:;*■'* .non. (^mmll Hmvmitg pihmrg BOUGHT WITH THE INCOME FROM THE SAGE ENDOWMENT FUND THE GIFT OF Henrg W, Sage 1891 ^//Z/jTj^f J^^//f.^'>'',y:7 iOt-^y^ Life and Letters OF Ambrose Phillipps de Lisle BY EDMUND SHERIDAN PURCELL MEMBER OF THE ROMAN ACADEMY OF LETTERS J AUTHOR OF THE '' LIFE OF CARDINAL MANNING " EDITED AND FINISHED BY EDWIN DE LISLE FELLOW OF THE SOCIETY OF ANTIQUARIES J SOMETIME MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT . . Stultus diversa sequentibus esse nil moror, Eterno meo dum sententia Regi sit sapiens. S. Paulinus IN TWO VOLS.—VOL. I MACMILLAN AND CO., Limited NEW YORK : THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 1900 ^// rig/us reserved A. A "If England is converted to Christ, it will be as muct due, under God, to you as to anyone." — John Henry Newman in a letter to Ambrose Phillipps de Lisle, dated July 30, 1857. " I should call De Lisle an Israelite indeed, in whom was no guile." — William Ewart Gladstone in a letter to Edmund S. PurcelL dated June 23, 1896. PREFACE In offering to the public the " Life and Letters " of my father, I am but carrying out a filial duty. The last act of my venerable mother's long and chequered life was to commit all the letters and manuscripts made use of in this book to the Author of the Life of Cardi'nal Manning, to enable him to complete the very luminous contribution he had made to the history of the wonderful religious move- ment which has taken place in England during the present century. In doing so, Mrs. de Lisle was not unaware that she was running the risk of hostile criticism, especially from members of her own communion. But at the age of eighty-four, persons who have lived all their lives in the exercise of Christian virtue are not easily led astray by worldly considerations, and there did not appear to be any one else in the Catholic body who had had such an inti- mate acquaintance with my father's politico-religious and reunion views, and at the same time was in touch with such distinguished leaders of the Anglican body as Lord Halifax and the late Mr. Gladstone. Moreover, Mr. Purcell engaged to submit the whole of his work to my judgment before publication. On the 6th of June 1896 he wrote to me : "I had not the remotest idea that you had any intention of writing ' The Life ' of your father, or I would VI AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE not have mentioned the subject. It is very considerate of you, and shows great confidence in me to entrust such a work to my charge. I shall be only too glad to avail myself of your aid and advice. Your appreciation of the difSculty, in some respects, of the work and the delicacy required in treating several questions will, I trust, induce you to give me the full benefit of your intimate knowledge of the subject. I will gladly agree to you looking over the proof-sheets and making what suggestions, corrections, or alterations you may think fit. It will be of great service and lighten my task. The notes which you kindly offer to write about matters of which you have the most intimate knowledge will add greatly to the interest of the work." When, therefore, it pleased the eternal Author of Life to call away Mr. Purcell before his work was completed, it devolved upon me to finish what he had begun, and to carry out my dear mother's last wishes according to the agreement I had arrived at with Mr. Purcell in her lifetime. Another death, deeply to be deplored, has also taken place since these pages began to come into being, of one who looked forward, perhaps more keenly than any man in England, to their publication — I mean that of the great leader of the Liberal party, who for so many years enjoyed the admiration of the whole world as being amongst the greatest and most Christian-minded of England's Prime Ministers. Mr. Gladstone's many letters will alone assure a cordial welcome to this work. One other name, still more revered in religious circles, looms large in these pages. I venture to say that no future biography of Cardinal Newman will be able to throw a clearer light upon many of the crucial moments of his PREFACE vii life, nor reveal more candidly the holiness and honesty of his soul, than do many of the frank and simple letters here given. They strengthened the many links of sympathy and friendship binding him to Ambrose Phillipps de Lisle. One letter, written In festo Sept. Dolorum B. V. M., 1864, must here be quoted. It sums up and embodies the spirit in which Mr. Purcell and I have endeavoured to treat this "Life," which, if we have been successful, will be of lasting service to the many nations and peoples who speak and read the English language. " It pleased me very much to find what you thought of my late volume.^ It was a great trial to me to write it, and it is a great compensation to have favourable remarks upon it such as yours. I assure you I esteem your approbation very highly, as coming from so good a Catholic and so true an Englishman and lover of England. The mixture of good and bad, which makes up the Protestantism of England, is a great mystery ; He alone, whose infinite intelligence can understand the union of the two, can also dissolve it, and set the truth and the right free ; but if any human agency is to be made His instru- ment in any part of this work, surely it must begin by acknowledging, not denying, what Protestants have that is good and true, and honouring it in them as coming from the one source of all light and holiness. Certainly, to my own mind, one of the most afflicting and discouraging ele- ments in the action of Catholicism just now on English society is the scorn with which some of us treat proceedings and works among Protestants, which it is but Christian charity to ascribe to the influences of divine grace." It now remains for me to say how far Mr. Purcell's ^ Apologia pro Vita Sua. viii AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE responsibility and work extend. He mapped out the whole work and gave the headings of the chapters. One chapter alone has been left out. It was to have been entitled " Natural Beauty and Spiritual Influence of Grace- Dieu, 1835-1864." I had not the heart under present circumstances to write this chapter about my birth-place ; but I have said what seemed necessary in the chapter, which was to have been " Life at Garendon, Sunshine and Shadows." Mr. Purcell wrote the whole of the first four- teen chapters, with the exception of some paragraphs in Chapter X., the greater part of Chapter XVI., and about half of Chapter XVII. Where in editing and correcting Mr. Purcell's work I have been compelled to differ from him, I have added notes with my own initials. In one important particular I have departed from the lines he had laid down. Strongly impressed with the conviction that it is the obiter dicta of a writer which unconsciously reveal his real anirmis and the source of his inspiration, I have given the letters I quote almost always in their entirety, and in some instances I have ventured to amplify the extracts which Mr. Purcell had selected and printed. My object has been to vindicate the Wiseman - De Lisle ecclesiastical policy ; to establish my father's reputation as a man possessed of " the perfection of Catholicity," and of the love of his Country and her Constitution ; and as a man who laid down in conjunction with his saintly friend, Father Ignatius Spencer, the only lines upon which the conversion of England is, humanly speaking, possible — not by raising a new church on the ruins of the old one already established, but by labouring to root out all heresy and hatred from the existing PREFACE IX Churches of Canterbury and York, together with their kindred Dissenting bodies, and finally to restore all Christ- worshipping Englishmen to their former ancient Catholic condition of union with the Churches of the Continent and the Holy See of Eome — the privilege of the actual Church of Westminster — so that the Scripture may be fulfilled on earth as it is in heaven : And there shall be one Fold and one Shepherd (John x. 16). Fifty-five years ago my father wrote to John, Earl of Shrewsbury : " Your plan of converting England is an idle dream. If, then, you really desire England's conversion, you must adopt my plan, which is a practicable one, and which is already hailed in a friendly way by a very large party in the Church of England, both clergy and laity." The crisis in the Church had not then commenced, but the founda- tions were laid of a movement which seems to threaten a new cleavage of society, no longer Tory and Whig, Conservative and Eadical, but Unionist and Separatist, Catholiciser and Secularist. With a deep sense of regret that he has passed from amongst us, and with the expression of the hope that I have not marred his work, I conclude this preface and explanation with Mr. Purcell's letter to me, dated June 7," 1897:— In the first place, I have ^o tell you that all the invaluable letters and documents which you entrusted to me reached their destination in safety; and, secondly, I have to express, which I do with all my heart, my deep appreciation of the kindness and cordiaUty shown to me during my visit by Mrs. Edwin de Lisle and yourself. The summer house in your charming place, where the " Life " X AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE of your father was in plan and form for the most part arranged and perfected, will always remain in my mind and memory. The many days which we spent together in selecting and reading the voluminous and invaluable correspondence will greatly promote the success of the "Life." I have put in writing directions that, should anything happen to me, the whole of the documents and MSS. in my possession — the materials of the "Life'' of your father — should be sent direct to yourself. I am now busy in collecting the documents and arranging them into their proper periods under their respective chapters. I have now all the materials in my hands, and am in a, posi- tion to push on with the work. The only letter wanting is that of your father, written fifty years ago, predicting in 1898 the overthrow of the great Anti-Christian State. In addition to the fresh and free interchange of ideas which passed between us, without which my labours would have been unsatisfactory, another advantage to my work were the delights and beauty of Charnwood Lodge, with its stillness broken only by the cuckoo and the song of the nightingale, and still more by the delightful prattle of Mary, little John, and Eudolf. Remember me very heartily to them. Pray present my kind regards to Mrs. Edwin de Lisle and my well-wishes for her full enjoyment of the festivities of the Jubilee season. — Believe me, yours sincerely, Edmund S. Pitrcell. Charnwood Lodge, September 27, 1899. CONTENTS CHAPTER I 1809-1825 PAOB Birth — School Life — Conversion — Appendix I. . . i CHAPTER II 1826-1832 Cambridge — Visits to St. Edmund's College — Religious Discussion at Garendon — Conversion of the Hon. and Rev. George Spencer . . . . . 32 CHAPTER III 1833-1834 Marriage — Restoration op Grace-Dieu Manor — Birth of A Son and Heir ....... 53 CHAPTER IV 1835-1844 Founding of the Abbey of Ooh Lady op Mount St. Bernard ..... . . 66 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE CHAPTEE V 1844-1877 PAGE The Great Cisteecian Silence — Life and Labours of THE Monks of SS. Benedict, Bernard, and Robert 91 CHAPTEE VI 1837-1845 Catholic Churches — Missions and Missionaries in Leicestershire — Dr. Gentili . . .103 CHAPTEE VII 1844 A WiDENiNe op Social and Intellectual Life . 115 CHAPTEE VIII 1750-1833 Forces Antecedent to the Catholic Revival in Europe AND THE Oxford Movement ... 139 CHAPTEE IX 1729-1829 Co-operating Influences — The Methodist Movement • Catholic Emancipation — Emigrant Priests — Sib Walter Scott's Works . . . . . .158 CHAPTEE X 1838-1865 The Crusade of Prayer : a Force preceding and accompanying the Revival op Religion in England — Appendix II. . . . . .172 CONTENTS CHAPTEE XI 1833-1841 PAGE The Oxford Movement : Letters of John Henry New- man, Mr. Bloxam and others . . . . .195 CHAPTEE XII 1841-1843 Newman and his Disciples — Conferenoes with the Thact- ARIAN Leaders — Oxford — Grace-Dibu — Osoott . 240 CHAPTEE XIII 1843-1848 The Oxford Movement — Catholic Opinion in England, Ireland, and France — The " Going out " of the Tractarian Leader and his Followers . . 270 CHAPTEE XIV 1850-1855 The Restoration of the Catholic Hierarchy : " Papal Aggression " — John, xvi. Earl of Shrewsbury — The Second Spring . . . . .313 CHAPTEE XV 1843-1865 The Eeunion of the Churches of England and Eome : Cardinal Barnabo and Propaganda on Corporate Re- union : Condemnation of the A.P.U.C. — Appendix III. 346 CHAPTER I BIRTH SCHOOL LIFE CONTEESION 1809-1825 Ambrose Lisle March Phillipps de Lisle was the eldest son of Charles March Phillipps, J.P. and D.L., of Garendon Park and Grace-Dieu Manor, in the County of Leicester, and of Harriet his wife, youngest daughter of Gerard Gustavns Ducarel, of Walford, in the County of Somerset, the descendant of a Huguenot family who sought refuge in England at the revocation of the Edict of Nantes.^ 1 The last male representative of the ancient De Lisle family, Charles Lisle of "Wodyton, Isle of "Wight, and of Moyles Court in Hampshire, died in 1819. The descendants of Thomas March Phillipps, the grandfather of Ambrose, who had married Charles Lisle's only surviving sister, Susan Lisle, thus became the representatives of this ancient family. On the death of his maternal uncle, Charles March Phillipps, under the authority of the Heralds' College, assumed the arms and crest of Lisle or De Lisle. On the death of his father in 1862 inheriting the family estates, Ambrose assumed in addition to the arms the name of De Lisle. Although March was his patronymic he never used that name except in legal documents, and always signed his name Ambrose Lisle Phillipps up to 1862, and afterwards usually Ambrose Phillipps de Lisle, under which name he was pricked by the Queen to serve as High Sheriff for the county in 1868. The De Lisles were descended from Fitzazor, a valiant knight who came over to England with William the Conqueror, and was rewarded for his deeds in arms by a considerable grant of land in the Isle of Wight, which remained until the present century in the possession of the family. From William the Conqueror's grant is derived the name de Insula, de Lisle, or Lisle. Four members of this family were in ancient times Governors of the Isle of Wight, and three were summoned by Writ, as representative Lords of Parliament, in days before the English Peerage was established on the hereditary principle. The family of March also traces its origin from the Isle of Wight, mention being made of one Stephen March, captain of a select band, by J. Philpot, VOL. I B 2 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. Ambrose was born at Garendon Park, on the I7th of March 1809, the same year in which Mr. Gladstone, in after-life an intimate friend, was born, as well as Pope Leo XIII. ; and was baptized privately at his father's house by his uncle, the Eev. Edward March Phillipps, rector of Hathern. In baptism he received the names Ambrose Lisle, his father remarking that the initials spelt the word lamp, which he trusted his son might prove to be to all around him. To the misfortune of the biography of her son his mother died three years after his birth, consequently the copious reminiscences or traditions of his early years, which a mother alone knows how to treasure up and record, were lost. His father, however, fortunately kept a diary in which were briefly recorded the chief details of his son's early years. But dry facts, however valuable, do not com- pensate for the loss of the glowing picture of a mother's Somerset Herald (o. 19 fo. 126) in the visitation of Hampsliire anno 1635. He bore sable on a cross or, between 4 lions' beads erased argent, as many crescents gules : see Guilim's Heraldry, 1724, " the bearing and true arms of Stephen March." In the early eighteenth century, and probably long before, members of the March family of Newport, Isle of Wight, became Turkey merchants, and in the iirst quarter of the nineteenth century there remained at Smyrna a wharf and a lane named March after them. Several members of the Phillipps family were also Turkey merchants, related to the Marches by blood or maiTiage. Thomas March, the father of Charles March Phillipps, on succeeding to the Garendon and Grace-Dieu estates under the will of Samuel Phillipps his cousin, the last of the Phillippses in the male line, obtained a quarterly coat of arms from the Heralds' College together with the double surname of March-Phillipps. In this grant he bore for March, quarterly gules and azure, a cross erminois, between 4 lions' heads erased or ; and for Phillipps, azure a chevron argent, augmented by 2 ohevronels or, to represent the Lisle descent, between three hawks. He was the son of Richard March, who was the son of Richard March of Enfield and Shallow Hall, co. Middlesex, who died 1731, by his wife Grace, daughter of Hugh Strode, niece of Sir John Strode. The arms of Lisle are or, on a chief azure 3 lions rampant or. The late Admiral Sir Alfred Phillipps Ryder, K.C.B., published in 1880 " The History of our Ancestors, a simple record of facts, wrote by Mary Berkin the grand-daughter of Edward Lisle, with some alterations and additions of facts by another grand-daughter 1770-1776," giving an interesting account of the friendship and marriages between the families of Lisle, March and Phillipps. At the time the admiral wrote there were 65 descendants in the third generation living of Thomas March Phillipps and Susan Lisle his wife. E. DE L. I BIRTH 3 memory. Moreover, Phillipps de Lisle, to retain the name by which he was best known in the more stirring periods of his after - life, did not indulge himself, nor gratify posterity as Cardinal Manning did, in writing autobio- graphical notes and retrospective journals concerning the events of his early days. On the other hand, contem- porary diaries and letters innumerable in that abounding day of letter-writing supply ample materials to record the story of a rich and varied life, and to reflect in no dim colours a fascinating personality. A few extracts from his father's diary ^ will tell all that is known of Ambrose's earliest years : — 1814. — Two long visits paid at Garendon with the children. Others by himself — leaving them in care of Mrs. Goddard, a most excellent nurse, whom they loved as a mother to the end of her life. Eev. W. March Phillipps begins to give first religious impressions. — Notes from G. M. P.'s Diary. Ambrose was just five years old when he was taken by his father to Garendon Park, and received his first religious teachings from his uncle, the Eev. William March Phillipps, who was a zealous member of the High Church Party of that day. The elder parson uncle Edward on the other hand, who baptized him, was a strong evangelical and hated anything savouring of Popery, or of the " Eoman Anti-Christ," as he was wont to term his Holiness the Pope. February 1815. — At Garendon, A. L. P. delicate with pains in his chest. . . . 2&tli July. — C. M. P. buys pony for A. L. P. for £5. A second pony arrives for him from Garendon. His first ride — six years old. His father one of the first riders in Leicestershire. Anxious that his son to be the same.^ 11th Navember. — C. M. P. dines at Combe to meet the Prince Regent and Duke of Clarence. Children taken to see them. A. L. P. remembered it perfectly. — Ibid. 1816. — A good deal at Garendon. Eev. William M. P. very ill . . . instructs A. L. P. in Bible, etc. when able. 17 th 1 Charles March Phillipps' Diary was obviously compiled from cotes taken at the time, but put together with remarks at a later opportunity. 2 Ambrose in after-life took no pleasure in active field-sports, but his father's wishes were fully realised in his grandson, Ambrose Charles, who was a mighty hunter and may be said to have lived for sport. 4 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. July. — Leave Brandon with children ; arrive at Barmouth. 19henever any man is sick among you," etc., i.e. with a dangerous, mortal sickness, of which it is evident from the context that the apostle is speaking. Again : the apostle nowhere hints that this was a practice to bo confined to the first ages of the Church ; and if we in our private judgment have a right to fix such an interpretation to this or any other part of the New Testament, what limits will be given to the annulling I APPENDIX I 23 of every ordinance of Christianity 1 It is upon this very principle that the Quaker rejects Baptism and the Eucharist, and thus renounces all claim to being a Christian. Such were my thoughts, or rather, such were the suggestions of my angel guardian, when I heard the unsatisfactory reply of my tutor. I must not forget to mention that, at this period, a host of controversial works were put into my hands : Fox's Martyrology (a book filled with calumnies and misrepresentation) ; Faber's works upon the prophecies ; Bishop Newton's, on the same subject ; also Mede's works upon the prophecies ; Dean Milner's Church Histm-y ; Mosheim's Church History; Stillingfleet's and Tillotson's tracts against Popery ; as well as numerous other works of the same stamp. But I could never derive any satisfaction, much less any solid conviction, from any of these books. In the first place, the grand fact that all these writers set out on false premises, inasmuch as they charge upon Catholicks doctrines which their Church solemnly denounces; and hence all the application which Protestants make of the prophecies con- cerning Antichrist and the " man of sin," to the Catholick Church in genera], and the see of Eome in particular, falls to the ground : not to say that on many other accounts the parable is incomplete. Then, again, the evident opposition between all these writers and all the most venerable fathers of the Christian Church from the very beginning ; the revolting proposition that Pro- testants in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries should understand the JVard of God, and know the principles of the Christian religion, better than those who conversed with the Apostles, and who had seen those who had seen our Lord ; all these were circumstances which prevented me from deriving anything like satisfaction or conviction from all these writers ; armed as they were with sophistries, and a false show of learn- ing. On the other hand, my devotional books were Bishop Jeremy Taylor's works, and above all, his Holy Living and Dying, Nelson's Fasts and Festivals, Bishop Beveridge's Private Thoughts, and my prayer book, the true Chiu-ch of England man's Manual ; and of these books I have no hesitation in saying they did much, under God, to lead me into the Catholic religion. This, at first sight, may seem strange, but then they were written by men who professed a sovereign veneration for the Holy Fathers, who lived soon after the times of Catholick England, when still the recollections of brighter days afforded a slight glimmering of truth, and many still retained the impressions of Catholick tradition. They were written by men who in their day were accused by the more zealous Protestants of looking to Popery ; by men who were rather guilty of schism than of heresy ; by 24 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. men, in short, who speak a language unknown to Protestants of the present day. I derived, then, a knowledge of primitive truth from the devotional books which I have just mentioned, and which served to counteract the influence of the controversial works which were put into my hands. On the other hand I was unremitting in my endeavours to find out what were the doctrines of the Primitive Church. I applied to every book within my reach that could throw any light upon the subject. This was, I may say, the only subject that occupied my thoughts, so that I never let an occasion pass of gaining some little information on this subject. From time to time various incidents occurred, which under Divine Providence served gradually to conduct me to the Catholick faith. One of these I will relate. I had been present at Gloucester at a meeting held by the Society for the Conversion of the Jews. In the evening, at the Bishop's Palace, I met several ministers who had spoken at the meeting, and I heard one of them assert that the Jews held the doctrine of Pwgatory. At this the Bishop expressed his astonishment ; and observed how singularly error agreed with itself wherever it was found ! Such was the light in which this fact struck his mind. I, however, drew from it a quite different conclusion, though I did not venture to mention it to any one. I thought it is very strange if the doctrine of Purgatory were (as we are always told), an invention of Popery, how the Jews came to adopt a belief which they could only have learnt from Christians 1 On the other hand, it appeared to me, that if this doctrine was older than Christianity, it must, in all probability, be founded on truth ; since we do not find that our Saviour anywhere con- demned it as being one of the corruptions of the Pharisees. Again, if it was held by the Jews before our Saviour's time, but condemned by the early Church as a novelty invented by the later Rabbles, how was it possible that a doctrine essentially Jewish should come to be adopted by the Church without any one being able to pronounce the precise period 'of its adoption ; and without the slightest record of any opposiiion to its intro- duction 1 Such were the thoughts which passed through my mind on this occasion. I also remembered what I had read in Wheatley's Commentary on the Common Prayer j that, in the best and purest ages of the Primitive Church, prayers had been offered together with the Eucharistic oblation for the souls of the faithful departed ; and although he does not hence adopt the belief of Purgatory, but on the contrary professes to reject it, — yet he asserts that this point of opposition between Pro- testants and Catholicks is in reality a dispute merely about 1 APPENDIX I 25 words ; or, at most, a nice distinction which it is impossible for men in general to comprehend ; and he adds that it is evident the Primitive Christians, to say the least, held a state of imper- fection of bliss, out of which they believed the departed might be delivered by the prayers of the living. All these ideas power- fully affected my mind. " Ought we," said I to myself, — " can we with safety — reject a doctrine supported by the united testimony both of Jews and Christians in every age, up to the sixteenth century, when certain innovators first arose to call it in question ? " About this time I happened also to discover from a quotation in Mede's works (taken as far as I recollect from St. Justin Martyr), that the Primitive Christians called the holy Eucharist the Mass {missas agere, I think was the expression). Why reject this ancient name ? thought I in my own mind ; does not this change of a word, though it be but a word, look some- thing like the change of the faith itself ? or, at least, is not that Church more likely to be the true one which scrupulously adheres even to every antient expression ? and have we not in that love of pious antiquity which we see in the Catholic Church, and which descends even to the most minute circum- stance of religion, a greater guarantee of her truth, and a greater argument that she has never changed any of her doctrines, than can be afforded by any other Church under Heaven 1 I will not here omit to mention that whilst I was thus making progress towards the discovery of the truth of Catholicity, I was much aided by a certain natural disposition of my mind, — a fondness for antiquity and for romance. And let not any one take offence if I acknowledge a connection, in the causes of my conversion, between this disposition and my ardent desire to discover truth. Let him remember that, through the goodness of God, who has created our souls with all their faculties, our natural dispositions are often made subservient to our salvation. " The destiny of man," it has been observed, " is often confirmed by the very circumstances which would seem most calculated to reverse it." The disposition to which I have alluded, when inordinate or excessive, may certainly be very injurious to our truest interests ; but, in itself, when well regulated, it may, on the contrary, be a means employed by God to lead us to the discovery of truth. The love of antiquity is but the love of a state of greater perfection and simplicity, which we imagine existed in former times. Hence, when we read of our ancestors, we are apt to conceive something more spiritual and more un- earthly than ourselves. This impression may, indeed, be vision- ary or false when applied to any particular age to which we happen to look back. Still, it appears to me to be a record 26 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. imprinted upon our hearts of a state of perfection in wMcli man once existed, but from which he is fallen. Eomance and poetry, again, are nearly allied with our ideas of antient sim- plicity and perfection. They are, indeed, grossly abused ; but who, that thinks, does not feel that in proportion as they are made the vehicle of false principles or degenerate sentiments, they really lose the essential qualities of the romantic and the poetic ? In the minds of intellectual and innocent children, this ardent love of ideal excellence is associated with nothing, assuredly, but what would elevate and ennoble. If they offend their Creator, it is not in their hour of poetry and romance. No ! in the fresh and lovely season of childhood, it is not the recollection of the valiant knight, the devout defender of the Holy Land, — nor the mournful musing amidst ancient ruins, that makes the soul forgetful of her God, or disinclined to devotion. Far be it then from me to turn away with heartless indifference from recollections which recall the sweet and har- monious ways in which G-od conducted my soul from what is transient to what passes not away, from the vanity of a dream to the beholding and enjoying of truth. The summer following the occurrence above alluded to (p. 24), connected with the meeting for the conversion of the Jews held at Gloucester, my father sent for me to spend my midsummer holidays at Paris. I remember that this gave me more pleasure from the thought that I should thus have an opportimity of seeing Catholic Churches and rites than from any other motives which might naturally influence a boy of thirteen ; and yet I was exceedingly fond of novelty : moreover, I loved every amusement suitable to my age, so that I have the more reason for admiring the ways of Providence in my regard ; and for thanking God for not having allowed any fondness for transient vanities to extinguish my desire of discovering truth and of saving my soul. No sooner had we landed at Calais than I hastened to the Church to satisfy my curiosity. This was the first Catholick Church I ever saw ; and it made a great impression upon me ! There was an appear- ance of sanctity and of solemnity in its form and arrangement that went to my heart. It seemed to be, indeed, the Temple of the Almighty ; and I felt ready to exclaim with the holy patriarch Jacob, " Truly, God is in this place ! " After leaving Calais, as we passed along the great road to Paris, I observed many crucifixes by the wayside. These memorials of our Ee- deemer's sufferings affected me very much ; and I recollect the thought occurred to me that it was wrong to pass them without making an act of reverence. It seemed as if I dishonoured Jesus Christ when I took no notice of His holy image : accordingly I APPENDIX I 27 from that moment I never passed a crucifix without making an inclination of my head. During my stay at Paris, I spent much of my time in the Churches, and great indeed was my edifica- tion ! The numbers of people constantly praying in them at all hours of the day ; no less in the absence of the clergy than during the performance of the solemn functions of religion, was a circumstance of such piety and devotion as could not fail to strike me ; especially as I had as yet been preserved from the sophistry of Infidelity and Error, and had not learned to explain away with heartless coldness those sweet and simple impres- sions of which our blessed Lord has made us all susceptible, in order to the discovery and the love of truth. I now by degrees became so fond of the Catholick religion that I never was happy out of the Churches ; and I felt but little taste for any other sights or amusements. My sister had a Catholick governess ; and to her I had recourse for information on many points. She explained to me the nature and meaning of the holy ceremonies of the Mass. I never shall forget the solemn vespers in the Church of Xotre Dame (the Cathedral of Paris) on Whitsunday. The Archbishop officiated, and there were numerous Priests in copes ; the solemnity and grandeur of the chant, the devotion of the Faithful, and the sublime majesty of the rite inspired one with a degree of devotion that convinced me more than ever of the utility of the Catholic ceremonial : and who shall here object and say, that this is all mere sensible devotion ; and that this is not to worship God " in spirit and in truth " ? No Catholick for a moment would say, that any sensible and natural feelings of devotion would alone suffice ; far from it, the Catholick Church teaches us to raise up our minds to love and serve God with the utmost purity possible ; and if she employs ceremonies and solemn music, it is only because she knows that we have bodies as well as souls ; that our ideas are modified from the impressions we receive through our senses ; and that we are poor, weak creatures who stand in need of every help. Does not S. Augustin tell us, in the book of his Confessions, how, before his conversion, he was affected to tears by hearing the solemn and harmonious chant in the Catholick Churches at Milan ? Does he not say, that those tears "began to melt the dryness of his soul"; and that the love of God, the author of all harmony, began to enter into his heart ? Far then be it from us to despise these things, when so holy and blessed a saint urges their importance. No, my God ! I give thee thanks that thou didst speak to my heart through these material objects; and I beseech thee to enlighten the blindness of those who oppose this ordinance of Thy Church ! 28 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. During my stay at Paris, which was for about six weeks, I con- stantly employed myself in visiting churches, and in making all the enquiries I was able about the Catholick religion. I was presented to the Catholick Archbishop of Jerusalem, and though still a Protestant, I knelt down to receive his blessing, which he gave me with much devotion. That holy prelate was afterwards martyred by the Turks. Note B In a letter, dated August 31st, 1859, addressed to an intimate friend. Canon Macdonnell, who had received him, when a boy, into the Church, Phillipps de Lisle gave the following account of circumstances which preceded and followed his conversion : — Gbace-Dieu Manor, 31st August 1859. My very dear Canon Macdonnell. — And now, my dear friend, I will not refuse to comply with the desire you express to have in my handwriting some notice of those remarkable circumstances which I mentioned to your friend- ship ; and which your kindness and partiality induced you to take interest in ; but of which in recording them on paper, I ought again to repeat even more emphatically than I did in speaking of them, that I give them to you " in fear and trembling " for what they are worth, and for what they may be in the unerring judgment of Him " who trieth the hearts and the reins," and who is Light and Truth itself. To begin with my unworthy self (and I would that I were less unworthy) : It was about my thirteenth year, while residing in the house of the late Archdeacon of Stafford, George Hodson, at Maizemore Court near Gloucester, that having excited in his mind fears lest one day I should become a Catholic, or, as he would have expressed it, should be perverted to the errors of Popery, he put into my hands several treatises of learned Anglican authors, the object of which was to shew that the alleged corrup- tions of the Christian Church, and of the Papacy especially, were all foretold in the sacred prophecies of Holy Writ, and that from the period when the Temporal Power was given to the Eoman Pontiff by the Emperor Phocas about the year of our Lord 621, the papacy had in fact literally and perfectly fulfilled all that the Holy Ghost had foreshewn to the Church concerning the predicted Antichrist or the Arch-Heretick, who as " The Man of Sin," " The False Prophet," " The Little Horn," was pre-eminently to contest the dominion of Jesus Christ over the nations, to persecute the Church, and to occasion the ruin of countless myriads of I APPENDIX I 29 souls redeemed by the blood of Christ. The vn-iters I allude to, who take this view and whom the archdeacon put into my hands, were Bisliop Newton, Sir Isaac Newton, Gewge Hanley Faher, Cunninghame, George Mede, along with some other authors of less name. I waded thro' their treatises, and read them with that interest which the importance of the subject treated of demands, and which was not otherwise than heightened by the ability with which they have handled it, no less than by the remarkable historick research which is displayed in backing up their theory by various facts collected from the history of the Church. Notwithstanding all this, it pleased God not to allow me to be convinced by their reasoning, however specious — a sort of strong impression was deeply engraved on my mind that the Pope was not this great Antichrist, but that we must look elsewhere for the fulfilment of those predictions of the Scripture. Between this feeling, on the one hand, and the specious and more powerful arguments of the Anglican writers on the other, my mind was sorely perplexed ; and as already, under the influence of some High Church Clergy, I had conceived a great desire for the reunion of the Church of England with the Holy See, the conflict which now arose in my mind filled me with sadness and dejection. One day that I felt the sorrow more than ever, as I was walking by the side of the Eiver Severn near Maizemore Bridge, I lifted up my heart to God with intense desire, and I said — " Oh ! that some one would tell me who indeed was the great Antichrist," and as I said this my eyes were looking into the blue Heaven, when all at once I saw it open as though it were a solid substance, and a bright light issued from the opening and like lightning descended to me, while with my ears in an instant of time I heard these words : — " This is Antichrist — Mahomet — and Mahomet was Antichrist because he denied the Father and the Son, and he denied them in those words of his Koran, where he says ' God neither begetteth nor is begotten.' " The voice then ceased, but I felt my soul filled with the most unspeakable consolation and peace ; all my doubts and anxieties had vanished away, it was impossible for me to doubt what I had heard from Heaven, and along with the firm belief that Mahomet was the great Antichrist, I felt a most profound reverence enter into my soul for our Holy Father the Pope, altho' it did not occur to me that I ought to quit the Com- munion of the Anglican Church or that I should enter into his Communion — nor was it until more than two years later that I saw clearly that I was to join the Catholic Church. But from this moment the earnest desire was more and more increased b 30 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. within me to labour for a reunion of the Anglican with the Catholic Church, and I felt a conviction, which I have never abandoned, that it will be by means of this reunion that the great schism of England will be ultimately healed and that the errors of Protestantism will be rooted out. I thought also from this time that I ought one day to publish a treatise in order to prove Mahomet to be the great Antichrist, for which purpose I constantly studied until I wrote my book On Mahometanism in its Relation to Propliecy, which I published in 1855, rather more than thirty years after I heard those remarkable words as I have just mentioned ; but I was strongly impressed that it was not God's will that I should refer to that circumstance in my book. The circumstances I mentioned to you about my meeting that holy man Mark Carricchia at Eome in January 1831 were these. I had heard of his repute for sanctity and miracles, in consequence of which Pope Gregory XVI., who was just then chosen Pope, used frequently to consult him and to ask his prayers. I went to see him in company with a Benedictine monk, a friend of mine. He dwelt in the convent of St. Mary Magdalene belonging to the Brethren of S. Camillus of Lellis, living a sort of eremitical life and supporting himself by painting holy images. In that convent there was a priest. Padre de Velases, who told me that Mark Carricchia had cured his own brother from insanity by the sign of the cross and oil out of Our Lady's lamp, and this when the unfortunate man had been in various lunatic asylums without any benefit for years, and that the use of his intellect was preserved to him till he died. When I went to St. Mary Magdalene's, the Benedictine introduced me to Father de Velases, and it was he who conducted us both into Marco's cell. When we entered, Mark rose from his desk where he was praying, — above it there hung a small image (picture) of the ever blessed Mother of God, of which he afterwards gave me a copy, and I saw another copy of the same image on the table' of Pope Gregory XVI. which Marco had also given to his Holiness, and the Pope kept it always on his table with great devotion. As soon as I entered the room, Marco almost ran across it, and embracing me, he said with tears running down his cheeks, "Oh! how I rejoice to see you — for fifteen years now have I prayed every day to God that He would convert England and Russia. ' my God,' do I say a hundred times and oftener in each day, ' grant me those two great Powers England and Russia ' — now I was praying this morning as usual, and suddenly I saw an angel, who told me he was your angel guardian, and that he I APPENDIX I 31 would bring you to me to-day, and as I prayed to the Morther of God concerning this, she assured me that she had chosen you for this work of the conversion of England, for which I daily prayed. And therefore I rejoice to see you, and I tell you that God has chosen you for this work." When I heard this I was much astonished, and he said much more in the same strain — upon which I said, " But, Signor Marco, if this be so as you say, I ought to be a priest." On which in an instant he replied, " No, for you shall marry, and God has prepared for you a holy wife, and you shall have a great family of children, and they shall be holy." Then I said, " How then am I to labour for this great work ? " He said, " God will shew, and He will put it into your hand." I said, " But how will the conversion of England come 1 " He said, " There will be a great movement of the learned men of that kingdom ("vi sara moto da fare colli Uomini dotti di questo Regno "), and this shall be the sign of the near accomplish- ment of the event. God has chosen you to work with them, and to confound human pride ; and know this for certain, that you shall not see Death till you have seeii All England united to the Catholic Faith." He then said, sighing, " Here in Italy we are losing the Faith, but our loss will be your gain." He said also many other things, but I could not quite understand them all, as he spoke fast and his Italian was rather provincial. When I left his cell I went immediately to my confessor, Father Thomas Glover, an English Jesuit, who resided at the Gesu (the professed house of those Fathers in Rome), and having related my interview with Marco, and asked his opinion about it, he advised me to suspend my judgment until three days, during which he would make a Triduo with some of his Brethren in order to commend the matter to God, that we might know what to think of it ; and that after this I should go to Marco again, and without referring to what he had told me on this occasion, I should see whether he would say anything further. . . . CHAPTER II CAMBRIDGE— ST. EDMUND'S COLLEGE ITALY EELIGIOUS DIS- CUSSION AT GAEENDON CONVEKSION OF THE HON. AND EEV. GEOEGB SPENCEE. 1826-1830 In 1825 John Henry Newman was Fellow of Oriel; and in that year Mr. Charles March Phillipps wrote to Dr. Copplestone asking for admission for his son Ambrose to Oriel, Oxford. The result of this application is recorded in the Diary : — 1st February 1825. — C. M. P. goes to Oxford to see Dr. Copplestone. No admission, all vacancies filled up. — Notes from a M. P.'s Diary. This failure to obtain admission to Oriel was a dis- appointment to Ambrose and his father. But it is something more. Had the zealous young convert to the Church been brought into close contact with Newman at Oriel in the years 1827-28, when men's minds were in a religious ferment, what effect might not his zeal and enthusiasm have had in precipitating the early beginnings of the Oxford Move- ment. At all events Phillipps de Lisle, the future leader of the Corporate Eeunion Movement between the Churches of England and of Eome, would have formed one of " that band of earnest young men " who worked with Newman. There can be no question that the zealous young Catholic must needs have come into frequent conflict at Oriel with Hurrell Proude, who was too much addicted to the vehement denunciation of " the wretched Tridentines " ; even if not with Newman himself. Had Ambrose been matriculated CHAP. II CAMBRIDGE 33 at Oriel instead of Trinity College, Cambridge, he might have done not a little towards lessening Frederick Oakeley's early prejudices against Eome, and breaking down his Evangelical- ism. If not at Newman's concilidbula, he would have met at any rate at the Oxford Union Henry Edward Manning, known as one of its chief and most successful speakers. But the Fates ruled otherwise. Towards the end of the year Ambrose was taken by his father and Eev. W. Wilkinson to Eev. J. Babbington of Cosington, to be examined for his admission to Trinity College, Cambridge. The Eev. Baptist Noel,^ afterwards well known as one of the leaders of the Low Church Party, and, perhaps, the fiercest opponent in his day of " Popery," was present when the young convert presented himself as a candidate for admission to the University. In the autumn of the following year are these entries in Mr. C. M. Phillipps's Diary about his son at Cambridge : — \Qth October 1826. — C. M. P. and Mr. Wilkinson take Ambrose to Trinity College (Nevil Court) to begin his term there. Dr. Peacock, the Master of Trinity, invited them to dine. Eev. Mr. Thorp engaged at £100 a year as private tutor. They breakfasted with him at Trinity Hall ; and dined at Jesus Lodge with Dr. Trench. ISth October. — Ambrose goes to his first mathematical lecture ; met at dinner Vice-Chancellor, Dr. Proctor, Thackeray, etc. . . . 1 bth December. — C. M. P. goes to Cambridge . . . finds Ambrose's room full of Catholic objects. They drank port at Dean Hamilton's, meet Waddington. June 1827. — Ambrose comes from Cambridge to Garendon. Asked his father's leave to go to Mass at Leicester on Sundays. No answer. So he rode there, and continued to do so every Sunday, fasting. Uh July. — Eev. Mr. Thorp comes to Garendon for a few days. Told C. M. P. Ambrose reads nothing but E. C. books and legends. — Notes from C. M. P.'s Diary. At Cambridge, Kenelm Digby, the learned author of 1 Lord Shrewsbury, in speaking of the Hon. and Rer. Baptist Noel, said : " One of the most wicked acts of the "Whigs was making that canting humbug a Queen's Chaplain." As a proof of his sincerity, however, he resigned his preferments and became a Baptist preacher. VOL. I D 34 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. the Broad Stone of Honour and of Mores Gatholici, formed a close friendship, which lasted a lifetime, with Phillipps de Lisle. Both men alike were recent converts : they were the only Cathohcs at Cambridge : they were alike filled \vith enthusiastic love of the Church, and a lively desire for the return of their fellow-countrymen to the faith of their forefathers. The return of England to the Catholic Church was the mainspring and motive of De Lisle's action through- out life, from these early days at Cambridge to the hour of his death. In those early days he did not believe, nor after- wards — although he sometimes,' later in life, wished to believe — that the Anglican Church was a living branch of the Catholic Tree ; yet he never abandoned the hope that the branch, although cut off by the schism of the Tudor Settlement, was not without the sap of Divine Grace, which might one day enable it, never altogether withered, to be reingrafted by the Divine Husbandman into the mystical Vine. It was this conviction which sustained the hope that never died out in his breast of the return of the Church of England to Catholic Unity, or eventually of a Corporate reunion between the two Churches. Before such a happy consummation could be brought within the range of possibilities or probabilities, it was before all things neces- sary that the hearts of men should be won. Catholics and Anglicans alike must forego or abate their mutual prejudices, suspicions, and misrepresentations. Ignorance, the prolific mother of prejudice, obtains, even to-day, as much on the Catholic side as on the non-Catholic ; mutual misunderstand- ings and misconceptions abound ; and until men on either side understand each other better, there is but little hope or chance of reconciliation. Throughout life it was De Lisle's mission to effect this great work of reconciliation. It is not too much to say that this mission of charity and faith and hope, inaugurated in the days of his youth at Cambridge, was the master-passion of his heart. In conjunction with Kenelm Digby, a fellow-Catholic, and with a few Anglicans who were attracted by his eloquence, knowledge of Catholic dogma, and enthusiasm, De Lisle anticipated at Cambridge, in his measure and II CAMBRIDGE 35 degree, the early beginnings of the Oxford Movement. Among many of his fellow -undergraduates a spirit of religious inquiry was enkindled. Catholic doctrines were discussed, and points of difference between the teaching of the Church of Kome and the Anglican Church were raised ; but De Lisle was more eager by far in impressing upon his disciples the points of contact than of difference. In 1838, ten years after his undergraduate days, showing the active interest he took in his University, De Lisle became one of the founders of the Camden Society. At Cambridge, of course, in those early days there was no opportunity for Catholics to hear Mass or go to Communion. The nearest church to Cambridge was St. Edmund's College, Old Hall, Ware ; and Ambrose and Kenelm Digby, during the two years they were at Cambridge, used to ride over every Sunday, fasting, to St. Edmund's, a distance of twenty-five miles, for Mass, Confession, and Communion. Such per- severance in the practice of their religion was in itself an apostleship ; since young men's rehgious feelings are awakened more often by example than by precept. It was on the occasion of one of these Sunday pilgrim- ages to Old Hall that Ambrose, who was suffering from a severe cough, fell seriously ill. The following extracts from the father's Diary show how deeply he was affected : — IQth April 1828. — At Bridlington with his mother and two sisters (who live there), C. M. P. got the cruel intelligence of Ambrose's Ulness at St. Edmund's College, and rupture of a blood-vessel on the lungs. nth. — Arrives at St. Edmimd's; found Ambrose better than I had expected. He had been bled, 35 oz. . . . Dr. Bab- bington from London had been sent for by the Prefect. I slept in the College. 