The New York herald., 1921-07-31

won the mitre in time to take leading
part in the Vatican Council and his red
hat in time to share in the Conclave
ways he was a link with the past and
a prophet of the future. He was a
cricketer before round arm bowling, a
Free Trader before Golden, a Home
Ruler before Gladstone, an Imperialist
before Chamberlain and Christian
Democrat before Leo XIII. He also
seems to have preceded his fellow
antipathy to Prussia. He himself had
once desired a political life, though
there is no. ground for Mr.. Paul's
statement in his History of Modern
England that he was Originally des-
tined to mercantile career"
This summary of Cardinal Man
ning's life is quoted from Shane Les
Hes new life of Cardinal Manning for
the reason that in his desire to make
the work authoritative Mr.. Leslie has
"documented" his biography so ex-
tensively there is comparatively little
OF him and much of the epistolary
records of Manning and all the great
victorian, Roman and American fig
ures of the Cardinals lifetime. This
biography has been written ITO meet
the aspersions which have been al
lowed to gather round the name OF
Cardinal Manning since the publica-
ton of Purcell's Life" an aim that
has been accomplished ian measure
running over. Incidentally, 1t is a
most effective antidote to the mere
tricious study of Manning presented
by Lytton Strachey i'm his Eminent
Victorians" Mr.. Leslie has been so
conscientious in his efforts to correct
the false impressions created by Pur-
cells biography that he has sunk his
own characteristic brilliant witty Irish
style into a soberness of treatment be-
fitting the dual intention of this record
OF the great English churchman's life,
round whose head controversy ranged
for most of his "a years.
Manning's life before his conver-
sion to the Catholic faith. in 1851, is
sketched in seven brief chapters. One
tale comes out of his boyhood of
robbing the winery at his fathers
|
the vicar of sundridge, both Of whom
as did Manning, afterward became
Bishops. "This is probably the only
case on record where three future
Bishops were guilty of larceny" re-
Elected the Cardinal. "Were we pun
ished? No. we were discreet. We gave
ourselves up and were forgiven" Fol-
most of his life he kept metaphors
from cricket in his speech. He useo
to say he became Catholic off his
own bat" and In his last years, I'VE
have had long inning, Newman ant
l." But "he disliked the ideal of mus
cular Christianity and Of HEAVIER
where cherubs played curates al
cricket indefinitely. To athletic priests
he said: How. would you like to ap
pear in the next world with a cricke
bat in one hand and a chalice In thu
other?'" He had other graces OF ex
preston. however. In some "verDa
vignettes" made on his way TO Rome
in 1s47 he noted. "In a garden by tn
sea n little girl OF 3 dancing TO th'
chime all alone; and again: "Abov
Genoa the blue loom of the snow
mountains. and below the rose colour
then the silver of the moon chafinI
upon the waters" In Ravenna he oD
N lserved "a monk not bowling at tn
kGloria. preacher making too muc
~ his composition, a virgin carefu
bout her food on Fridays"
From the day he entered the Catn
Church Manning's life was on
fight for the thinas--religiou'
ical, social--.that he considere
as an Englishman and a church
N One of the great merits OF thi
M ply Is that Mr.. Leslie ha
tr] each one of the importan
Ma >g controversies in elaborat
det nd with what may be called re
,ent Recommendation. His friendshi
WITH orence Nightingale tif 1t wa
the rdinal who first suggested he
nur career), his work at the Vat
can suncil, the difficultieA with tn