a strong sophistical element.
Then. again. Newman never was an in
structed churchman. And yet, for one.
I say boldly that since the days of
Butler the Church Of England reared no
son so great as Newman" The subse-
ouent withdrawal into the Roman COM
nunion Of his closest friends, Hope and
Manning, constituted a bereavement
! that left its mark. After the Anglican
period Mr. Gladstone held Manning at
arms length, and as the later letters
indicate, he was ready TO acquiese in
/ Mr.. Purcell's views that Manning had
/ followed first one and then the other Of
two views" At the first moment Of
the parting Of the ways there had been
no bitterness; only q perplexed, high
minded affection. To his former COM
rade in many an endeavor TO win clearer
recognition for the Catholic note Of the
English Church Mr.. Gladstone writes:
/ Let US continue TO meet in the Presence
( Of the Eternal II that which was Is cut
away. Yet this, the best part OF it. 1nTlSl-
bly, remains. Never can l il this
world see or think of you. or you Of me
but this must be the pivot on which all
our thoughts must turn That, ! THINK
you know well, and when You speak OF
The wide field Of intercourse still left free
) 10 choice. as between US Two YOU speak
z E,cr f. Fraa = I
that you speak in kindness and affection,
/ which dRrkens sometimes. as well as some
times clears our view.
In the few communications addressed
to nonconfornist leaders like DR.. George
/ 6 Barrett, Mr.. Spurgeon and DR.. Joseph
Parker the cordial tone is present, but
there is nothing TO contradict the notion
that If the Liberal statesman learned to
endure dissent II was simply because
he loved justice more. Indeed, the col
lection as a whole encourages the i'm
preston that so far as Divine Provi-
dence had to DO with things ecclesias-
teal. Mr.. Gladstone's faith in its
Episcopal predictions never quivered.
Nor was it likely that with a free
clll!rchman he could maintain anything
resembling the unbroken. sunny friend
shin that existed with DR.. D0llinger
from the days and nights at Munich, in
1915. when. with tea and infinite con-
versation." the two men achieved doc
trinaI rapprochement or else disagreed
so profitably.
Sidelghts of biographical value are 10
be found on many a page Of these vol
uues: examples of the great cOmmOner's S
time thrift. sentence Characterizations
OF contemporaries from Chevaier Bun
sen and Martin Tupper to Robert Dale
and Goodwin Smith; his minor obliga-
tions in the intellectual life, such as the
hint from DR.. Pusey regarding the falli-
bility Of the Gospel narratives; the mel
lowing influence of the widening retro
spect as seen in the beautiful letter
written in 1899. 10 the Bishop OF Tenos.
Naming men he had known for a half
century. from some Of whom he had
been awhile estranged, he speaks of
their now having attained the Beatific
vision. and he closes by craving the
Bishops prayers that the Divine mercy
may at the end grant him entrance at
the gate OF paradise, me priRctpe8t
pcccatOTHm He was "a great Christian, -
said Lord Salisbury. and readers Of this
correspondence viii find full exposition
Of that text ample proof that with Will