6000 vols. — I saw all over it. Much pleased. IMh. — He had a good night. \2th. — Left him better. . . . 2Qth. — Letter at Garendon from Dr. Griffiths. ^ On my way through London I called on Dr. Babbington, who strongly re- commends wintering in Italy ; not to start later than September, earlier if possible. 1 Dr. Griffiths was President of St. Edmund's College, Old Hall, Ware. Afterwards lie became Vicar- Apostolic of the London district. 36 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE ohap. 26 Jbid. 102 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap, v work as the founding of the Abbey of Mount St. Bernard In reply, he said : " Thanlvs and praise be to God. The highest aim of my spiritual life was the bringing back to England of the Great Cistercian Order, devoted to prayer and the silent contemplation of God. The greatest con- solation of my earthly life is to know that the prayers and penances and the ' great silence ' are offered up by day and by night to God by the monks of St. Bernard for the fulfil- ment of the dearest desire of my heart — the return of England to Catholic Unity." ^ ^ It is a significant coincidence that the week before the monks celebrated their first jubilee, Phillipps de Lisle's seventh and eldest surviving son was elected M.P. for the division in the Conservative and Unionist interest, and on the occasion of the jubilee celebration proposed the toast of "the Abbot and his brethren" in the Chapter House, where dinner was served to the invited guests. Father Loekhart replied in suitable terms. Mr. Edwin de Lisle, M.P.'s colleague, Lord John Manners, now Duke of Rutland, wrote from Homburg under date July 14, 1886: "We have just heard of your glorious victory, and I hasten to congratulate you and Mid-Leicestershire upon it. It is indeed a political event of the highest significance, and reflects equal credit upon you and the constituency. In its more personal aspect too, the fact of another member being taken from Garendon, and in these days of democracy, is most gratifying. Pray offer our warm felicitations to your mother and youi- nephew." And Cardinal Manning wrote the following letter, so characteristic of his charm of manner and sympathy with other people's success : — Abp's House, Westminster, July 18, 1886. My deae Edwin — As I told you "Tory as you are I wish you well," for I believe you are honest and patriotic. I rejoice for your good mother's sake, for in her many trials this will come as a recognition of what is due to your dear Father, and to Grace Dieu and Garendon. And now " be swift to hear, slow to speak." Wait till you have studied for yourself and follow no bell- wethers. When you come up let me see you. Give my kind regards to your Mother and may God bless you all. Believe me, always yours affec- tionately, H. E. 0. Aeohm.shop. CHAPTER VI CATHOLIC CHURCHES MISSIONS AND MISSIONARY PRIESTS IN LEICESTERSHIRE DR. GENTILI 1837-1845 In 1837, three chapels were opened — at Grace -Dieu, Whitwick, and at the Abbey. The work of founding these missions was carried on concurrently with the building of the Abbey. The building of Catholic Churches in these Leicestershire villages attracted the attention of the Ee- formation Society ; but their gross misrepresentation of the Catholic religion had a contrary effect to that intended by their blind bigotry, as is shown in De Lisle's letter to Lord Shrewsbury, dated 22nd May 1837, as follows : — . . . We have had strange work here lately in consequence of an attack made upon us by the Eeformation Society, which held one of their vile meetings a short time ago at Ashby- de-la-Zouch.1 The result of this has been that a very large number of the most respectable Protestant Tradespeople of that Town have petitioned that a Catholick church be built in Ashby, in order that they may learn the doctrines of the Catholic Church from the lips of her own Ministers, and that if convinced of their truth they may embrace them ! In consequence of this petition we are taking steps to do that which these good people so earnestly desire, and I am at this moment making negotiations with my good friends 1 Sir Charles Wolseley (seventh baronet) who presided at this "No Popery " meeting, was induced by De Lisle, who was present, to return with him to Grace-Dieu. After many and long discussions Sir C. Wolseley was finally convinced of the errors of Protestantism, and received into the Church at Grace-Dieu. 104 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. the Jesuits, who I have the greatest hopes will undertake this most important Mission.^ With the grace of God I am determined it shall succeed. Our enemies were never more violent, and the return of old Burdett and their success at Bridgewater makes them already fancy that they behold such a Parliament of stern Protestants returned as shall repeal Eman- cipation, which, they say, remaining unrepealed will prove the death-blow of Anglicanism. Since the Ashby Meeting we have had a course of controversial sermons preached in our chapel here by Mr. Hulme of Loughborough, who is a very clever man. They have been well attended : two Sundays ago 700 were counted in the chapel, and yesterday ten men came to the Prior of Mount St. Bernard to receive instructions. In fact, I expect that in the course of a little time, the majority of this Neigh- bourhood will be Catholick ; illustrative of what I am saying, a singular little fact occui-red last week — a deputation from one of the clubs in the great parish of Whitwick (and what makes it more remarkable the club contains at least 50 or 60 Pro- testants to about a dozen Catholics) came to Grace-Dieu re- questing that, on the day on which, in previous years, they had been accustomed to attend the Protestant Church where the Parson preached them a sermon, they might be allowed to transfer their attendance to the Catholic Chapel, requesting the Priest of Loughboro' to preach to them their club sermon ! . . . The main difficulty after the chapels vs^ere built was to provide them with priests. In the first instance, the monks of Mount St. Bernard served as missionary priests. Father Woolfrey, one of the monks, by his preaching and touching appeals to the villagers, especially at Whitwick, made many converts. It was slow, uphill work, however, and even De Lisle himself was discouraged and for a time despondent, as the following letter, dated Grace-Dieu Manor, Easter Monday, 1839, to Lord Shrewsbury, shows: — . In om* own Mission we continue to make a few con- versions amongst the poor, thus yesterday twenty were received into the Church, and three weeks before seven had the same ' The Jesuits, however, were not allowed to undertake the Mission at Ashby. It was entrusted by the Bishop of the Midland district to the Fathers of Charity. It turned out abortive, and to this day there is no Catholic Church nearer than Measham, founded by the Countess of Loudoun in 1885, daughter of De Lisle's son-in-law, Lord Howard of Glossop, by his first wife Augusta, niece of John, Earl of Shrewsbury. VI CATHOLIC MISSIONS 105 happiness, and on the 1st Sunday in Lent Bishop Walsh confirmed twenty-seven converts in our chapel ; all this sounds pretty well, and looks well at the moment, but it is slow work after all, and if we go on at that rate we may wait a great many years before we convert even the single Parish of Whitwick, containing as it does three thousand inhabitants. And then when one thinks how few priests there are, and how very few parishes with either a chapel or a priest, I sometimes am inclined to question the correctness of our bright anticipations for this country. This was not the way in which the Apostles of our blessed Saviour converted the world : they convinced men's minds by preaching in every city and in every town. When men are once converted, churches and chapels will spring up, as it were spontaneously. Hence, in my opinion, it is quite useless to build any more chapels just at present ; what I should do, if I had large means at my disposal, would be to procure a considerable number of holy Missionaries from the continent, who might be fixed somewhere for a time until they thoroughly understood our language, and then I would have them go about and preach everywhere on the foreign plan — in the fields or in the high roads even. If they were persecuted, if they were even put to death (which is vastly unlikely in these days), they would only resemble the Apostles and the primitive Martyrs, and their preaching would even have still greater weight on that account with the great mass of the people. I fear, however, such a plan is likely only to be laughed at as the offspring of a heated imagination ; and so I must candidly say that I do not expect to see any great things for some time to come. . . . De Lisle's scheme for providing priests for the churches was to bring over from Italy members of the Order of Charity like Father G-entili and of the Passionists like Father Dominic. This idea was ridiculed by timid or over cautious friends in Eome. For instance, Lord Shrewsbury, in a letter dated 16th April 1839, says: — . . . IhaveseenLordClifford,Father Glover, and the Passionists. The former agree with me, or rather I with them, that it is an impracticable scheme to think of working with them in England. Father Glover said, " You will never get an Englishman into that order, so what good can you do with them. They came to me (Father Dominic and another) to ask if I knew anything about the matter, as they were ready to go and take possession of the House you were so good as to offer them. I said they could not eat the house, and I did not know who was to feed 106 AMBKOSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. them otherwise. They replied they trusted to Providence. Father Dominic spoke a little broken English but could not understand a word of what I said to him. You will only bring yourself and others into trouble with these good people, and do no good. We must work in the large towns with large churches, in which we can influence the people by the splendour, etc. of our service. . . . We are all against your Gentili scheme. It is beginning at the wrong end. Besides which, Gentili is not suited for England. We must have a new race of zealous English Missionaries, such as are now bringing up at Oscott, under the good Bishop and Pugin. There must be, as you say, perambulating preachers — this is of the utmost consequence; but surely it is of no use preaching among people whom you must leave without any means of practising their religion. If we had supernumeraries this might be tried, but there is still so mvich to do where Catholicity has a footing, that I am sure we have no spare means as yet, for places where not even a Chapel can be built. You will get nothing but Stupid Methodists to frequent meeting houses. We must have Chapels. These are not times which bear any analogy to those of Saint Augustine, and I think no parallel can be made between them. But although objecting to De Lisle's importation of foreign missionaries, Lord Shrewsbury said : — I take great interest in the Order of Charity, but I hope they will find means from abroad or elsewhere to get on with. I would gladly assist them, but I wish hy all means to concentrate all my forces on building. . There are numbers to contribute small sums to exigencies like those, and to other works of charity, but few can afford to build. I am more anxious now than ever to get on with the buildings in hopes of their being occupied by the Oxford men. I am also afraid we must soon come to an Income Tax, and then we shall not have a shilling to spare for anything, and I shall be too glad to get my £50 a year. I thought the Rosminians would bring their means vnth them — they must be rich in Italy. In a letter to Lord Shrewsbury, dated Garendon Park, January 1841, De Lisle rejoices over the spread of Catholi- cism in his district : — Garendon Park, Sexta die infra octavam Epiphania, 1841. My dear Lord Shrewsbury — The new Number of the British Criiick, which has just come out for this Month of VI CATHOLIC MISSIONS 107 January, I particularly recommend; it is beautiful, full of Catholick feeling, and sighing for the restoration of Catholick Unity for our distracted and divided England. Oh, how beauti- ful it is to witness these germs of that young faith, which, when grown a large and flourishing plant, carried over the whole earth by British zeal and perseverance, will perhaps one day explain the phenomenon of our almost universal empire (which late events seem to have raised to a higher pitch than ever) ; the Catholick movement at Oxford I certainly regard as the brightest symptom of England's reconversion, but thank God it is not the only one. There is a general movement amongst the lower classes, which is most consoling. Oi-eat numbers have been received into the Church all over the Midland District during this last Christmas festival : to speak here more particularly of that little portion of it in which I feel a peculiar interest, I have, indeed, had much cause for consolation ; during the octave of Christmas, our good Father Gentili received sixty-seven most pro- mising and interesting converts, forty-three of whom in one body made their solemn profession of Catholick Faith after the third High Mass on Christmas day itself. The whole of these con- versions have been from the single little town of Shepshed, which contains a population of more than four thousand souls, and is peculiarly interesting to me, as they are almost entirely the tenants of this estate. Since the reception of these, there has been such a movement, such a demand for Catholick instruction amongst the whole population, that Father Gentili ventures to hope that after a few months we may count our converts even by thousands. Such facts as these ought to be known at Rome, for they may serve to show how fallacious were the statements made in that unfortunate charge of Bishop Baines. But, observe, I speak as yet only of one place ; now at Whitwick the Rev. Mr. Whitaker received into the Church sixteen people on Christmas day, and he has several others under instructions ; while at Loughboro', also as you. know very near to us, twenty-three were received on Christmas day, besides a large number of others who had been received during the preceding advent, so much so that in these three Missions, that is, G-race-Dieu, Loughboro', and Whit- wick, all three close together, no fewer than two hundred pro- testants have been admitted into the Catholick Church since you visited us in last October ! I hear statements of a similar nature with regard to Derby, Leicester, Hinckley, Atherstone, and other places not far from us ; whilst scarcely a week passes without isolated straggling conversions taking place in the intermediate villages, which again become the focus of a new colony. We have now Missionary Stations fairly established in three of the villages 108 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. near us — Osgathorpe, Belton, and Shepshed ; Dr. Gentili delivers two lectures in Shepshed every week — Mondays and Wednesdays, one at Belton on Thursdays, and one at Osgatlwrpe on Sunday evenings after Vespers at Grace-Dieu. We have applied the £30 which Lady JSTewburgh gave us for our school to the purchase of a piece of ground at Shepshed, which belonged to our family, but had a lease of two lives still on it. Upon this we propose to build a small chapel, which may serve as a school for Sunday scholars ; and for this purpose Dr. Gentili has already received several subscriptions from good Catholicks at a distance ; we also shall assist him, what little we can ; and I hope before many months are over Pugin will have erected there a neat little £300 chapel. Later, if God spares my life, I propose, as you know, to build a handsome Church there, worthy of four thousand people. The Ulh-a Protestant Parsons are quite beside themselves, they rave like maniacs ; but the Oxford Men, the Anglo-Catholicks as they call themselves, rejoice, and eagerly hail the near approach of that blessed day when they shall be able to reunite the great tody of the Anglican Church to the Universal Church, and so to reinvest Her with that glorious mantle of Catholicism which Henry VIII. and the State despotism of 300 years has so cruelly torn from her. . . . De Lisle's hopes vrere raised again by the assured pro- spect of being able to build his little Church at Shepshed, as is shown in the following letter to Lord Shrewsbury, dated 5th March 1842 : — ... I have to thank you for your kind letter of the 3rd of February, as well as for your generosity towards our poor Mission at Shepshed, in consenting, as Bishop Wiseman informs me, to pay £25 per ann. as the interest of £500 advanced by the Bishop for building a small Church there. Such munificence as yours can only be rewarded in heaven, but it calls forth in the mean while all the gratitude and admiration of those, who in any way are partakers of it here on earth. For my own part in this case I feel doubly grateful, as I had no right whatever even to hope for such a thing, and as I never would even have proposed it ; and in fact the Bishop made the application to you entirely unknown to myself, in conse- quence, I presume, of a kind of promise, which Sibthorp had made me that he would lay out a part of his fortune at Shepshed with the intention of my repaying him if I lived to succeed to Garendon, which promise the Bishop judged it right (and I see VI CATHOLIC MISSIONS 109 that it was right) to waive in favour of the more pressing and important claims of Nottingham ; but having done so, the good Bishop felt that he must make an application somewhere in behalf of poor Shepshed, and Providence would direct His Lord- ship to that especial administrator of His Divine Bounty, your- self ; and so satisfy the real wants of a numerous congregation of converts who are eager to practise the precepts and to partake of the graces of the new Eeligion they have embraced. I cannot therefore easily express how exceedingly I feel this new act of your friendship and kindness, but for which things must have gone on very unsatisfactorily in this important village, and a pro- mising commencement have perhaps ended in a failure. For the principal, of course, I am responsible, and accordingly I am to sign a bond to that effect to the Bishop — I think you will quite be surprised when you see how much Pugin will effect with this little sum to which we add about £200 to be raised, if it may be, by subscriptions. There will be a little church with aisles ! and Pugin says it is positively cheaper to build with aisles in every possible case, for that you save walling, and in the size of the timbers of the roof — most assuredly you gain greatly in point of effect, for without aisles it is impossible to produce a Chxirch-like effect. . . . In the following letter, dated 22nd December 1842, De Lisle is alluding to the Circular which was to be dis- tributed throughout the Midland districts, soliciting con- tributions for the building of these small churches in the Leicestershire villages. ... I have tried to work the thing up in a rmnantick as well as religious form. We must bait our hooks well in times like these, now that big fishes are on the look-out for food. We are expect- ing a visit from Lord John Manners shortly, but it is a secret, so do not speak about it, the more so as very likely the Duke will take fright and advise him to put it off after all. You heard of his going to Oscott of course, and that Spencer and Bishop Wiseman were pleased with his conversation, etc. It was a silly thing of the Duke of Rutland putting himself at the head of the Loughboro' Protestant Association ; I should think he regrets it now ; at any rate it is not the line his son is taking. For my own part I don't care about it, for it advances rather than hinders the progress of our Faith in the neighbourhood. Thank God we have now more than 1000 Converts in our own villages ! and every day they are becoming more and more organised. I am 110 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. in hopes that we shall have a large number of subscribers to the Institute on the Penny-a-Month plan suggested by O'Connell and now adopted by the Society. . . . After much negotiation with the head of the Order of Charity, and many delays, Father Gentili came to Grace- Dieu as chaplain. De Lisle inspired his friend and chaplain with much of his own enthusiasm for the conversion of England. Father Gentili succeeded by his zealous preach- ing and teaching in bringing many of the labourers in the neighbouring village of Shepshed to the knowledge of the Faith. In consequence of these conversions De Lisle built the small church there, to which allusion has already been made, which was solemnly opened November 1842 by Dr. Walsh, Vicar Apostolic of the Midland District, and dedi- cated to St. Winifred. In a letter to Lord Shrewsbury, dated Grace-Dieu Manor, Thursday, 1st week in Advent, 1842, De Lisle says: — I assure you the prospects of Catholicism in that Village are glorious. We have actually 80 children already in our schools there ; but about this, more when next we meet. During this visit Bishop Walsh fell ill, and was obliged to remain several weeks at Grace-Dieu. During his dan- gerous illness he was constantly visited by his coadjutor, Dr. Wiseman. In the chapel at Grace-Dieu the Eev. Waldo Sibthorp and the Eev. A. Wackerbarth, lately received into the Church, were confirmed by Bishop Wiseman. Shepshed was one of the largest of the villages where the missionaries worked, but at Osgathorpe a room was hired for Father Gentili, in which he gave instruction three times a week, and preached in the open air. Unbaptized children were baptized in great numbers ; a spirit of religious fervour was awakened in these neglected villages by mis- sionary priests and monks. Missions were established in Loughborough and Belton ; and in Osgathorpe two schools were opened, one on Sundays, the other on week days. The numerous conversions in these Leicestershire villages, especially at Whitwick, excited at first Protestant bigotry. VI CATHOLIC MISSIONS 111 No - popery meetings were held, and the missionaries molested. In the village of Osgathorpe, for instance, some excited fanatics paraded through the lanes a grotesque figure in a monk's habit as worn by Father GentiU, set it on fire, and amid shouts and laughter, threw the burning effigy over the bridge into a rivulet. The next day Father Gentili went to the village again, and treating his burning in effigy as a joke, continued his preaching and instruction. Such a display of good-humour and of perseverance had a great effect on the simple folk. After this Father Gentili went with his assistants and the school children in procession from the chapel at Grace-Dieu, singing the Litany of Jesus, to Osgathorpe, where he preached in the open air. Even at Shepshed on one or two occasions the missionaries were insulted. Once after a " No - popery " meeting held by the Eeformation Society, Father Gentili was pelted with mud, and his cassock covered from top to bottom with filth. But such treatment was exceptional — the result of imported fanaticism, for the missionaries, priests, and friars were treated with respect and gratitude in all these Leicestershire villages, and were regarded by the labourers and the poor as friends and benefactors. That the priests by their self-denying labours had gained the hearts of the people is shown by the hold that the Catholic Faith has obtained and preserved in these villages for so many years. The foundation and building of the abbey, the establish- ment of missions, chapels, and schools (in spite of the munificence of Lord Shrewsbury) were a heavy pull on De Lisle's resources; he had to borrow large sums of money from bishops and other supporters of the Catholic cause. His income in consequence was for years sadly straitened. In a letter to Lord Shrewsbury, dated 26 th December 1862, De Lisle shows how willingly he made these sacrifices out of love of God, and for the sake of the Catholic Faith : — . . . But now I come to another part of your letter, in which you hint at the possibility of taking up £1000 for building the Nave of the Church, provided I could go security for the 112 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE ohap. interest, and the land be mortgaged for the principal. I will consider the matter over and write again upon it : what occurs to me at this moment I will say now. I could not possibly pay the interest myself. You know I think that the allowance I have from my Father amounts only to £1200, exclusive of other advantages we have from him not in money, as the Manor of Grace-Dieu, fruit and vegetables from Garendon, the gamekeeper's wages, thinnings of Plantations here, and some other trifles, which make it up somewhat more ; but as I said above, what we have for certain is only £1200 per ann. Now out of this I already pay £139 each year as interest to the Bishop for Mount St. Bernard (the original pur- chase money). Then the Mission of Whitwick, which also belongs to me, costs me £70 per ann., including the expenses of the school, and additional to the £40 which you so kindly pay me for the same holy object. Besides this, there is oiu- own Chaplain at Grace-Dieu and chapel expenses ; to which is now added heavy expenses connected with our Shepshed Chapel and Mission and a school of 80 children there ; add to which I will tell you in confidence that connected with all these undertakings I have taken up a very considerable sum of money, for which I have to pay interest, so that inter nos (pray do not tell a soul) we have not more left than £700 per ann. to live upon, so that we are obliged to live with great economy, and if it was not that we spend several months every year at Garendon, I am sure we could not get on at all. You will see from this that we have actually made ourselves poor and straitened in order to serve the cause of our holy Faith here, and therefore however willing to do more (I vrill say to you, my dear kind Friend, even sighing to do more), the thing is an actual impossibility. In other words it is out of the question for me to talk of paying any more interest than I do. If, however, any plan could be set on foot to raise the interest for £1000 or even more by making a subscription for that specifick object amongst a certain number of zealous friends, I might perhaps consent to be security for the principal contingent upon my succeeding to Garendon, at least if you would also consent to give your joint security, for I do not think that I ought to burden my Son, beyond what he would already be in the case of my death before that of my Father. Now perhaps you would just turn this over in your mind, I merely throw it out at random, for I have hardly had an hour to think of it, since your letter arrived. I will only add that having myself given the Foundation for the Monastery in giving the land, and after your noble donation for the House, I feel intensely anxious to VI CATHOLIC MISSIONS 113 see the thing completed : but still we must be guided by prudence ; and I have burdened myself so much already, that I hesitate to do more. Especially as, if I live I shall have a great deal to do at Garendon ; and my Father is not likely to have any ready money, having spent at least £30,000 upon Elections,' and having found all the farm-houses on the estate in a most dilapidated condition, when my grandfather died : besides which, though he lives very retired, he lives at a great expense, em- ploying 40 men all the year round as labourers out of doors, besides a large establishment indoors, to say nothing of extra men such as bricklayers, etc., night watchers to assist the keepers, and other expenses, so that he has often told me that he saves nothing, unless it be small sums comparatively laid out in purchasing little bits of land, which the circumstances of the estate render it desirable to buy when they come into the market. Pardon me for bothering you with all these details. However I will consider the thing over, and write again. Will you consider it in the meanwhile ? Then you see I have six children, and a seventh on its road ! and add to all, Garendon by the side of your Alton is as nothing. . . . De Lisle's letter to Lord Shrewsbury may be regarded as a sort of protest, dictated by conscience, against giving so freely of his substance to the cause of religion. The pointed reference to his duty with regard to the inheritance of his son and heir seems almost like a self-reproach, but it must be remembered in this connection that De Lisle relied largely on the promise made to him by Lord Shrewsbury that on a certain contingency the sum of £40,000 would eventually be his ; the following letter of his old friend Bishop Walsh is a better interpreter of the motives which governed De Lisle's offerings and self-sacrifices in the cause of religion : — God will bless you and your dear lady for what some would consider a very great sacrifice you are making in the cause of religion. But you both have a lively faith, and you feel that what you give to God will fructify in Heaven, and, as far as temporal goods are to be valued, will not eventually injure, even ^ Charles March Phillipps sat as a Whig member in the last Parliament of George III. , in two Parliaments of "William IV. , and in two of Victoria. When he represented the whole county before the first Reform Act, practically every yeoman lived at his expense at the various Inns during the election fortnight. VOL. I I 114 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap, vi in this life, the inheritance of your dear children. How happy, how independent, does a lively faith, united to the love of God, render his faithful servants even in this state of trial." To De Lisle the greatest joy and consolation of the many difiSculties he had to encounter was the completion of the Abbey of Mount St. Bernard. CHAPTER VII A WIDENING OF INTELLECTUAL AND SOCIAL LIFE 18i4 It was a wise and wholesome instinct which induced De Lisle in the prime of life to enlarge by personal contact and intercourse with eminent Catholics on the Continent, his sphere of action, and to widen his intellectual sympathies and interests. De Lisle was gifted with great conversational power ; and his intimate knowledge of French enabled him to reap the full advantage of foreign travel. In Laura, his wife, he possessed a fit com- panion, who entered into all his views, shared his sym- pathies, and took an intelligent interest in his pursuits. The descendant of one of the oldest Catholic families in England, she did not inherit the perhaps somewhat narrow and insular tendencies and traditions more or less common about the time of Emancipation among hereditary Catholics, among whom the system of intermarriage, owing to social exclusion or isolation, prevailed to a great extent. The believers in the principle of heredity may perhaps not be wrong in attributing the wider social and intellectual sympathies of Laura de Lisle to the fact of her having new blood in her veins, her mother being a German lady of high intellectual culture. An additional inducement to this foreign tour was the opportunity which it afforded De Lisle of visiting his wife's maternal relatives. At the height of the Tractarian movement many Oxford men used to visit Catholic countries in the view of making themselves familiar with the actual working of the 116 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. Catholic system and worship. The effect produced by the account given of Catholic devotions, teaching, and practice on the Continent by T. W. Allies, the rector of Taunton, was marvellous ; and is to this day remembered by many. To Tractarians it came as a new revelation. Mr. Allies' book was followed by Frederick Faber's Sights m Foreign Churches. Archdeacon Manning's travels in Belgium, France, Germany, and Italy, his close observation of Catholic worship and practice, undoubtedly produced an indelible impression upon his own mind ; but unlike Allies and Faber he was reluctant, in 1848, to record in pubhc the results of his personal experience of the practical workings of the Catholic system. The publication at the time of all the facts or experiences recorded in his private diary would undoubtedly have promoted and accelerated the Catholic movement ; but on the other hand, coming from an Anglican dignitary, known of all men for his prudence and moderation, such revelations would have fallen like a bomb- shell upon the Protestant world. On the other hand De Lisle came amongst Catholics not as a stranger or an outsider, but as a Catholic in full accord and sympathy with his brother Catholics on the Continent, who, as related in his diary, hailed him as a friend and fellow-worker. Men of such eminence as thinkers, theo- logians, historians, and statesmen, as were Gorres, Windisch- mann, DoUinger, the Bavarian Minister of the Interior, Herr Abel, the Austrian Ambassador, Count Senift, and the Pope's Ifuncio, Mgr. Viale de Prela, did not of course receive him with such sympathy and interest simply because he was the Founder of a monastery, and the builder of churches in Leicestershire. De Lisle was well known to them as a fellow-worker with John Henry Newman and the other Oxford leaders in the Eevival of Eehgion in England. He was known as an intimate friend of Mont- alembert ; as the translator of the famous Frenchman's Life of Saint Elizabeth of Hungary ; as an able expounder, in the Catholic press of France, of the work to which his life was devoted — the Corporate Eeunion of the Church of Eome and the Church of England. VII A WIDENING 117 The following passages from De Lisle's diary are of im- portance as illustrating not only his religious enthusiasm, but his intellectual capacity and culture, and his artistic tastes. De Lisle's journal is dated July 6 to August 29, but his continental tour extended to October. Journal of our Tour on the Continent during the Summer of 1844 Our party consisted of my wife Laura, my two boys Ambrose and Everard, the Hon. and Revd. George Spencer, and myself, with a man-servant. We went in our chariot ^ with post horses, and also with voiturier horses when possible, also at times by railway. We set sail from Dover on the octave of the glorious Apostles Peter and Paul, being July 6, 1844, at 7 o'clock in the morning. We were, however, detained until 9 for the arrival of the Mail. We reached Calais at twelve o'clock. Went to Depin's Hotel, where we dined. As we stated our intention of going immediately into Belgium, we had no duty or deposit to pay for our carriage. While om? dinner was prepared we went to the Church, where we thanked God for our prosperous passage and begged His blessing on our journey. We also recommended ourselves to the Patronage of the Blessed Virgin in the Lady Chapel attached to the great Parish Church. In this I observed many pious gifts hung up near the Altar in testimony of graces obtained through the prayers of our Blessed Lady. After dinner we left Calais, and travelled post to St. Omer,^ which is a very fine old town : a distance of twenty-seven miles and ^ : the posting cost 54 fr. 6 s., which amounts to a little more than £2 of our English money. For this we had four horses all the way. At St. Omer we lodged at the Hotel de I'ancienne Poste. The Country between Calais and St. Omer is rich, well cultivated, wooded, and pleasantly diversified with gentle hills, and studded over with neat villages and Gentlemen's Seats. The crops looked very good. ^ De Lisle travelled in his chariot from Loughborough to London, and likewise on the Belgium railways, as the custom was in those days. Mr. Spencer travelled in one of the railway compartments. ^ St. Omer is best known on account of its Catholic College, where, during the Penal Laws, English Priests received their education. The College was removed to England in the time of the French Revolution, and i known as S. Edmund's, Old Hall Green, near "Ware. 118 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE ohap. At St. Omer, Mr. Spencer called on the Dean and the Cur6 of the Cathedral, the latter, Abb6 Donnet, called upon us in the evening. He invited Mr. Spencer to preach in the Cathedral at High Mass on the subject of the conversion of England. Sunday (Qth after Pentecost, and Feast of the Translation of St. Tlwmas of Canierhiry), 7th July. — We went to the Cathedral at ^ past 7. Mr. Spencer said Mass, and Laura and I received the Holy Communion. The Cathedral is a fine Gothick structure, and it contains the Body of St. Audomarus or St. Omer. Eeturned to the Hotel to breakfast. Went to the Cathedral for High Mass at J past 9. The Mass was very solemnly sung in plain chaunt accompanied by the organ. After the Gospel, Mr. Spencer preached, being presented to the congre- gation by the Cur6, who made a preliminary address on the subject of praying for the conversion of England to Cath click Unity. After Mr. Spencer's sermon, which spoke of the Oxford Oatholick movement and other encouraging signs in the English mind, the Cure of the Cathedral replied to Mr. Spencer's sermon from a raised seat opposite the pulpit, promising his own fervent prayers and those of the congregation for the conversion of England. After Mass we returned from the Cathedral to the Hotel — dined after 1 o'clock. Mr. Spencer visiting before dinner several convents to ask their prayers — we left St. Omer at ^ past two. Before we set off the Cure paid us another visit, after which we saw the ruins of St. Bertin. From St. Omer we went by Cassel (where we saw from the summit of a high hill a noble view of Prance and the Netherlands, 32 towns and 300 villages) to Lille, where we slept. Next morning Mr. Spencer said Mass at the Church of St. Maurice, and we started for Belgium. The Town of Lille is very fine, and contains 90 thousand inhabitants. We slept at the Hotel du Gand, which was cheap and good. July 8. — We entered Belgium and reached Tournay for dinner. Went to the Cathedral, where we met the Eev. Mr. Talbot, one of the Oxford Divines recently received into the Church. He expressed himself greatly edified with Belgium. After dinner the Superior of the Passionist Monks called upon us. We then started on our way to Brussels. Slept at Ath, a very clean, handsome, fortified town. Next morning we called on the Curate of the principal Church, after Mr. Spencer had said Mass. His name was Abb^ Picquart. We reached Brussels for dinner. Went to the Hotel de Belle-vue in the Place Eoyale. Dined at the Table d'hdte. After which we visited the Churches of N. Dame de Victoire and N. Dame de la Chapelle, in which we saw a most sumptuous gold crown weigh- ing 8 lbs. and adorned with splendid jewels given by the people VII A WIDENING 119 of Brussels to our Blessed Lady's image in thanksgiving for their liberation from the Dutch Eule in 1830. We saw the celebrated Town Hall, one of the finest Gothick edifices in the world ; amongst other objects of curiosity it contains the room in which the Emperor Charles V. abdicated the Crown of Germany and Spain in 1555. July 10. — Abb6 Donnet, a canon of the Cathedral, called upon us : he went vrith us to visit the Pope's Legate, Monsignor Pecci, Archbishop of Damietta. I never saw a holier looking man. His countenance was most beautiful. He talked with the deepest interest of the Oxford Divines.^ Chevalier Conway, King Leopold's secretary, called upon us along with his wife. We visited the celebrated Lace manufacture, the Hospital of St. John, which contains 600 poor people, and the hospital of old people which contains 700 poor old people, 600 of whom pay nothing. We saw the Palace of the Prince of Orange, which is now turned into a museum. The Picture Gallery, which contains some curious old pictures of the Flemish school, the palace of the Duke d'Aremberg, several Churches, and the botanical gardens. Last of all we saw the grand Cathedral of St. Gudule, dined at the Table d'hote. After dinner we drove in the carriage to the Convent of the Ladies of the Sacred Heart, near Lacken, King Leopold's country Palace. It is a very fine convent containing 60 Nuns and above 100 young Ladies, who are there educated. In this convent we met the Cardinal Archbishop of Mechlin, to whom we were presented. His Eminence is a most pleasing and devout man. He spoke with great interest of England and of the Catholick movement there. He invited us to pay him a visit at his Palace at Mechlin. July 11. — We returned the visit of the Chevalier Conway, King Leopold's Secretary ; found him at home. He is a very zealous catholick, and a great friend of the Jesuits. He told us that Belgium is in a most flourishing condition. At 12 o'clock we left Brussels for Mechlin by the rail-road. Arrived there in half-an-hour. Dined at the Table d'h6te at the Hotel de la Grue. Called on our friend Abbe Bouqu^au, professor of the Little Seminary. He received us most affectionately and accom- panied us all over the town, shewed us the Cathedral and several other Churches. He afterwards accompanied us to the Hotel, where we took our tea. He introduced us to Miss Jane Yoimg, a Convert, and Sister in Law to Mr. Charles Mundy. July 12. — We called, along with the Abb6 Bouqu6au, on the Cardinal Archbishop at his Palace, which is very handsome. He 1 The Legate is his Holiness Pope Leo XIII., still wisely reigning at the age of 90 ! 120 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE ohap. conversed principally on the religious state of England, and he invited Mr. Spencer to the Synod of the Belgian Bishops, when he promised to recommend to his Right Reverend Brethren special prayers for the reconciliation of England to the Catholick Church. He gave us his blessing most affectionately. At 12 o'clock we started by the railway for Antwerp, which we reached in half-an hour. Lodged at the Hotel de St. Antoine near the glorious Cathedral, dined at the Table d'hote. Met Mr. Bloor, the Architect, at dinner. Visited the Cathedral ; saw Rubens' famous pictures ; and the gloriously magnificent new Gothick stalls, which the Dean and Chapter are now erecting in that noble Church. They are a perfect revival of medieval glories of the Church. We assisted at the Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, where we saw many English. We then visited the Museum, but did not much admire the pictures of Rubens, which are very coarse, and though representing scriptural subjects, most pagan and indevout in their expression. There were, however, several fine old Christian pictures of a devotional character. In the evening Mr. Spencer called on the Jesuits, and the Superior accompanied him back to the Hotel to call upon us. His name is Father Hessels. July 13. — In the Morning we went to the Cathedral. Mr. Spencer said Mass at a beautiful Gothick Altar, which was lately erected in one of the lateral Chapels near the Choir by the Card- inal Archbishop of Malines : it was designed by a young architect of the name of Durlet, who also designed the beautiful stalls just alluded to. The diapering at the back of the altar is not good. After breakfast we visited the Jesuits' College, and saw Father Hessels again, who showed us over the establishment. We then visited the Churches of St. James and St. Paul. The former is a fine Gothick church, but filled with Grecian Altars in the worst Flemish taste of the last two centuries. At St. Paul's we saw Rubens' famous pictures of the Life of Christ : that of the scourg- ing is a wonderful work, but like aU Rubens', destitute of any devotional character ; nothing in our Lord's appearance to dis- tinguish him from a common malefactor : surely this absence of Christian expression must denote an absence of Christian feeling. We then called on Mr. Durlet, to whom the Dean of the Cathe- dral introduced us, he is the able architect who designed the new stalls in the Cathedral ; a very pleasing young man, modest and unassuming, but full of zeal and energy ; above all thoroughly imbued with the spirit of the Middle-ages ; he spoke with great confidence of the improvement in catholick taste, and he told us it was the intention of the Chapter and Dean to restore the whole Cathedral, and to destroy the frightful Grecian altars. vii A WIDENING 121 whicli at present disfigure it. Mr. Durlet dined with us at the Table d'h6te of the hotel. Our bill amounted for the two days to 60 franks. After dinner we set out again for Malines, as soon as we arrived at the station we found our good friend Abb6 Bouqu6au, who took tea with us at the hotel. Our bill for two days at Malines amounted to 61 frs. At 8 o'clock we started by the railway for Louvain, which we reached about 10 o'clock in the evening. We walked from the Station to the Hotel de Su6de in a pouring rain. We found the Rev. Dr. UUathorne and a young Catholick architect, Mr. Hansom. July XAtli, 7th Sunday after Pentecost. — We went to the Cathedral of Louvain. Mr. Spencer said Mass. Breakfasted. Went to the Cathedral again for High Mass. The musick was abominable, more like an opera than what ought to be heard in a Church. After Mass we saw two churches, but nothing very remarkable in them. In the Cathedral there is one of the finest stone Gothick Rood lofts I ever saw, surmounted by a large Crucifix with an image of St. Mary and an image of St. John on each side of it. Dined at the Table d'h6te. After dinner called on M. de Con in company with our friend Abb6 Bouqu6au, who came by the train to join us. M. de Con is Professor of political economy in the University of Louvain. His conversation inter- ested us much. He said the great evil of Europe at present was the increasing mass of pauperism, which he feared would event- ually produce anarchy. He mentioned an anecdote of Louis Philippe, that he had remarked to some one lately, "that we were rapidly marching on to universal cannibalism." On the whole, M. de Con did not appear to be sanguine in his anticipa- tions of the future. We then called on the Abb6 Malou, a Pro- fessor of Dogmatick Theology in the University, a most pleasing person. We were introduced to him by the Abb6 Bouqu6au. He took us to see the University Library, which contains up- wards of 100 thousand vols. He also shewed us three colleges. They are well regulated and very conveniently built, but modern in their architectiire, and very inferior to our colleges at Oxford and Cambridge. In the evening we drank tea with M. and Madame de Con. We had a most agreeable evening with M. de Con, whose conversation was delightful and full of interesting information. July 15, St. Swithin's Day. — We left Louvain by railroad for Liege. . . . While dinner was preparing we went to the Church of St. Denis for Benediction. After dinner we walked into the town and purchased some books, amongst others a handsome 122 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. Missal for 50 franks or £2, and a handsome Antiphonal in folio for 20 franks. In the evening the Director of the Hospital, a good old Priest, called upon us. His name was Morson. July 16, Feast of our Blessed Lady of Mount Carmel. — Laura and I went to Communion in St. Denis's Church at Mr. Spencer's Mass. In that Church there is a magnificent old Triptich, contain- ing a magnificent piece of wooden sculpture in alto relievo, one of the finest specimens of Gothick workmanship I ever saw, and perfect in its anatomy and general design. The drapery full of majestic folds, and the countenances heavenly, the subject consists of all the scenes of our Lord's Passion. Breakfasted. Went to the Cathedral for High Mass at 9 o'clock. It was magnificent plain chant, and the ceremonial most admirably conducted. From the Cathedral we went along with one of the Canons, M. I'Abb^ Devroye, to the Church of St. Jacques, the richest in Belgium. It contains fine stained glass, and a vaulted ceiling painted with semi-Gothick patterns. The Canon then took us to see the Seminary of the Bishop, which appears admirably con- ducted. We also went to see the hospital of aged females, 180 of whom are lodged and fed with meat dinners every day but Fridays and Saturdays. The good old Priest who directs the establishment promised on their behalf that they should pray every day for the conversion of England. We returned to dinner at the Hotel, after which we went to Angleur to visit the Tomb of Laura's Father, but were obliged to turn back, the weather was so bad. We then visited the Churches of the Holy Cross and of St. Martin. The latter is remarkable for its stained glass, and for having been the first Church in Christendom in which the feast of Corpus Xti was celebrated (a.d. 1246). We came back to the Church of St. Denis for the Benediction of the Holy Sacrament, which was very solemnly sung, and then returned to our Hotel for tea. We did not go out again, as it poured with rain. July 1 7, Feast of St. Osmund, Bishop of Sarum} — We went to the village of Angleur, setting ofl^ at 7 o'clock in the morning. In the little Parish Church lies buried the Father of my dearest Laura, the Hon. Thomas Clifford. A slab is put up to his memory outside the Church. Mr. Spencer said Mass for his soul in black, and Laura and I went to Communion. Amo and Everard served the Mass. The Curate of the Church, M. I'Abb^ Mathias Conrardy, received us with the greatest affection. We breakfasted with him after Mass. Eeturned to Li^ge, dined at the Hotel, started at three by the railway for Aix-la-Chapelle, which we reached at | past five. Went to Neullens' Hotel, a ' The Catholic Church at Salisbury is dedicated to St. Osmund. VII A WIDENING 123 very fine new hotel. Saw the exterior of the Cathedral, and walked through some of the principal streets. July I8th, St. Gamillus. — Went to the Cathedral of Aix-la- Chapelle, where Mr. Spencer said Mass in the morning. We saw the magnificent shrines and reliquaries, which are the richest in Europe, and the most exquisite specimens of Gothick work- manship. Mr. Spencer left us to return to Malines, for his retreat and the Synod of the Belgian Bishops. We dined at the Table d'hote ; met Sir de Courcy Laffan, an Irish Physician of note, whom I had formerly known in Rome. After dinner I went with Laura to visit the tomb of her mother, the Hon. Mrs. Thomas Clifford, Baroness de Ltitzow, which is in the great Catholick cemetery of Aix-lar-Chapelle. We then called upon an old friend of Laura's in her childhood, Madame Beisel, who received her with great affection. We called also on another friend of hers, the Countess de Lerode, but she was not at home. At six o'clock we left Aix-la-Chapelle by the railroad for Cologne, where we arrived at nine o'clock, and put up at the Hotel de I'Allemagne near the Cathedral. July \^th, St. Vincent of PattZ.— Laura was unwell in the morning. I went alone with the boys to the Cathedral. We saw the famous shrine containing the skulls of the three wise men who came from the East guided by a star to worship Christ. It is a magnificent shrine, the front of which is of pure gold adorned with precious stones of inestimable value. In the sacristy is the shrine of St. Engelbert made of silver gilt. Both these shrines are perfect specimens of medieval workmanship. But no lan- guage can describe the Cathedral ; it is most glorious, and the restoration, or rather the gigantick works undertaken for the completion of it, reflects infinite credit upon the present taste and zeal of Germany. The Kings of Prussia and Bavaria and the Emperor of Austria have each contributed to this grand work. Four hundred and seventy men are constantly at work, and even yet they say it will take between 30 and 40 years to complete it. When finished it will be 500 feet long, the choir is 180 feet high, and the nave will be the same. Dined at the Table d'hSte. After dinner called with Laura on a Professor at the Seminary, Dr. Meckel, a very amiable Priest, who gave us some beautiful Prints. He introduced us to the Vicar of St. Alban's Church, who was a nephew of Laura's old friend Madame Beisel. We assisted at the Salut in the Church of the Seminary. Returned to tea at the Hotel. July 20, St. Jerome ^milian. — Went to the Cathedral for High Mass, which was most solemnly chaunted. After Mass nones were sung by the Chapter. Saw the Churches of the twelve 124 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. Apostles and of St. Gereon, both of which are in the Byzantine style. Thence to the Church of St. Ursula, where we saw the reliques of St. Ursula and her holy companions, 11,000 virgins from Britain, who were martyred by the Huns. We commended to their intercession our Country, England. In the same Church we saw an alabaster vase, said to be one of those in which our Lord changed water into wine at the Feast of Cana in Galilee. The Sacristan, who showed the relicks, is a very pious man. As soon as he saw me, and I told him I was an English Catholick, he said to me, " Tlien I see Mr. Phillvpps," which surprised us all. This Sacristan was much attached to the Archbishop Ernest Augustus, and he was imprisoned by the late King of Prussia along with that holy Prelate and some other ecclesiasticks. He gave us some relicks of St. Ursula's companions. We dined at the Table d'hote. Met some agreeable English people, very Catholickly minded — a Mrs. Hardwick travelling with her son. In the afternoon we walked about the town. July 21, 8ih Sunday after Pentecost. — Went to High Mass in the Cathedral at eight o'clock. After Breakfast we went along with Mr. and Mrs. Hard-\vick to the Church of St. Columban. High Mass was solemnly sung in Plain Chaunt. . . . After dinner we went at three o'clock to Vespers and Compline at the Cathedral, which were most beautifully sung. At the conclusion of the office a sermon was preached in the Nave of the Church. We returned home and called on the Archbishop, to whom we had a letter of introduction. He received us very kindly. He said that the entire body of the Cathedral would be finished in four years, though it would take thirty more to complete the Towers and Spires. He spoke very satisfactorily of the present King of Prussia, as in fact I may say all the rest of the Clergy, whom I have seen in this country, with one or two exceptions, have done also. They all admit that His Majesty has rendered full justice to the Church, that he has put an end to all the troubles which the late King had produced, and all declare that His Majesty looks forward to a Reunion between the Catholicks and Lutherans. It is true that, as Dr. Meckel, an excellent Priest and Professor of Cologne, observed to me. His Majesty's ideas may not be accurate as to the mode of reunion, but surely the mere desire of Unity is a good thing, and time and mutual acquaintance vrith each other's tenets on the part of Catholicks and Lutherans will show to both parties how far each agree, as an earnest and conscientious enquiry into the antient Faith of the Primitive Church will exhibit a certain standard of doctrine to try those other points on which they may disagree. Most assuredly nothing would more tend to consolidate the King of Prussia's vii A WIDENING 125 Dominions than Unity of Eeligion. We also called on an excellent Parish Priest, to whom we had a letter, the Pastor Schaffrath {so they called the parochial Clergy in Germany). He spoke with intense interest of England, and mentioned some curious pro- phecies regarding its reconversion. His Church, dedicated to S. Pantaleon, in which is the body of St. Alban, was originally attached to a Carmelite Monastery. It is a fine structure of its kind, built by the munificence of Mary de Medicis. In the evening I called again on the Rev. Dr. Mickel. With all these Priests I was obhged to speak Latin, as they did not talk French. I cannot boast of my Latin, and I often regret that in England we are not taught to speak as well as to read that language. July 22, Monday. — Went to the Cathedral at eight o'clock for High Mass. It was chaunted in one of the Lateral Chapels ; and the whole congregation, which was a very numerous one filling the vast aisle of that grand Cathedral, joined in the devout singing. What gave it a peculiar interest was the fact of its being all in German. The chaunting was every now and then interrupted by a prayer also in German, which was recited by a Priest in a surplice, who knelt close to the Sanctuary Eails. Another Priest at the Altar, habited in Chasuble, celebrated Mass during this singing of hymns and the prayers. The effect of this service upon the congregation appeared most striking. I never remember to have seen one more earnestly devout and attentive. I find this German Mass, as it is called, is very prevalent all over Germany. I wish something similar could be introduced amongst the Catholicks of other countries ; it would surely tend to edification. After breakfast we left Cologne, and travelled to Bonn by Eailway. Found dinner at the Hotel de I'Etoile ready at the Table d'hSte. After dinner we went to the Cathedral, which is a curious specimen of the Byzantine, or what we should call the Norman style of architecture. We saw the exterior of the University, and walked to the banks of the Ehine in the University Gardens. We saw some other Churches also, hand- some ones in their way, but of debased architecture. July 23, Tuesday. — After Mass we breakfasted at the Hotel, and I walked with Amo and Everard to the Monastery of Kreutzberg, about three miles from Bonn, on the summit of a mountain. The view from the top of the Church-Tower is mag- nificent indeed, commanding an enormous extent of country of the richest description, through which the majestick Ehine winds its fertilizing waters. At the entrance of the Church there is a lofty marble staircase built in imitation of the Scala Sancta at Eome (that is the staircase of Pilate's Palace which was brought to Eome by St. Helen). Some portions of the original steps 126 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. tinged with our blessed Saviour's blood have been enclosed within the marble steps at Kreutzberg under brazen tablets. The Archbishops of Cologne have attached a grant of holy Indul- gencies to those who devoutly visit this staircase and ascend it on their knees in penance for their Sins. In the crypt under the Church I saw several bodies of Monks, formerly buried there, and brought to the dried condition of mummies by the remark- able chemical nature of the soil. At the dinner in the Hotel we met a party of Oxford Men, one of whom, a Mr. Bowen of Trinity College Oxford, had an interesting conversation with me. After dinner we embarked in the steam-boat for Konings- winter, which we reached about six o'clock ; and immediately on landing we proceeded to the house of Laura's Aunt, the Baroness de Weicks. She and her two nieces, Miss Antoinette and Frances de Lutzow received us most affectionately ; we drank tea with them on the terrace of their house overlooking the Rhine, and looking up to "the castled crag of Drachenfels," which rises almost perpendicularly above it. It is a very fine view, and the well-cultivated vineyards on all sides give it a rich and smiling character. We slept at the Hotel, as the Baroness's jointure house is not very spacious, but we were engaged to spend all our days and to take all our meals with this excellent old lady during our stay at Koningswinter. July 24, Wednesday. — Immediately after breakfast we went along with our cousins, the Miss de Lutzows, and the Count de Kurtzrook and Conrad de Weicks, two others of Laura's cousins, to the beautiful Island of Nonnenwert in the Rhine. We went thither in a boat, and dined on the Island. The Hotel there was formerly a Cistercian Nunnery, suppressed at the period of the French Revolution ; the Church still retains its original destina- tion, and Mass is occasionally celebrated in it. It is not possible to imagine a spot more adapted for a Nunnery than the Island of Nonnenwert ; the noble Rhine protecting it on all sides, and the banks of that grand river bounded both east and west by lofty well-wooded mountains, the lower parts of which are clothed with orchards and vineyards. On a steep rock which rises to the west across the river is the Castle of Rolandseck, attached to which is a beautiful Legend. . . . After dinner we left the lonely island, and rowed our boat about two miles onwards to visit the beautiful Gothick Church of ApoUinarisberg, or the mountain of St. ApoUinaris. This Church crowns a mountain on the west bank of the Rhine, it is one of the most beautiful specimens of a modern Gothick Church, built by the pious zeal of the Count de Furstenberg. The inner part of the edifice is almost entirely covered with frescos in the most admirable style VII A WIDENING 127 of the modern G-erman Christian School. The frescos are the work of three young German Artists, whom the Count sent at his own expense to Italy to study the works of the old mediaeval Masters of that beautiful country. Their names are Ittenbach, a native of Koningswinter, Degen, and Muller. All three belong to the Academy of Dusseldorf. Degen is painting the life of Christ on the walls of this Church ; Ittenbach that of our blessed Lady; and Muller that of St. Apollinaris the Patron of the Church. I never saw frescos more beautifully executed ; their character is at once devotional and full of the most exquisite grace and majesty; a perfect revival of the chaste designs of such painters as the blessed Angelico da Fiesoli, Perugino, and Eaphael in his first manner. Nor can any one object that the modern German school slavishly adheres to the incorrect drawing as well as to the spiritual character of the early Christian School ; its anatomy is strictly accurate, but it never deviates from the chaste and holy canons of the early Church. We returned home late in the evening enchanted with the scenery and highly edified with all we had seen. July 25, Thursday.—LsMV&'s and my Wedding Day. In the afternoon we ascended the lofty mountain of Drachenfels. The old ruined Castle at its summit is not remarkable in an architec- tural point of view, as the greater part of it has been destroyed ■ — it was dismantled during the thirty years' war. It belonged to the ancestors of Laura's Cousin, the Count de Kurtzrock. It commands a most magnificent view of the Ehine and surrounding country, which is finely diversified with mountains, and richly clothed with ample forests and orchards and vineyards. July 26, Friday. — The weather was very bad. We must not omit to notice the Parish Church of Koningswinter. High Mass is sung in it every day, and frequently in German chaunts. We assisted every day at these solemn offices, and were much edified with the great devotion of the people. Every evening they assemble at the Church and sing hymns and recite prayers in the German language. July 27, Saturday. — We were much edified to observe Pro- cessions of Pilgrims on the West bank of the Ehine, wending their way to the Church of St. Apollinaris (for it was the octave of His Festival). As they went along, each company headed by its banner, they sang devout and beautiful hymns, the sweet melody of which continually broke upon our ears, as the gentle breeze wafted it over the rapid waters of the Rhine. I observed these companies of devout Pilgrims all through the Day, not less I should suppose than one thousand persons must have passed along that road, all bent on the same holy object, to confess and com- 128 AMBEOSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. municate at the shrine of St. ApoUinaris, so to gain many holy Indulgencies for the remission of sin. This St. ApoUinaris, whose head is preserved at the Church, was a disciple of the Apostle St. Peter, and first Bishop of the Church of Eavenna in Italy. The Emperor Charlemagne brought his sacred head into this part of Germany. In the evening we drank tea with the Count de Kurtzrock. The Count has a most beautiful daughter, the young Countess Mary. Her figure is charming, and her face one of the most lovely I ever saw, with fine intelligent mild blue eyes, auburn hair, and a blooming colour in her cheeks. She can speak a little English, and French she speaks most beautifully. She is, as the Baroness de Weicks told us, a most pious girl, and she spends much of her time in working for the poor. 9th Sunday after Pentecost, July 28th. — Went to the early Mass, but positively could not get into the Church, so great was the crowd outside, besides the vast concourse which filled the interior. It was chaunted in German, and even the people who assisted bareheaded outside the Church joined heartily in the chaunt. Laura, who had gone there earlier still, got a place within, and went to Communion. After breakfast we went to the second High Mass — at which a sermon was preached in German. We dined with the Count de Kurtzrock, and spent a very agreeable afternoon. We went to the neighbouring village of Rhondorf in the evening, and I admired its little rustick Church. One of the Professors from the University of Bonn, Dr. Scholtz, a Canon of Cologne Cathedral, called on the Baroness. He is a very learned and agreeable man, and has made himself famous in Germany by publishing a fine edition of the New Testament in Greek. He regularly corresponds with several of the Anglican Bishops, and he is acquainted with Dr. Pusey ; he warmly entered into all my ideas about the reunion of the English with the Catholick Church. Monday, July 22th. — We went with Fanny de Lutzow and the Count de Kurtzrock to Bonn, where we dined with Professor Scholtz. The Professor entertained us most hospitably, and gave us a really magnificent dinner, with the best Rhenish wines and Champagne. He shewed us a very curious collection of Egyptian antiquities, made by himself in Egypt ; he also shewed us some very rare coins of most antient date, one of which was struck by order of Simon Machabseus at Jerusalem before the time of our blessed Lord. The Professor gave me a great deal of interesting information respecting the Oriental Churches. He is well acquainted with the Coptick Patriarch at Alexandria, and with the Greek Patriarch at Jerusalem. He assured me he had every hope of the eventual reunion of those Antient Churches ; VII A WIDENING 129 but he said the idea of converting them to the Latin Rite was absurd in the highest degree, in which I perfectly agree with him. May God pour out a spirit of charity both upon Greeks and Latins, so that we may all soon love and adore His blessed son, Jesus Christ, in one fold, with one heart and with one mind ! . . Tuesday, July 30th. — We dined with Conrad de Weicks. He entertained us very hospitably. We met the Kurtzrocks, and I sat by the side of the beautiful Mary de Kurtzrock during dinner. In the evening we walked on the mountains. Wednesday, July 31. — Bad weather; dined with the Baroness. Thursday, August 11. — We went after breakfast to the top of one of the seven mountains named Petersberg, so called from a Church dedicated to St. Peter, which is built on the top of the mountain. It is a place of great Pilgrimage, and at frequent intervals crosses and little chapels are erected. The Church was formerly served by Cistercian hermits. Mass is still said there occasionally. . . . From Petersberg we went to see the ruins of a picturesque old Cistercian Abbey in the valley of Heisterbach. Nothing remains but the east end of the Church, which is a fine and rich specimen of the Byzantine Style. . . . Friday, August 2. — Laura and I rode together to the top of another of the seven mountains called Lowenberg. It com- manded the finest view we had yet seen of the Ehine and adjacent mountains. The mountain itself is covered with a fine beech wood. Mr. Spencer we found arrived from Malines, where he had met the Synod of the Belgian Bishops. In the evening we drank tea at the Count de Kurtzrock's. Saturday, August 3. — We went to Godesberg ; saw the old Castle on the summit of the HiU. . . . Sunday, August 4. — Heard two Masses in the morning ; went to Communion ; heard High Mass after breakfast. . . . Tuesday, August 6. — We bid our good Aunt, the Baroness, and our two cousins, Tony and Fanny de Lutzow, farewell. We went to Mayence up the Rhine in a steamer, a most beautiful voyage. Near Mayence, about an hour and a half before our arrival, a most tremendous thunderstorm came on. In an instant the Rhine was as rough as the sea — the waves were literally tremendous. The lightning flashed incessantly, and the immediate succession of loud thunderclaps showed how near the storm was to us. All at once the steam-boat ran aground, and the female passengers were naturally much terrified and rushed on deck from the cabin. ^ The danger was indeed very great, for the ' We met on the steam-boat a most interesting Parish Priest from the Black Torest near Donnawauschingen. His name was Franz Steigmeier. He gave VOL. I K 130 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. vessel heaved on one side, and the carriages very nearly rolled off the deck. We all knelt down on deck to beg the help of God, and in a few moments the vessel was washed by the waves into deeper water, and the danger subsided. We arrived at Mayence about half past eight ; it was quite dark. . . . Wednesday, August 1 . — Went to the Cathedral at Mayence, and heard Mass there. Breakfasted and started for Mannheim by land. We drove through Worms and visited its remarkable Cathedral, the architecture of which is Byzantine ; arrived at Mannheim by four ; dined there, and went on by railroad the same evening to Heidelberg. . . . Thursday, August 8. — Mr. Spencer said Mass at the Jesuits' Church, and after breakfast we went to see the ruins of the magnificent Castle of the Electors Palatine. . . . From Heidel- berg we went by railroad to Baden-Baden ; dined at the Hotel d'Angleterre ; met Miss Young ; Mr. and Mrs. Craven were at Baden ; he is the English Charge d' Affaires ; they invited us to drink tea with them. After dinner we drove up to the grand ruin of the old Castle on the summit of the mountain above the town. It is surrounded by the Black Forest, which here consists of magnificent silver Firs and Oaks of enormous size. On our return we drove to the house of Mr. and Mrs. Craven ; drank tea there ; met two French Priests.^ Mrs. Craven was the daughter of the Count de la Ferronays, to whose prayers after his death Eatisbonne the Jew attributed his conversion. Friday, August 9. — Mr. and Mrs. Craven met us at Mass at the Sepulchran Nuns, and afterwards called on us at the Hotel. I walked with Mr. Craven about the Town in search of Murray's handbook of Southern Germany. The Turviles called upon us. . . . Left Baden at three ; a magnificent drive through the Black Forest by Gernsback and Hernalb to Neuemberg, where we arrived at \ past eleven at night. . . . Saturday, August 10. — Continued our journey through the Black Forest by Will-bad to Calw, where we left the Black Forest ; arrived at Stuttgard for dinner at the Marquardt Hotel, after which we went on to Goppingen, where we arrived at one after Midnight ; slept at the Post, a nice clean Inn. Sunday, August 11. — Went on to Gross-Esslingen for Mass; found a nice Parish Church crowded with people, who were singing with great devotion at the High Mass, after which Mr. us an encouraging account of the state of Religion. He conversed in Latin. We also met a Canon of Cologne Cathedral, the Abb^ Baudry. Both these Priests spoke with great interest of England and the Oxford Movement. ^ M. Martin de Noirlieu and M. Bourcroix. The latter Priest received my cousin, Mrs. Henry Ryder, into the Church. VII A WIDENING 131 Spencer said his Mass. We then called on the Parish Priest, whose name was Francis Reiching. He received us most hospitably ; proceeded to Ulm, which we reached about five p.m. ; saw the Cathedral, a noble Gothick edifice, unfortunately in possession of the Lutherans. We were glad, however, to find the old Altars and triptychs well preserved in it. I purchased some Lutheran Ecclesiastical books of an interesting nature. Monday, August 12. — Mr. Spencer said Mass in the Catholick Church. We breakfasted and then started for Augsburg, which we reached at ten o'clock at night. We took up our lodging in the Hotel of the three Moors. Tuesday, August 13. — Heard Mass at the Church of St. Ulrick. In this Church is preserved in great honour the body of St. Afra, a Martyr of Augsburg in the time of Dioclesian ; her festival was kept on this very day. We saw the Cathedral after breakfast. We met the Eevd. Mr. Caird, a Presbyterian Minister from Scotland, a most catholiokly minded man ; in close connexion with the disciples of the late Mr. Irving, who now call them- selves Apostolical Catholicks, and who certainly hold the Catholick doctrines. We made the acquaintance of the Canon Steigler, one of the Canons of the Cathedral. He introduced us to his cousin, a Benedictine Monk, a very interesting young Man. We visited the Town Hall, and the Canon took us to the Church of the Holy Cross. . . . From this Church the Canon took us to see a Convent called "of the English Nuns," founded by an English Lady, a Miss Mary Ward, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth. We left Augsburg at seven and arrived at Munich by railroad in two hours and a half ; took lodgings at the Hotel de Bavi6re. Wednesday, \Uh August. — Heard Mass at the Cathedral, in the course of the day we visited the new Churches built by the present King. They are a monument of pure Christian taste and of a truly catholick zeal. One of them, St. Mary's, is Gothick ; and its windows are filled (19 in number, 52 feet high, each 13 wide) with magnificent stained glass, executed by Professor Hess. St. Louis's is another new Church, in the Byzantine style : most magnificent, covered with gilding and painting; the latter executed by Cornelius, who is now at Berlin. St. Boniface's Church is the largest of the new ones, it is in the Byzantine style, not unlike old St. Paul's at Rome : the whole life of St. Boniface is described in separate compart- ments painted by Professor Hess : an exquisite specimen of the revived Christian style. The length of the Church is 300 feet, its width 120, its height 80. It has five Naves, and sixty-four columns of white Tyrolese marble. We visited also the King's new Palace 132 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. Church, which is magnificently painted by Hess, one hundred and sixty-five feet in length. We called on Monsr. and Madame Eio, and the Rev. Dr. Bollinger, a friend of Mr. Spencer's, Mr. Wake, the nephew of Sir W. Wake, of Northamptonshire, called on us, and drank tea with us. He alarmed us by a report he gave of a war likely to break out between England and France. Thursdat/, August 15. — Feast of the Assumption of our Lady. Heard High Mass at the Cathedral, and went to Com- munion in a side Chapel at Mr. Spencer's Mass. Dr. Dollinger dined mth us, and introduced us to Professor Gorres, who is Professor of German Law, and to Professor Phillips, who is Professor of Canon Law. Dr. Dollinger is Professor of Theology in Munich University. We drank tea with the Eio's in their beautiful house ; met the Marquis de Beaufort there, Professor Moy and Dr. Dollinger, and the Eev. Mr. Dugdale, an English Priest. . . . The Pinacotheca or publick picture Gallery. It is a fine building, and contains a noble suite of apartments filled with pictures. The building itself, like most of the publick edifices of Munich, is the work of the present King, and a fine monument of his exquisite taste. It contains a fine collection of Rubens' pictures : one of them, the last judgement, is the best pro- duction of that Master I ever saw, but I confess I do not admire his very heathen style ; wonderful studies of anatomy they are undoubtedly, but devoid of beauty, dignity, grace, or devotion. There is a fine collection of the medieval school of Germany : Albert Durer, Hemmelinck, and others, the Christian character of which present a pleasing contrast to the heathen schools since the 1 6th century. On our return to the Hotel we called on Mr. and Mrs. Raby of Leicester, a Catholick hosier of that city ; obliged to retire for a season to the continent from ill success in trade. ... In the evening we drank tea with Dr. Dollinger and met Professor Phillips and his wife, the two Gorres and Miss Gorres, Professor Moy and Dr. Windishmann. Saturday, August 17. — Heard Mass in the Cathedral. The Count Senfft de Pilsach, the Austrian Ambassador, called upon us at ten o'clock in the morning. We had a letter of introduc- tion to him from the Provincial of the English Jesuits. He was most kind and affable. We went to see " The Rich Chapel " in the King's Palace. The Duke de Leuchtenberg's picture Gallery, after which we purchased some good religious prints at Mey and Widmeyer's shop. Dr. Dollinger dined with us and shewed us the Royal Library. . . . Sunday, August 18. — . . . Assisted at High Mass . . . after which we went to the Greek Church, where we found the vii A WIDENING 133 clergy celebrating High Mass. The service was most solemn, and the singing very devotional. The High Altar is separated from the rest of the Church by a handsome screen, on which are fixed pictures of our Lord and His Blessed Mother, before which several lamps continually burn. The Greeks appear not to have deviated in the least from the solemn ceremonial of the Oriental Church as it existed in the time of St. Chrysostom and St. Basil. Mr. Caird, the Presbyterian, called, and Dr. Windishmann. We went to the Cathedral, the Sisters of Charity, and the cemetery. Monday, August 19. — . . . The Count de Senfft, the Austrian Ambassador, called upon us. . . . Dined with Monsr. and Madame Rio, where we met Professor Phillips and Dr. Dollinger. Thence we adjourned to Professor Phillips's to drink tea. Tuesday, August 20. — . . We visited M. Eberhard's ateliers, where we ordered a iine figure of Mater Dolorosa and dead Christ, as large as Hfe. They will be finished by next June (1845). I destine them for our Calvary just above Hunt's Cottage near Whitwick. ... At five o'clock we dined with the Austrian Ambassador. He received us with the greatest cordiality. Very handsome palace, and splendid dinner. We met the Pope's Nuncio, Monsignor Viale di Prela, Archbishop of Carthage, a most pleasing and devout man ; the Countess de Kitzka, a Polish Lady, and her daughter and sister; Monsieur Abel and his wife, the Minister of the Interior at Munich — he took Laura into dinner; the Countess de Mongelas, whom I took into dinner, she is the sister of the Count who married Miss Watts Eussel; the Baron de Friberg, Professor Moy, Dr. Ringxis, Professor Hofler, and M. Swirchercin, the Ambassa- dor's Secretary. Amo and Ebbo also dined with the Ambassa- dor, at his most kind and pressing request. At ten o'clock we returned home to the Hotel. Wednesday, August 21. — . . . We visited the gallery of antiquities near the Royal gardens, called on the Austrian Am- bassador, and I went along with Mr. Spencer to dine with the Pope's Nuncio, to whom I had been presented on the preceding day by the Austrian Ambassador. I met at the Nuncio's the Austrian Ambassador, Baron Freiberg, and most of the party I had met on the previous day at the Ambassador's. The Nuncio was very kind and civil ; he talked much of the Oxford Move- ment, and appeared perfectly convinced of its catholick tendency and probable issue. We adjourned to Dr. Dollinger's, with whom we drank tea. We met there the Rio's and our other Professor-friends already mentioned, as well as Baron Freiberg. Thursday, August 22. — I called on Dr. Dollinger. The 134 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. Pope's Nuncio, Monsignor Viale di Prela, called upon us at our hotel. Whilst His Eminence was with us the Austrian Ambassador also called. Both were exceedingly kind and affable. . . . We had a party for tea and supper (according to the German fashion) consisting of the Eio's, Dr. D5llinger, Professor Phillips, Dr. Windishmann. Friday, August 23. — Heard Mass in the Cathedral. On our return to the Hotel we found young Mr. Hardwicke (whose acquaintance we had made at Cologne) along ■with his Father and Mother. . . . The elder Mr. Gorres called on us ; he said there would be no war between England and France, notwith- standing the sinister reports afloat. At twelve o'clock we left Munich on our route to the Tyrol. . . . Saturday, August 24. — We heard Mass at Tegernsee, which Mr. Spencer said in the old Church of the Benedictine Abbey, which was suppressed in the time of the late King of Bavaria. . . . No words can adequately describe the grandeur of Tyrolese scenery ; and the character of the people is not less interesting. One of the most striking features in that character is their great devotion. The whole country looks like one great abode of Eeligion. Crucifixes and little chapels on all sides attest the great and happy fact that the great truths of Religion are the ruling thought of this devout population. Sunday, August 25. — Went to the Parish Church. A Capuchin Friar was preaching when we entered. High Mass followed, the figured musick of which was very distracting, and as poor an expression of solemn and majestick devotion as Cor- inthian Architecture and art is of a really Christian imagination ; both the one and the other had been introduced into the old Gothick Church of Schwartz, and both seem to have done their utmost to undo the work both physical and material of elder Christian ages. And yet there is something so stable and solemn in the German character of the Tyrolese that in spite of Pedants and profligate Politicians, their wonderful devotion and reverence still survives, almost the only relick of a really Christian people, such as existed all over Christendom in the middle ages. In Italy and other countries the Renaissance and the abandonment of the old Church musick for the sickly effeminate compositions of modern authors without either faith or morals have fully wrought out their deadly purpose, but in the Tyrol if they have chilled they have not extinguished the faith of that noble people. After Church we went on to Innspruck, the capital of the Tyrol, lodged at the Golden Sun, a clean, comfortable Inn. We found our Warwickshire Friends, Mr. and Mrs. Amherst, with her three excellent daughters. We visited in their company the VII A WIDENING 135 principal Churches, in one of which is the tomb of the Emperor Maximilian, and on each side a row of colossal bronze figures of some merit. . . . Monday, August 26. — We heard Spencer's Mass in the Church of the Eedemptorists, went to confession and communion. Were introduced by Mr. Spencer to the Superior, who afterwards called upon us at the Hotel. We dined with Mrs. Amherst at one, and then set off on our tour through the Tyrol to Venice. . . . Just before we reached Silz we walked up to see a very large Cistercian Abbey. . . . . . . We dined at Malz, a small town. In the Hotel we met the Venerable Bishop of Coire, who introduced himself to us, and conversed with us for some time in the most affectionate manner ; he invited us to visit him at Coire, in Switzerland, on our return home. The Name of this Bishop is Caspar de Carl. We reached Meran late at night, and as we could not find a room in the Hotel, we hunted about the town for a lodging, but in vain. A young Tyrolese nobleman, M. de Martini, hearing this, gave up his own room to Laura in the Hotel. We called on him the next day at Botzen, to thank him for his great politeness. Thwrsday, August 29. — Went to see the principal Church of Meran, and ordered a large crucifix for the Cistercians at Mount St. Bernard, to be executed by an artist named John Pendle, for the sum of one hundred Austrian Florins. We reached Botzen for dinner, and after calling on the Tyrolese nobleman mentioned above, whom we found at home, we proceeded to Kaltern or Caldaro in order to see Maria Mori, the celebrated Estatica, to whose Confessor, Father Capistran, Professor Phillips of Munich had given us a letter of introduction. There we found Mr. Spencer awaiting our arrival, he having parted company with us at Innspruck. De Lisle's diary comes to an abrupt conclusion. The special object of his visit to the Tyrol was to see the Estatica, Maria Mori of Caldaro. Yet in his diary no record is made of this visit. A graphic and touching account, however, of this miraculous manifestation of God's power was sent by De Lisle, together with a picture of the Estatica, to an intimate friend at Eome, the Princess de Cassano.' De Lisle and his party travelled from the Tyrol 1 The present Princess de Cassano, wife of Prince de Cassano, has kindly- promised to send me, if she can find it among family papers, De Lisle's letter to her mother. 136 AMBKOSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. to Italy, where they stayed during September, and after a short stay left Paris on the 9 th of October for England. The following letter to Lord Shrewsbury, however, gives a glimpse of their tour in North Italy, and of the very hopeful outlook which impressed itself upon their minds. Paris, 18th Sunday after Pentecost, 1844. My dear Lord Shrewsbury — I have been on the point of writing to you several times, and as often have put it oif, being so pressed for time in this rapid but most interesting tour. Now however after meeting Prince and Princess Doria, which we had the good fortune to do at D61e, I cannot delay sending you a few hurried lines. The Prince and ourselves met at Dole, where we each had arranged to dine. He on his way towards Geneva, we towards Paris. We were delighted to see them both looking so well, and we admired not a little their beautiful children ! how proud Lady Shrewsbury must have felt of her magnificent grandson, he is really a noble child, a worthy heir apparent of the House of Doria ; his papa shewed him to us with evident signs of satisfaction. We thought the Princess looking charmingly, and what a beautiful little girl her little daughter ! Lady Shrewsbury will have heard already from my dear Laura, who wrote from Geneva ; so you will have seen how kindly the Duke de Bordeaux remembered your presentation of us last Autumn. Nothing could exceed the Eoyal graciousness with which He treated us at Venice. We also saw the Duke de Levis, who conveyed to us in person His Royal Highness's invitation. We have really had a most interesting and delight- ful tour, at Munich we spent 10 most enjoyable days, and received the most kind and flattering attentions from the Count de SenflFt the Austrian Ambassador, the Pope's Nuncio, and several of the learned Professors of the University to whom we had letters of introduction. The Count de Senfft and the Nuncio each gave us a very grand dinner partj', and at the former's we met the Baron d'Abel, the Minister of the Interior, who talked with intense interest of the progress of Catholicism in England. The Nuncio perfectly coincided with me in all my views about the Oxford movement, and assured me that Eome would do full justice to the Church of England as soon as things should be ripe enough for negociations. There is nothing like a Layman speaking earnestly to these High Dignitaries of Holy Church, it is astonishing how in a moment a thousand prejudices vanish away — and it is wonderful to see how kindly they listened to an English Gentleman. I have planned a close vii A WIDENING 137 connexion between the Munich Professors and my Oxford friends, one of them is to come to us next year on his way to Oxford. I think it will lead to great good, for these foreign divines do much more justice to those of Oxford than our English-Catholick ones are inclined to do. When we were at Milan we received the kindest attentions from the Count Mellerio, who is one of the largest proprietors in Lombardy. Besides some agreeable parties in his Town House at MUan, he took us to his magnificent villa at Gernetto about 20 miles from Milan ; we spent a most delightful day there. I think it is one of the finest places in Italy. The shrubbery contains 400 acres, and the Gardens and walks are laid out with aU the neatness and taste of English grounds. Through the zealous exertions of Count Mellerio the Carthusians have lately been restored in the magniiicent Monastery near Pavia, the Church of which is one of the richest in Italy. He has also lately founded a new College for the Jesuits at Cremona, and in fact he spends the greater part of his large income in works of charity. He has no children, and his heir is his nephew. He seems to me to be the Lord Shrews- bury of North Italy ! France appears to be in a most flourish- ing state both religious and political — all the villages are full of new houses, the people well oflF, no beggars, the Towns rapidly improving. The churches are being restored all through the country. It is impossible to conceive anything more magnificent than the restoration of St. Denis and the Sainte Chapelle, it does infinite credit to the Government. Pray present our kind remembrances to Lady Shrewsbury, and believe me. My dear Lord Shrewsbury, most sincerely yours, Ambrose Lisle Phillipps. We visited with wonder and edification the Extatica Maria Mori. Italy was not at all disagreeably hot. We hope to reach Grace-Dieu on Saturday next (October 12). In those stirring and eager days of the revival of religion, not in England only, but on the Continent, an extraordinary interest was taken by foreign Catholics in the Oxford Movement. This interest was deepened among German Catholics, especially at Munich, by personal acquaintance with De Lisle, who was not only enthusiastic about the revival of religion in England, but was intimate with many of the Tractarian leaders. He inspired his Munich friends with his own belief of the speedy return of England to Catholic unity. His influence was reflected in 138 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap, yii the spirit and tone displayed by German Catholic writers in discussing the religious revival in England. Their deeper acquaintance with the Oxford Movement and with the personal characters of its leaders, especially of John Henry Newman, was due to De Lisle. Gorres in particular, who was undoubtedly the master-spirit and inspirer of the Munich school of thought, at that time the intellectual centre of Catholic Germany, wrote in the Historische Politische Blatter a series of masterly papers, philosophical in character, on the movement of religious thought in Europe. At the time of Phillipps de Lisle's visit to Munich in 1844 I was pursuing my university studies in Germany, even then I was deeply impressed by this famous writer's singular familiarity with the Oxford Movement, and his hopeful views in regard to its issue ; I did not then know who was the inspirer of his enthusiasm or the source of his deeper knowledge of the Oxford men.^ ' It was some years later that I first came into personal contact with Ambrose Phillipps de Lisle. CHAPTEE VIII FOECES ANTECEDENT TO THE CATHOLIC REVIVAL IN EUKOPE AND TO THE OXFORD MOVEMENT 1750-1833 Hitherto, by the necessity of things, I have been com- pelled to bring out that side of De Lisle's character which was more especially devoted to the conversion of his fellow- countrymen in his immediate neighbourhood in Leicester- shire and the Midland districts. Now it is my duty to set forth his public career as one of the most distinguished laymen of his day ; as an ardent supporter of Dr. Wiseman ; as an interpreter to Anglicans of Catholic principles ; as a mediator and remover of misunderstandings between the two religious parties. For twenty years or more, under Ambrose Phillipps de Lisle, Grace-Dieu was the centre of spiritual influence, frequented alike by eminent French theologians, by great ecclesiastics like Wiseman and UUathorne, Dr. DoUinger and Lacordaire ; and by devoted laymen, such as Montalem- bert. Lord Shrewsbury, Mr. Monsell, Pugin, and others ; and by the most active and influential of the Oxford Divines — Ward, Faber, Bloxam ; and last but not least, by so eminent a statesman and thinker as Mr. Gladstone, who visited Grace- Dieu when staying with him at Garendon. But before recording these events, it will be necessary to give a rapid review of facts and forces antecedent to the revival of religion, not in England only, but in Europe. The events of the last century, influences intellectual, political, and rehgious, reacted with a marvellous force on the present age in its earlier periods. The Deism of 140 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. Hume and of Eousseau, the cynical infidelity and blas- phemous gibes of Voltaire, who thought " his labour lost as long as Christ retained a single worshipper " ; the rank materialism and atheism of d'Alembert, Diderot, Baron d'Holbach, Helvetius, La Mettrie, and others, assassins of human intelligence,^ produced the greatest result in modern times against the living God and against the authority of all law human and divine. In addition to these forces, the moral consequences of the philosophy of negation, licentiousness of manners, depravity and corruption of heart, the tyranny of kings and their open and public immorality, the sensual life at court, the scandals in the Church, prepared the way for the horrible orgies of the impious Eevolution. One, perhaps, of the most potent agencies in giving strength to infidelity in France was the action of the Galilean and Jansenist parties in the eighteenth century. The authority of the Holy See was set at defiance. In the name of the Galilean liberties, Episcopal charges and Papal bulls were burnt at the bidding of the Paris Parliament by the hands of the public executioner. The four Galilean Articles, the Declaration of the Ecclesiastical Assembly of 1682, became in the eighteenth century the most formi- dable engine of oppression against the Church of France and a rallying-point of resistance to the ecclesiastical authorities. The Infidel party, the more extreme Galileans, and the Jansenists, were of one mind and had a common aim in resisting and denying the supreme authority of the Pope. It was the old struggle over again of the Galilean party of 1 6 8 Q, and especially of the lawyers, magistrates, and members of the Paris parliament,^ to transfer from the Pope to the Civil Power the supreme jurisdiction over the Church. Fenelon said in one of his letters, " That in his time the King of France was nearly as much master of the Church ^ In the Inferno Dante denounced Atheists as ... ^ yenti dolorose ch' hanno perduto il hen delT intelleito (Canto iii. 17). ^ Abb^ Gerbet, afterwards the celebrated Bishop of Perpignan, said to a pupil, the late Mr. J. B. Robertson, afterwards Professor of History in the Catholic University of Dublin, "That it is very difficult to know where Gallicanism ends and where Jansenism begins." viii REVIVAL ANTECEDENTS 141 in that kingdom as the King of England of the Anglican Communion." Elsewhere he says, " In France the king is practically more head of the Church than the Pope." ^ And when, finally, the Eevolution of 1789 broke out, the Jan- senLsts and their allies seized their opportunity and set up " The Civil Constitution of the Clergy," a schismatical con- stitution based, as they pretended, upon the Four Galilean Articles. In the Constituent Assembly, which destroyed alike ecclesiastical liberty, civil order, and freedom, the liberties of the Galilean Church were established. Abb6 Fleury, an ardent upholder of Gallicanism, lived to acknow- ledge "that the liberties of the Galilean Church had better be called its servitudes."^ But this rebellion against the supreme authority of the Pope and his spiritual jurisdiction in the Universal Church was not confined to France only. It broke out in Belgium, in Germany, and especially in Austria, and was carried on with like craft and obstinacy. In 1763 Van Espen, a learned Canonist of the University of Louvain and a supporter of ultra -Galilean opinions, inspired his disciple, Hontheim, Suffragan to the Archbishop of Treves, to pubhsh under the name of Justinus Febronius, a book entitled De Statio Ecdesiae. In this book, Febronius laid down the principle that the power of the keys was conferred on the whole body of the Faithful ; that the usufruct of this power passed to the Bishops ; that each Bishop holds his authority immediately of God, and has received, as successor of the Apostles the unlimited right of dispensation, of judgment in matters of heresy, and of Episcopal consecration. That the Pope enjoys a primacy over the Bishops, but that this primacy consists in a mere pre-eminence. That it is, there- fore, always allowable to appeal from the Pope to a General Council, as the Sovereign Pontiff is not the judge in the ultimate instance, nor an independent monarch, nor an in- fallible teacher. This shifting of the centre of authority in the Church had the natural result of forcing the Episcopate, or such of the Bishops as had adopted this Galilean principle, to seek 1 (Euvres, t. xxii. p. 586. ^ Les Opuscules de Fleury. 142 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. protection from the Civil Power. It was an easy step to convert such protection into supremacy. One of the most astute and ambitious princes in that ambitious day, Joseph II., Emperor of Austria, saw and seized his opportunity. He had ascended, in 1780, the Imperial throne of Germany, and, already an ardent sup- porter of the principles of Jansenism, saw in the ecclesi- astical system of Febronius a means of enthralling the Church and subjecting it, as he had already done the Civil Power, to his absolute rule. Papal bulls and Episcopal Pastorals were subjected to the Placitum Eegium ; diocesan seminaries were suppressed ; communication and correspond- ence, especially of the Provincials of religious Orders with their Superiors in Eome, were prohibited. Appetite grows with what it feeds on. Joseph II., in his insatiable lust for absolute power, soon abolished the religious Orders altogether in his dominions ; attacked the property as well as the political rights of the clergy, and even interfered with the free celebration of the Divine offices of the Church. The Emperor Joseph extended his activity into Germany and incited the Archbishops of Mayence, Treves, Cologne, and Salzburg to hold a Congress at Ems in 1786, and issue a Declaration consisting of twenty -six Articles protesting against the appointment of Papal Nuncios in Germany, and against the alleged encroachment of the Holy See on the rights of the Episcopate. This Declara- tion was called the Points of Ems. In Tuscany a like attack on the rights and liberties of the Church and on the Papal authority was carried on by the Emperor Joseph's brother, the Grand Duke of Tuscany. Like means were used, like pretexts put forward as in Austria. In Venice, Parma, and Naples a like rebellion against the supreme spiritual power and jurisdiction of the Pope was carried on by a combination of disloyal and un- faithful Catholics, no matter whether they called themselves Galileans, Jansenists, or Febronians, with the disciples of Voltaire, the leader of the Infidel party in every land. In Spain and Portugal a like spirit was at work, a like re- bellion against Papal authority. VIII EEVIVAL ANTECEDENTS 143 The irreligious movement in the eighteenth century had for its sponsors, and even progenitors, not only avowed infidels but disloyal and unsound Catholics — Catholics who denied the supreme rights of the Holy See, who rebelled against the authority of the Popes, who made themselves servants of the Civil Power and allies of the Infidel party. And among these rebels were bishops not a few, who, abandoning their spiritual work and see, frequented a corrupt and profligate court, and too many priests in that evil day, profligates or place-hunters, oblivious of their sacred character and calling, sought profit or pleasure in the ante -chambers of the king's ministers or favourites. Kings were no longer the nursing fathers of the Church, but, like Joseph of Austria and the kings of Prance, usurpers and tyrants ; the dukes and archdukes of Italy —the descendants of St. Louis — were active enemies of the Papacy. The Spanish Bourbons were as corrupt of heart and as faithless as the Italian and French Bourbons. It must be confessed with shame and sorrow of heart that too many of the sons of the Crusaders had entered into an alliance of evil with the children of Voltaire — Children of Darkness. The suppression of the Society of Jesus was a fatal blow which not only crowned the work of the infidel party in Europe with victory, but did much to precipitate the impious Prench Eevolution. The first overt act in the work of destruction was com- mitted in Portugal in the year 1752. The all-powerful and despotic minister, Pombal,' on the frivolous pretext of a con- spiracy on the king's life, instituted an arbitrary state- inquisition with the result that many Jesuits were cast into prison, many executed. But that did not suffice for Pombal's far-reaching plans. The property of the whole Society in Portugal was confiscated, and its members, without more ado, were shipped off to the shores of the Papal States. This open and outrageous violation of justice stimulated the infidel party in France to bring about the destruction of the Jesuits. Pddicule and calumnies were brought into play. The Secret Societies were set to work. Atrocious 144 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. charges of the most absurd character were brought against the Jesuits. The parliaments and the magistrates, most of whose members were Gallicans and Jansenists, and others, weak-kneed though sincere Cathohcs, carried away by the pas- sions and prejudices of their colleagues, acted and voted in the view of accomplishing the ruin of the Society. The leader of this function, Choiseul, Minister of Louis XV. — like Pombal, an arch-enemy of the Jesuits — saw in the suppression of the Society the destruction of the best bulwark of religion in France. Court intrigues put the finishing touch to the con- spiracy. The courts of the kings of France were too often governed by women. The court of Louis XV. proved no exception to the rule. The notorious Madame de Pompa- dour, who bore a private grudge against the Jesuits, fashioned the infatuated king — a puppet and plaything in her wanton hands — to her will. Accordingly, in 1763, the Eoyal Decree was issued suppressing throughout France the Jesuit Colleges, and con- fiscating their property. The consequence was, since in the eighteenth century the schools were almost exclusively in their hands, the education of the rising generation was conducted by laymen hostile to religion, or by members of a Eeligious Order affected by Jansenism. The final work of evil had yet to be consummated. Yielding to the pressure of the Catholic kings and princes of Europe ; beset and perplexed by the secret intrigues carried on at the Vatican by diplomatists and politicians and by courtly prelates, in an evil hour Pope Clement XIV. committed an act of fatal weakness in giving his consent, in the year 1773, to the suppression of the Society of Jesus. By this act of compromise the Sovereign Pontiff, to the dismay of his most zealous and faithful children, clerical and lay, crowned with victory the aim and work of the Infidel party in Europe.^ Eeligion in its hour of 1 It is a curious illustration of the way in wliioh extremes meet, as well as a startling example of the cross currents in human nature, that the charges brought against the Corporate action of the Jesuits by Gallicans, Jansenists, and the disciples of Pombal and Choiseul should find, in 1890, an apologist — the last of a long series — in the late Cardinal Manning, the champion o. Papal Infallibility. Thus far Mr. Purcell ; but the more is the pity that VIII REVIVAL ANTECEDENTS 145 direst need was deprived at one blow of its foremost and most faithful defenders — the sons of St. Ignatius Loyola. By this act the way was made all the smoother for the triumph of the godless Eevolution. But once arrived at the summit of its guilty ambition, it found itself on an inclined plane, and, like a stream of burning lava, it rushed headlong down into the deepest abysses of evil. lu a land where the name of God was proscribed by law, where the worship of Christ was forbidden, and pre- vented by the closing of the churches, it is not too much to say, that the reign of Satan was set up. At all events its crimes were satanic in their character. Blood flowed like water in the streets of Paris and in the chief cities of France. The crime of regicide was accompanied or followed by the wholesale slaughter in the most barbaric fashion of priests and monks, and of laymen, nobles or commoners true to religion, faithful to the monarchy, and devoted to the cause of law, order, and liberty. In the doomed city the life of no man was safe by day or by night. Self- appointed executioners lurked by day at the corner of every street. The harsh and horrid cry d, la lanterne startled even the noisy and ribald night. Sacrilege of the most atrocious and awful character was perpetrated by the enemies of God and religion. The churches were pro- faned and defiled before they were closed to public worship. At the Church of Notre Dame, to record one instance of scurrilous profanement, a nude woman, with the Phrygian cap on her head, was placed on the altar for the worship of men who had rejected the worship of God. Blasphem- ous shouts, ribald yells, and coarse laughter rose up like the prayers of demons. Satiated at last with its horrid orgies ; wiping with bloody hand its open mouth filled with blasphemies ; drunk with the blood of victims unnumbered, the late Cardinara testamentary document has been suppressed, for the public know no more than that his views were antagonistic to those of the Society. On the other hand, extreme Infallibiliats who attribute » quasi-infallibility to every official Papal act, will look upon the Cardinal's convictions as a high and potent vindication of the action of Pope Clement XIV., which in the text the author censures as one of fatal weakness sacrificing the best interests of the Church to the schismatic and infidel parties of Europe. E. de L. VOL. I L 146 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. the Eevolution finally collapsed under the weight of its iniquities untold. But the Eeign of Terror ; the satanic work of devastation ; the execution, imprisonment, and exile of bishops and priests faithful to Eeligion, left the Church of France a vast ruin. Such a state of ruin and desolation vividly recalls the words of the Prophet Daniel : The Abomination of Desolation standing in the Holy Place} After this prolonged revolt against G-od, revolt against religion and humanity, a reaction set in. Under Napoleon's rule as First Consul of the Kepublic, after having been closed for ten years, 1791 to 1800, the churches were opened and public worship was restored. Faith was revived. Multitudes of men of every rank and condition of life crowded into the open churches, and knelt once more in worship before the altar of God. Many who, during the terrible persecution, had abandoned or lost their faith, returned to the practice of religion. France, in a word, breathed anew, lifted its eyes once more in hope to heaven. Napoleon put down the rebellious factions with a strong and remorseless hand — crushed under his iron heel the survivors or heirs of the Eevolution. If he was the avenger of the evil deeds done in France, he was likewise a scourge in God's hands on the guilty nations of Europe. But the revival of religion under Napoleon was a political and not a Spiritual revival. Eeligion was an essential element in carrying out his aims and ambitions. His conduct in regard to the Concordat with Pope Pius VII., with which, after signature, he incorporated the " Organic articles," an abridgment, with its schismatical spirit and its errors, of the " Civil Constitution of the clergy," is proof enough of the political motives which governed his conduct. His persecution of Pius VII. ; his invasion, in 1809, of the States of the Church, because the Pope had refused to join the system of Continental blockade against England ; his overthrow of the Temporal Power, and his imprisonment of Pius VII. at Fontainebleau on ^ St. Matthew, chap. xxiv. 15. VIII REVIVAL ANTECEDENTS 147 the Pope's refusal to allow the institution of priests nomi- nated to vacant French Sees to be transferred from himself to the Metropolitans of France, — all this shows that the Emperor Napoleon was the child of the Eevolution, be- gotten of its loins and heir to its traditions. Neither was the restoration of the ancient monarchy of France by any means a wholly religious or a permanent factor in the revival of religion. There were mixed motives at work. PoHtics played the predominant part in the religious movement ; and politics, like the courts of kings, are too often apt to corrupt or taint the religious idea. In his paper Ze Drapeau Mane the Abbe de Lamennais declared in 1823 that " The restoration was hailed by the acclamations of the people. Indeed it might be called the festival of civilisation." This is a rhetorical exaggera- tion. Eehgion had become a fashion in France, especially in Paris. The billet de confession, as well as public com- munion and attendance at Mass, was looked upon as a passport to court and courtly society. The bowed head of too many a courtier or man of fashion at the Elevation in the Mass too often concealed the sneer of infidelity on his lip. Under the restoration was to be found not a little hollowness and hypocrisy. The king and his ministers, though well-meaning, were not equal to the occasion. They had no real grasp of the state of things, political and reli- gious, in France. The Church, indeed, was again united with the State ; but a majority in the Chamber consisted of men hostile to religion, or open infidels. The spirit of the eighteenth century was again at work. The writings of Voltaire and other leaders and supporters of the Eevolution, suppressed by Napoleon, were read under the Bourbon rule with a renewed zest, with an appetite whetted by enforced absti- nence. The masses of the people were still unconverted and sullen. The Church was unpopular, the clergy were mis- trusted — they were regarded as friends and allies of the restored monarchy, as enemies of the people. The people were, in truth, the children of an infidel generation. As De Maistre said in his famous work Du Pape, published 148 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. in 1819, "The revolutionary spirit is without comparison stronger and more dangerous than it was a few years ago." The king and his ministers in their short-sightedness were satisfied at having restored the ancien rigime. They forgot, or failed to gauge, the after-effects of the terrible upheaval of society ; of the havoc played by the Eevolution with all ancient institutions ; of the radical change in the social, political, and religious ideas of the people. On every side, perhaps not at first on the surface, there was an utter absence of reverence for the restored monarchy, for the en- franchised Church. To set up again Church and State as they had existed before the Eevolution, oblivious or heedless of the fact that respect for the principle of authority alike in religion and politics had been utterly rooted out of the hearts of the people, was a mere external work, not an interior religious revival. It was like planting a rootless tree in a sandy soU. Again, the Church was impoverished, the clergy were few in numbers. The Episcopate was divided ; the Galilean bishops looked to the Bourbons for support. The Galilean as well as the revolutionary spirit still survived in France under the restoration. It suffices to say that the restoration was followed by the July Eevolution, 1830, and by the son of EgaliU, Louis Philippe — the Citizen King. The first act of the people of Paris — a striking testimony to their hostility to the Church — was to set on fire the Palace of the Archbishop, and to tear the soutane from the back of the clergy. The in- fluence of the priests of Paris, and of many of the large cities of Prance, was confined henceforth, and for a long period, to the sacristy. They looked after their ■petit trowpeau with exemplary zeal and self-sacrifice ; but all the rest of the world, the masses of the people, were re- garded as enemies of religion belonging to a lost world ; or, at all events, to a world lost beyond hope of redemption by preaching or missionary efforts. The real and enduring revival of religion in France was due not to the action of kings and politicians, but to the influence and genius, inspired by profound faith in Christi- anity, of writers and thinkers, notably Comte de Maistre, viii EEVIVAL ANTECEDENTS 149 Vicomte de Bonald, Abbe de Lamennais, and M. de Chateaubriand. By his great work Du Pape, De Maistre arrested public attention. His force of reasoning, his practical application of his theories, his acute observation made a deep impression on the laity, especially on states- men and diplomatists. Tracing to its source the philosophy of negation which had taken possession of the minds of men in the eighteenth century, and seeing its results in the total upheaval of society, the destruction of ancient insti- tutions, the States-general, the parliaments, the monarchy with its prescriptive rights, De Maistre sought for a prin- ciple by which society, brought to ruin by the Eevolution, might be reconstructed. The only principle which had survived the political, social, and rehgious anarchy, was the principle of authority as vested in the Pope. This principle, De Maistre contended, must be the keystone of the reconstructed social edifice. Papal sovereignty is the symbol of all authority. It is the basis on which royal authority rests. Gallicanism, De Maistre shows, is a revolt against Papal authority; and revolt against Papal sover- eignty leads, as it did iu the eighteenth century, to revolt against the authority of the king. The only effective remedy therefore against the anarchy of the PLCVolution is to reconstruct society anew on the principle of the sovereign authority inherent in the Papacy. De Maistre, under the terrible impression made upon his mind by the license and anarchy of the Eevolution, was too much inclined to restrict individual liberty, and to confer absolute rule upon Pope and King. Such a tendency was the natural result of a reaction against the revolutionary Hcense of liberty which had rooted out of the heart of the majority of the French people the principle of authority. De Maistre, with his deep philosophic insight into the nature of things, saw clearly that the restoration of the monarchy and the enfranchisement of the Church would be of little or no avail — would be little better than building on sand unless the light of the Christian faith, which had been extinguished by the Eevolution, were restored to France. Mere external conformity to rehgion was rather 150 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. a hindrance than a help. Hence the constructive character of his labours. In all his writings the aim is, in face of the ridicule and ribaldry displayed by the Infidel Party, to show the reasonableness of the Catholic faith, and the wisdom — political, social, and religious — of Christian principles. De Bonald, a more subtle thinker than De Maistre, with signal success, aided the Catholic revival by exposing the fallacies of the negative philosophy, and by contrasting with its destructive results, moral and social, the religious faith and effect of Christian philosophy. In his Becherches philosopMques sur Ics premieres ohjets des connaissances morales, De Bonald, with an insight unrivalled in that day of awakening, developed his investigations into the origin of moral Truths. The knowledge of these moral Truths was, he contended, the necessary philosophical basis for the reconstruction of society. In his G6nie du Christianisme, Chateaubriand, by his enthusiasm and fervent eloquence and appeal to the imagi- nation which had almost died out in the France of the Eevolution, made a powerful impression ; but it was too effervescent in method and style, and bordering somewhat too closely on the sentimental, to exercise a profound or abiding influence. In regard to the dangerous Galilean system which, in spite of the evils it had wrought, still prevailed in France, Chateaubriand maintained a benevolent neutrality. But such an attitude showed a lack of a thorough grasp of one of the primary causes of the Eevo- lution. In De Maistre and Lamennais, Gallicanism found its two most formidable opponents, and their united action eventually succeeded in exposing its false pretensions and in refuting its fallacies. In 1825, Lamennais, whose reputa- tion already stood very high as a fervent and most eloquent champion of the rights of the Papacy and of the Crown, of the union of Church and State, published his famous work. Be la Religion, consid6r4e dans ses rapports avec I'of'dre politique et civil. In the first part he denounces the politi- cal condition of French society under the Eestoration, and stigmatises the indifference of the state for religion as vm REVIVAL ANTECEDENTS 151 " political atheism." In the second part he refuted with great force and eloquence, but with too rigid an inflexibility, the Gallican maxims ; and, in the exaggerated spirit char- acteristic of him, Lamennais made the following declara- tion : — " No Pope, no Church ; no Church, no Christianity ; no Christianity, no religion, at least for a people that was once Christian; and, consequently, no Society." De Maistre's theories of the absolutism of Church and State, and De Bonald's philosophical depreciation of human reason, were pushed to extremes by Lamennais. He carried the spirit of exaggeration still further by proclaiming in a pamphlet the absolute right of the Pope, in the Prance of 1826, to depose kings — a right which had been rarely exercised, and only on extreme occasions when Christendom was of one mind and of one faith. Irritated by his pro- secution before the tribunal of the "Correctional Police" for the extravagances of his pamphlet ; looking upon the king as a traitor to his principles, and regarding M. de VillMe, the minister of Charles X., as an accomplice, La- mennais denounced the Bourbons, and predicted their speedy overthrow. Hitherto the prominent apostle of Eoyal and Papal absolutism, on the sudden he changed front, renounced his principles, and appealed from the king to the people. Henceforth his war-cry was JDieu et la ZibertS. In his journal I'Avenir, the title of which was given to it as a recognition that the future belonged to the democracy, the wildest theories were broached. As the absolutism of King and Pope had once been exaggerated, so now Lamennais exag- gerated the absolute rights of liberty; the union of the Church with the State was denounced as bondage. But obedience to the Pope was stiU maintained — for the Pope had not as yet condemned his theories — as the bond of the unity and liberty of the Church. But the condemnation soon came. The politico-theological tenets maintained and propagated with signal ability and enthusiasm by Lamennais and his disciples in the Avenir were formally censured by Pope Gregory XVI. Disappointment at the Papal decision, wounded pride, and a temper that could ill brook restraint, led to Lamennais' lamentable fall. 152 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. Happily for the Catholic revival in France, a new school arose. Lacordaire and Montalembert, who, on the one hand, inherited the enthusiastic love of liberty displayed in his latter days by Lamennais, but, on the other, condemned his fierce democratic theories and his ill-regulated enthusiasm, succeeded by their zeal and brilliant eloquence in preventing the Catholic revival from being identified in the minds of the French people with Eoyal and Papal absolutism, with the disparagement of human reason, and the curtailment of individual liberty advocated by the elder school. With their insight into the spirit of modern times, the drift of opinion, political, social, and intellectual, they recognised that France had broken with the past ; that the relations of the Church, as in former times with the ancien rdgime, were gone. The Eestoration, with its cramped theories, its weak- ness in action, its indecision in halting between two principles, its support of Gallicanism, had failed to promote the Catholic revival. The cry of liberty was carrying all before it in France. But liberty denoted hostility to the Church, because the Church under the Eestoration had come to be regarded as the enemy of liberty and of progress. The aim and work of Lacordaire and Montalembert was to refute this idea. With their genuine and enthusiastic love of liberty, they proclaimed that all the Church demanded was liberty for all alike, for herself as well as for all men ; liberty of con- science, liberty of the press, liberty of association, and, before all things, freedom of education. Montalembert's genuine love of liberty was recognised by all men; it was even made a reproach to him by an extreme Catholic faction. His frank recognition of the new order of things since the Eevolution had destroyed the old ; the presence and out- spokenness of Lacordaire, the Dominican, in the Chamber of Deputies ; his celebrated Conferences at Notre Dame, and their combined action with that of M. de Falloux in the struggle for the freedom of Catholic education, rallied all the Catholics of France to their standard, and enabled them to organise a Catholic party. The guidance of the Catholic revival passed into their hands. Liberty and the Catholic faith were no longer divorced. The Church was no longer viii REVIVAL ANTECEDENTS 153 identified with Absolutism. It had regained the popularity it had lost under the Restoration. The spirit of moderation shown by the Catholic party and its organs in the press, and the judicious and successful policy pursued by Mont- alembert and Falloux, were fiercely resented by the party of Irreconcilables inspired and led by M. Veuillot and the Univers. An intestine war broke out. Montalembert and Palloux were denounced as betraying the Catholic cause, as traitors to the Pope. The odious nickname " Liberal CathoHcs" was given by Veuillot to the illustrious leaders of the Catholic party.^ The men who had rescued the Catholic movement from the hands of a narrow-minded faction were reviled with the bitterest abuse by the ill- tongued Univers. Many of the clergy unhappily followed VeuiUot's lead. To them the world was again a lost world, too wicked to be looked at or spoken to. Men who were outside of the Church must be left in their isolation or in their ignorance of Catholic ideas. Many of the priests returned once more to the sacristy, and had no concern or care beyond their petit troupeau. Veuillot preached again the gospel of absolutism in Church and State, advocated the strictest centralisation of ecclesiastical authority, and flouted bishops who condemned his theories and conduct as un- christian, and denounced their " Liberalism " to Eome. To this narrow faction liberty, political and intellectual, was abhorrent. Veuillot boasted in his arrogance, that Eome was on the side of the Irreconcilables in condemning the famous Education Law, which conferred on the Catholics of France the inestimable right of Christian education. This measure, introduced by M. de Talloux, who was appointed by Louis ISTapoleon, President of the Eepublic, Minister of Education and Public Worship, was virulently opposed by M. Veuillot and the Irreconcilables on the ground that the right of conferring degrees was reserved to the State university. But by the aid of Montalembert's 1 In England, at a later period, an extravagant Catholic faction, an offshoot of Veuillot and his irreconcilable party, had the effrontery to denounce in their odious sense of the term John Henry Newman, the illustrious Oratorian, as a "Liberal Catholic." 154 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. splendid speeches and eloquent appeals to the spirit of liberty, and by the tact and judgment of Falloux, the measure, to the intense satisfaction of the Cathohc party, became law, and freedom of education was secured for the Catholics of France. Veuillot's arrogant boast that Eome was opposed to Montalembert, the leader of the Catholic party, was emphatically refuted by a special message of the Pope conveyed by the Papal Nuncio in Paris, thanking Mont- alembert for his splendid services, and congratulating him on the passing of the Education Law. It cannot, however, be denied that the divisions created by Veuillot among the Catholics of France did much to thwart the Eevival movement ; for the narrow and uncom- promising spirit of the Irreconcilables ; their detestation of liberty, religious and intellectual ; their advocacy of abso- lutism in Church and State, had the effect of alienating in no small measure public sympathy from the Catholic movement. The Eevival of religion in Catholic Germany was simul- taneous with that in France. In both countries alike it was a reaction against the French Eevolution, its impious principles and its tyranny. In Germany it was also a national reaction against Napoleon Bonaparte and the devastating wars by which he laid the country, and especi- ally the Ehine provinces, in waste. The national preceded the religious Eevival. Poets awakened the dormant or sup- pressed patriotism of Germany. Arendt evoked a wild and generous outburst of enthusiasm for the independence of Germany by his stirring poem " "Was ist des Deutschen Vaterland." From the banks of the Ehine was hurled the famous protest against the lust of French conquest in the following lines : — Sie sollen ihn nicht haben, Den freien deutschen Ehein, Ob sie "wie gierischen Eaben Sich heiser darnach schrein. The poet once more with his clearer vision, seeing things unseen of others, was the herald and harbinger of the future unity of Germany. There was a reaction against VIII REVIVAL ANTECEDENTS 155 French ideas and French literature. French after a time was no longer the common language spoken at the courts of German kings and princes. The rehgious Eevival followed the patriotic and political movement. The CathoUcs of Germany were but ill-prepared to take an active or leading part in the religious Eevival. At the close of the last century they were the victims of moral apathy and mental torpor. They had no lot or part in the great resuscitation of the German mind in the middle of the eighteenth century. They were strangers to the moral awakening and intellectual movement which was the glory of Protestant Germany. The German Catholic Powers, Austria and Bavaria, alarmed at the progress of thought and liberty of inquiry, at the religious and pohtical innovations, sought refuge and safety, as they thought, for their subjects in that dark and dismal obscurantism in which the Catholics of Germany were sunk for well-nigh a century. The study of science was forbidden or discouraged. Oppor- tunity for intellectual inquiry was denied to Catholic youth under the strange and culpable infatuation that knowledge, or the pursuit of knowledge, was dangerous to Faith. Such a policy brought contempt on the Catholic religion ; and worse, it begot the evils which it was designed to avert, for ignorance is the fruitful source of religious apathy and of unbelief. At the close of the eighteenth century the Catholics of Germany had to make the humiliating confes- sion that they possessed scarcely a Thinker, Divine, or Writer of note. Protestants were prominent in science, philosophy, and in letters. At Mtinster only, that interesting episcopal city, still beautiful with Gothic glories in spite of Ana- baptist ravings and rebellion, the Princess von GaUtzin gathered round her some noble intellectual minds, and restored the fame of the University as a centre of Catholic culture and orthodox learning. In the Cathohc revival the leaders of the movement for the most part were men who had been nurtured in the bosom of Protestantism. The illustrious Count Stolberg, the author of the History of Religion^ was the first of that ' GeschicMe der Beligion, 1804-1811. 156 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. long line of writers and thinkers who, abandoning Protest- antism, submitted to the Catholic Church. His conversion gave the iirst religious impulse to Catholic literature in Germany. His example and his writings brought many, among them Prince Adolphus of Mecklenburg, to the know- ledge of the Catholic faith. Eight years after Stolberg's conversion, in 1808, Frederick Schlegel was, with his highly-cultured wife, a daughter of the celebrated Jewish philosopher Mendelssohn, received into the Catholic Church. This step, which created a great sensation throughout Germany, was preceded by a prolonged and profound study of the Fathers. In his earlier years, whilst he was professor of philosophy at the University of Jena, his intimate friend Professor Windischmann records that Schlegel was frequently questioned as to his religious opinions, but he invariably replied, " My answer is not yet ready.'' On one occasion he declared in a letter to a friend, " I regard the Catholic Church as the greatest historical authority on the earth." ■"■ The final grace of conversion was a twofold blessing — to him- self and to the Catholics of German J"-. His spirit of historical research, his soundness of judgment, would undoubtedly in any case have preserved Frederick Schlegel from Rationalism ; but the dangers from which he was delivered were the more seductive errors of Pantheism, which fascinated so many of his contemporaries. His conversion gave new life, new energy, to the Catholics of Germany. He aroused them from their apathy, gave a new direction to their studies, a new spirit to their torpid faith. He was assisted in pro- moting the Catholic revival by many of his fellow-converts, for instance among others by ecclesiastical historians like Count Stolberg and Hurter ; philosophical archaeologists like Hanmer and Schlosser ; eminent publicists like Adam Miiller, Gentz, and Ludwig von Hallar, the author of The Restoration of Political, Science ; by men of such eminence as Ludwig Tieck, Novalis, Werner, Schiitz ; by artists like Overbeck and Veith. These eminent and enthusiastic converts, and many others, by their zeal and influence and learning, gave ' See Professor Windischmann's IntrodiccHon to Frederick Schlegel's Post- humous Works, 2 vols., Bonn, 1837. VIII EEVIVAL ANTECEDENTS 157 new life to the Catholic cause in Germany, as the Oxford converts of a later date did to the Catholic revival in England. The Catholics of Germany, inspired by the new spirit, awoke from their long slumber, and co-operated with the illustrious band of converts. Gorres, already famous for his professional studies in archaeology, threw himself heart and soul into the new movement. A deeper thinker than Frederick Schlegel, he devoted himself to the study of history; in 1819 he created a great sensation throughout Germany by his Germany and the Revolution, followed in 1820 by the still more powerful and comprehensive work Europe and the Revolution. The profound thought, the depth and variety of historical illustration, the keen philo- sophical insight into the principles which govern the human mind and mark the course of history, place the illustrious writer on an even higher intellectual eminence than that attained by Frederick Schlegel, or by De Maistre or De Bonald in France. Gorres was supported by other Catholics, who, like him- self, were quickened into activity and zeal by the famous converts, Stolberg and Schlegel, the leaders of the Catholic revival. The most conspicuous among them was Dr. Windischmann, professor of history in the University of Bonn, whose learning and deep philosophic views were recognised on all sides. ^ Jarcke, a publicist, and Clemens Brentano the poet, co-operated in the movement. This group of lay philo- sophers, historians, and political writers, for the most part converts from Protestantism, infused new life into Catholic institutions, inspired with their ideas and aspirations the priesthood of Germany, which at the close of the last century was a body of men spiritually stagnant and intel- lectually torpid. The Catholic revival infused a new spirit into seminaries and schools and the mixed Universities of Bonn and Breslau and Freiburg, in which by their Statutes the Catholic and Protestant Churches are entitled to their respective faculties of theology, and to their several chairs 1 At a much later period of the movement his son, a priest, Dr. Windisch- mann, was Vicar-General in Munich. 158 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap, viii of philosophy and history. One of the most prominent effects of the movement was the establishment in 1826 of a Catholic University at Munich. In founding this University the King of Bavaria gave expression to a twofold rebuke in the following remarkable words : " I do not wish that my subjects should be learned at the cost of religion; nor religious at the cost of learning." ^ The first clause of this pregnant sentence hit the Protestant Princes of Germany, who, on the plea that rehgion was incompatible with science, fostered infidelity at the Universities ; and the latter clause conveyed a just rebuke to Catholic Princes, who, during the eighteenth century at all events, in their blind obscurantism, sacrificed science to religion. ' See " Baurder's Speech at the Opening of the University," Philosophische Schriften, p. 366. CHAPTEE IX CO -OPERATING INFLUENCES THE METHODIST MOVEMENT CATHOLIC EMANCIPATION ■ — EMIGRANT PRIESTS SIR WALTER SCOTT'S "WORKS. 1729-1829 The reaction in France agaiast Atheism and Materialism, and the Eeligious Eevival in Germany in the beginning of the present century, did much towards awakening religion in England. In England, iii the eighteenth century, at the time when the Established Church was wrapt in torpid apathy ; when worldliness was seated in its high places ; when spiritual sloth and religious indifference had benumbed the action or corrupted the heart of its clergy ; when religion had decayed or died out among the masses of the people, a mighty force arose — a voice like a clarion-call was heard calling men to repent- ance and preaching Christ and Him crucified. It was the voice of John "Wesley, like the voice of one crying in the wilderness. That mighty voice stirred the hearts of thou- sands throughout the length and breadth of the land. Wesley and Whitfield went out amongst the people and preached Christ crucified, in the fields, in the factories, in the mining districts. There was an awakening of hearts ; a stirring among the dry bones in an almost God -abandoned land. Hard-handed and swarthy men, with hearts touched to the quick, sobbed like children; or appalled in the depths of their soul, fell upon their faces in fear of the Lord or in horror of the Judgment to come. The great Methodist movement revived religion in the land at a time when belief in the supernatural was dying out in the souls of men. 160 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. Open-air preaching on the great verities of the Christian religion — the Holy Trinity, the Incarnation, the Atonement — produced a most startling effect on the people. The Word of God was brought home to the hearts and under- standings of men. For the first time for many a generation in England the Gospel was preached to the poor, to field- labourers, to miners at the coal-pit's mouth, to artizans in the big cities. The great Methodist movement, by drawing the hearts of men to God by the personal love of our Lord which it inspired ; by its grasp of the doctrine of the Incarnation, preceded, as it prepared, the way for the Oxford Movement. It did much to leaven the Anglican Church and to quicken zeal and life among the orthodox churchmen, not in that day unjustly described as unspiritual and formal, self- righteous in their learned discourses, dry and pompous in their parochial visitations, and too many of them addicted to worldly pursuits and pleasures. There were, moreover, large numbers, both of clergy and laymen, who threw them- selves into the Movement, imbibed the religious fervour, and embraced the ideas and the teachings of the Methodists. These men, without withdrawing from the Church, rejected Anglican traditions as dry and formal, and professed a pro- found disdain for dogmatic religion. On the other hand, inspired by the enthusiasm of the great Methodist revival, they were distinguished beyond their more orthodox fellows in the Established Church by holiness of living and a per- sonal love of our Lord. The vital doctrines of the Christian faith came as a new revelation to the masses of the people. The faith and fervour and impassioned eloquence of Wesley and Whitfield kindled a new fire from Heaven in the hearts of men. Tens of thousands lost in sin, in ignorance of God, or in religious indifference, were, to use their own language, " converted," " born again," " had put on Christ." This great Methodist movement, inspired by the grace of God, spread far and wide. Wesley and Whitfield carried on their Crusade against godlessness and ignorance, not only in the fields and lanes, but in the cities ; built chapels and IX CATHOLIC EMANCIPATION 161 tabernacles, and attracted numerous congregations. The middle classes, tradesmen, and shopkeepers, too often in those godless days exclusively devoted to money -making, were in ever-increasing numbers converted to religion, re- pented of their sins, and professed faith in Christ crucified. Crowds of nominal or unworthy members of the Established Church were likewise converted, and became followers of Wesley and AVTiitfield. Catholic Emancipation, by the excitement it produced in the public mind, was another force which in an indirect fashion afi'ected the Oxford Movement in its embryonic state. Moreover, it directed public attention in Europe to Catholicism in England, and awakened hopes that the days of Protestant bigotry were numbered. Nowhere was deeper and more enlightened interest taken in the religious revival in England than at Eome. Ambrose Phillipps de Lisle, who was in the Eternal City in 1829, took part in the rejoic- ings and thanksgivings for the passing of the Act of Catholic Emancipation.^ This act of justice was recognised with gratitude by many in the Holy See, and especially by the Pope who rejoiced not only that the Catholics of the British Empire had at last recovered liberty of action and equality before the law, but that England had removed from its statute-book the worst of the penal laws against the Catholic Church. High hopes were entertained of the fruits of this act of justice ; and none was more sanguine than Phillipps de Lisle that Catholic Emancipation was the first step to- wards the restoration of England to Catholic unity. But no one in that day of anticipations foresaw that one of the immediate effects of Catholic Emancipation was to give an impulse to the Oxford Movement in its earliest stages, not, indeed, out of a drawing towards Eome, of which at the time there was no trace or thought in Oxford, but out of fear lest the letting loose of religious and pohtical ' De Lisle was fond of a good atory about the rejoicings in Rome on the occasion of the Emancipation celebrations at S. Peter's. Many of the peasants who had come to witness the Papal functions and admire the illumination of S. Peter's, imagined that a new saint had been added to the Calendar, and went home rejoicing, striking their breasts and praying : Santa Emancipa- tione, ora pro nobis ! VOL. I M 162 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. passions in England would threaten the safety, or endanger even the existence of the Established Church. The agita- tion which preceded and followed Catholic Emancipation, the passing of the Eeform Bill, and the disturbances which it excited, the triumph of the Whigs and of Liberalism, political and religious, brought about the break-up of parties. There was a ferment going on in men's minds. The revolu- tionary spirit was everywhere at work at home and abroad. The French Eevolution in 1830 and the Eevolution in Belgium, reacted upon England and fomented the general restlessness, the wild desire for change, the intolerance of established institutions in Church and State, as for instance the Established Church, and united in one common bond Whigs, Eeformers, and Liberals in religion. The question forced itself upon every thoughtful Church- man : Was the Church of England prepared to meet the prevalent spirit of that day of turmoil? The Evangelical party were rampant in the land — their strength was not broken till the forties ; they were embittered beyond measure by the Catholic Emancipation which they characteristically de- signated " making terms with anti-Christ." Their intolerance of tradition ; their abandonment of the creeds as the founda- tion of the Christian religion ; their claim that the Church was an invisible and mystical body; their emotional wor- ship — all these vague and indefinite theories and negations gave point and impulse to the revolutionary movement, instead of providing a defence against the irreligious and destructive spirit of the age. On the other hand, Anglicans of the high and dry school were incapable or unwilling to bestir themselves in defence of the Church against the reformers and religious Liberals, or against the Erastianism which was dominant in the State. The High Churchmen in that day of peril were too indolent, too easy-going, too comfortable to carry the war into the enemy's camp. They were more concerned in the preservation of the temporalities of the Church than its spiritualities. They were alarmed at the threatened con- fiscation of Church property. They could ill brook the curtailment of bishoprics or canonries ; but they bore with IX THE METHODIST MOVEMENT 163 a too tolerant and patient temper the open threat of abridg- ing or abolishing the spiritual rights and liberties of the Established Church. Even those High Churchmen who came forward to defend their principles were too shallow and mean-spirited, too ignorant of the higher claims main- tained in earlier and better days by their own party in the Church, to stem the torrent of evil or check the flowing tide of Liberalism and Erastianism. There were, indeed, many good and zealous men in the High Churchism of that day, devoted to the duties of their calhng, learned preachers, perhaps, too dry and formal in their sermons, too self-confident in tone, too rigid and pomp- ous in manner to conciliate the goodwill or gain the con- fidence even of those who attended their churches ; far less to win the hearts of the masses or even to make a favour- able impression on Evangelicals or Dissenters. Opponents to the high and dry school pointed the finger of scorn at the wealth of the Established Church — the luxury or in- dolence of the bishops, at the worldly spirit of the clergy ; and contrasted with fearful exaggeration, not only the moral conduct of the hunting and dancing or gambling parson, but the worldHness and neglect of duty on the part of the clergy in general, with the zeal and self-denying labours of the Wesleyan and Methodist ministers. The popular feeling raised against the Church and its ministers by Keformers and Liberals and by Dissenters jealous of its wealth and social position, encouraged the Erastian statesmen, politicians, and lawyers of the day in their design of remodelling after their own fashion the Establishment which they regarded as a parliamentary creation, with no higher office or claim than to administer, as a department of the state, the reli- gious affairs of the nation. In the evil days of sloth and apathy preceding the Catholic revival in Oxford, it is not too much to say that " dry rot " had eaten its way into the Established Church. If the tree which ought to have been the " Tree of Life " to the English people had borne fruit, what were its fruits ? Godliness of life, spirituality of faith, public worship — the primary duty of every Christian — had fallen to so low an 164 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. ebb, as scarcely to be visible in the hearts and lives of the masses of the people. During this slumberous and torpid state of things in the Established Church, the people had long since lost belief iu the reality and efficiency of the Sacraments. Baptism even had come to be regarded as little more than an empty form or ceremony. The doctrine of the Eeal Presence in the Eucharist had faded out of the hearts and minds of pastors and people. Daily prayer and worship in the churches vanished, as a natural sequence to the loss of faith in the daily Sacrifice, for lack of worshippers, and of the spirit of prayer and of a sacrificing priesthood the churches were closed on every week-day, including even Ascension Day. Saints' days were denounced as remnants of Popery. By pastors and people in and outside of the Established Church, who had lost a firm and intelligent grasp of the doctrine of the Incarnation, the veneration of the Blessed Virgin was looked upon as idolatrous. The Catholic idea was obscured or lost ; Catholic instincts were dead. Both clergy and laity in the Established Church called themselves Protestants, and joining tongue with Dissenters, boasted of their common Protestantism. We have a competent witness in the late Cardinal Manning in the early days of his ministry in the Church of England. The Eector of Lavington, speaking of his experiences when he first came to work in Sussex in 1833, said: — When first I went to work in Sussex in 1833, the churches were open only once a week, on Sundays, and on Christmas Day. There were no Saints' days observed ; Ascension Day even was not kept. Communion was given only once a year, at least in the country ; in London and other cities not oftener than four times a year. Spirituality had died out of the Church. Now there are daily services almost everywhere, and frequent com- munions ; in the cities the communions are weekly. Saints' days are kept ; special devotional services and spiritual exercises are common. Churches have been multiplied all over the land, and Christian schools founded and endowed. The Church of England has made a marvellous progress. The wave of agnosti- cism, which has passed over the land and affected the intellectual IX THE METHODIST MOVEMENT 165 classes, has not retarded its advance. It is going steadily on- ward towards some great end — who shall doubt it ? — in the designs of Providence. The literature of the day, secular and religious, bore witness to insidious attempts made on almost every side to induce by threat or persuasion the members of the Church, high and low, to whittle down its doctrines, to annihilate its creeds, to revise its liturgy, so as to efface from its services incidental doctrinal statements. Its claim to Apostolic succession was ridiculed and denied. Few, if even any, of its ministers dared in those days to assume the name " priest," for like the appellation Catholic, it was de- nounced as "popish." Public worship as well as teaching had been reduced almost to the level of the services and sermons in Dissenting chapels. Men like Venn, Pletcher, Newton, and Thomas Scott, who drew their inspiration from Wesley and Whitfield, were the fathers of the Evangelical school. Many of their disciples inherited the Calvinism of Whitfield, who, on account of his religious errors, was ejected from the bosom of Wesleyanism. These children of the Methodist Eevival imported into their school in the Established Church the spiritual unction, the enthusiasm, the personal love of our Lord which earned for the Evangelicals the title of the Eeligious Party. Can any one be surprised that a few years later John Henry ISTewman, in one of the Tracts for the Times, described the Church of England as speaking with ambiguous formu- laries and stammering lips. What rendered the danger more formidable and immediate, was the fact that political changes had placed in power the Whigs, essentially the irreligious party, the enemies incarnate of the Establishment. Where was help to come from to save the Church and religion in the land from being overwhelmed ? If the presence of seven holy men saved Nineveh from the fate of Sodom and Gomorrah, there were happily hundreds upon hundreds of good and holy men in Oxford and throughout the country to save the Protestant Church in England from the fate of Protestantism in Prussia. Men rose up, one after 166 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. the other, like Hurrell Froude, impressed with the dread that evil days were coming on the Church, prepared heart and soul to do battle in its defence ; ready, quickened by the grace of God, to make any sacrifice to defend religion against the irreligious spirit and impious movement of the day. Eeligious reaction was beginning to set in in various parts of the country ; in many a quiet country parsonage, hearts, quickened by faith, fervour, and the love of God, were aroused to the necessity of combined action. In Oxford, it is not too much to say, God had raised up men to defend the sacred cause of religion in the land, against an impious LiberaUsm, and against the active assaults on the Christian faith by the enemy of mankind. In a word, the combined forces of evil, on the one hand, arrayed not only against the Establishment but against religion itself; and on the other, hopes and fears, aspirations and the awakening grace of God, prepared the way for the Catholic revival at Oxford, and gave birth to the Tracts for the Times. The Methodist movement had no thorough theological basis ; it rested upon two or three dogmas or truths selected by its founders and propounded as the sole sum and substance of Christ's teaching. Such an uninteUectual system was too superficial and narrow, too jejune and barren to last. Such a partial and unscientific school of theology was foredoomed to failure ; but it had served its purpose as an instrument in God's hands for the Eevival of religion in the England of the eighteenth century. The Catholic revival in England was undoubtedly pro- moted in various ways by the French 6migr6 priests, cast upon our hospitable shores by the French Eevolution during the Eeign of Terror. England was not only filled with horror and indignation at the outrages committed in Paris, but offered, in its generosity of heart, help or hospi- tality to the victims of misfortune. They were received on all sides with the greatest sympathy and kindness. Homes were offered to them at the seats of. country gentlemen. Catholic and non - Catholic ahke ; they were welcomed in the towns as well as in the country, and given shelter and free quarters ; but these 6migr6 priests, accustomed to IX EMIGRANT PRIESTS 167 work all their lives, were too independent in character to live in idleness. They offered their services as private tutors in families of distinction, or to the less opulent gave daily lessons in French, or served as French masters in schools, like Abbe Giraud in Archdeacon Hodson's school at Maizemore Court. Others volunteered to assist as mission- ary priests in churches and chapels throughout England. It was, however, not their zealous labours in teaching the poor, visiting the sick, nor their great work in founding new missions hke that estabhshed at Hampstead by Abbe Morell, or by Abbe Nerrinkx in Somers Town, or by Abbe Lefebvre de Cheverus in founding the mission at Tottenham, which affected favourably Protestant opinion in regard to Catholicism. But that which left an abiding impression in England, and contributed silently and indirectly to the Catholic revival, was the patience in poverty, dignity in bearing misfortune, exemplary conduct and holy living displayed by these victims of the French Eevolution. Among these victims were some 6000 priests who, after having undergone terrible sufferings, had escaped the guillotine under which such vast numbers of their fellow priests had perished. Many Protestant prejudices were lessened or removed by personal acquaintance with Catholic priests, and a closer knowledge of Catholic life and worship brought under the observation of the country at large by the action and conduct, during a long series of years, of these exemplary iraigri priests, exiled on account of their Faith, from France.^ In the preface to his translation of Manzoni's Vindica- tion of Catholic Morality against Sismondi's Charges, De Lisle paid a glowing tribute to the French dmigri priests, and more especially to the Abb^ Giraud who, under the guidance of Divine Providence, contributed so much to his conversion : — The virtues of the French clergy and their zealous labours did much to remove the prejudices in which a Protestant educa- tion had involved our countrymen. How many can trace the 1 See, for a fuller account of the emigri priests in England, Tlie Life of Cardinal Manniiig, fifth edition, vol. i. pp. 653-655. 168 AMBROSE PHILUPPS DE LISLE chap. first favourable impressions they ever experienced in regard to Catholicism to the sight of these blessed men ! while speaking of them it would be the deepest ingratitude in the -prater of this preface not to acknowledge that it was to a holy French priest that he owed the light of Divine faith. Great was the prejudice with which he regarded that zealous man, when they first beheld each other ; but this prejudice each hour of mutual intercourse tended to dissipate. The beams of Catholic light brightly shone from him, as he proceeded on in his even and unbending course ; his arguments were works rather than words ; and the youth, as yet untaught the sophistries of a false philosophy, beheld and acknowledged in his Apostolic conduct, the character of a true minister of Christ — and an overpowering evidence of his divine consoling faith. Filled with admiration, but vnth doubt, he spared no effort to investigate the truth. Amid the maze of controversy, and the perplexity in which each new discovery involved him, his friendship with the holy man served as a conducting star, that never left him until it had safely guided his feet to the humble crib of the Redeemer, whom he found as the shepherds of old in the arms of His blessed Mother. He embraced the faith. How gladly would he have run to convey in person the joyful tidings to his saintly friend ! but circum- stances beyond his control interposed to prevent it ; a great distance intervened, to pass which was not in his power. The venerable priest meanwhile had well-nigh reached the end of his course ; he had fought the good fight ; he lay upon that bed from which he was never more to rise. As he lay, he thought him of that great account he was so soon about to render for the exercise of his sacred ministry ; that ministry in which it behoved him to reconcile sinners to God. He thought of all those with whom he had spent hours of friendship, and of sweet intercourse ; had they profited by his example ? had the work of his mission been fulfilled in them 1 had he never been back- ward in declaring to them the truth ? could he resign his soul into the hands of his Creator, with the hope of carrying but one strayed sheep to the feet of his Judge ? Doubtless in the great accounting day many, yes, many such will proclaim him to have been their faithful Shepherd. But assuredly, it is not alone the unworthy pastor who trembles at the hour of death ; there is a fear that springs from humility, no less than from the conscious- ness of guilt ; his hope was therefore mingled with fear. But it is not the way of that Divine Being who has declared Himself the God of all consolation ; he clasped his hands, he raised his dying eyes to heaven, blessing that God whom he had never forsaken, whom he had served alike in prosperity and adversity. IX SIR WALTER SCOTT 169 " I die contented," he exclaimed ; " thou hast made my friend a Catholic Christian ; I die contented ! " These were almost the last words his attendant heard him utter. The following night he departed to our Lord.^ Another motive force which dispelled or lessened the evil Elizabethan tradition against the Catholic Church was the genius of Sir Walter Scott.^ His intimate acquaintance with the habits and traditions of the Middle Ages ; his recog- nition and reverence for all that was grand and beautiful in Catholic worship ; for all that was noble and self-sacri- ficing in monastic work and life, enabled the poet to under- stand and to reflect the spirit and romance of the mediaeval times. It was not only the grandeur and magnificence of the stately cathedrals, which the Middle Ages to their lasting glory gave to England, nor the beauty of their ruined abbeys like " fair Melrose," which captivated the poet's fancy and inspired his verse. In his spiritual and poetic vision he saw, beyond the outward expression and form, the inner meaning, the true sense and spirit of Catholic faith and worship. Bishops and priests, monks and nuns, pilgrims and crusaders, no longer hideous caricatures produced by ignorance and prejudice, were presented to English eyes in their true colours. The sarcasm with which Scott lashed unworthy and ambitious prelates, profligate priests, lazy and debauched friars, only enhances the reverence with which in his novels and poems he speaks of austere and holy men under the monk's cowl or bishop's mitre. StiU more, he comprehended the great truths of the Cathohc Church : the Mass, the Eucharist, the Sacrament of Penance, the veneration of Saints and prayers for the Dead. Sir Walter Scott's famous hymn to the Blessed Virgin is not only ' It must be borne in mind that, before the Emancipation Act, there was no such fierce antagonism and anti-Catholic feeling among the Protestants as •was excited at the time of the abolition of the Penal Laws. ^ In speaking, a year or two ago, on the singular and interesting part De Lisle had taken in the Oxford Movement, though hitherto unnoticed by any of its historians, Mr. Gladstone said: "I am delighted to see that among the antecedent forces of the Movement you have given a prominent place to Sir Walter Scott ; his writiugs in verse and prose exercised a far-reaching influence in England, and did much to break down anti-Catholic prejudice and to prepare the way for Newman and the Oxford Movement." 170 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. exquisitely beautiful — as is the translation of the Dies Irae — but a perfect expression of the Catholic faith. The glow and glamour of the poet's imagination ; his deeper insight into the nature of things ; his appreciation of the true and beautiful in Catholic faith and worship ; his apprehension of the most marked characteristics in the Middle Ages — its vivid belief in the Spiritual and super- natural, wrought a marvellous transformation of English opinion, in regard to mediaeval times and the Catholic Church. Illumined by genius as well as by the light of truth, the " Dark Ages " were dark no longer to the culti- vated mind of England. The history of the past, the days of St. Thomas Aquinas, of Duns Scotus, of St. Augustine, and St. Anselm, distorted too long by ignorance and pre- judice, was reduced to its true proportions. Unlike Kenelm Digby, the celebrated author of Mores Gatholici, Sir Walter Scott was at no pains to conceal the characteristic crimes of the Middle Ages — the lawlessness of the feudal lords ; their rapacity ; their barbaric feuds and recklessness of human life : the exactions too often im- posed by the lords paramount on the property and person of those under their sway. Candour and a sense of justice forbid Catholics to suppress or explain away the facts of history. In the Ages of Faith it is folly — and worse — to deny that worldly or ambitious bishops, forgetful of their spiritual duties or ecclesiastical office, too often betrayed a warlike spirit ; as courtiers too often sought to win by an ignoble servility the favour of the king or the emoluments of of6.ce. Avarice was not unknown among bishops, priests, and monks. Simony abounded on every side. In the middle, as in earlier and later ages, the Church suffered from the corruption of her sons and servants ; from the human agencies necessary to the carrying out of her Divine work and office. But its sins and shortcomings notwith- standing, in the ages of Faith the abiding consciousness of God's presence ; of the Divine guidance and direction in all the affairs of life, public and private ; of the unhesitating belief in the supernatural, was the predominant and govern- ing factor in the life and conduct of men. IX SIR WALTER SCOTT 171 By presenting to the mind of England a true and vivid picture of the Middle Ages and its Faith, Sir Walter Scott's inspiration and genius was undoubtedly not the least of the awakening antecedent forces, which prepared the way for the revival of religion in England. The subtle and powerful influence of poetry has, from the days of the Greek tragedians down to our own day, ever been recognised as a potent agent for good or evil. Keble's Christian Year and Newman's inspired Verses in the Lyra Apostolica were a potent force in promoting Catholic Eevival. CHAPTEE X THE CRUSADE OF PKAYER : A FOKCE PRECEDING AND AC- COMPANYING THE REVIVAL OF RELIGION IN ENGLAND 1838-1865 Another antecedent force, supernatural in its character, was silently at work in preparing the way for the Catholic revival in Oxford. None, who believe in the mighty and mystic force of united and Universal prayer, can underesti- mate or ignore the effect of the Association of Prayer for the conversion of England which, inspired by Divine charity, was established by Phillipps de Lisle and the Eev. George Spencer. It is passing strange that this supernatural force and the blessed results which under God's grace it produced in the hearts and souls of men, has been recorded by no historian, Anglican or Catholic, of the Oxford Movement. The voice of prayer, like the still small voice of conscience, is but too apt to be ignored by historians, whose attention is absorbed, whose ears are deafened, and whose eyes are blinded by the turmoil and clamour of external and material forces. In the hope of making amends for the passing over of the invisible and supernatural agency which pre- ceded and accompanied the Catholic revival in England, I will give a brief account of the establishing, by De Lisle and Eev. George Spencer, of the Association of Universal Prayer for the conversion of England. But before doing so, it would be unjust to pass over in silence the singular providence of God, whereby from the sixteenth century downwards many Popes, Saints, and holy men have been moved to pray — in a more special manner, CHAP. X CRUSADE OF PRAYER 173 perhaps, than in the ease of any other separated nation — for England's return to the Faith. Thus Gregory XIII. appealed not only to the remnant of Catholics in England but to Catholics of other countries to pray for her conversion. His example was followed by Sixtus v., Paul v., and other Pontiffs. St. Philip Neri's tender affection for England and her future martyrs, while they were learning in the English College at Eome the secret of the love which is stronger than death, is too well known to require more than the merest mention. St. Charles Borromeo was of like mind with his brother saint. He gave hospitality to the English missionaries as they passed through Milan, and sent them on, quickened by his own zeal for souls, to England and to martyrdom. " Blessed Ealph Sherwin, afterwards martyred at Tyburn, preached before him. Bishop Goldwell, of St. Asaph, became his suffragan, Owen Lewis his Vicar-General, William Gifford his Chaplain, and Griffith Eoberts his ordi- nary confessor."^ St. Francis of Sales in a letter to his brother and co- adjutor dated 1620, wrote as follows: — "1 continually recom- mend the conversion of England to the Divine Majesty, but with the confidence that I shall be heard, with so many souls who are sighing for the same thing." We are told by Cardinal Vaughan in his Manual, already cited, that in the I7th century England was the special object of the prayers of several Venerable Servants of God in Spain, Germany, and France. Amongst those he mentions the Venerable Marina de Escobar, who always spoke of the English as " her children," and prayed for them with greater devotion than for any other people, the Venerable Bartholomew Holtz- hauser, and the Venerable Father de la Colombiere, of the Society of Jesus. The latter tells us that " he had the highest hopes for the advance of the good cause in times to come." On the feast of St. Gregory, 1642, M. Olier, the founder of Saint-Sulpice, felt himself carried away to offer himself ^ Cardinal Vaughan's ManvMl of the Confraternity of Our Lady of Com- passion. 174 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. as a victim for England, and to offer his life for that, spirit- ually considered, unhappy country, of which St. Gregory had been the apostle. " Ah ! England, England ! " cried out St. Paul of the Cross, the founder of the Congregation of the Passion, of which the Eev. George Spencer was to become a son, "let us pray for England. For over fifty years have I prayed continually for her conversion." He was even allowed, while saying mass for that intention, to see in vision his own sons labouring in England. May we not say, then, that the conversion of the Eev. George Spencer (the future Passionist), his intimacy with Phillipps de Lisle, and the meeting of the latter in Italy and his correspondence with Father Dominic, of the same Congregation, were so many links in the long chain of graces preparatory to the Crusade of Prayer of which I have now to speak ? In the autumn of 1838 Phillipps de Lisle and his family went to Dieppe for a three months' holiday. But with these zealous apostles of the restoration of England to Catholic unity, such holidays were not wasted. During that time De Lisle went to Paris on a visit to his vnie's cousin. Lord Clifford, and took with him the Eev. George Spencer, who, on account of ill-health, had been granted leave of absence by Bishop Walsh. At De Lisle's request. Lord Clifford introduced Mr. Spencer to the Archbishop of Paris, the venerable Monseigneur de Queslen, and to all the principal priests and communities. The Archbishop entered into De Lisle's proposed Crusade of Universal Prayer for the restora- tion of England to Catholic unity with deep interest and approval. He invited Mr. Spencer to meet him at St. Sulpice, and introduced him to seventy or eighty of the clergy of Paris, and proposed to them to offer up mass every Thursday for the conversion of England. He likewise gave a letter of introduction to the Superiors of religious houses, to the Provincial of the Jesuits, and to the General of the Lazarists. The Jesuits entered warmly into the plan which De Lisle had at heart, and the other Orders promised Mr. Spencer to recommend to their brethren the Crusade of prayer. All the archbishops and bishops whom De Lisle and his X CRUSADE OF PRAYER 175 friend met at Paris promised to recommend the adoption of United prayer in their dioceses and provinces. Before long fifty-three bishops had written pastoral letters and prescribed prayers for this intention. The spirited and successful opening in Paris of the crusade of united and universal prayer excited pubhc attention even in England. The Times of 3rd November 1838 wrote as follows : — The Hon. and Rev. George Spencer, brother to the present Earl, who was converted from Protestantism to the Catholic faith some years ago, has lately been passing some time at Paris, with Mr. Ambrose Lisle Phillipps, a gentleman of distinction, of Leicester- shire, eldest son of the late member for the northern division of the county. They have been busily occupied there in establishing an association of prayers for the conversion of this country to the Roman faith. They have had several interviews with the Arch- bishop of Paris on this subject, who has ordered all the clergy to say special prayers for this object in the memento. A number of the rehgious communities in France have already begun to follow the same practice. The zeal manifested by the Catholics of Prance in the Crusade of universal prayer for the unity of Christendom bore startling witness to the quickening power of the revival of religion. Throughout the entire country, in parish churches as well as in religious communities, public prayers, week after week, were offered up for the conversion of England, within a few months of Phillipps de Lisle's visit to Paris. In Holland the Crusade of prayer inaugurated by De Lisle and preached by Spencer rapidly spread in all the Seminaries and Convents, and masses and communions and prayers were on Thursdays specially oifered up for England. A Swiss priest put in a plea for Geneva, suggesting that all Separatists in every country as well as in England should be included in the scheme of universal prayer. The Catholics of Germany, especially of the Ehineland and of Munich, took part in the Crusade. A few years later, as we know from his Journal, when De Lisle visited Munich, great interest was manifested in his spiritual work, and the Eev. Mr. Spencer was invited by bishops and archbishops to preach in their cathedrals. 176 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. The devotion took root in Italy, was sanctioned by the Holy See, and found in Dr. Wiseman an enthusiastic supporter, as is shown in the following letter to Mr. Spencer, dated Eome, Ash Wednesday, 1839. I must not delay any longer answering your kind and in- teresting letter. Its subject is one which has long occupied my thoughts, though I never contemplated the possibility of enlisting foreign Churches in prayer for it, but turned my attention more to exciting a spirit of prayer among ourselves. I will enter on the matter in hand with the most insignificant part of it, that is, my own feelings and endeavours, because I think they may encourage you, and suggest some thoughts upon the subject. In our conference this time last year, I spoke very strongly to the students upon the wants of England, and the necessity of a new system in many things. One of the points on which I insisted was the want of systematic prayer for the conversion of England, and, at the same time, of reparation for her defection. ... It was my intention to have begun daily prayers for England last St. George's Day ; I was prevented from drawing them up, but hope to begin this year. In the meantime I took out of our archives a printed paper, of which I enclose a copy, showing that prayers for the conversion of England, etc. have in former times occupied the attention of our College, which blessed beads, etc. for the purpose of encouraging them, and that the Holy See conferred ample spiritual principles upon the practice. You will see how the Eosary is particularly privileged. This paper, through Giustiniani, I laid before the Congregation of Indulgences to get them renewed for prayers for England, and was told that it would be better to draw up something new, suited to present times, when Indulgences would be granted. So far as to my views and ideas, before your better ones reached me, and I willingly resign all my views and intentions in favom- of yours. Now, as to what is doing here. On the Feast of St. Thomas we distributed, to all the Cardinals that came, a copy of your sermon received that morning, with a beautiful lithograph of St. Thomas, Cant., executed in the house at some of the students' expense, to propagate devotion to him. Cardinal Orioli declared that he had for years made a memento for England in his mass, and Cardinal Giustiniani told me the other day that every Thursday he offers up mass for its conversion. There is a little religious weekly journal published here for distribution among the poor, and it has lately been in almost every number soliciting prayers for the same purpose. Its principal editor, an ex -Jesuit, Padre Basiaco, called on me X CRUSADE OF PRAYER 177 tlie other evening, and told me, as a singular coincidence, that since he was in his noviciate he has made it a practice to pray on Thursday for that object. To show you to what an extent the pious custom is spreading, the Austrian Ambassador the other evening told me that his little boys (about seven and eight years old) prayed every Thursday morning for the conversion of England ; and that having been asked by their mother on that day if he had prayed for it, one of the little fellows replied, " No, Mamma ; it is not Thursday." Surely God must intend to grant a mercy when He stirs up so many to pray for it, and that too, persons having no connection with the object except by zeal or charity. I am going, in a day or two, to concert with Pallotta the best means of propagating this devotion, both in communities and among the people. I perfectly approve of enlarging your original plan so as to embrace all that are in error. I am in favour of giving expansion to charities in any way, and Catholicising our feeling as much as our faith. We are too insular in England in religion as in social ideas. This was one of my reasons for wishing to have the ceicwe unconnected with domestic purposes, which would, how- ever, be benefited by the greater energy which the spirit of charity would receive by being extended. I am endeavouring to excite in the students as much as I can the missionary spirit ; all the meditations are directed to this. By the missionary spirit I do not mean merely a parochial, but an apostolic spirit, where each one, besides his own especial flock, takes an interest in, and exerts himself for the benefit of the entire country, according to the gifts he has received. Remember me in your prayers, and believe me your sincere and affectionate friend, N. Wiseman. The daily prayers for England, in the English college to which Dr. Wiseman alludes, were soon begun and have continued ever since. Before a year was passed all Catholic Europe was enrolled in the Crusade of Prayer. In England, the bishops, though they favoured the scheme and mentioned it in their pastoral letters, were very prudent and circumspect, not to say timid. They shunned publicity. They feared lest an Association of prayer publicly announced might excite prejudice and revive Protestant bigotry and undo the work done since the Emancipation. Mr. Spencer wrote to the Irish archbishops and sought to enlist their co-operation. At a meeting of the bishops at VOL. I N 178 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. Dublin the proposal was approved of. A form of prayer was drawn up by the bishops and offered up with charac- teristic fervour by the people. In a letter to Lord Shrews- bury, De Lisle speaks in sympathetic terms of Ireland, which in times past had suffered so much and so long xinder the Penal laws and was now praying for the conversion of England. The idea of united prayer, of Catholics and Anglicans praying for Unity of Faith and the Eeunion of Christendom, inspired De Lisle's action, raised his hope, and gave the first impulse to the Society of Universal Prayer. By his own efforts, his gentle and persuasive entreaties, he induced many of the leading Anglicans to join in the prayer for the return to Unity of Faith. Mr. Spencer with fervent and indefatigable energy preached the Crusade of Prayer. He visited every town and city, spoke at public meetings, at banquets, or at private gatherings, on behalf of universal prayer for the Unity of Christendom. He never preached without introducing the topic. He sought interviews with friends or relatives or even with strangers to enlist their sympathies or to enrol them as members of the Crusade. He suffered rebuffs without losing heart or temper ; insults without resentment; ridicule even without wincing. He travelled all over England to win adherents. He sent of course, early in the campaign, to his own university, and found much sympathy and support. De Lisle introduced him to the leaders of the Oxford party. In one of his letters, John Henry Newman relates a visit which he received from Mr. Spencer, who came to beg the leader of the Oxford Movement and the whole party to become members of the Society of Universal and United Prayer. Newman's reply was, " We are a mere handful, have no authority. G-o to the bishops first of all, obtain their sanction, and then come to us." In a letter to Bloxam dated Grace-Dieu, 1841, De Lisle, referring to the Crusade of Prayer, said : — As one who knows if the peace of Christendom be not effected I will not say now but soon, the guilt will not rest with a Church, which on her bended knees implores the return of her child, X CRUSADE OF PRAYER 179 ready even to yield to its wayward pettishness, ready to make every rational act of concession, as one in fine who associated himself to the sighs, the prayers, the tears, the desire even of martyrdom, which millions of his fellow Catholicks all over the earth are now pouring forth before our merciful Eedeemer for the restoration of our beloved and noble England to the unity of His Church, who believes that the adorable heart of Jesus will not be deaf to this universal cry, and who counts on the sure word of Divine prophecy that the day is at last to come, when all the nations of the earth shall dwell in unity and peace beneath the shadow of the Church. An interesting account of the progress of the Crusade of Prayer in Wales was given by De Lisle in the following letter to Bloxam dated — Barmouth, N. Wales, In festo Sancti Patris Nostri S. Sioithuni, Episcopi Wintoniensis et Confess, 1841. I cannot resist the inclination which I feel to devote a portion of this joyful day on which we celebrate the memory of this glorious ancient Father and Bishop of our Anglican Church, to writing to you. This morning my friend Spencer celebrated the mass of this glorious Pontiff of our Primitive Church, and sweet indeed was the thought to me, as I assisted at the tremendous mysteries, that this blessed servant of God would join his prayers with ours, and that while the immaculate Lamb here below on our altar, at the foot of these rocky mountains, is offered in thanks- giving for those graces which God the only giver of all good things had bestowed upon him here, crowning him with a diadem of glory above, he would unite his prayers to the same Lamb, our Lord Jesus, in that bright region above where with angels and arch- angels he unceasingly sings " worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive glory, benediction, and power for ever and ever. Amen," — he would unite his prayers, I say, that we might speedily behold a fruitful increase in this our land. And if our simple ancestors had any ground for their legend that this great Bishop of our early Chinch took pleasure in praying for the due measure of natural rain to bring to maturity the fruits of God's earth, we might at least turn this pious belief of a simple and humble age to our spiritual profit by asking him to beg of God to shower down the rain of His Grace upon our parched and thirsty land. But is there not abundant sign that not only this Holy Bishop does so pray but that his prayer has been heard ? 180 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. Can we not discern a little cloud, though it be but the size of a man's hand, rising in the distant horizon, betokening that the dearth of our land is drawing to its close, and that a period of plenty is approaching ? Such at least I behold in the many symptoms I witness all around me ; such too I seem to see in the publications, which now proceed from the clergy of this same Anglican Church after this cruel drought of 300 years. Writing to Mr. Bloxam under date Feast of St. Casimir, 1841, Phillipps de Lisle says : — In a letter I received a few weeks ago from Mr. Spencer, he told me that a society of prayer had been established in Persia by the Armenian Catholics, to beg of God the return of England to Unity. In 1844 De Lisle, accompanied by his wife and the Eev. George Spencer, made a three months' tour through Belgium, Germany, and North Italy. One of its chief objects was to beg prayers for England. At Brussels they made the acquaintance of Chanoine, afterwards Mgr. Donnet who presented them to the Papal ISTuncio, Mgr. Pecci, now His Holiness Pope Leo XIII. A memorable presentation Per the future Pope, who talked with the greatest interest of the Oxford divines, promised to help to obtain prayers for the cause which they had so much at heart, — a promise which, as I shall shortly show, he has never forgotten. The Crusade of Prayer, carried on for years throughout Christendom — a supernatural agency silently at work in the hearts of men, produced, it may scarcely be doubted, the marvellous results which attended and followed the Oxford Movement. Was it not the prayer of the humble lay brother, kneeling at the foot of Savonarola's pulpit rather than the eloquence of the preacher which converted men by tens of thousands in the city of Florence ? What the lay brother was to Savonarola, Father Ignatius Spencer and the Crusade of Prayer was to the Oxford Movement. How deeply this was felt by De Lisle will appear from the following letter, written on February 5, 1849, to Lord Shrewsbury, when various scandals had recently severely depressed his hopeful fervour : X CRUSADE OF PRAYER 181 I grieve to hear that this sad affair is indeed in the Court of Arches. I quite agree with you that it will produce a most unfavourable impression in the public mind against Religious communities. And alas ! what with the Irish Rebellion, the foreign revolutions in the Catholick countries, and sundry other minor matters, such as the doings of Priests in Ireland, and the late injudicious burning of a Protestant Bible by a Priest (I fancy he was an Irish Priest) in Birmingham, an unfavourable feeling against our holy Religion is gaining ground amongst Protestants — and what makes this more lamentable is that these same Protestants were a little while ago softening down, and many of them becoming inclined to examine the question. But these are evil days, and our only prayer must be that God would be pleased to shorten them. Ever since poor Sibthorpe's un- happy relapse into Protestantism,^ I have felt damped in my hopes about the conversion of England. It seemed to be rapidly advancing up to that moment, the publick mind was more favourably disposed than it had been for centuries, but from that instant there has imquestionably been a retrograde move- ment; and this has been encreased by the very violent line which has been taken by some of the recent converts. I mean violent in politicks, and in regard to certain questions of external Rite or discipline, such as the Roodscreen dispute, etc. I saw Father Ignatius the other day (G. Spencer), and I was delighted to hear from him that he was about to renew his crusade of Prayer for England. I hope more in that than in any thing else for the restoration of peace and harmony amongst ourselves, and for the conversion of Protestants. I look upon Father Ignatius as one of the most perfect holy men we have, so humble, and yet so hopeful in prayer and earnest faith. Before this chapter ends it will appear, how, to use Dr. Wiseman's words, the movement " expanded " and became more " Catholic " by taking into its embrace the return of all dissident churches and praying for the reunion of Christen- dom. Unfortunately, as will be seen, differences of opinion arose as to the best means of promoting that reunion, and misunderstandings followed, which led to the intervention of the Congregation of the Holy Office. But so far as England is concerned, the Crusade of Prayer, with occasional 1 The Rev. R. Waldo Sibthorpe finally returned to the Catholic Church in 1865. He lived a life of great piety and retirement at Nottingham, saying his daily Mass in S. Barnabas's Cathedral. He died in 1879, and was buried in the Lincoln Cemetery with Anglican rites by his own wish. 182 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE ohap. lulls in the fervour of its enthusiasm, especially after the death of Phillipps de Lisle and Father Spencer, has always been carried on. !N"ot even for a day have the prayers of the Arch-confraternity of Notre Dame des Victoires at Paris for that intention ever ceased. Perhaps even it would not be too much to say that just in proportion with the earnest- ness and spread of prayer have been the conversions of Englishmen, especially among the clergy of the Established Church, the educated, and the noble, and the spread of the Catholic movement throughout the land. Of the number and value of the conversions I need here say nothing. But to measure the importance of the extraordinary change brought about by the Catholic movement, we have only to look back at the ecclesiastical state of England before Phillipps de Lisle and Father Spencer began their Crusade of Prayer. Churches which our Catholic forefathers had built to be a beauty and a joy, of a truth in those days the palaces of the poor, closed since the Eeformation from Sunday to Sunday, and opened on the Lord's Day only to show signs of decay and neglect and the absence of all beauty of holiness ; Services cold and lifeless ; morning prayer and evensong droned out by parson and by clerk, enlivened at the best by the singular music, vocal and instrumental, of the parish choir. The Communion, administered three or four times a year to a few communicants, if those few could be gathered together ; the Communion-table covered too often with a faded, or perhaps ragged cloth. The font dust- and dirt-stained, and supplied, when occasion demanded, with some poor basin for the baptismal service ; the water of regeneration sprinkled on the child in so careless a manner that doubt must often have arisen as to the validity of its baptism, if, indeed, any could be found who cared to doubt. Even the glorious cathedrals, in which the choral service was still kept up with some show of reverence, white -washed and deformed, saved only from utter ruin, from time to time, by unarchitectural and incongruous repairs. As to religious teaching, moral essays, listened to by half-slumbering flocks, had taken the place of sermons X CRUSADE OF PEAYER 183 and instructions on distinctively doctrinal subjects. The religious life of England was dying out from spiritual atrophy. Now the whole ecclesiastical face of England is changed both as to ritual and doctrine. There is hardly a cathedral in the land which does not stand forth again in almost its ancient glory and beauty ; hardly a village church which does not again show itself to those who worship within its walls almost as it used to be in the days of old. The chancels restored ; the duly- vested altars with their cross, and lights, and flowers ; the surpliced choir ; the font sculptured and flower-decked for the more solemn feasts — are not all these the outward and visible signs of the inward belief in many, at least, of the doctrines of the Church Catholic ? The Communion reverently administered monthly, weekly, or even daily to numerous and devout participants ; the water of baptism poured with all loving care on the heads of the children presented for its reception. How would all this quickening of the " dry bones " have rejoiced the hearts of Phillipps de Lisle and Father Spencer, had they lived to see it, who so often asked themselves the question in the words of Ezekiel's vision, Spencer's favourite text : " Shall these bones live " ! Count up the many churches in which the Catholic doctrine as to the Euchar- istic sacrifice, the Eeal Presence, the duty of Confession, the Sacramental system, and the Cultus of our Lady and the Blessed Saints, is more or less accurately taught to believing congregations, and the reader will be the better able to judge of all that the Crusade of Prayer has done in bringing England back to the Faith. Even in those churches in which distinctively Protestant doctrine is still taught — and no doubt they are many — negligence and irreverence in the celebration of Divine service are now things of the past. Nor has the Catholic movement been confined merely to the Anglican Church. It has affected the whole land. Its story is as that of the "stone cut without hands, which became a great mountain and filled the whole earth." There is not a sect which has not at least to some extent been influenced by it. Four- walled meeting-houses have given 184 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. place to stately churches, crowned by the once rejected Cross. "Well-ordered services denote the greater reverence of worship. There is a stirring of religious life in every religious body throughout the country. There is a strange yearning after unity among the separated of every church and sect, which, if as yet only a blind groping in the dark after better things, may one day, by God's blessing and m the fruition of His fuller Hght, asked for by so many prayers, end in bringing back the nation to the see of Peter, where the Servant of the Servants of God signs his official documents under the Eing of the Fislurman. The Catholic movement has penetrated even into stern Calvinistic Scotland. There is a High Church party now in its Established Kirk. We have lived to see the images of the Saints restored to their niches in the portal, and a stone altar erected within the walls of St. G-iles's old collegiate church of Edinburgh, which once re-echoed with John Knox's denunciations of the Eoman Babylon. Preaching is no longer recognised as the all in all of the public worship of the Most High. Communion is more highly valued, more reverently and more frequently celebrated. Ministers are not wanting who prayerfully commemorate those who have died in Christ. Nay, has not a Free Kirk minister lectured in our own day to a sympathetic congregation on the mystical life and even the revelations of Saint Teresa, the famous Spanish mystic, and maintained that unless, at least here and there, now and then, in the history of Christ's Church such examples of sanctity were to be found, the Saviour's promises would have failed. Let no man presume to say that all this marvellous change has been brought about by man's doing, save alone so far as the prayers of men may have moved the Heart of God to work a " change of the Eight Hand of the Most High. It is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes." At the beginning of the year 1860, Father Spencer was somewhat discouraged, and he wrote to De Lisle, enquiring of him how he thought things were progressing, and in particular, whether he still maintained his hopeful view of the Conversion of England, by and through the instrument- X CRUSADE OF PRAYER 185 ality of the National Church. He elicited the following most remarkable and impressive reply : — Grace-Dibu Mange, Feb. 25, 1860, St. Matthias. My dear Father Ignatius. — ... I feel as I ever did on the great question of the recovery of England to Catholic Unity, and I think I can answer your questions, as to the progress going forward, satisfactorily in the main. I think you knew that on the 8th September 1858, an Association was established in London to promote a Reunion of the three great separated Branches of Xtianity, the Catholics, the Greeks, and the Anghcans. I send you one of its circulars. The Association now numbers upwards of four thousand members, chiefly Anglicans, but with a small sprinkling of Catholics and a few Greeks and Russo-Greeks. The Association is only for Prayer, each communion by itself, that God would bring all into Unity in His own way and time. Among the Catholic members of the Association are my own Cousin William Clifford, the Bishop of Clifton, and Canon Macdonnell, our old Birmingham Friend, Father Lockhart of the order of Charity, Father Bermingham of the same order, the Pope's Nuncio in Switzerland who has promised to say Mass for it once a week, and a few others. Of the Greeks it has been joined by all the Eusso-Greek Clergy attached to the Russian Embassy in London. Our meetings hitherto have been strictly private, but we contemplate public ones a little later as things ripen. There is no question about details of Union. The time is not come for that, all we dwell upon is the impmiance of Unity in the one Fold of Jesus Christ, and in encouraging a deep study of Christian Antiquity, and of that blessed Primitive Church before the Unity of Christ's Church was broken by any large or durable secession. ^ Mean- while the Catholicising of the Anglican Church in doctrine and ritual is rapidly spreading. A Catechism has been published and immensely circulated, which inculcates I might almost say the whole Catholic doctrine, and which even on the subject of the Papal Supremacy is orthodox as far as it goes. This Cate- chism is taken nearly word for word from the Douay one. This of course is a most valuable preparation, and without it nothing could be practically expected, but by the circulation and in- culcation of this Catechism among Anglicans, their minds will 1 The sense in which De Lisle speaks of "broken Unity" is explained in Chapter XV. It is evident that the Unity of the Church which remains after a schism is diminished pro tanto. The unity of the remainder is no longer the perfection of the previous totality or whole. E. de L. 186 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. be gradually imbued wltli Catholic ideas and principles. The Anglicans in all they are now doing both as to doctrine and Eitual simply fall back upon the Pre-Eeformational status of their own Church, but in doing so they undermine the founda- tion, on which alone the schism rests, dodrinally at least, while they prepare their people for eventual submission to all the doctrines of the Catholic Church and thus to a healthy Union with the existing Catholic Church, when it shall please God to give the much desired opportunity. You would be amazed if you were to glance at the array of books and Tracts that are published and circulated amongst the Anglicans with a view to Catholiciz- ing the members of their Communion. Pari Passu with these treatises the actual progress of " Ecclesiological Eestoration " is going on to an extent perfectly astonishing. The outward Fabricks of the Churches are thus brought into gradual and progressive harmony with the indoctrinization of men's minds — it is in fact the Resurrection of Dry bones such as Ezekiel described, bone is coming to bone, the flesh and the sinue are once more covering the poor old bones, and in God's good time an efficacious call to the Holy Spirit will bring Him down to breath once more on the restored body, and it will arise on its feet to fight the Battles of the Lord. This is my firm belief, but the time is not yet, tho' I trust not very far distant. Meanwhile Prayer — your work of sanctify- ing the Irish People is undoubtedly an incalculable auxiliary for the general object. If only the Irish were but true and vital Catholics in their lives and practice, as they already so gloriously are in the integrity and the heartiness of their Faith, they would indeed be a standing evidence of the truth of Catholicity to their Anglo-Saxon fellow-subjects and fellow-countrymen. The Irish are a noble people, brave like lions, generous to a fault, hearty affectionate and full of gratitude for kindness. If they would crown all these noble qualities with a hearty conversion to God, their example would be overwhelming and omnipotent — as it is, I often hear Anglican clergymen who have made tours in Ireland say how chaste the young women and men of Ireland are com- pared with those of their own country Parishes here in England, where alas ! vice is now nearly as general as if the people were heathens ! It surely must be for some providential purpose that God has inspired so many Irish to settle in England of late years. Thus in our neighbouring Parish of AYhitwick there are actually 900 Irish, all come within the last 6 years, attracted by the demand of Labour in the coal mines of the district. Unhappily these Irish are sadly given to drinking, and as they earn from 15 to 25 shillings a week they have plenty of means X CEUSADE OF PRAYER 187 to gratify this sad passion, and the result is much scandal, quarrelling and fighting. I think you and your Passionist Brethren ought some of these days to come here and preach a Mission to our Irish. There are some excellent sterling people among them, greatly respected, but we want a general reforma- tion. Later please God when I open mines in the next Parish of Sheppeshed, where we are now boring with fair prospects, we shall want many more Irish to aid us in working them, for our own population will not suffice, but we must have good ones, who will really help us to Catholicize our Anglo-Saxons. And now for another matter — The Continent. I think we are coming to the end of one great epoch or Period of the Church. I think the Temporal Sovereignty of the Popes will go, and is rapidly breaking up. I think too that all Union of Church and State will go also — and that the voluntary system will generally prevail — but this in my opinion will only be a transition, and of temporary duration altho' general while it does last. This transition will force the Church and all her Members everywhere to greater personal exertions, and by the cessation of all state -help will only give a grander occasion to shew the Power of God and the force of Catholicity, while the immense zeal that will be called forth will under God's help succeed in bring- ing about general Unity among all Xtians on the one hand and the general conversion of all the Heathen nations on the other. This transition will be accompanied by awful wars and breaking up of the present secular organization of the Earth, but this will lead to the restoration of the Jews to Palestine, and on their conversion God will exhibit them as the Pattern Nation to the whole world, inaugurating among them such a divine and glorious Union of Church and State, as the world has never yet seen, altho' it has been often thought of, planned, and desired. Then will be the Church's great triumph, and then her grandest development amongst mankind. At this moment I think we are close upon the end of what our Lord calls "The Times of the Gentiles," that is of that Period of His Church during which the converted Gentiles were to form its only element as it were, and during which the Jewish People were to remain obstinate, but as S. Paul foretold in writing to the Roman Converts,^ the day was to come when ' Romans xi. 18 seq. "Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast : thou hearest not the root, but the root thee. Thou wilt say then : the branches were broken off, that I might be grafted in. Well : because of unbelief they were broken off. But thou atandest by Faith : be not high- minded, but fear. For if God hath not spared the natural branches, fear lest perhaps he also spare not thee." 188 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. they and all the other engrafted Gentiles (speaking of them in the mass) would become unfaithful and ungratefully apostatize, then it would be that God would have mercy on the poor Jews, and by their conversion regenerate degenerate Xtendom. Well it seems to me we now witness the culminating and crowning act of Gentile apostasy, in what is going on in Rome, and when the downfall of the Temporal Papacy is fully accom- plished the Times of the Gentiles will be filled up, and the ini- quity of Xtendom come to its full. But then the hand of God will be wonderfully stretched out, and a Period of surpassing blessedness will arrive to last for those many ages foretold in holy Scripture, after which there will be another falling away, more terrible than the first, so terrible that it will bring down the final judgement of the last Fire, and the cessation of the Probationary state of man upon Earth. I consider all attempts to bolster up the Papacy quite useless ; out of loyalty to the Holy Father I put my signature to the address that went to Him from the Laity of England, but I did so in Love, not in hope. I will not however say more in giving you my crude thoughts and in a very rough form also. Of late years the Crusade of Prayer for the conversion of England has renewed all the earnestness of the early days. It has been taken up, blessed, and placed on an enduring footing by Pope Leo XIIL, whose zeal for the Eeunion of Christendom is known to all the churches. New guilds and confraternities have sprung up to requicken the good work begun by Phillipps de Lisle and Father Spencer. The Guild of Our Lady of Eansom was founded with the express purpose of spreading far and wide the recital of Spencer's Hail Mary for the conversion of England. Then came the Apostolic Letter of Pope Leo XIIL Ad Anglos, with his touching prayer to Our Lady for the recovery of her Dowry ,^ for he bases all his hopes on the power of prayer alone. Nor should his Encyclical Letter on the Unity of the Church be forgotten. These were followed by his Brief of Erection of the Archconfraternity of Our Lady of Compassion for the ^ Sis memor quod Anglia Salva regnum Anglise Dicta fuit Dos tua Ama dici patris Et Tuum Imperium. Dulce patrocinium. (From the ancient Sarum Gradual.) X CRUSADE OF PKAYEE 189 conversion of England, dated August 22, 1897. In this Brief the Holy Father tells us that in union with so many men of holiness, learning, and dignity, more especially St. Paul of the Cross, M. Olier, Ignatius Spencer, and Cardinal Wiseman, he centres his hopes on Great Britain, and while imploring himself from the bottom of his heart the grace of its reunion with the Eoman Church, asks also the prayers of the Church Universal. He further informs us that he has chosen the church of Saint- Sulpice at Paris for the seat of the Archconfrateruity because M. OKer, the founder of the Congregation of Saint-Sulpice, together with his disciples, most earnestly longed for England's conversion, and also because, as his Congregation extends almost over the whole world, it will be the better able to further the good work in every country. Nobly indeed has the Pope redeemed his promise of long ago made to Phillipps de Lisle and Father Spencer. Later in the same year 1897 Cardinal Eichard, Archbishop of Paris, in publishing the Pope's Letter for the October devotions, made a special allusion to Father Spencer's mission to France and other countries, and earnestly exhorted the faithful to pray for England's conversion. The presence of Cardinal Perraud, Bishop of Autun, at the Ebbsfleet celebration in honour of St. Augustine of Canterbury, the fetes of Aries commemorative of the thirteenth contenary of the consecration of the same saint, and the solemn inauguration of the above-mentioned Arch- confraternity of our Lady of Compassion in the great church of Saint-Sulpice on the I7th of October 1898, have all served to add new life and strength to the Crusade of Prayer. The last-named event, says Cardinal Vaughan, was " like the public ratification of a religious Treaty, the solemnisation of a holy Alliance " between the Catholic Churches of France and England. The object of this Alliance is, of course, very clear and definite. It is nothing less than the spiritual return of Great Britain to allegiance to the See of Peter, and the eventual gathering of all nations into the one Fold of the One Shepherd. 190 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. In an evil day and dark hour Phillipps de Lisle and Father Spencer, hoping against hope, planted and watered. God alone has given the increase. Laudemus viros glori- osos. Te Deum laudamus, Te Dominum confitemur. APPENDIX II ^Prager for tfjc wconctUation of tije Anglican CEfjurrij to t\}c SEnttg of ti)t Cfjurc!) eCatfjoUcft. Psalmus xxi. in feriah officio ad Primam. fer. vi. (Loquitur Ecclesia Anglicana.) ^zus IBzue meus, regptce in me : quare mz tnzliqnisti ? lariQe a galute mea faerba ielictorum meotum. do thou Lord look upon me, thy forlorn handmaid, the Church of this Kingdom of England, hear my cry Lord Jesus Christ my divine Spouse : wherefore hast thou forsaken thy hride ? hehold Lord my desolate state. How is it that thou hearest not ? I cry unto thee, but thou hearest not, afar off is my salvation : but why is this ? it is because the voice of my transgressions is louder than the voice of my supplication. Ileus mcus tlamabo per thm, d nan eiautiea : yea though I cry all the day, yet wilt thou not hear, still thy face vnlt thou hide. Yea Lord in the daytime of prosperity thou heardest me not when I cried unto thee, for my prayer was not mingled with the tears of contrition : et tn nocte, et non ai tnstptcnttam jnif)i, but behold Lord the night of affliction cometh, and I cried unto thee being humbled by the scourge of thy chastizing hand, and it was not reputed as folly unto me. 2Eu autem in sancto ijabttag, laug Esrael. But thou Lord not- withstanding dwellest in thy sanctuary, and thy praise resoundeth seven times each day in thy holy Israel the Catholick Church, yea thou art the praise of thine Israel, her crown exceeding bright. This is my hope and my exceeding consolation. In te gpetaijerunt patres nostrt, gperaberunt et liberasti eos ; but how different it was in the happy days of our Fathers, in Thee did they hope, they hoped and thou didst deliver them. Truly they were thy people and thou wert their God, ati 9Ee rlamaijerunt, et salfai facti eunt: in te specafaerunt, et non sunt X APPENDIX II 191 tonfnsi. Yes, my God, well may I repeat this sweet declaration of tlieir faith and of thy goodness towards them, for who is there that knoweth it not ? Was not England in those happy days of our forefathers called through all Christendom the Island of Saints, was she not called out of chivalrous devotion to thee, the portion of thy blessed Mother Jios iffilartaJ ? and was not I, thy holy Church in this kingdom, famous amongst all the Churches of the Saints ? fifga auttm gum bcrinia et nan i)amo : opprobrium Ijominum et abjjctta pleiis. But now alas ! how changed is all that ! how faded is all the glory and brightness of my former days : all my mirth is turned into bitterness : I am become a very worm of the earth, at the mercy of every scorner that passeth by. No longer do we hear of the famous English Church — nay they even deny that I am a Church at all, so disfigured am I with the weight of my calamities, gum faermis £t nan Ijomo ; I am become the reproach of men, that is, of Catholick Christians, and the scorn of the common people, that is of the meanest sectaries opproirium Ijomtnum et abJEitto plebfg. ©mneg fattitntEg mz tiettgjrunt me : locuti gunt labtta, £t mofae- rnnt caput. Yes, every looker-on derideth me : they whisper against me shaking their heads with contempt. (Loquuntur Christiani Catholioi orantes Deum pro insigni Ecclesia Anglicana.) Behold Lord the Tears of thy antient and noble Spouse the holy Anglican Church, for holy she is in her hierarchy, and in her sacraments,^ though crafty Men have robbed her of her divine Mission, and of the communion of thy other Churches — at least Lord she once was a holy Church and if I may not speak of the present, suffer me at least to remind thee of the pure innocence of her childhood, then at least gprcabit in Wm; erfpiat eum ; gal&am facial cum, quoniam fault cum. Yea Lord save Her, for her antient deeds of love : save Her, for thou wilt have Her ; I will say it, pardon my hardihood, thou hast need of her. Save her, for her salvation is necessary for the glory of thy Name. Remember also Lord, when the Holy Church of France had her hour of trial, how this famous Anglican 1 It is evident that at the time 1862, when De Lisle composed this beauti- ful prayer or paraphrase of Psahn xxi., he believed in the validity of Anglican orders. Even now we may say "she is holy in her Sacraments," for from the Tridentine point of view the Church of England possesses validly what may be called the two lay sacraments, baptism and matrimony, the two sacraments of which laymen are, or at least may be the ministers, in case of necessity when a priest cannot be had. The practice of the Catholic Church in Protestant countries confirms this statement, although I have not seen it in print before. E. de L. 192 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. Church came to her succour, how generously she stretched forth her arms to receive thy suffering Priests and Bishops from the most Christian Kingdom, oh do thou remember this Lord, and save her in return, save her, for our sakes, for vre too have need of her, save her, for we still love her, save her, for we would die for her salvation. (Loquitur Ecclesia Anglicana.) Yea Lord do thou save me, quotxiam 2Cu t», qui eitraiisti me tie ijjtttre, for was it not thy hand that drew me forth from my mother's womb, when my beloved Mother the Eoman Church gave birth to me in the days of Pope Gregory 1 spjs mtB atr uberibus matrfg meee. Yea do thou save me, Thou who wert my hope and my salvation in those happy days, when I faithfully clung to my mother's breast, when I still clung to the faith and communion of my true Mother the Holy Eoman Church, when I partook of the sweet communion of all Catholick Churches by adhering to the blessed Centre of their common Unity. En te proJECtus sum ex ntexa : yes Lord, if I have any claims upon thee, they are founded all upon this title of my birth, that I am the daughter of the Eoman Church ; te bentve matrtg meec, Ecus meus £S tu. Well may I say that thou art my God from my Mother's womb. For how was I brought to know thee Lord but fiom the preaching of those holy Missionaries, Saint Augustine and his blessed companions, who were sent by my true Mother the Eoman Church. These were they, that taught us thy Law God. then my God from my mother's womb abandon me not, ne timemexis & me. ©uaniam tribulatio proiima est, quoni&m non est qui alijufaet ; ctreumteteTunt me faituli multi : taurt pingues obsetjetunt me : aperuerunt super me 0S suum, stcut lea rapiens et rugtcns. For indeed my tribulation is nigh at hand, and there is none to help me. I am beset with the discordant yells of innumerable sectaries, whose voice like the senseless lowing of so many calves belloweth in my ears. I am attacked by a vile band of impious Men, who like raging bulls, bloated with intemperance rush on to devour me ; Men, who hate thy Name Lord and that of thy holy Church, Men ravenous and raging like lions. But I Stcut aqua effiusus sunt, et tftspersa sunt omnia ossa mea, yea all my strength has been poured forth as water, all my bones are scattered, yea the celibacy of my Clergy is destroyed and with it all my strength is evaporated. My holy Monks and Eremites, my sacred Virgins so devoted to my service are taken from me, so my very bones are scattered abroad, and my heart fails within me, factum est cor meum tanquam cera liquescens for the very X APPENDIX II 193 life's-blood of my system is poured out in mtOia faentrts rati : alas ! alas ! atnit tanquStn tcata trittua mea, et lingua mea fauctfiuB meis atj^egit; no longer have I any force, my tongue cleaveth to the roof of my mouth, the daily singing of thy divine praises hath ceased from amongst us, thy holy temples, thy venerable Churches are still as death, cold, desolate, filthy, dank with the atmosphere of the Tombs, Et in pul&etem mortis bebxiiiati mt ! and why 1 ©twniam rircumtiEtiEtunt ote tanes tnulti : Eoncilium malig-- nantium obSEbit we, my enemies like many dogs have surrounded me : The Council of the Malignant hath besieged me ; yes a wicked Parliament hath stripped me of my true liberty ; pre- tending to overthrow a foreign tyranny, they severed me from the centre of Unity, they enslaved me to the secular power : fotiEtunt manns ntEaa Et pEtiEg oteos : my hands and my feet have they made useless as though they had nailed them to a cross, iiinntnErabEtunt omnia ossa mea, all my bones have they numbered, seizing my bishopricks they gave them to their servile courtiers, numbering them as so many bones to satiate their hungry dogs. For they would fain turn me to their own base ends, and for this alone do they look on me at all ipai faeta consillEtaijEtnnt Et inspEiErnnt me seizing for their own profane use all my sacred property and the very vesture which attired me for the Holy offices, bibisETunt sifai tiEgtimenta mea Et snper JjEstEm meam misEuint sortEm. Ku autEm QfiE nE ElongabEtia auiilinm tuum a mE : atf tidm-- sionem mEam rongpice. ffirue a framEi Beus animam mean : et Jje manu ranis nniram mEam : Sal&a me ei ore Ironis, Et 5 cornitas unicomium j^nmilitatEm mEam. Come O Lord to my help, save me ; look once more upon me for my defence, deliver my soul from the snare in which it has been taken, oh deliver me from the snares of heresy and schism, deliver my precious one from the power of the dog, save me from the Lion's mouth, save me from these furious sectaries who with the fury of Lions and with horns like Unicorns ^ come against me to destroy me. But how canst thou save me from this peril, unless thou givest me the great grace of conversion, reconciliation and restoration to Catholic Unity, in friendship and fellowship with thy holy servant, the servant of the servants of God, in the Church 1 The Lion and Unicorn have been the royal stipporters only since the accession of James VI. of Scotland to the throne of England, the son of that unfortunate Queen, who died, as she asseverated in her last letter to the King of France, "pour la religion Catholique et le maintien de ce tr6ne que Dieu m'a donne." See original letter in British Museum. E. db L. VOL. I 194 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap, x of Peter the Apostle and Paul the Doctor of the Gentiles, for they did teach us Thy Law. Then shall I make Thy name glorious amongst my brethren and praise thee in the midst of the assembly of the people, i^arrabo nomem tuuiu fratrtbus mds : in mebia cccksia laubabo tc.^ ' The remainder of the Paraphrase, if ever written, has been unfortunately lost. There are eleven more verses to complete the Psalm. CHAPTEE XI THE OXFOKD MOVEMENT LETTERS OF JOHN HENRY NEWMAN AND OF OTHERS TRACT 90 1833-1841 The history of the Oxford Movement is confessedly incom- plete. Its inner story, in all its fulness, has yet to be told. It will never be wholly told till the day — the distant day in another century — when the life of John Henry Newman, unabridged, with no facts omitted, no statements modified or with glosses put upon them ; no letters, no " Notes of Conversation," no diary or journal suppressed, is given to the world. Newmans Anglican Letters, edited with such feUcity and fulness by his sister, Mrs. J. B. Mozley, are of inestim- able importance and interest; yet it must be borne in mind that his career and character as a Catholic, his maturer judgment — after the event — of the Oxford Move- ment, limitations or modifications introduced by later experiences into his earlier theories, are elements essential to a full and final comprehension of the Oxford Movement. New fascination was imparted to the history of the Tractarian movement by the interesting account given of it by the late Dean Church. The special charm and merit of this latest contribution to its history is due to the fact that the Oxford Movement is described, not, as had hitherto for the most part been the case, by outsiders or by writers opposed to it, but by one from the inside who sympathised with the movement, was intimate with Newman and the chief actors in the mighty drama. In recording PhiUipps de Lisle's connection with the 196 AMBKOSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. Oxford Movement, his close relations with many of its lead- ing members, his intimacy with Newman, its course and action are seen under a new aspect and new ground is broken. De Lisle came among the Oxford divines as a Catholic ; as a friend, not as a hostile or disparaging critic. He sympa- thised with the Movement ; he understood the position of its leaders, and the attitude taken up, or forced upon them by circumstances. He, as a Catholic, perceived with greater clearness than the Oxford men the tendency and drift of things and the logical results. What at times seemed to them an almost impassable chasm between the Anglican Church, in which they believed as interpreted by themselves, and Catholic unity, as represented by the Church of Eome, to him was no chasm at all, but an obstacle natural under the circumstances, which had only to be faced with fearlessness and faith to be removed or overcome. The revival of religion at Oxford was a spon- taneous movement from within, the upheaval of forces generated in the hearts of men by events, and shaped and guided by the interior workings of the Holy Ghost. It was not the result of controversy with Catholics from without, nor was it to any appreciable extent affected by the religious revival on the Continent. Before the passing of the Emancipation Act, Catholics were almost unknown to the people at large. And since ignorance is the mother of prejudice, they were disliked and suspected. The old Elizabethan tradition of the ill-doings of Catholics was carried on in the hearts of the people of England. The Catholic gentry — among the most ancient in the land — who had kept alive the faith of our forefathers under the cruel Penal Laws, lived in retirement, partly because in pride of heart they resented the suspicion still attached to their name and faith ; and partly because, cut off from contact with the outer world, they had lost all knowledge of the duties and habits of public hfe. Priests were still more distrusted than the laity, hence they avoided publicity. In London and other cities, chapels, for a like reason, were built in out-of-the-way nooks and corners. During the times of persecution the Catholic Church in XI THE OXFORD MOVEMENT 197 England lived, as it were, in the catacombs, and when, on the relaxation of the Penal Laws, it emerged from its hiding- place, it was no longer recognised. All that survived in the memory of the people was the ill name attached to it. The unhappy and unholy persecution under the reign of Queen Mary alienated the Catholic Chui-ch from the hearts of the people of England. It is no argument, no excuse to plead, that the Catholic faith was almost destroyed in England by fire and sword, blotted out in blood by the prolonged and terrible persecution of Queen Elizabeth ; or that the remnant of Catholics who had escaped exile or death, were repressed by the terrors of the Penal Laws. The Elizabethan per- secution has been condoned or forgotten, but the tradition of the Smithfield friars survived until Catholic emancipa- tion or even later. Those early days are happily passed away for ever. Both Catholics and Protestants alike have repented of the sins committed by their forefathers in the holy name of rehgion. To-day both we and our separated brethren are seeking and praying for reconciliation, for peace and concord, for the return of England to the Unity of faith. The Catholic movement in France, though antecedent in its earlier stages to the Catholic revival in England and to the Oxford Movement, had, except among the Catholics, little or no effect in England. Some of the more studious and thoughtful among the Tractarians at Oxford no doubt were influenced by the religious revival in Prance and Germany. Happily an eminent Cathohc scholar, Mr. James Burton Eobertson, made the Oxford men familiar with the religious movement in Germany by his translation of Frederick Schlegel's History of Philosophy and of Mohler's Symbolism. But, on the other hand, familiarity with foreign literature, or interest in the religious revival on the Conti- nent, was not at that period common in Oxford. Even so acute an observer of religious events as Archdeacon Manning had no real understanding of the extent and character of the religious revival in France and Germany. For in 1841 he writes as follows: — "All foreign churches . have declined and wasted. The countries most sue- 198 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. cessful against the Eeformation, for instance Spain and France, are the most destitute of Christianity. The most rigorous and promising re-kindlings of life among them (which God prosper) are partial and precarious, the work of individual and often isolated minds, and sustained by the energy of individual character. (This is visibly true of Germany and France.) But the English Church, tried beyond them aU, has now more than ever shown a vivid and in- extinguishable life which quickens with an even pulse the whole of her extended system : she has retained what they have visibly lost — her hold upon the nation as a people, and her mastery over the highest intellectual natures." ^ On the other hand, the personal influence of so zealous a Catholic as De Lisle, his sympathy with the Movement and reverence for its leaders, was recognised and felt at Oxford. He was on intimate terms with many of them, with whom he corresponded fully and freely ; he was trusted by their illustrious Leader, who in many letters of the highest interest discussed the points at issue between the Anglican Church and the Church of Eome. With no other Catholic was Newman on terms of such intimacy ; to no one else did he open his heart so fully or explain so candidly the motives which guided his conduct or line of action as leader of the Movement. To no one did he disclose more unreservedly perhaps than to De Lisle the difficulties which stood in the way of reunion, or of the restoration of unity of faith. For Newman it was easier perhaps to explain to a Catholic than to his immediate disciples the necessity of restraint or of caution imposed upon him by external circumstances : by fear, on the one hand, of exciting in the University Protestant suspicions ; of arousing the ire of the bishops ; or, on the other, of giving scandal to the more timid among his own disciples by too open an avowal of Catholic principles. This oiKovofiia imposed upon Newman by the dictates of his conscience, by the highest consideration of the duty he owed to his disciples, was not only misunderstood, but grossly misrepresented by the enemies of the Oxford Move- ^ Life of Cardinal Manning, fourth edition, vol. i. p. 207. XI THE OXFORD MOVEMENT 199 ment. Untruthfulness on system was imputed by vulgar pamphleteers to the writers of the Tracts for the Times. They were assailed without stint or mercy for their sup- posed Eomanism ; they were denounced as dishonest and absurd. Not only by enraged Evangelicals were insults heaped on them; but even so eminent a champion of Liberalism in religion as Dr. Arnold, in an article entitled " Oxford Malignants" in the Edinburgh Review, made a vicious attack on Newman and his disciples in Oxford. For years they were reviled and suspected. Under the pressure of this storm of vituperation, with the suspicion which it engendered, the leader of the Movement was compelled to show reserve in word and action. But with a Catholic, like De Lisle, Newman had no need to practise such " economy." Hence in his communications with the former he was frank and open in speech and conduct. It was in January 1834, while staying at Leamington, that De Lisle first saw the Tracts for the Times, only three or four months after their appearance. The Eev. Henry Dudley Eyder,^ the son of the Bishop of Lichfield, gave to his cousin Tract No. 4, which relates to the Blessed Eucharist. On returning it, in the spirit of prophecy De Lisle exclaimed : — " Mark my words, these Tracts are the beginning of a CathoHc Movement which will one day end in the return of her Church to Catholic unity and the See of Peter." Such a prophecy must needs have sounded in that day extravagant, audacious, and absurd iu the extreme. It would have paiued and scandalised Newman had it reached his ears.^ The first part of this prophecy has been abundantly fulfilled by the total transformation of the Church of England from what it was in faith and practice before the Tracts for the Times. The second part, which has yet to be fulfilled by the return to Catholic unity, is infinitely less difficult or unlikely of achievement. The two first passages in the first number of the Tracts for the Times inspired De Lisle with a deep and undying 1 The Bishop had married an aunt of Ambrose Phillipps de Lisle. * See Newman's letter to De Lisle, dated Littlemore, March 8, 1842, p. 265. 200 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. desire no longer, with too many of his separated brethren, to " sit still each in his own retirement, as if mountains and seas cut off brother from brother." Hence his lifelong labours for the restoration of unity of faith. The Tracts for the Times were commenced by John Henry Newman on September 9, 1833. The following are the opening passages of Tract No. 1 :■ — To MY Brethren in the sacred Ministry, the Presbyters AND Deacons of the Church of Christ in England, ORDAINED thereunto BY THE HOLY GhOST AND THE Imposition of Hands. Fellow-Labourers — I am but one of yourselves — a Pres- byter ; and therefore I conceal my name, lest I should take too much on myself by speaking in my own person. Yet speak I must; for the times are very evil, yet no one speaks against them. Is not this so ? Do not we look one upon another, yet per- form nothing ? Do we not all confess the peril into which the Church is come, yet sit still each in his own retirement, as if mountains and seas cut off brother from brother? Therefore suffer me, while I try to draw you forth from those pleasant retreats which it has been our blessedness hitherto to enjoy, to contemplate the condition and prospects of our Holy Mother in a practical way ; so that one and all may unlearn that idle habit, which has grown upon us, of owning the state of things to be bad, yet doing nothing to remedy it. Consider a moment. Is it fair, is it dutiful, to suffer our Bishops to stand the brunt of the battle without doing our part to support them? Upon them comes "the care of all the Churches." This cannot be helped ; indeed it is their glory. Not one of us would wish in the least to deprive them of the duties, the toils, the responsibihties of their high office. And black event as it would be for the country, yet (as far as they are concerned) we could not wish them a more blessed termina- tion of their com-se than the spoiling of their goods and martyrdom. By the concluding passages on Apostolic Succession in the same Tract, De Lisle was confirmed in an abiding belief in the future restoration of the catholicity of the Anglican Church and in the probability of the genuineness of the claim of her Bishops to the Apostolic Succession. To his XI THE OXFORD MOVEMENT 201 mind the Anglican Church, like the Greek Church, was a Church in schism :^ " And if we trace back the powers of ordination from hand to hand, of course we shall come to the Apostles at last. We know we do as a plain historical fact ; and therefore all we who have been ordained clergy, in the very form of our ordination acknowledged the doctrine of the Apostolic succession.". . . Therefore, my dear brethren, act up to your professions. Let it not be said that you have neglected a gift ; for if you have the Spirit of the Apostles on you surely this is a great gift. " Stir up the gift of God which is in you." Make much of it. Show your value of it. Keep it before your minds as an honourable badge, far higher than that secular respectability, or cultivation, or polish, or learning, or rank, which gives you a hearing with the many. Tell ihem of yoiu- gift. The times will soon drive you to do this if you mean to be still anything. But wait not for the times. Do not be compelled, by the world's forsaking you, to recur as if unwillingly to the high source of your authority. Speak out now, before you are forced, both as glorying in your privilege and to insure your rightful honour from your people. . . . Exalt our Holy Fathers the bishops, as the representatives of the Apostles, and the Angels of the Churches ; and magnify your office, as being ordained by them to take part in their ministry. But if you will not adopt my view of the subject, which I offer to you, not doubtingly, yet (I hope) respectfully, at all events choose your side. To remain neuter much longer will be itself to take a part. Choose your side. Since side you shortly must, with one or other party, even though you do nothing. Fear to be of those whose line is decided for them by chance circumstances, and who may perchance find themselves with the enemies of Christ, while they think but to remove themselves from worldly politics. Such abstinence is impossible in troublous times. He that is not with Me is against Me, and he that gathereth not with Me scattereth abroad. Speaking of the origin of the Tracts for the Times, New- man, in the Apologia, p. 63, wrote as follows: — I suspect it was Dr. Pusey's influence and example which set me, and made me set others, on the larger and more careful works in defence of the principles of the Movement which followed in a course of years, — some of them demanding and receiving from their authors such elaborate treatment that they did not make their appearance till both its temper and its fortunes had changed. I set about a work at once ; in which 202 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. was brought out with precision the relation in which we stood to the Church of Eome. We could not move a step in comfort till this was done. It was of absolute necessity, and a plain duty from the first, to provide as soon as possible a large state- ment, which would encourage and reassure our friends, and repel the attacks of our opponents. A cry was heard on all sides of us, that the Tracts and the writings of the Fathers would lead us to become Catholics before we were aware of it. This was loudly expressed by members of the Evangelical party, who in 1836 had joined us in making a protest in Convocation against a memorable appointment of the Prime Minister. These clergy- men even then avowed their desire, that the next time they were brought up to Oxford to give a vote, it might be in order to put down the Popery of the Movement.'- Such were the first utterances spoken in faith, and love, and hope, by the leader to be of that mighty Movement which revived religion in England ; and which, in the course of two generations, under the co-operating grace of ^ God, has completely transformed the English Church in faith and practice. To-day it teaches to all its people, in place of dull, cold Protestant negations, almost all the great verities of the Catholic Faith. By this revival of faith the Anglican Church is leading step by step, whether consciously or no, a not inconsiderable moiety of the English people to the unity of the faith. Throughout the length and breadth of the land disciples innumerable of the Anglican Church are leading lives of supernatural grace — lives of holiness, of charity, of self- denial. They are children of God belonging, if not as yet to the visible body, to the soul of the Church. This marvellous change in the religious life of England —for the Nonconformist body, and especially of late years the Presbyterians of Scotland, have been deeply influenced by the Oxford Movement ^ — is due to the genius and force ^ For another reason, see footnote 1, page 95, Apologia. ^ His Grace Archbishop Eyre of Glasgow, in a conversation with me, a year or two ago, on the relation of Scotch Catholics with Anglicans, said, "We come into little or no contact with the Episcopalian Church, but in the Presbyterians of the Kirk of Scotland we take deep interest. They are y developing Catholic ideas and practices." This statement was confirmed by Dr. Smith of Oban, Bishop of Argyllshire and the Isles. " The rapid spread of Ritualism," he remarked, "is very curious." XI THE OXFORD MOVEMENT 203 of character, earnestness and simplicity of John Henry lyTewnian, and more especially by the singular power he exercised over men's hearts and souls. In the year 1841 De Lisle was brought into closer communication with the leaders of the Oxford Movement. He had a great desire to visit Oxford, but there was some hesitation on the part of the Oxford men to enter into closer relations with Cathohcs. But Mr. Bloxam eventually succeeded in removing all obstacles to such a visit. De Lisle had been in correspondence with Mr. Bloxam and his friends at Oxford for several years. His letters produced such a deep impression as to attract the attention of iSTewman himself In one of his later letters, dated G-race- Dieu Manor, first Sunday in Lent, 1841, De Lisle wrote to Mr. Bloxam as follows : — My great desire and object is to contribute what little so humble an individual as myself is able, towards producing a good understanding between the Catholick and the Anglican Churches, with a view to the ultimate restorrtion of that happy and blessed Unity which formerly existed between them for more than a thousand years, and which I am perfectly certain will one day be restored. To effect this object I will spare no effort, and with God's grace, in which alone I trust, I am ready to endure reproach, and even to sacrifice my life, should He require it. But when I speak of my own feehngs, do not imagine that I am alone ; thousands and thousands in the Catholick Church through- out the world share the same. At present they may be quiet and retiring, yielding perhaps too much to the noisy, the violent, and the worldly-minded amongst us, but there is One before whom they enter a solemn though silent protest, and the day will come when the force of that protest shall he made manifest : the day will come when they will issue forth from their hiding places, and when they shall preach the true prin- ciples of our Blessed Eehgion with a power that no one shall be able to resist. I hope myself to be the means of intro- ducing to Oxford some foreign Theologians, who, I assure you, thoroughly appreciate the Catholick movement there, who admire your admirable treatises, who fully understand the difficulty of your position, who see that humanly speaking the great result to which we look must be distant, the fruit of much labour, much patience, much tribulation, but who feel that God holds in his hands the hearts of Men, and that to humble 204 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. earnest persevering prayer He will refuse nothing. In the working out of our grand object you will find me, and those whom I hope in a second visit to present to the acquaintance both of yourself and your friends, prudent and reserved ; in fact we shall put ourselves unreservedly in your hands — our only object is to serve you for the love of Jesus Christ, and for the love of our Catholick Mother. And here let me say that if you judge anything indiscreet or ill-timed in anything either I or those who act with me do or say or write, tell me it with Christian freedom and it shall be attended to. I send you by to-day's post three copies of the Univers containing a translation of my letter to the Tablet, making due allowances. I think you will like on the whole the remarks ^vith which the Univers introduces it. In a few days a second letter of mine in the same journal shall be sent to you, more important a great deal than the first, entering more deeply into the Catholick char- acteristicks still preserved in the Anglican Church, which I prove by an appeal to authorities and by citations, the weight of which cannot be denied. And now my dear and Eev. Sir, let me conclude, again expressing with what great interest I look forward to the pleasure of seeing you at Oxford, and of being introduced to some of the writers in the British Oriticl; which B. V. I hope to accomplish in Easter week. For the first time the personal influence of a Catholic was felt at Oxford. Mr. Bloxam, a nautual friend, sent in 1841 De Lisle's letters to Newman, who not only appreciated the character of the writer, but the weight of his views and the influence his principles were likely to exercise on the Movement. Consequently, Newman entered into a full and intimate correspondence with him. This fact attests to De Lisle's influence, for otherwise Newman was not the man to waste powder and shot on an outsider and a Catholic. Newman's letters are of the highest importance, and most interesting as illustrating his views, in 1841, on the controversy between the Church of England and the Church of Eome. In the first instance, Newman being naturally averse to direct correspondence with a Catholic, communi- cated with Phillipps de Lisle through Mr. Bloxam. The first letter of this correspondence, dated 25th February 1841, was as follows: — ME. BLOXAM 205 St. Mary Magdalen College, 25th Feb. 1841. Fer. 5a Post Ciner^s. The matter of your letter has, as you may suppose, occupied many minds. Perhaps the general feeling of Catholic minds here may be gleaned more or less from a few observations addressed to me by a friend (Newman), who has seen and admired the spirit of your two Epistles. What he writes of course carries with it no authority, nor do I say that I entirely concur with him on every point ; but I copy his words that you may have some idea of the difficulties that present themselves to us on the subject in question, and under existing circumstances. "It is impossible to read Mr. Lisle Phillipps's letter with- out the deepest interest where our sympathies are so much the same. Why should we be separate, except that there is a strong body in both churches whose antipathies are more powerful still, and because this body has the governing authorities on its side ? I cannot wonder that our authorities should feel as they do, considering what the Church of Eome practically is. Nor can I wonder that the Church of Rome should feel as it does considering what we are, and have been, at least the majority of us. This I feel most strongly and cannot conceal it, viz. that while Eome is what she is union is impossible. That we too must change I do not deny. Rome must change first of all in her spirit. We must see more sanctity in her than we do at present. Alas ! I see no marks of sanctity, or, if any, they are chiefly confined to con- verts from us. " By their fruits shall ye know them " is the main Canon our Lord gives us to know true Pastors from false. I do verily think that with all our sins there is more sanctity in the Church of England and Ireland than in the Roman Catholic Bodies in the same countries. I say not all this in reproach, but in great sorrow. Indeed I am ever making the best of things before others when the Roman Catholics are attacked, but I cannot deny this great lack. What Hildebrand did by faith and holiness they do by political intrigue. Their great object is to pull down the English Church. They join with those who are further from them in Creed to oppose those who are nearer to them. They have to do with such a man as O'Connell. Never can I think such ways the footsteps of Christ. If they want to convert England, let them go barefooted into our manufacturing towns — let them preach to the people like St. Francis Xavier — let them be pelted and 206 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. trampled on — and I will own that they can do what we cannot. I will confess they are our betters far. I will (though I could not on that ground join them) I would gladly incur their reproach. This is to be Catholics — this is to secure a triumph. Let them use the proper arms of the Church, and they will prove that they are the Church by using them. I can feel nothing but distrust and aversion towards those who offer peace yet carry on war. This I have felt and expressed before ; but what gives me an interest in Mr. Lisle Phillipps and makes me feel grateful to Jiirn is that he has taken the opposite course, and in taking it has exposed himself to obloquy from those whom he is opposing. He is doing as much as one man can do, but nothing is really done till much more is done. What a day it will be if God ever raises up holy men, Bernards or Borromeos, in their Communion ! But even if this were done, difficulties would not be at an end, though I think Sanctity being secured, everything would ultimately follow. This is not the place to go into controversial matters, nor is it necessary ; since the previous difficulty — of the sadly degenerate state of Rome, is first to be removed. But were it removed they still would have to explain authoritatively many portions of their formularies which they at present inter- pret in a sense which seems to us very uncatholic. And then after all I see nothing to make me think it would be other than a sin for any of us to leave our Church. We must make our Church move. If indeed so far from moving she rushed (which God forbid, and which it is profane even to suppose) into open heresy instead, and the Church of Rome on the other hand had cleansed herself of her present faults, in such a state of things I can conceive its being a duty to leave our own Church and join the Roman. I do not feel it a duty on any other hypothesis. Now these contingencies being so remote, or rather so im- possible, at least in our day, it would seem that nothing is left for pious Roman Catholics and ourselves to do in the way of direct reunion. Our duty seems rather to lie in trying to be one with each other in heart, and in doing what we can to improve our own bodies respectively. No one can say that much has not been done on the part of many of our members to improve the state of the English Communion. Let Roman Catholics do as much.i I hail Mr. Lisle Phillipps's late conduct as a proof that they mil do much, but they have much to do. They have much to do before they will have done as much as some amongst us ^ See Nine Hindrances to the Spread of Catholicism : Hindrance IV. , Life of Cardinal Manning, fourth edition, p. 774.' XI MR. BLOXAM 207 have done. I long to see them begin the work of Christian charity. I wish I could see a movement on the part of their clergy. I earnestly wish for the time when men of learning and ability will come forward, not to advocate any recognition of our Church — I am not asking that — but to speak and act kindly towards a body which has done much to repress many heresies (as they must confess), and is nearer them than any other Christian Communion. I would call upon them to break their connection with those who agree with them in no one principle ; to influence the tone of their periodical publications ; to give up the uncatholic proceedings which disgrace their worship so commonly (such as music meetings in chapels) ; to be preachers of sanctity, and to raise a feeling of the necessity of a moral reformation. Their success rests with themselves. The English never will be favourably inclined to a plotting intriguing party, but faith and holiness are irresistible." In answer to ISTewnian's letter upholding the holiness of the Church of England over the Church of Eome, Phillipps de Lisle wrote as follows : — Now let me make a few remarks, very brief, on Mr. Newman's last letter. I quite agree vnth him in much that h'e says. I feel deeply obhged for the kind things he expresses with regard to myself ; still as a Catholick I cannot concur with all. It is true we want a great reformation in the English E,. Catholick body, but I still think he does not quite do us justice. The fact is he does not know us. I could shew him Men and Women who, I think, would surprise him not a little. In the Cistercian Monastery here, in the Benedictine Nunneries generally throughout England, at Stonyhurst amongst the Jesuits, I could show him indi^dduals of solid piety, of heroick virtue, who live only for God, and whose hearts are truly on fire with the Charity of Christ. Amongst our Secular clergy too are many holy Souls ; and of the Laiety there are not wanting individuals in whom the fruits of sanctity abound to the glory of God in odorem suavitatis. But as I said, how should he form another notion of us, for he knows not these hidden treasures, these favourite plants of Jesus Christ, he knows us only through the medium of the noisy, violent, unholy Men who call themselves Catholicks, but know nothing of the spirit of the Church. I entirely agree with him in reprobating the disgusting figured Musick, which is in general use amongst English Catholicks, and which is put forward in so offensive a manner as a motive of profane attraction on occasions when God's glory 208 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. ought alone to be thought of. I trust, however, this abuse will be repressed by degrees, in the chapels in this neighbourhood there is nothing of the kind. I equally agree that what we want is really apostolick Men — Men like St. Bernard, St. Gregory VII., St. Charles Borromeo, St. Francis Xavier, and so many others. To raise up such as these must be God's work ; I believe He will do it — there are some such Men amongst us just come from the Continent, and, let me add, Oxford contains many such Men, when once a reunion shall have put them in possession of the inconceivable grace of Catholick Communion. Yes, all Christendom needs regenera- tion. I firmly believe that God has raised you and your friends at Oxford for this very purpose ; reunite yourselves to us and you shall reform not only us but the whole Universe. I do not agree about what he says of isolated Churches — who ever heard of such an idea before the 16 th Century. How can the Church Catholick be composed of branches which hold no external communion together and which differ on articles of faith 1 One or other of these branches must have been cut off altogether. Such an idea is contrary to all Tradition, contrary to Scripture, contrary to reason ; it is near akin to that still more monstrous idea held by ultra-Protestants that the Catholick Church consists of all sects of nominal Christians. He that advocates isolation advo- cates an idea fundamentally anticatholick Your correspondent (Newman) misunderstood my argument about the Armenian Catholicks. I did not mean to put any other than a hypothetical case. I did not mean to state that the position of the English Roman Catholicks bore the same relation to the Anglican Bishops as that of the Armenian Catholicks to the Patriarch of Venice ; but that, if the Anglican Bishops were really Catholic Bishops, they would as readily recognise a body of Catholics following a foreign rite (the Roman e.g.) within the district over which they presided as the Bishop of Rome does in the case of the Armenians, Copts, Greeks, Syrians, and Ethiopians, all of whom within the very walls of Rome itself follow their own respective rites with the full approbation of the Roman Bishop, or as the Patriarch of Venice does in regard to the Armenian Monks of St. Lazarus. I have effected a stoppage of the circulation of Dr. Wiseman's Tracts against the High Church claims in this neighbourhood. I have no right to judge a Bishop, but I confess I thought the publication of those Tracts ill-timed from the first moment I heard of them, and I was not aware till a few days ago that any had been circulated hereabouts ; for the future it is stopped. I should deem it ungrateful to circulate such things now, after the glorious vindication of the Pope of Rome from the absurd charge XI MR. BLOXAM 209 of his being the anti-Christ which appeared in the last No. but one of the British Critick. On the other hand I think the Oxford Men ought not to give publicity to such tracts as Mr. Percival's Baman Schism. It is in vain that I call upon our Men to conciliate, when they can retort upon me such violations of a conciliatory course on the part of the Anglicans at Oxford. In another letter Newman wrote : — As to the instance of the Armenians at Venice, they act with leave of the Bishop of the place, and are in communion with him ; but the Roman Catholics in England are not acting with permis- sion from our Bishops. However, I never have called the R. C.s schismatical in England. Mr. Lisle Phillipps does not notice the difficulty of the doc- trine of Transubstantiation. Whether it be a large or a small difficulty is not the question, but whether I can subscribe that to be true for which I see no reason. As to the approaching ruin of the English Church, He who has preserved it so long in spite of isolation will, we trust, preserve it still. But if not, yet we must let it break to pieces rather than act without the full testimony of our conscience. In a letter to Phillipps de Lisle dated 3rd March 1841, Bloxam says : — Si. Maby Magdalen College, 22tid March 1841. Fer. ii. infra Hehd. iv. Quad. I was truly delighted to receive your letter this morning, and so far from being annoyed at your vindication of the Church of Rome, and from what appear to you Mr. N.'s Protestant impres- sions on the subject, may I beg leave to suggest whether some public notice of the points in which he has attacked Rome unwarrantably might not be valuable at the present time to many. I beg to see on your side a temperately written letter on the subject. I am afraid the Tablet in its notice next week will but blunder on as it has done. I have not hitherto shewn Mr. N. your last letter in reply to him, as this business is not yet over, but I am sure he will be pleased at any confutation of his erroneous impressions. I am glad to say that Mr. Sewell has issued a letter disclaim- ing all connexion with the authors of the Tracts. I shall be indeed glad to see you after Easter, as I think we shall more or less misunderstand each other till we can explain. If I write but little in answer to your most interesting letters, it VOL. I P 210 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. is because I am afraid, and have reason to be so, that my letters may be opened somewhere, or never reach you. I may, however, venture to state my opinion, spite of all differences, that in the Arch-Bishop of Canterbury's own words, " a Eeconciliation would indeed be desirable." Is not this admission worth something 1 Your remarks cannot be too free and open on any published statement which appears to you erroneous. Phillipps de Lisle's reply is as follows : — Now let me say a word concerning the contents of Mr. New- man's Letter just published. The expression, which he quotes from the Archbishop of Canterbury's late charge, is certainly very discouraging, I do not say to members of the Anglican Church, for that would depend on the sincerity with which they desired a restoration of Catholick Unity, but to members of our Church who might be disposed to come forwards to advocate a more friendly feeling towards the Church of England. But to say the honest truth, I make but little account of the Archbishop's opinion, because I think it is a very groundless one, no less than a very incautious one, to utter at the present day and on so solemn an occasion. Is the present Archbishop Howley wiser than his predecessor Wake 1 or are the times less favourable now for attempting what Archbishop Wake attempted even in his day than they were then ? I do not think even Mr. Newman would answer in the affirmative. The Council of Trent had been held nearly, if not more than, two centuries before, when that great Man, Leibnitz, thought that the Lutheran Church, further removed on some points than the Anglican from the Doctrine of Trent, might be reunited with the Catholick Church in general, and the Holy See in particular, and when in consequence of that opinion he negotiated' on the subject, though without any authority, with our illustrious Bossuet (see his admirable Systema Theologicum Leibnitz). No ! I must say I prefer the judgment of such men as Leibnitz, as Grotius, as Archbishop Wake, to that of Arch- bishop Howley. When Mr. Newman calls the Holy See Apostolick, the Roman Church, that Church from which he derives his own orders, his o^vn sacraments, that Church to which the Anglican Church owes its very existence — I say when Mr. Newman calls that Holy See hollow, insincere, political, ambitious, and unscrupulous — I hardly know how to characterize such expressions, but certainly cannot regard them in any other light than as thoroughly Protestant. For my own part, I bless God that I can speak of the Holy See as the glorious St. Irenseus spoke of it, and as all Catholicks from his day downwards have always spoken of it. XI MR. BLOXAM 211 With regard to the supposed absence of the mark of sanctity in the Catholick Church at the present day, of which Mr. Newman complains, in my last letter, I have already said enough. He mistakes my reasons for sympathizing with Dr. Pusey, and for admiring his beautiful sermon on St. John's day. I sympathize with Dr. Pusey, not because I think we have no Men like him in our Church, but because I think he is so like the Men in our Church. If Mr. Newman was acquainted with such Ecclesiasticks of our communion as the late Monseigneur Queslen, Archbishop of Paris, as the present Archbishop of Bordeaux, as De Bonald, the present Archbishop of Lyons, as Dr. Forbin Jansen the present Bishop of Nancy, as a multitude of other saintly Prelates whom I have had the consolation of knowing on the continent, or even as my own immediate Superior the Rt. Eev. Dr. Walsh, V.A. of the central District, or as the Rt. Rev. Dr. Mostyn, V.A. of the new Northern District, he would know that we have some Men amongst not only our Clergy but even our Bishops possessed of a spirit akin to that of Dr. Pusey. Mr. Newman speaks of himself, and of those who think with him, as being only two or three people in ow Church and University. This is surely calculated to silence me from ever again arguing with English E. Catholicks that they should not call these two or three individuals a sect within the pale of the Anglican Church. I entirely agree with Mr. Newman in regretting the political connexion between the Irish R. Catholick body and the English Dissenting body. I cannot hope to possess any influence amongst the Irish R. Catholicks, but I certainly do use what little I possess amongst the English Catholicks to deter them from such a con- nexion. Let Mr. Newman in return endeavour to break up the political connexion between the High Church Party in England and the Manichean Orangemen of Ireland. After a few remarks from Mr. Bloxam on Newman's dislike to Phillipps de Lisle's use of the terms " negotiations," " negotiator," the latter wrote to the former as follows : — Let me endeavour to explain myself if my last letter has not already done so. If in any of my letters I have used the expressions negotiator or negotiation, I never meant them in the sense in which it would seem they have been understood ; if Mr. Newman, a priest of the Church of England, has no authority to negotiate, still less can I, a simple Lay Member of the Catholic Church, have any such authority. If, therefore, such a word as negotiator, negotiation, escaped my pen, it was meant only in a 212 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. sense which implied no such authority either on the part of any individuals I might meet at Oxford or of myself. Once more I repeat what I said in my last, both I and those who act with me put ourselves unreservedly in the hands of the friends of Catholick Unity at Oxford, and wherever else such are to be found within the pale of the Church of England ; but we do so only on the understanding that they really are before God, what they profess to be, tlie friends of Catholick Unity. Use us as you think best, and God forbid we should hurry matters. I have now remarked upon every passage in jNlr. Newman's letter, which seemed to require it. I am afraid you will think me perhaps too critical, but, indeed, situated as I am between two fires, it has somewhat perplexed me, yet I despair not ; though the reconciliation of the Churches must doubtless be the work of time, a thousand circumstances convince me that sooner or later it must come — I confide in God, not in man. Accept my warmest thanks for the Tract on the Articles ; I am delighted with it, it is a noble attempt at negotiation vnth my Church — pardon me for again using the forbidden word, but no other comes up to my idea of that Tract. Of course I find fault with one or two expressions in it ; as for the passages from the Homilies which it quotes, I shuddered from head to foot in reading them, I felt something like what St. John the Evangelist must have felt when he ran away from the bath in which the Heretick Cerinthus had been. Men must have been in a wonder- ful state when they could swallow down gravely (I question whether they ever did) the assertions of the Homilies ; at any rate it was high time for Catholicks to look grave, when they saw Men who professed to believe such statements. The section on the Bishop of Rome I consider exceedingly weak. Once more in conclusion, let me assure you that if I come to Oxford I consider myself as coming in no official character what- soever, but only as a simple Christian who envies the reward of those of whom Christ our Lord said eighteen hundred years ago, upon the holy Mountain, " Beati pacifici : quoniam filios Dei vocabuntur " ; as one who believes that no Christian holds too low a station in the Church of God to labour for the cause of that divine Society of which his baptism has made him a member ; as one who knows that every Christian is already invested by Jesus Christ and his Holy Church with authority sufficient for such labours of love and peace as his poor capacity may fit him for ; as one who makes less account of success than of the Eternal reward which our Lord holds in His adorable hand above to crown the faithful though unsuccessful servant ; as one, who knows that if the peace of Christendom be not effected — I -vvill not say now but XI ME. BLOXAM 213 soon, the guilt will not rest with a Church which on her bending knees implores the return of her child, ready even to yield to its wayward pettishness, ready to make every rational act of con- cession ; as one in fine who associates himself to the sight, the prayers, the tears, the desire even of martyrdom, which millions of his fellow Catholicks all over the Earth are now pouring forth before our merciful Redeemer for the restoration of our beloved and noble England to the Unity of His Church, who believes that the adorable heart of Jesus will not be deaf to this universal cry ; and who counts on the sure word of divine prophecy that the day is at last to come when all the Nations of the Earth shall dwell in unity and peace beneath the shadow of the Church. Oh, my dear sir, this will surely be a delightful theme on which to converse, but I fear I tire you. F.S. — On reading over Mr. Newman's letter again, I find I have omitted to notice one passage. "Let them put into our hands the hymns, or the meditations, or the prayers, or the essays, or the sermons " (written at the present day) " which argue the Man of God." This is saying too much. Let Mr. Newman read the spiritual works of St. Alphonsus de Liguori (canonized only last year, and who died just at the close of the last century), written in 1 4 volumes ; one little Treatise of which, badly and vulgarly translated though it be, I send for your perusal and that of your friends ; let Mr. Newman read the spiritual works of Father Dominick the Passionist, only now in his 50th year, and who is coming to England after Easter to devote himself to the cause of the Church in this island ; let him read my dear friend Father Eosmini's Treatise on Xtian Perfection, which has moved all Italy ; the works of Father Cesari, an eminent living Jesuit ; those of the Abb6 Gerbet, a young but holy Priest in the diocese of Paris ; but why do I speak of modern works ? may we not gather a correcter estimate of the spirituality and piety of multitudes in our Church at the present day from the numerous editions now reprinting in all parts of Xtendom of ancient devotional works, the superiority of which to any works written by Men separated from our communion is universally admitted. At Dublin where Mr. Newman would probably least expect it, the Irish Catholicks are now engaged in reprinting the sublime Treatise of Father Rodriguez on Xtian Perfection, translated very well into English by a pious Jesuit in the reign of Charles II. A new Edition of the spiritual works of that admirable Holy Man, Father Louis of Granada, will probably be given into English before long, as also St. Theresa's works so beautifully translated by Abraham Woodhead, a devout of your University in the reign 214 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. of Charles II. and a convert. Then consider that sublime book The Following of Christ, ranking as it does next to the Bible, inspired, as some of our Theologians hold ; does not edition after edition of that golden book issue from the press, and is it not the favourite book of our English R. Catholicks, and is that no indication of a healthy taste in spiritual things ? and might I not even add that our Church so abounds with sublime books that it almost appears needless (to me) to publish new ones 1 I could go on upon this subject for hours, but I have already wearied you. In conclusion, say what you will, think not that I am ever offended. Oh, I should be a poor follower of Christ, if I were. Not that I am not tempted sometimes to be so, and may even yield to the temptation for the moment ; spiritus quidem promptus est, caro autem infirma. What I deliberately feel, and what millions in our Church feel, is, we are ready to serve you, even as Christ our Lord has served you and us ; do you, before you yield, strike us, spit upon us, kill us if you will — so much the better, we -i^dll cry with our dying breath " Catholic Unity." We will with St. Peter of Verona write " Credo " with our blood, only that you may yield in the end and so save your precious souls in the Ark of God. In a letter to PhiUipps de Lisle, Mr. Bloxam writes as follows : — In a day or two you will receive another printed letter from Mr. Newman, and perhaps other documents, shewing which way the wind blows. I shall also be able to send you an account of what has taken jDlace here, written by a young friend of mine in French for insertion in the Univers, if you think it advisable, and will kindly undertake to forward it. Upon the whole, in spite of occasional storms, we have had a great deal of sunshine to cheer us, for which gratias agimus, etc. jSTewman's challenging letters contrasting the notes of holiness in the Catholic Church with those in the Church of England, and speaking with considerable severity on the degenerate and uncatholic devotion and practices of the Church to-day, were communicated by De Lisle to Bishop Wiseman. Though these letters were couched in a friendly spirit towards De Lisle, they contained grave charges, which in the pending controversy it was necessary to meet. Bishop Wiseman was easily induced by De Lisle to write XI THE OXFORD MOVEMENT 215 a public letter to Newman on the subject. In his letter to De Lisle, Wiseman explains the real spirit and meaning of the popular devotion in Italy, as well as defends on the score of necessity, the conduct and practices of the clergy in England in advertising the music, figured and instru- mental, to be performed in Catholic churches whether at High Mass or Vespers. The objections raised by Newman to the tone and character of the Catholic papers, were taken into consideration on a subsequent occasion. The year 1841 was the most important as well as the most interesting episode in the Movement. It was a parting of the ways not only between the leader and many of his disciples, but even between himself and those on whom he had most relied, in the guidance of the Movement. On the discontinuance of the Tracts for the Times, Newman conceded on principle, no point of vital importance ; hut, on the other hand, though they supported him most generously and most courageously in the crisis, Pusey, and Keble, and William Palmer were no longer of one mind with their leader. There was no rupture, no open discord, no disavowal, but a sUent half-unconscious withdrawal from the line Newman was following. Their belief in the Anglican Church was still unshaken ; to them it seemed that Newman was going too far. Though Newman's mind was by no means made up in regard to Eome, it seemed to them, especially to Pusey, whose opposition to Eome was most marked, that the imagination of their leader was too much affected by the historical character and imperial position of the Church of Eome; hence, since Tract 90, their views and ways became divergent. In such a Movement, and especially at such a crisis, what has to be taken into consideration is the differently constituted mind of each individual leader, which apart from facts naturally leads to divergent conclusions. A closer study than I can devote to it would conduce to a clearer conception of the motives which prompted or caused their divergence. Writing to De Lisle in a letter dated St. Mary Magdalen College, 15th March 1841, Fer. ii. infra Hebcl. iii. Quad., Bloxam says: — 216 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. I hasten (having returned this evening from Bath) to acknow- ledge and thank you for your letters, newspapers, and Liguori. I will make no comment upon the subjects contained in them, the most dear and interesting, as my attention is at present absorbed by the excitement now raging in the University, occasioned by the Tract 90 which I so lately sent to you. There is a heavy storm brooding over us ; it is difficult to foretell how it will terminate ; certainly we are not in a state at the present time to consider calmly your propositions, however some of us may wish and pray for the Reunion of the Churches. At the present time such a proposal on your side, if supposed to be connected in any way with Oxford, would materially diminish, in my humble opinion, the hope of future success. The Authorities here are, with scarcely an exception, ranged in hostility against the author of that Tract, and it is not un- likely that some strong measures will be taken to counteract and condemn the supposed influence of those who share in similar sentiments. You will probably see some account of this in the Papers. In the meantime, let me beg of you to consider as most con- fidential and private whatever may have passed between us. Much mischief has been done by the mention of names. Times and seasons must be taken into account. I will virite again when a fit opportunity occurs. How Phillipps de Lisle had already obtained the con- fidence of the advanced High Church party at Oxford the following letter will show. Like much of the correspondence which follows it was marked " private " or " confidential," but the lapse of half a century, the demands of truth and the completeness of history warrant its publication. Grace-Dieu Manor, Sahbato in Albis, 1841. My dear Lord Shrewsbury — . . . And now to give you what news I have. First of all let me invite your attention to a letter published in the Univers of the I'Mh of A-pril, and signed " Un Jeune meinbre de VUnuersiU d' Oxford." This letter was in fact -written by a Dean of one of the Colleges in Oxford, and received the sanction of what is called " The Anglo-Catholick Society " in that University. It was then transmitted to me with a request that I would communicate it to the Univers for publication. It is a most surprising and consoling document. You will see from it, that the leading Men in the Anglican XI THE OXFORD MOVEMENT 217 Church are determined to reunite their Church to the Holy See. But in order to effect this a little time is required. The Arch- bishop of Canterbury and the Bishop of Oxford approve of the design, but as yet the other Bishops stand out, and some of them violently : to gain them requires immense management : they already see that they cannot much longer resist the movement, still they have great prejudices, and to remove these is a most laborious task. I have been far some time now engaged in close correspondence with some of the leaders of the Catholick party at Oxford, to which I can only allude in general terms, as it is strictly confidential ; it has, however, been communicated by me to our dear friend Bishop Wiseman (who perfectly concurs with me in everything) for the purpose of being in the strictest secrecy forwarded to Cardinal Mai, to be by His Eminence com- municated to the Holy Father, and to no one else upon any account whatever. As 1 said I cannot at present enter into particulars, but of this you may rest assured that the reunion of the Churches is certain. Mr. Newman has lately received the adhesion of several hundreds of the Clergy : this is publickly known, and therefore I may state it. Meanwhile the dissenting party is on the alert, and though they are by no means aware of the extent to which things have gone, they are apprehensive of something : and as they are joined, politically at least, by the Low Church Party, we find it necessary to lliTid them, the more so as we are not ready to act yet, and probably shall not be for the next 3 years AT earliest. This will account for the great stress still laid by the Oxford Men on practical abuses sup- posed to exist in the communion of the Catholick Church : not that I mean to say they do not feel what they state in reference to these (for I know even they are still moved by old prejudices), but feeling as they do, they put it forward more prominently perhaps than they otherwise would do, for the purpose of throwing dust in the eyes of the Dissenters and the Low Church Men. I am very glad you are coming back to England next year, I assure you, if things go on as I expect, you mil be wanted then. Meanwhile I beseech you to give us all the assistance you can. Urge at Rome the necessity of immense jDrudence and forbearance, to do everything to encourage, nothing to damp : not to call upon these Men to quit their own communion in order to join our's, but to proceed on courageously with their holy and glorious intention of reconciling their Church to our's : remem- ber this involves the reconciliation of the kingdom, of the aristocracy with all its wealth and power, of the Nation. A false step would spoil all, would produce a protestant reaction, and 218 AMBEOSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. would defeat the hopes of the Holy See for another century. Any use you like to make of this letter, you are perfectly wel- come to make : I have said nothing that can commit any indi- ■vidual, and yet I have said what would have weight in preparing men's minds. If you like to read it to the Father General of the Jesuits, you can ; also to Father Lacordaire, who is im- mensely admired at Oxford (let him know that) ; also, if you pleased to read it to Cardinal Mai, it would prepare him for the more official communications, which he will receive (if not already arrived) from Bishop Wiseman. Urge upon all the necessity of doing everything to forward matters gently, and not precipitatehj. We must have the Whigs out before we can complete things, but about all this more in future letters. . . . — Your most sincere and grateful friend, Ambrose Lisle Phillipps. Naturally such a state of excitement and of turbulence among the Protestant Party rendered De Lisle's visit un- advisable, the presence of a Catholic at such a time in Oxford v?ould have been made use of by them to cast suspicion on the Tractarians. Consequently, if I may say so, De Lisle was in a friendly manner warned off the premises, as a subsequent letter to De Lisle shows. On the discontinuance of the Tracts, the controversy took larger dimensions in and out of Oxford. In the first place, Newman had to defend himself against the attacks made upon him, and at the same time to keep the party together. In his letter to his Bishop and another to Canon Jelf, he explained the meaning of Tract 90, and defined his line of action. These letters, it seemed to De Lisle, were marked by an anti - Catholic tone or mode of expression. Hence with his usual outspokenness De Lisle made severe criticisms on Newman for what he regarded as an undue concession to Protestant prejudice, if not a pandering to the excited feeling which prevailed in the University. The severe criticisms led to the following correspondence : — In a letter dated 3rd April 1841, Mr. Bloxam wrote to Phillipps de Lisle : — I look forward with very great interest to your Eemarks on Ml-. Newman's Letter to Canon Jelf, and I do so the more as the XI MR. BLOXAM 219 impression of an uncatholic spirit tyrannizing over both Churches is not confined to himself, as you will perceive by the enclosed letters, which I think you will not upon the whole dislike. I do not wonder that you consider many of Mr. Newman's remarks very painful. They certainly are so, but I am sure he would not have made them had he not sincerely believed them to be true. He has now a Host to contend against, but will not be displeased at any attempt to prove he is mistaken in his con- demnation of the supposed system. I have for obvious reasons obliterated the names of the writers of my letters. Nothing has come out yet in answer to Tract 90, which I have thought worth sending to you. No notice will be taken of mere personal attacks ; our chief con- sideration will be the conduct of our Bishop and the Archbishop of Canterbury, who may possibly stop the Tracts. In another letter dated 7th April 1841, Fer. iv. Marj. Held., he wrote again to Phillipps de Lisle : — I should have acknowledged your kindness in sending me the printed copies of your letter, etc. etc., had I not been expecting another letter from you. I have ventured to send by the Rugby Coach, Eailroad, etc., a Book on the Passion of our Lord, just published by my friend the Author of The Cathedral, which you will favour me at this Holy Season by accepting. You have doubtless received a note from Mr. Newman on the subject of your Remarks ... I wished you to see from different inde- pendent quarters, varying more or less in opinion, the general feeling of catholic-minded persons as to the prospect of a Reunion. The writer of that letter had not seen your last four or five letters when he wrote. The subject of Reunion may happily now be kept steadily in view, and will probably from time to time be prudently urged, though sometimes in a way which may appear to discourage it, though really only to discourage hasty and ill-advised steps, which would alarm rather than do good. We must work tremblingly for fear we should be working in our own way, not in the way of Him on whose Almighty aid we must rely. If we follow His guidance by meekness and submission to our Ecclesiastical Authorities, which He has set over us, all will eventually turn out well. You have not mentioned the Letter for the Univers ; perhaps you did not think it altogether suitable. In that case you will give no offence by putting it into the fire. I sent it as an example of the manner in which some of our younger members view the circumstances in which we are placed. 220 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. Interesting Pamphlets have appeared on " the Tracts " by Perceval, Baxter, and Dr. Hook. Of course I do not concur in much that they put forward. The very terms, Papacy or Romanism, used in the mildest sense, are as painful to me when applied to you or yours as Protestantism to myself. Let us encourage the spirit of devotion, mildness, meekness, etc., and contend who shall surpass in these, and we must draw closer and closer every day. — Believe me, my dear sir, very sincerely and faithfully yours, J. B. Bloxam. I cannot resist sending you the enclosed, which I have lately received from another correspondent, whose feeling you may recognise in the present No. of the British Critic. Much of course must depend upon our Bishops. I would therefore deprecate any attacks upon them. I was very much pleased with Dr. Wiseman's letter in the Tablet. In a letter dated Grace-Dieu Manor, Fer. iv. inf. Heb. iii. Quadrages. 1841, De Lisle wrote to Mr. Bloxam as follows :— I cannot sufficiently admire the firmness and courage which Mr. Newman has evinced in acknowledging the authorship of Tract No. 90. I rejoice also to see that in his letter to the Rev. Dr. Jelf he persists in his generous attempt to soften down the diflferences between the two Churches ; above all, it is con- soling to me to see with what justice he speaks of that holy Council of Trent, against which for three centuries such absurd and irrational prejudices had taken root in the minds of our separated brethren. At the same time, much as I feel for Mr. Newman's difiicult and painful position, no less than for that of all who think with him, I cannot, consistently with my duty as a Catholick, pass over his letter to Dr. Jelf without entering a respectful but firm protest against very many things which it contains. In page 6 Mr. Newman contrasts the Council of Trent with the authoritative teaching of the Church of Rome. Against this distinction I must beg respectfully to protest ; neither the Church of Rome nor the other Churches in communion with her, which, taken in their totality, form the Church Catholick, acknowledge any other authoritative standard of teaching than the Council of Trent and the other General Councils, which preceded the Tridentine. I protest against the term Church of Borne, as used by Mr. Newman ; it is contrary to facts and to sound theology to call the Churches (of which Mr. Newman is there speaking) the XI MR. BLOXAM 221 Church of Rome. The Church of Eome is indeed their head, but it -would be as absurd to call the Church of France the Church of Eome as it would be to say that a Man's head was the same as his arms or his legs. Page 7 is truly afflicting. Exeter Hall could not have pro- duced anything more so. My little boy, though only six years old, could answer it. The beggar boys at Naples could answer it, as Tnany of them did to me twelve years ago, when out of curiosity I questioned them on these points. In short, every Cafholick in the Universe luho has learnt his Catechism (and it would be unfair to question others) could answer it. " The Roman {i.e. the Catholick) system preaches the B. Virgin, the Saints, and Purgatory instead of the H. Trinity, heaven and hell." Oh cruel, unjust caricature ! Pages 8 and 9 are less objectionable ; still why does Mr. N. speak of the Tridentine Catechism as an authoritative work on a par with the Council itself? Where is his authority for such an assertion? If that Catechism declare its belief in a purgatorial fire, it does so, not by way of obliging men to adopt that as an article oi faith, but because it follows the gener- ally received opinion of Theologians from the days of St. Augustine downwards. Page 10. What does Mr. Newman mean by saying, "while these decrees remain unexplained in any truer and more Catholick way " ? Surely he ought to know that from the days of the Council of Trent to our own these decrees have never been explained in any other way than what in fact amounts to what he himself claims in page 18, the liberty to hold on the very same doctrines in the Church of England. Page 11. I entirely differ from Bishop Lloyd in his pre- ference for English Roman Catholicks above the continental Catholicks. My reasons for preferring the latter are exactly those for which he prefers the former. Page 15. The infallibility of the Eoman Church, separate from the rest of the Church Catholick, was never advanced as an article of Faith. It was the opinion of Bellarmine and of many other Divines ; but never having been asserted by the whole Church as an article of Faith, it is not fair to object to it as an obstacle for Catholick communion, when, in fact, at the present day it is almost universally repudiated. The infallibility of the whole Church in her teaching capacity concerning Faith and morals is an article of Faith received by all Catholicks. He who stands up for Church authority without admitting the infalli- bility of that authority is either a bad logician or a bad moralist. By infallibility is only understood that the Church, guided by the 222 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. Holy Ghost, cannot err in her doctrinal decisions, that is that she can never decree anything contrary to the original revelation made to us through Moses in the Old Testament and through Jesus Christ in the New Testament, vi^ho promised to be with His visible Church in her office of " teaching ALL Nations" even until the end of the world. The belief of this infallibility, while it gives a calm assurance to all who hold it, must doubtless be taken on trust by the unlearned. The learned, by a little investigation, can easily discover the existence of this infallibility in the grand fact that the Church has never changed her doctrine from the days of the Apostles to our own. Page 16. I deny that there is any idolatry in St. Bona- venture's Psalter in honour of Our Lady. I myself have a copy of it. It is not a book I would circulate for fear of mistakes, but the language of it is not idolatrous. If it were so, then was Abraham guilty of misprision of idolatry, when in our Lord's parable he did not condemn Dives for invoking him out of Hell with such words as these — "Father Abraham have mercy on me and send Lazarus, etc." Page 18. If Mr. Newman advocated a reunion with the Church Catholick, I should think him quite consistent in claiming the right to hold "a comprecation with the Saints," with Bram- hall, the sacrifice of the Mass with Andrews, or that Transub- stantiation was an innocent doctrine with Hooker, or with Hammond that 'no General Council ever did or shall err, or with Thorndike the satisfactory nature of penitential works ; but to advocate isolation, and yet to advocate the right of holding the very doctrines on the ground of the supposed erroneousness of which the right of isolation was first asserted appears to me a plain inconsistency. Under date. Oriel College, 5 th April 1841, are Newman's remarks on De Lisle's published letter : — I beg to thank you for your published Letter, which I found to be like everything you undertake, full of earnestness and charity. It would be a pleasure to me to find that the Bishop of Melipotamus (Dr. Wiseman) had adopted a similar ethical tone which, I think, need not have deprived his argument of any exact- ness and force which it would otherwise possess. It does not become me, however, to use many words to you about your own Bishop, to whom I am sincerely desirous of ascribing those qualities which, in my judgment, are most precious and winning. As to yourself, I will not do more than explain two points in your Letter. I did not mean to put the Catechism of Trent on a XI JOHN HENRY NEWMAN 223 par with the Decrees, but the contrary. I meant to say that it added to them, and was not obligatory, though generally received. Next, will you let me observe that the passage you quote as St. Augustine's is not his ; but, according to the Benedictine Editor, opus alicujus imperiti consarcionatoris. — My dear Sir, with much respect, yours very faithfully, John H. Newman. In a letter to De Lisle dated Oriel College, 8th April 1841, Newman wrote: — Your letter just received is kind far above my deserts ; but, I assure you, you do but do me justice when you imply that the unity of the Church Catholic is near my heart. Only, I do not see any prospect of it within our time, and I despair of it being effected without great sacrifices on all hands. Were the Roman Church in Ireland different from what it is, one immense stumbling block would be removed. Indeed I cannot conceive a more persuasive argument for you in our judgments than a conservative tone in all your proceedings. I am quite sure that it is for your interest, setting aside other considerations. As to doctrinal conceptions, it is useless to speak of them, till we are all in a better temper with each other. You have no cause to be surprised at the discontinuance of the Tracts. We feel no misgivings about it whatever, as if the cause of what we hold to be Catholic truth would suffer thereby. It has strengthened and deepened the impressions of a vast number ; and what looks like persecution, though it be not, tends to increase zeal. Besides it has brought out a number of persons, who seemed more or less neuter or wavering or reluctant. And my letter to my Bishop has, I trust, had the effect of bringing the preponderating authority of the Church on our side. I have satisfied him, and I trust we shall not have our rulers suspicious of us in the way they have felt, or at least some of them, hitherto. No stopping of the Tracts can, humanly speaking, stop the spread of opinions which they have inculcated. One is apt to be sanguine, but I trust that the fire is kindled, and will make progress, even though the original torch is extinguished. But you will observe that it is not extinguished. The Tracts are not suppressed. No doctrine or principle has been conceded by us, or con- demned by authority. The Bishop has but said that a certain Tract is objectionable, no reason being stated. I have no intention whatever of yielding any one point which I hold 224: AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. on conviction — and that the authorities of the Church know full well. As to resisting the Bishop's will, I observe that no point of doctrine or principle was in dispute — but a course of action — the publication of certain works. I do not think you sufficiently understand our position. I suppose you would obey the Holy See in such a case — now, when we were separated from the Pope, his authority reverted to our Diocesans— our Bishop is our Pope. It is our theory that each diocese is an integral Church, intercommunion being a duty (and the breach of it a sin), but not essential to Catholicity. To have resisted my Bishop would have been to place myself in an utterly false position, which I never could have recovered. Depend upon it, the strength of any party lies in its being true to its theory — consistency is the life of a movement. And again it is a profound gospel principle that victory comes by yielding. We rise by falling. I have no misgivings whatever that the line I have taken can be but a prosperous one — that is, in itself — for of course Providence may defeat its legitimate effects for our sins. I am afraid that in one respect you may be disappointed, if you will allow me to say it. It is my trust, though I must not be too sanguine, that we shall not have individual members of our communion going over to yours. What one's duty would be wnder other circumstances — what one's duty ten or twenty years ago — I cannot say ; but I do think that there is less of private judg- ment in going with one's church than in leaving it. I can earnestly desire a union between my Church and yours; I cannot listen to the thought of your being joined by individuals among us. — I am, my dear sir, yours very faithfully, John H. Newman. Oriel College, I6th April 1841. My dear Sir — I do not delay a moment to thank you in few words, but with much earnestness, for the kindness of your letter just received, and its pleasing contents, including the extract you make from Dr. Wiseman's letter. Of course it cannot but be most deeply interesting to me to know that any persons are thinking of me at solemn times. ' May their prayers be fulfilled in their substance, that is, in God's way, though not in the way which they think to be God's ! And may they return abundantly into their own bosom ! But I cannot help writing at once for another reason. I am very anxious lest you should be entertaining sanguine hopes in which you may be xi JOHN HENRY NEWMAN 225 disappointed. You overrate our exertions, our influence, our tendencies. We are but a few, and we are what we are. Many times before now in the course of the last 300 years has a hope of concord arisen among Christians, but as yet it has ever come to nothing. When was a great schism ever healed? Why should ours cease, if that between the East and West has con- tinued so long ? And if a growth in sanctity be the necessary condition of it in both parties, what stipulation can be more costly, more hopeless. No. I feel that both parties must resign themselves to dying in their estrangement; but that is no reason they should not, though they be a few against many, both pray and labour against it. — I am, my dear sir, very truly yours, John H. Newman. {F.S. — I have not yet seen your letter to Mr. Bloxam.) And though Newman expressed his gratitude to Phillipps de Lisle, he gave little or no hope of the fulfilment of his aspirations. The above letter was very disappointing to De Lisle, for it showed despondency as well as resignation. The confidence reposed in De Lisle by Newman, as his letters attest, is another illustration of the complexity of his position as leader of the Movement. As a Catholic, De Lisle, in the nature of things, was in a certain sense in opposition to Newman, yet Newman confided in him. There were other friends and disciples who from different causes were not in full accord with their leader. Some apprehended that he was going too far or too fast, others that he was going too slow or falling short; yet from them likewise he did not withdraw his confidence. On account of their apprehensions, among other reasons he objected to De Lisle's urging on the re-union of the Churches. Tract 90 had fallen upon Oxford like a dividing line. Pusey and William Palmer and James Mozley with chivalrous sympathy and vigour defended Tract 90, but they felt a misgiving at heart at their leader's line of action and its far-reaching conse- quences. W. G. Ward likewise defended the Tract with equal vigour, but not caring a brass farthing for the Anglican Church, pressed Newman with his logical methods to cast over its formularies, its thirty -nine articles, and VOL. I Q 226 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. its Bishops. De Lisle, unlike Ward, with sanguine hopes in the future of the English Church urged Newman to hurry on the Ee- union Movement; Newman considered it a supreme duty at such a crisis to keep a restraining hand upon both of his impetuous advisers. He knew full well from his own experience what doubts and difficulties beset every step. In the Apologia he says : — " Great acts take time. At least this is what I felt in my own case ; and, therefore, to come to me with methods of logic had in it the nature of a provocation, and, though I do not think I ever showed it, made me somewhat indifferent how I met them, and perhaps led me, as a means of relieving my im- patience, to be mysterious or irrelevant ; or to give in because I could not meet them to my satisfaction." ^ The Eev. Bernard Smith writes as follows to De Lisle : Ledenham, F. of S. Thomas, 1841. I have waited a few posts before I answered your kind letter, in the hope that I might hear from Oxford : for my correspondents there have observed as mysterious a silence as yours. Perhaps they think the Papers are sufficient informants ! What a shocking display of folly, heresy, and malignity, their columns must present, from what I hear. Morris's last letter, about a fortnight ago, expressed a strong apprehension that the Bishops were going to meet at Lambeth, to express their united sentiments respecting the Oxford Movement, or perhaps something mm-e. He said " iV. hopes the Lambeth plot will smash": there is a bit of private intelligence for you, and if the post brings me any letters this morning, or the coach brings me my brother, I may have something further to add. 1 o'clock — Eeturning from Church I find a long note from Bloxam ; of which I will give you an analysis. . . . Newman's protest not yet published. Palmer's was supp-essed by the Archbishop. His Notes to it will be out on Monday. It is making a great row. He cannot be taken hold of. President Eouth liked it. It will do people good. A new Tract, No. 91, on the Eucharist, just published. I must get it. The newspapers contain all that is going on, and much more. Quiet, for the present, is the watchword. ^ Apologia Pro Vita Sua, by John Henry Cardinal Newman, Longmans, 1890. XI JOHN HENKY NEWMAN 227 The following extracts from three letters to Phillipps de Lisle from the Eev. J. B. Bloxam : — I must confess that I am greatly puzzled to know what could have been in Mr. Newman's Letter to have dismayed, grieved, and annoyed Bishop Wiseman. I shall really feel obliged if you will inform me as soon as possible, for I have gained no sufficient information from the principal person concerned (Mr. Newman) who professes himself ignorant whether the matter or manner of the Letter could have given offence. . . . Dr. Pusey's comment on Tract 90 is out, and though there may be many expressions which you will dislike in it, yet I cannot but think that his tone is bolder and that it will do much good in advancing minds of a certain class. Mr. Newman's letter to the Bishop of Oxford has just been sent to me. I forward it with all speed. It may throw some more light on the struggling feelings of unity with you and obedience to our own Church and authorities. . . . Have you given up your intention of writing strictures on the Tract and letters of Mr. Newman, or shall we find your opinions on the subject embodied in Dr. Wiseman's Production, which I am very anxious to see. . . . All is going on well if we can allow Time, that great Innovator, to take its course, without urging on too hastily the Providential arrangement of things. ... I have just directed 12 copies of Ward's Pamphlet to be sent off to you ; your remarks upon it gave me much pleasure, and I have no doubt they will delight him greatly when I read them to him. . . . Dr. Pusey is about to send out some remarks on No. 90. I am afraid there will be some disagreeable passages in the pro- duction, but I have no reason to suppose it is written against Dr. Wiseman, as the Tallet states. I think it advisable to copy out these extracts and send them to you, as I believe that there are a great many who agree in sentiment with the writer. I abstain myself from offering any opinion on the subject, but I may say that a certain degree of social intercourse with persons like yourself cannot fail, my dear sir, to create a good feeling and produce a good effect. Mr. Pugin has gratified me, more than I can express, by his three days' sojourning mthin our College walls. His conciliating manners and extensive know- ledge of ecclesiastical and architectural antiquities have gained him the respect and commendation of all who have had the pleasure of meeting him. And though I am at this 228 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE ohap. moment suffering from exhaustion produced upon a feeble frame by " Thoughts that breathe and worda that burn," I cannot resist acknowledging with grateful delight the instruction imparted by his drawings, lectures, and conversation. To know such a person is indeed a privilege. And now, my dear Sir, I will conclude by again expressing a hope that you will, if it is not very inconvenient, contrive to meet me and my friends here in Easter week. We shall be a small, quiet party, and from their feeling towards you, you will be, I assure you, no unwelcome guest. — Believe me, my dear sir, very faithfully and sincerely yours, J. B. Bloxam. I must conclude this correspondence on Tract 90 and its effect, with the following letter, in which Newman recognises De Lisle's zeal in advocating the re -union of Churches, but considers every such attempt as ill-advised and injudicious : — Cholderson, 28th June 1841. My dear Sir — I have seen a portion of a letter of yours to Mr. Bloxam which occasions my trespassing on your attention with these lines without delay. No one but must admire the zeal and charity which prompt you to desire a closer connexion between our Church and your own ; but you must allow me to express a fear that you think the line of proceeding which you wish to pursue for the accom- plishment of that end as nearer that which duty prescribes to us than it really is. In your letter to Bloxam, if I recollect rightly, you urge persons whose views agree with mine to commence a movement in behalf of a union between the Churches. Now in the letters I have written to yourself or your friends lately, I have uniformly said that I did not expect the union of the Churches in our time, and have discouraged the notion of all sudden proceedings with a view to it. I must ask your leave to repeat on this occasion most dis- tinctly that I cannot be party to any agitation ; but mean to remain quiet in my own place, and to do all I can to make others take the same course. This I conceive to be my simple duty ; but over and above this paramount consideration I believe it to be the wisest and most expedient course for the eventual unity of the Church Catholic. I will not attempt to reap before the sowing ; I will not set my teeth on edge with sour grapes. XI JOHN HENRY NEWMAN 229 I know it is quite within the range of possibilities that one or another of our members shd. go over to your communion : though, I trust, it will not be the case as regards the individuals you specify. However, if such an event were to happen, it would be a greater misfortune to you than a grief to us. If there is any one thing calculated more than another to extinguish all hope of a better understanding between Rome and England, by dis- crediting us with our own people and rendering us suspicious of yourselves, it would be the conversion by you of some of our members. If your friends wish to put a gulf between themselves and us, let them make converts ; but not else. Some months since, I ventured to say in a letter to Mr. Bloxam, which was sent to you, that I felt it a painful duty to keep aloof from all Roman Catholics, however much to be respected personally, who came with the intention of opening negotiations for the union of the Churches ; when you now urge us to petition our Bishops for a union, and lay down the terms, this, I conceive, is very like an act of negotiation. — I am. My dear Sir, with great respect, yours very truly, John H. Newman. The publication of Tract 90 was a great act, and great acts, as Newman has expressed it, take time. Tract 90 took time in working out its far-reaching results. Its first effect was to produce consternation — men were taken by surprise ; to many it seemed a new revelation ; to others a darkening of the understanding. None could foretell, not even Newman himself, its ultimate issue. The Pro- testant party were up in arms. Outside there was a general hubbub. The newspapers denounced Newman as a traitor, and not only the religious journals like the Record, but the daily papers, took up the cry and augmented its volume and force. The Bishops stood aghast. They assembled at Lambeth to strike down the Oxford innovators and traitors, but they did nothing. " They were willing to wound but afraid to strike." They contented themselves, following the cue of the newspapers, with delivering vehement Charges. Archdeacons followed suit, many sympathisers with Newman and the Tracts for the Times outside Oxford took fright, and kept silence, at least for a while. Some of his supporters, like Archdeacon Manning, thought it proper and prudent to take sides with the 230 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE ohap. ecclesiastical authorities. Not a few kept silence to see how the wind would blow. But the storm-centre was at Oxford. Men's minds were in a ferment, not in the Univer- sity only, but throughout the country. As time went on the principles defined by ISTewman took root in the hearts of men, cleared their understanding, and quickened their religious zeal. The outcome of the Oxford Movement was, in a word, the transformation of the Anglican Church in faith and practice, and the revival of reUgion throughout the country. No better conclusion could be given to this chapter on the Oxford Movement than by the following letter, written by De Lisle to Cardinal Acton, in which he gives a masterly review of the Oxford Movement from its earliest beginnings. He traced its growth until it entered into the fulness of its power and influence in Tract 90. He entered fully into its spirit ; thoroughly understood the minds of its leaders. With his heart moved to its depths, his imagination on fire, Phillipps de Lisle draws a glowing picture of their faith and religious fervour. His enthusiasm and sympathetic con- fidence in them were so contagious as to make many of their leaders open their hearts to him, as Newman himself did. His description, brief though it be, eloquent, touching, and sympathetic, of the Oxford Movement, has never been sur- passed or equalled by any of its professed historians. Had it been published at the time of Newman's conversion, by its simplicity and truthfulness it would have given a great impetus to the Movement throughout the country. Graoe-Dieu Manor, Feast of the Conversion of St. Mary Magdalene, 1842. To His Eminence, Cardinal Acton. My Lord Cardinal — I fear I may have appeared not suffi- ciently sensible of the honour your Lordship did me, when, in a late letter to Lord Clifford, your Eminence expressed a wish to hear from me some account of the Catholick movement which is going on at present in the Anglican Church, and especially in XI THE OXFORD MOVEMENT 231 Her two Universities ; I say that I fear your Eminence -ivill have thought me but little sensible of that mark of your kindness and confidence, in as much as I have been slow to avail myself of it. I trust, however, to your Eminence's pardon when I say that I have felt considerable reluctance in writing upon this subject, as well because in this immense work of the restoration of England to Catholick Unity any false step may throw things back (and false steps might be the result of incorrect information, or of information incoirecthj understood), as because a man cannot put himself forwards in this matter without incurring a most heavy responsibility before God ; nor ought he to put himself forwards at all without evident proofs of God's Will. Besides which, if from various circumstances (my having been myself formerly a member of the Anglican Church, my close connection with many of Her leading members, and particularly with some of the Leaders of what is called the Oxford Movement, to some of whom I am nearly related) — I say, if from various circumstances Providence has made any intercourse open between myself and the heads of the Catholick Party in the English Church, that intercourse has been for the most part of so private and con- fidential a nature as to render it difficult (I will not say impossible), for me to write upon it, and then again until quite within the last three weeks, owing to the conversions of Mr. Sibthorp and others, the individuals I allude to felt it both prudent and right to suspend intercourse for awhile with either myself or any other Catholicks, the more so as many unpleasant disclosures had been made in Newspapers, Names had been improperly mentioned, and in some instances an ungenerous use had been made of private conversations, which looked to them like an attempt to force men to a certain line of conduct, before they felt fully prepared to adopt it. Now, however, as that intercourse has been renewed vsdthin the last few days, I may have it in my power to give your Eminence some intelligence of a consoling nature, while my fear as to putting myself unduly forwards in the matter is removed by the express desire of your Eminence that I should write to you, communicated in your recent letter to Lord Clifi'ord. Your Eminence is probably aware that what is sometimes called the Puseyite, but what ought more properly to be called the Catholick movement in the Church of England began about 8 or 9 years ago, at first merely taking what Anglicans call High Church Principles as the basis of its operations ; but owing to the recent emancipation of the Catholicks and the consequent greater acquaintance with Catholick books, devotions, practises, etc., which grew out of it, learned and devout men in the Church of 232 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. England began to see that what they called High Church Principles could only be fully carried out under a state of things, in which all the separated parts of Xtendom should again be brought back to Unity under the Primacy of the Apostolick See. God, however, has only opened their eyes by degrees, hence though even five or six years ago your Eminence might have found in some of their writings great longings for reunion with the Holy Roman Church and the rest of the Catholick Church, yet these longings were for the most part repressed again by the conviction that what they called Rome was so overwhelmed with practical corruptions that (however desirable on other grounds) Union with Her under such circumstances was impracticable. In the meanwhile, however, owing to the long and profound Continental peace, these same men were enabled to travel abroad, so that they got a more accurate acquaintance with the actual condition of the Continental Churches. They began to see that piety flourished more amongst them than in the English Church ; they saw that they had misapprehended some of their doctrines, misunderstood their practises ; that abuses, however they might exist, were not approved by the Church ; they returned to England, resolved to examine deeply into the ^vritings of the antient Catholick Fathers. What I here allude to was true of the Divines of both our Universities but especially so of those of Oxford ; hence, as a dear friend of mine, a Fellow of Magdalen Coll. at Oxford, observed to me when I was staying there with him last year, about that time all the copies of the Fathers in the different College Libraries were carefully collected together, rebound, and made fit for use. The Scholastic authors of the middle ages were also brought out. The antient office books of the English Church before Her unhappy Fall, such as the Sarum Missal, the York Missal, Breviaries, Pontifical, etc., were now closely studied. The study soon produced admiration ; from this grew up a deep regret for the wicked so - called Reformation ; men began to see that Protestantism was nothing less than heresy, that it was the denial of antient Truth. But they also saw that Protestantism was not an essential so much as an accidental characteristick of the English Church, that She had been Catholick for many centuries before she became Protestant, that as by Her own fault she yielded to the Protestant impulse of the secular Power in the 16th Century; so by God's Holy Grace she might regain Her antient Catholick Character in the 19th Century. In order to bring this about they saw that, as an immense mass of anti- Catholick prejudice still existed in the minds of the generality of Englishmen, it was necessary to bring them on by degrees XI THE OXFORD MOVEMENT 233 to communicate religious knowledge to them with a holy reserve ; hence they judged that the first step was to prove that the English Church (however committed to Protestant heresy in many respects) was not so Protestant as the popular notion of Her implied : that She nowhere in Her liturgy used the term Protestant, but always professed reverence and belief of the Catholich Church: that though Her articles were certainly Pro- testant if taken in their strict Literal sense, yet even these the English Church in Her convocation of 1572 had ordered not to be otherwise interpreted than in accordance with the unanimous teaching of the antient Catholick Fathers and Doctors of the Primitive Church. It was this feeling, which a little later led Mr. Newman to publish the celebrated Tract 90, the object of which was to smoothen the way towards a reconciliation of Churches. But while on the one hand many learned Men had arrived thus far in their pursuit after truth, others were not equally advanced ; many, while they saw the abstract force and truth of the Catholich Theory, still clung to their old protestant prejudices even while perhaps they reprobated the name of Protestant ; many again liked Catholich ideas, but coidd not bring themselves to believe that Pome alone had any true claim to that glorious title, or that their own Church could only regain the title by reunion with that Church, which, as the Creed of Pius IV. declares, is the Mother and Mistress of all other Churches. Those even who saw this great truth the most clearly, saw also the danger of proclaiming it too openly as yet, lest the publick mind should recoil and an anti-Catholick reaction take place. Hence, even some of the most advanced (as one of them said to me in a letter) thought it right to say all they honestly could against Eome, in order to blind the eyes of those whom they saw advancing but yet in a very weak state ; meaning too, when they spoke against Piome, not the Church of Rome, not the Council of Trent, but certain popular notions or opinions existing within the Church, and dwelt upon more or less even by Her Divines, but yet not vouched for by the Church as such ; your Eminence may guess what kind of notions the individuals I allude to implied. Nor again did they even mean to reprobate these popular notions, excepting in a certain sense which might be objectionable. At all events, I know several individuals, who by this gradual process of the Oxford Divines have been brought to the very threshold of Truth, and have even crossed her borders. It must, however, not be supposed that all those who do not follow the example of such men as Mr. Sibthorpe and others, are insincere, for they are under the full impression that their duty is to stay where they are for tlie present, working for the reunion and restoration of 234 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. their Cliurch to Catholick Unity ; unless God should show them otherwise. I beg your Eminence here to remark that I am stating, not advocating, their plan of proceeding. It is not my duty or my place to judge in a matter of this sort ; but it is my duty to turn everything, as far as God gives me the means of doing so, even the incorrect or illogical reasonings of Men, to the ultimate good of His Catholick Church. If I might venture freely to state my own opinion to your Eminence, I should say that this whole Oxford movement involves a question not of themies, but of facts, and that if either English or Continental Catholicks would wish to turn it to the good of the Church, they must deal with it as such, not scrutinizing too nicely whether every proposition ad- vanced by these Men be perfectly correct or not — for how can they be perfectly correct till they are in actual communion with the Catholick Church ? I should say we ought to approve of all they say that is Catholick, winking at anything erroneous; re- membering that now the tendency of men's minds is back to Unity, not further from it, as was the case some centuries ago ; in fact that we should leave it to them to work fully out the consequences of their own propositions, trusting to the Catholick leaven, which undoubtedly exists in their minds, to work itself into their inmost recesses until every vestige of heresy shall be eradicated. In a word, it seems to me that we Catholicks have only to watch the course of events, endeavouring to realize as large an amount of good for the Church out of them as we possibly can. I think your Eminence will agree with me that the following intelligence, which I received from Oxford last week, is very cheering. The correspondent I allude to informs me that he is on his way to Belgium, there to superintend the reprinting of the Sarum Breviary;^ this Breviary will henceforth be daily recited by a large body of the Anglican Clergy. This reprint will be shortly followed by that of the old Sarum Missal, Pro- cessional, pontifical, ritual, and other Church office books success- ively. I will just make an extract for your Eminence from my correspondent's letter, as I think incidentally it may show more what is going on than anything I could say, as also how very cautious we ought to be in what we say about them. " I hope you will excuse," says he, " my adding that it is of great im- portance to the progress of Catholicity amongst us that any communications between us and you should be kept to ourselves, not simply on account of the ignorant prejudices of the multi- ' This correspondent was the Rev. J. B. Bloiam, Fellow of Magdalen XI THE OXFOKD MOVEMENT 235 tude, and the great remaining misunderstanding in large numbers, who we nevertheless hope are steadily advancing to more enlarged views and feelings, but also because the contrary is a direct hindrance (not to say veto) to that friendly com- munication, which, if really confidential by promoting a better understanding between us, may tend materially to help forward that ultimate Union as 'one fold under one Shepherd,' which both you and we so earnestly pray the great Head of the Church in His own good time to bring about." A little further on he says, "The intention of reprinting the Sarum Breviary has not been brought before the publick; nor is it desirable that it should, lefore the ivorh itself appears.^' I must inform your Emi- nence that the writer of this letter is one of the leading Men at Oxford. From some expressions in your Eminence's letter to Lord Clifford, I judge that very erroneous statements have reached Rome respecting certain supposed supernatural communications made to Mr. Newman and others, who are at the head of the Catholick movement in Oxford, as though any individuals thought that such communications implied any Divine approbation of the state of Schism, in which the English Church is at present unhappily placed. Now, as I have received communications from some of the individuals in question on this very subject, I will venture to lay them before your Eminence, premising that the impressions on their minds from what has happened has been that they were justified in remaining in the Church of England only in order to bring Her back to Unity. Before, however, I state anything on this subject, I again beg your Eminence to remember that I venture no opinion of my own, I merely convey to you a simple narrative of what is going on in other Men's minds. But to come to the point. Not very long ago I received a letter from an English Clergyman at Oxford, a Fellow and Tutor of one of the Principal Colleges in the University, of which the following words are an extract ; " Newman has been preaching some most striking sermons on the Notes of the Church (in St. Mary's, the Uni- versity Church, of which he (N ) is Vicar). I think you would have been very much pleased with them, for he neither said nor implied anything against Eome, and spoke of the visible notes of our own Church as either gone or fast going. But he said that under our circumstances those who were within our Church ought not to leave Her Communion so long as they have proof of our Lord's presence with Her by their progress in Holiness and power of avoiding sin, etc." My correspondent ^ ' The Rev. James Mozley. 236 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. then enters at length into Newman's argument, which went to shew that even if the Church of England were so cut off from the Catholick Church by the Schism of the 16 th century, as no longer to form a true and living portion of it, still the duty of Her members would be to remain where they were with this grand object in view. " Working towards Unity," continues my friend; "to illustrate this Newman instanced Elijah, who though so favoured as to appear with Moses at the Transfiguration, yet was never in communion (I suppose he means outward and visible or active communion) with the centre of Unity. Even when Israel was at its worst, he did not fulfil the precept of Unity, he passed by Jerusalem and went on to Mount Sinai ' he threw himself on antiquity.' 'We must,' he said, 'remedy the sin of Ahab before we go on to remedy the sin of Jeroboam,' in other words, we must make the English Church as a body orthodox in doctrine that she may be ready healthily to unite with Xtendom : / may add to yourself," continues my friend, and to this I call the attention of your Eminence : " Though take pains that the facts do not travel beyond your own immediate family circle, that loithin the last Month, Newman has been favoured by singular intimations of Christ's presence in the Sacrament of our Chwch." This is all which this friend communicated. Another Oxford Divine^ told me vivd voce that Newman saw our Lord in the Host, as he celebrated in St. Mary's Church, and he added that his vision was manifested in order to prove to them the validity of the orders of the Anglican Church. He said, however, and others confirmed the statement, that they would be ready to submit to reordination in order to satisfy the scruples of Catholicks, if the Pope required it when the Reunion shall take place, just as your Eminence is aware that the glorious St. Chad submitted to reordination to satisfy the scruples of the Anglo- Saxon Catholicks, although he himself, as he stated at the time, entertained no doubt of the validity of his own previous orders as received in the antient British Church. Here let me state that when I was at Oxford last year, several of the leading Men expressed their desire to see the power of the Pope restored in all its plenitude in England, they have no wish for Qallican Liberties, or rather Galilean slaveries ; this too they have since publickly and authoritatively stated in the British Critick, which, your Eminence is probably aware, is the principal periodical of the Anglican Church. It is my belief that when once the Reunion shall take place, no country mil more firmly support the sacred rights of the Apostolick See than England will. I wish I could relate to your Eminence all the consoling things 1 The Rev. W. G. Ward, Fellow of Balliol. XI THE OXFORD MOVEMENT 237 whicli I saw and heard at Oxford, but it is vain to attempt it, it would fill volumes, and I fear already that I have wearied your Eminence. Let me, however, add one or two little things. The devotion of the glorious Mother of God is rapidly increasing, great numbers of the Anglicans now keep Her blessed picture with extreme reverence, putting flowers before it, especially on Her principal feasts, many recite Her little office ; a Fellow of Exeter College at Oxford burst into tears, when speaking of this Dear Mother of our Saviour. I am confident that next to Jesus they love Her above all things. Then they fast most wonderfully, like the Fathers of the Deserts ; they take the discipline ; lie upon hard boards at night ; rise at midnight to recite Matins and Lauds ; spend whole hours in mental prayer ; shed floods of tears over their poor fallen Mother, the Church of England, earnestly imploring of our Lord to restore Her, and so their Country, to Catholick Unity. All that I now say. My Lord Cardinal, I say of hundreds of individuals. Oh yes, England is ripe for the harvest, England will again be an island of Saints, She will be one of the brightest jewels in the Church's diadem, but the hour is not yet quite arrived ; there must be, my friends tell me, a great scourge first, a storm must cast to the Earth the last fruits of Protestantism before the tree shall be in a condition to bear Catholick fruit. Everything that we see around us gives warning of the coming Storm ; when it shall have passed, the atmosphere will be clearer, and we shall see better in what way God will restore His Kingdom in England. For my own part I do not pretend to be a prophet, but if it be lawful to judge from present appearances, I should say that this great and glorious work must be the result of a Reunion of Churches. This reunion of Churches will probably be preceded and hastened by the reunion of numerous individuals by political events, which will open the eyes of Statesmen to see the political advantage likely to result to the three Kingdoms from the re-establishment of Ecclesiastical Unity, by temporal chastisements, which even now are driving the poorer classes back to the Fold from which in an evil hour their forefathers strayed. We must not, however, expect anything very imme- diate, an immense work remains to be done, an immense mass of prejudice remains to be cleared away ; this, however, need not dishearten us, for it is wonderful how rapidly men are now changing for the better, what formerly was the work of a generation seems now to be accomplished in a year. If I might venture to say what strikes me as a politick step for the Holy See to take at present, it would be the restoration of the English Catholick Hierarchy, if this were done Catholick Bishops would 238 AMBEOSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. be prepared for the old Sees^ ready to take the place of the Anglican ones as they died off, when once Government should take the Eeunion up. If we go on as we are, we shall never do much, we are so dreadfully disunited (I mean we English Catholicks), and I attribute it in a great measure to the small number of Bishops and the absence of antient holy hierarchical organization. Besides which, vast numbers of Anglicans would join us at once if they could see the primitive form of Church Government restored amongst us, if they could see once more true Catholick successions given to St. Augustine our Apostle, to St. Anselm, St. Thomas of Canterbury, and to the other Saintly Pontiffs of the English Churches. But I have already trespassed far too long upon your Eminence. In con- clusion permit me most humbly to implore for myself and my Family the blessing of your Eminence, and even if I may venture, through your Eminence, that of our Holy Father Pope Gregory Himself, to whom as the visible representative of our Divine Lord and Saviour, I offer and consecrate myself and all that I have and am. Commending myself to the holy prayers of your Eminence. — I have the honour to be, my Lord Cardinal, your Eminence's most humble and obedient servant in Xt., Ambrose Lisle Phillipps. In this masterly letter to Cardinal Acton, Phillipps de Lisle combines enthusiasm and rare eloquence, with greater self-restraint and limitation in his hopes and predictions, than he usually displayed. He points out that no immediate results of a return to England of Catholic Unity can be expected. He lays stress on the fact that it must be preceded and hastened by the conversion of numerous in- dividuals. Again he declared that it will be preceded by a great storm which shall break up Protestantism and clear the atmosphere. Did not the storm fall upon the land earlier even than De Lisle expected in the advent of Cardinal Wiseman, and the No Popery storm that followed ? ' De Lisle afterwards modified this opinion and advised the choice of new titles and new sees, so as to give less offence to the Anglican authorities, and also to represent a more real state of things ; for experience soon showed that in the ancient Cathedral cities Catholicism made the least progress, and it was more fitting that the Living Church should take her titles from places where God had raised up ' ' living stones to Abraham " rather than from cities where a reverent and judicious care had merely preserved tlie material but beautiful stones of Catholic antiquity. E. de L. SI THE OXFORD MOVEMENT 239 While it lasted was there not persecution ; and brief though the No Popery agitation was, did it not I'apidly prepare the way for the Catholic revival, and enable De Lisle to take up again with his ancient buoyancy his sanguine hopes and predictions of a reunion of the Churches ? The space between the date of this letter, 1842, and the restoration of the Hierarchy, how vast was not the stride made in the Catholic revival ? Or is the storm which is now brewing, the storm which was foretold and which has not yet broken upon us, the Kensit agitation, the Crisis in the Church which threatens to form a new dividing line in politics, abolishing the old lines of Conservative and Liberal, which the Home Eule controversy first broke down, and which theological con- troversies will perhaps finally obliterate ? ISTo man can tell ; but one tiling is certain : Protestantism, as such, is giving ^ way. Whether Catholicism or infidelity will take its place is the great question trembling in the balance. CHAPTEE XII NEWMAN AND HIS DISCIPLES CONFERENCES WITH THE TEACTARIAN LEADERS OXFORD GRACE - DIEU OSCOTT COLLEGE. 1841-1843 To judge aright of the Oxford Movement it is necessary to consider more closely the relations with their leader of the lesser actors in the drama. What sort of influence these men might have with Newman depends not so much upon their intellectual powers and character as upon the character of Newman himself. Influence is a subtle power. It must be especially borne in mind that Newman was influenced in a twofold manner, on the one hand by the affections and sympathies, on the other by intellect and force of character. From his insight into the nature and disposi- tions of men he was quick in deciding and in selecting those whom he regarded as capable of serving him and the cause. In Newman the affections were a potent factor. In his life it often happened that men who had the deepest sympathies with him had more influence than those of far higher intellectual powers. This is especially illustrated by the disciples who surrounded him ; for instance, W. G. Ward, a man of keen and powerful intellect, had far less influence than a man like Charles Marriott, of equal learning, but who supported him with touching fidelity in every line of action. In a like manner Frederick Faber's influence was due rather to his deep piety and poetical genius and to his reverent and affectionate attach- ment than to his intellectual power. CHAP. XII NEWMAN'S DISCIPLES 241 On the parting of the ways which separated Newman from Pusey, Keble, William Palmer, probably Hugh Rose, and others of the elder school, a new school arose who ex- ercised no inconsiderable influence on the Movement. Its most prominent member was Frederick Oakeley, who from the beginning of the early Oriel days was deeply attached to Newman. But he came late into the Movement, knew nothing of its early days nor its traditions, nor of the Via Media. He was an able writer but not an original thinker. Entering the Movement about the same time as the new school arose, he naturally threw in his lot with its members. He had more influence with Newman than any of the rest. He did not, however, share his leader's attachment to the Anglican Church, but like many of the new school, was attracted to Eome. The new party grew in influence in the country as well as at Oxford. Another of its boldest members was W. G. Ward. James Mozley joined it, so did Newman's famihar friend the late Dean Church, and many others. The new school, with its younger men, impatient, if not intolerant, of delays and hesitation, soon came into collision with Newman and the elder school.-^ After Tract 90, Mozley, a writer of singular power and acuteness, threw himself heart and sovil into the Movement. ^ In the Apologia, Newman, speaking of the new school, writes as follows : "These men cut into the original Movement at an angle, fell across its line of thought, and then set about turning that line in its own direction. They were most of them keenly religious men, with a true concern for their souls as the first matter of all, with a great zeal for me, but giving little certainty at the time as to which they would ultimately turn. Some in the events have remained firm to Anglicanism, some have become Catholics, and some have found a refuge in Liberalism. Nothing was clearer than that they needed to be kept in order, and on me who had had so much to do with the making of them, that duty was as clearly incumbent. . . . Yet still I had good and true friends around me of the old sort, in and out of Oxford too, who were a great help to me. But on the other hand, though I neither was so fond (with a few exceptions) of the persons nor of the methods of thought which belonged to this new school, as of the old set ; though I could not trust in their firmness of purpose, for, like a swarm of flies, they might come and go, and at length be divided and dissipated, yet I had an intense sympathy in their object and in the direction in which their path lay, in spite of my old friends, in spite of my old life-long prejudices." — Apologia, p. 164. VOL. I E 242 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. He was loyal to Newman, loyal to the English Church, and with characteristic hopefulness believed to the end in an abjuration of her ancient Protestantism and in the recovery of her Catholic claims and character. Newman confided in him, and in that day of heated controversy he fought his leader's battles to the end with a manly and loyal courage. Frederick Faber and Dalgairns regarded with profound affection not unmingled with awe their leader and master, and by their fervour and enthusiasm inspired him to a certain extent with their tendencies and aspirations in regard to Eome. Such influences worked silently and unobtrusively, and fell like dew from heaven on Newman's heart. Bolder and sterner reasoners, even in flat opposition to his line of thought or argument, like Ward, for instance, were listened to by Newman with patient tolerance rather than with acquiescence. Newman grappled with their argu- ments, refuted them, or quietly put them aside as irrelevant. Another of Newman's most intimate and most trusted friends was David Lewis of Oriel,'' a man of great intellectual power, for a long time curate of St. Mary's, Oxford ; who on Newman's retiral to Littlemore in 1843 left Oxford and took a curacy in Eoehampton, at that time one of the chief resorts of the High Church Party. On Newman's becoming a CathoUc in 1845 Lewis followed his example, but instead of becoming a priest, as was expected, married. When the end was fast approaching to Newman as leader of the Oxford Movement, among his most confidential friends and disciples at Littlemore was William Lockhart. To him in those crucial days 'of trial Newman opened his mip.d, and in his final review of the claims of the Anglican Church on his conscience, expressed, in trembling of heart his fear as to what might happen to himself on the utter break down of his belief in Anglicanism. On this favourite disciple, who had promised to remain three years at Little- more, suddenly becoming a Catholic, Newman practically gave up his work at Littlemore. ^ The late Mr. David Lewis of Arundel was an eminent Canonist, and was on various occasions consulted by the Protestant Bishops. He was a writer of distinction. XII NEWMAN'S DISCIPLES 243 W. G. Ward, to whom I have casually alluded as one of the new school in the Tractarian party, a man of exceptional vigour and of profound thought, demands a closer study. His relations with Newman were of a peculiar character. Ward often attempted to force Newman's hand, but Newman was not a man to be driven an inch beyond the position he had deliberately taken up. The characters of the two men were cast in a different mould. Ward was boisterous, audacious, and delighted in paradoxical argu- ments ; he had none of Newman's love and reverence for the English Church, nor sympathy with his efforts to purify her faith, or to cast out the heresies which abounded in her bosom. The English Church was spoken of and regarded by Ward as Old Motlier BamnahU} a play upon one of the Loretto titles of of Our Lady mater amabilis. Ward's inveterate habit of pushing arguments to extremes and his practice of attempting to enforce his logical con- clusions on the mind of another, vexed and annoyed Newman. The references in the Apologia to his distaste and distrust of mere logical arguments are obviously aimed at Ward. Newman writes, " I did not like to see men scared or scandalized by unfeeling logical inferences which would not have troubled them to the day of their death, had they not been forced to recognise them." Again he says, p. 169, "For myself it was not logic ^ In reference to Ward's position or share in the Oxford Movement the late Mr. David Lewis of Arundel, in a letter to me dated 11th January 1894, wrote as follows : "... Strictly speaking, Mr. Ward was never in the Oxford Movement, or of it. He had many friends in it, and he had as many among its enemies, as, for instance, Mr. Tait of Balliol. Mr. Ward had no sym- pathy with the Movement ; but he made use of it, and he liked the men — perhaps he preferred them to the others. That movement was for the exaltation, or renovation, or purification of the Anglican Church ; there was no disloyalty about the men. Not thus with Mr. Ward, he never had the slightest respect, not to say reverence, for the Anglican system, he never did anything to support it, unless he could at the same time give it a kick. The Oxford men were inconsistent, and did not see the real meaning of their efforts. Not so Mr. Ward, he was consistent from the beginning to the end ; whether he saw what the end would be I know not, but he wished for that end, which at first was the abolition of shams, latterly Eome. He used the Movement while it lasted, and did probably as much as Cardinal Newman to destroy it, but in different ways. 244 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. that carried me on. As well might one say that the quicksilver in the barometer changes the weather. It is the concrete being that reasons ; pass a number of years, and I find my mind in a new place. How ? The whole man moves ; paper logic is but the record of it. All the logic in the world would not have made me move faster towards Eome than I did." In a letter to Dr. Pusey, l^ewman refers more explicitly to Ward : — 16t7i October 1842. As to my being entirely with "Ward, I do not know the limits of my own opinions. If Ward says that this or that is a develop- ment from what I have said, I cannot say Yes or No. It is plausible, it may be true. Of course the fact that the Roman Church has so developed and maintained adds great weight to the antecedent plausibility. I cannot assert that it is not true ; but I cannot, with that keen perception which some people have, appropriate it. It is a nuisance to me to be forced beyond what I can fairly accept. It is remarkable that in the best attempt as yet published to describe the Oxford Movement, Dean Church entirely omits to mention Newman's intimate relations with De Lisle, a Catholic, and Bloxam of Magdalen College, the most docile of disciples. Two men of more opposite characters can scarcely be conceived. De Lisle was impetuous, daring, outspoken, not afraid to criticise what he thought amiss in Newman's line of action or in his publications. Bloxam was the most cautious and timid of men, unwilling to commit himself, a living and moving secret. Newman made use of him as a wet blanket to extinguish the fire of De Lisle's impetuosity. De Lisle, for instance, with little or no dis- cretion wished to force Newman into a premature discussion on the Eeunion of the Churches. Not only to the heads of houses was the project abhorrent, but the introduction of the subject into Oxford gave great offence to Pusey and Keble and the more moderate section of the Tractarian party. Newman's office as leader of the party was to prevent the influx of fresh discords or antagonisms. Tract 90 had already produced more than sufficient. XII NEWMAN'S DISCIPLES 245 Bloxam, who was in Newman's confidence, sought, as his letters to De Lisle and Bishop Wiseman show, to keej] apart discussion of the future reunion of the Churches from the actual conflict going on at Oxford. Newman was extremely averse to individual secessions to the Church of Eome, and in order to counteract the success of any such attempts, as well as to discourage De Lisle's growing influence, strongly objected to his visits to Oxford. Highly interesting as were the frequent letters which passed between De Lisle and his Oxford friends, and especially important as was the correspondence between him and Newman, yet what led to a closer confidence and action was the personal conferences at Oxford, Grace-Dieu, and Oscott College. So important did Mr. Bloxam consider the correspondence that had for so long a time passed between himself and De Lisle, so clearly did he feel the necessity of closer personal relations, that he invited De Lisle to visit Oxford in the view of promoting common action between him and the prominent members of the Tractarian party, especially the writers in the British Critic. On the 25 th of February 1841 Bloxam wrote to De Lisle as follows: — I beg leave again to thank you for your kind and most deeply interesting letter. All my friends who have seen it have been exceedingly struck and affected by it, and I am sure all feel greatly indebted to you for the part you have taken in deprecating the coarse language made use of in the Tablet, etc. For myself, I dare not venture to trust my pen in com- menting upon the various topics of importance to the Church discussed in your private letter to me. May I, however, hope that you will do me the favour of spending a few days with me in the week after Easter Sunday, as certain of the writers in the British Critic will then meet according to custom in Oxford, and they will be highly pleased to have an opportunity of becoming acquainted with one whose character they have learned to appreciate in no small degree. I need scarcely say how much it will delight me to offer all that College Hospitality will admit of to the Editor of so beautiful a work as the Translation of " The Life of St. Ehzabeth." 246 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. To this invitation Phillipps de Lisle replied as follows : — Gbace-Dieu Manor, First Sunday in Lent, 1841. I beg to return you my very sincere thanks for your kind and friendly letter, no less than for the hospitable invitation to visit you at Oxford in Easter week, which it contains. I assure you it will give me very great pleasure to avail myself of it, and I shall esteem it a high privilege and a real spiritual consolation to make the acquaintance of some of those admirable writers of the British Critick, between whom and myself I feel that so deep a sympathy already subsists. I have long felt the im- portance of bringing our Catholicks into friendly intercourse with Men of your Communion, whose minds and hearts are so filled with the soundest Catholick principles, and I do most gratefully thank our Lord that He should thus make an opening for it through me. The subsequent correspondence mainly touches upon the difficulties which beset so cautious and timid a man as Mr. Bloxam in regard to De Lisle's visit to Oxford. St. Mary Magdalen College, Zrd March 1841. I feel much gratified by your acceptance of my invitation for Easter week, though I am afraid you will not derive so much satisfaction in the visit as you have anticipated when you have read the enclosed letter, which I received last night, and which I lose no time in sending to you. Its contents are certainly upon the whole painful to read. Let them not, however, prevent you coming here at the appointed time — ■ we must not say in the character of a negotiator, but in that of one with whom we have much sympathy, and whom we greatly respect and admire for his exertions. My dear friend, Mr. Newman, I grieve to say, thinks it prudent not to meet you. It may be right in him, situated as he is, to be thus cautious. Others will not feel the same necessity of abstaining from your company, and we may talk freely of the state of the Catholic Church throughout the world, though we have no authority to enter into negotiations, which would be in us absurd under present circumstances. I feel assured you will see the necessity of using great caution and prudence also in not urging matters beyond what the times will bear, and perhaps, by God's blessing, things may wear a brighter aspect. XII NEWMAN'S DISCIPLES 247 You -vvill perhaps have the goodness to return me Mr. New- man's letter in a few days. I will show your last to him and others as soon as possible. De Lisle to Bloxam : — Qbace-Dib0 Manor, 5th March 1841. I have just received your letter of yesterday containing that of your friend Mr. Newman. I am sorry that I am not likely to have the pleasure of being presented to Mr. Newman when I come to Oxford. Of course he is the best judge of the course which his own peculiar position may seem to require, and I can fully understand that, in the present condition of his own Church, his position is a peculiar one ; at the same time I am quite clear that he has misunderstood me, which I regret the more as it is to deprive me of the acquaintance of so learned and so celebrated a man, to which I had been anxiously looking forwards. Bloxam to De Lisle : — As the time draws near, will you favour me by appointing the day on which I may expect the pleasure of seeing you. I can offer you everything but a bed, which may be procured at the Angel Inn, not far from the College. Tract 90 was not only a dividing line between Newman and some of his disciples, but a disturbing element in De Lisle's propositions for Eeunion. Hence De Lisle's visit to Oxford was again formally postponed, as the following letter of Mr. Bloxam shows. St. Marie Magdalen College, Bom. V. Quad. I wrote to you yesterday, begging that you would fix the day on which I might have the pleasure of seeing you in Oxford. Circumstances have since occurred which compel me, to my unfeigned regret, to request that you will postpone your visit for the Resent. I will explain all when we do meet. It is, I assure you, a very great disappointment not only to myself, but to all my friends without exception, to be deprived of the pleasure of your company, from which we have anticipated much benefit. You will trust, I hope, my assurance that no personal considerations have had any weight in this decision, Isut circumstances bearing upon the general interests of the " Catholic movement," which I am sure you would be the last 248 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. person to wish to mar. These difficulties will probably soon be removed. At last, after many difficulties and delays, De Lisle's eventual visit to Oxford was permitted by his cautious and timid friend, Mr. Bloxam. In a letter dated Angel Inn, Oxford, St. Catherine of Sienna, 1841, De Lisle wrote to liis wife as follows : — I have but a few moments to write you a line. Just after I sent my first letter to you to the Post, who should walk in but my friend Mr. Bloxam along with Dr. Rock. They took me to see some of the beautiful buildings by moonlight, and most glorious and solemn they looked. The next morning I went to Magdalen College to breakfast and spend the day with Mr. Bloxam, who took me to see 3 parish Churches in the neighbour- hood of Oxford, which have been fitted up in a very Catholick way, with large candelabra in front of the altars and great wax tapers, besides 2 candlesticks upon the Altars themselves and the cross, and flowers, etc. I dined in Hall, and was introduced to a large number of the fellows, who were very kind and polite. Mr. Newman is unluckily in London — you can have no idea to what an extent the Catholick movement in this University has gone, it is impossible to judge of it \>j printed publications. One thing astonished and delighted me. They have lately printed (but not' published) a beautiful translation of the Eoman Breviary in English, with everything precisely as it is in the Latin. The Hail Mary full length, the Confitear, the Salve Regina, Sancta Maria succurre miseris, etc., with not an expression changed ! ! ! Is not this wonderful ? Nothing can be more deter- mined than they are to reunite their Church to the Catholick : but they will not hear of individuals joining us from them, though they wish us to convert as many dissenters as possible ; and they are very glad to hear of Dr. Gentili's doings in that way — even I think they do not object to our converting such of the Church of England as do not hold Catholick views, but they deprecate any noise about it, and above all they deprecate anything like warfare against the Church of England herself. Nothing can exceed the beauty of the chaunting in St. Mary Magdalen's Church, the 8 Gregorian tones are now introduced. Matins and Vespers are sung every day. To-morrow morning at five the choir are to sing a Latin Hymn in honour of Ss. Philip and James the Apostles on the top of the great Tower of St. Mary Magdalen's Church, according to an antient practice revived. Last Sunday there was another splendid sermon on Unity XII TRACTARIAN CONFERENCES 249 preached before the University. It ^nll probably be published. Many here would Wee to come to an understanding with the Pope at ONCE, tliat so tlietj might be in active communion mth him, and yet remain in the Church of England to labour for the reconciliation of their whole Church. This is to be taken into solemn consideration ; I proposed to them last night that Father Rosmini should come to England and visit Oxford with me with a view to conveying their sentiments to the Pope himself. The proposition was well received ; but nothing is settled, nor will be yet. They think that the Bishop of Oxford may possibly come into it ; it is to be proposed to him. We must not, however, expect much just yet ■ — -you must not tell Mrs. Beaumont about this. When we meet I will tell you all particulars. I have just received your letter. De Lisle's letter recording his first visit to Oxford and to his Tractarian friends, and the impressions it produced on his mind and heart, is of singular interest. His vivid imagination was dazzled, and his hopes were excited not only by the Catholic character of the religious observances in Magdalen Chapel, but by the Catholic principles openly avowed by men so earnest and fervent in their faith as his Oxford friends. Such men, he persuaded himself in his enthusiasm, must be Catholics in heart. Their eager hopes, their arguments, their professions of faith, impressed upon De Lisle's mind for the first time by the force and fervour of prolonged argumentative discussions, carried him beyond the limits of practical politics, if one may use the expres- sion with reference to ecclesiastical affairs. He had declared, as we have seen, his abhorrence of any one who was convinced of the true Faith remaining a day in the Anglican Church. It is difficult to conceive that any of his friends at Oxford of sober judgment could have seriously discussed such a plan as that of being in active communion with the Pope, and at the same time remaining in the Church of England. But we must remember that the Queen herself is always a member of the Scotch Kirk when over the Border, and this without scandal or question of propriety. From the standpoint of the Eoman theologian this would of course be absolutely unwarrantable, but from the English standpoint of habitual compromise in matters 250 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. of religion it is not after all so very startling, once granted the High Ch^^^ch preamble that the Established Church is essentially Catholic and only accidentally Protestant. And De Lisle's whole plan of action was to foster and encourage every Catholic tendency and move amongst Anglicans, leaving it to the grace of God to correct and harmonise inconsistencies and shortcomings. This, he thought in his humdity, might be better done if Father Eosmini should visit Oxford and convey such sentiments as he had listened to, to the knowledge of the Holy Father Himself. Mr. Bloxam, whose guest De Lisle was, was not the man, as we have seen from his letters, to be a party to such a plot, as I must call it, if indeed it be not a figment of fancy. Among Mr. Bloxam's Oxford friends there were only two men in any way capable of being a party to — I will not say dodge — but to such a move. W. G-. Ward as we know delighted, even in serious discussions, in startling his hearers by almost Quixotic paradoxes. His sense of fun may have prompted him to excite De Lisle's over-sanguine hopes by professing, in his serio-comic fashion, his readiness to remain in the Anglican Church, in order to purify, elevate, and spiritualise it, with a view to ultimate reunion with Eome. We have seen, however, how Ward hated the AngHcan Church as soon as he learnt to love the Church of Eome. jSTot so De Lisle, who loved the English Church as he loved everything that belonged to his native land. Even the difficulty of the oath of Supremacy, so abhorrent to the average Catholic, he suggested was not so very wicked if properly explained. Perhaps here his charity did more than endure all things for the benefit of CathoKcism. May 28, 1841. Now may I give you the result of a little consideration on the oath of Supremacy 1 concerning which, if you remember, our conversation somewhat turned that agreeable evening wh I spent •with you in Mr. Ward's rooms. Miserable as the oath of Supremacy is, I think it is sus- ceptible of a Catholick interpretation. Let me briefly explain myself. XII TRACTARIAN CONFERENCES 251 I have nothing to do with Henry VIII. or Elizabeth, or the sense in which they and their abettors imposed it on the Clergy of the Anglican Church. All I care about is the sense in which it is imposed at the present day. This resolves itself into the meaning attached at present to the supremacy claimed by the Sovereign of England over the Anglican Church. IVhatever that is, is claimed for Him or Her, & is renounced for the Pope : but nothing beyond this — is it not so ? Now I presume the supremacy now-a-days claimed for the King or Queen, means only this, that the Sovereign has de facto, per- haps de jure, the right of nominating to Bishopricks, Deaneries, &c. — that the decisions of Ecclesiastical Courts, &c. require the Eoyal sanction before they can have a legal force. That a royal permission is necessary for holding a convocation of the National Clergy, so at least as to impart a binding force to its acts, legally speaking. Is not this the meaning in which the Boyal supremacy is gener- ally understood now-a-days in your Church ? I apprehend no one of your Theologians claims for the King, still less for the Queen (!) that He or She is Vicar of Jesus Christ, successor of St. Peter, inheritor of the Apostolick power, still less of the Episcopal or Papal character — am I not right ? If so, the oath of supremacy only claims a mere temporal supre- macy, such as has been claimed and exercised by many Catholick Sovereigns on the Continent : such as is claimed and exercised (I lament the fact) to this hour by the Sovereigns of Austria, France, Spain, Sardinia, and Bavaria. For as you well know, nominations to Bishopricks are pretty much in the hands of the Sovereigns of these kingdoms : and no papal brief or bull can have a legal force (observe the distinction) therein without the royal signature. What the oath of supremacy claims for the Sovereign, it renounces for the Pope, but nothing more. But as we have already shewn that it claims nothing but temporal supremacy (now- a-days), so it follows that it renounces nothing else for the Pope, that therefore the words " spiritual jurisdiction " &c. can noiv only mean " Temporal jurisdiction in spiritual things." Viewed in this light, and I feel confident no other is a correct view, it appears to me that the oath of supremacy according to the animus imponentis at the present day involves no denial whatever of the .spiritual supremacy of the successor of St. Peter, still less of Christ's Divine ordinance, whereby he pronounced His kingdom or His Church not to be of this world, and consequently inde- pendent of the powers of this world. 252 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. Never having met Ward before, or knowing of his rhetorical exaggerations, De Lisle took his assertions au pied du lettre. I do not for an instant believe that Ward, in his sober senses, had any notion of joining in such a combina- tion or plot. On the other hand it must be remembered he was at one time rather comprehensive in his methods, as is shown by his well-known proposition to sign the Thirty-nine Articles in a non-natural sense. Such a proposal was in- dignantly repudiated by Newman as dishonest. Another friend of Mr. Bloxam, Mr. Bernard Smith, had for a time, before he became a Catholic, a leaning in that direction, as this letter tends to show: — Lednam, Thursday, on the Eve of St. Laurence, 1841. I was anxiously hoping for your letter, and well pleased I am with all you say. I do not think it possible for me to come to Grace-Dieu after all at the present. If you kindly invite me I will come ere long. Colonel Reeve is come home, and if I left the \'illage would soon be busy against me, I fear. But this is not the only reason. With your letter came one from Hardman, to say that an altar cushion (bookstand), f altar-cross, serges, and antependium, were on the road to me. These and more I want to introduce into the Church, and see quietly settled there, and also install them all in the minds of the people if I can. I am quite tired of the timid pohcy of Bloxam and Company, who are, after all, in advance of the rest of the Oxford party. My plan, which is hardly safe to commit to paper, is to build an abbey, dedicated in honour of St. Bernard, in Lednam, and to retire to it. My brother would succeed me as Rector of Lednam, and it might be a point of communication between the Catholic and Anglican Communions, and when I say an Abbey it might hecjin with the Chapel, and be carried on, or not, according to circumstances. You see the plan implies a change of position on my part. I am preparing my people, my few sheep in the wilderness here, for anything that may occur. A small band are disposed to follow me ; the majority are, of course, on the side of their worldly interest, or else Wesleyans. As we Anglicans now stand, our position contradicts all that we can say in favour of the Truth. I am more and more con- vinced of this. Perhaps it is impertinence in me to ask if you could come on with Bloxam and see me at Lednam. It strikes XII TEAGTARIAN CONFERENCES 253 me you might bring some of my family to a different mind. When I come I hope to bring with me not a few. But this is in the hands of God. Next April my next brother is old enough to be admitted to Deacon's orders, which will set me more at liberty, as you may see. As for the Argument in the B.C. on Private Judgment, it was written partly against me, I know : and the charge of Idolatry against the Catholic Church is fearfully bold, especially for an Anglican, to make ; if it be true that " Covetousness is idolatry." We have a Crucifix and two Angels, with shields, in the Vestry, which two of my most devout parishioners said they could have fallen on their knees before : this reminded them so strongly of our Lord and Heaven. Was this an idolatrous feeling ! I trust not. r? %.-;-. ■•'•^ You must not tell Bloxam all I say to you. / tell him all he is ready to hear : but he is tied very closely to Newman at pre- sent, and Newman is tied to Keble. If you could come alone, and pay me a visit for a few days any time, it would not be time lost, I trust. But excuse my boldness, which arises from my being tied down so closely here ; as I injure my own proceedings by moving. Yours, dear Sir, faithfully in J. C.^ I cannot find Grace -Dieu on my map: but think it is near the Syston Station. If you still wish me to come, when Bloxam is vnth you, I must contrive it, somehow. I am midway between Grantham and Lincoln. Coaches running all ways daily. The beauty and sanctity of the Oxford Movement was guided and governed as a party by the principle — love of Truth. Its members were perhaps more or less subject to various impulses or motives, and their progress in the search for Truth was naturally subject to ebb and flow, haste and delay, so that to outsiders they were often a puzzle and enigma, and incurred unjustly the suspicion of cunning and dishonesty. But sincerity and honesty of purpose stamped as a rule the character of the party. Hence such ideas or suggestions of remaining as crypto-Papists in the Anglican 1 In a subsequent letter Bernard Smith writes to De Lisle saying :— " You rather hurt me by saying I am growing Jesuitical in some unknown bad sense. I cannot remember what I said, but I must tell you that I much suspect my letters are opened at the Post-Office at times, which makes me very enigmatical in saying things which I do not mean for everybody's ears. ... I should like to know that mind of Newman's which has been laid open to you." 254 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. Church was generally repugnant to their principles and to their sense of honesty. In this party De Lisle, a Catholic, was guided in his advice and action by his own principles. Newman, for instance, as a general rule, abhorred and pre- vented, as far as in him lay, individual secessions. De Lisle, on the other hand, as a Catholic, was bound to insist on the immediate open adhesion to the Pope of any individual convinced of the claims of the Eoman Church to be the Mother and Mistress of all the churches. But this was just the point at which he hesitated to apply over-great pressure of logic or rhetoric when he saw the whole catena of Catholic doctrine accepted, the supremacy of the Pope alone excepted. As this final step involved personal sacrifice and a break-up of antecedent surroundings and occupations, he preferred to leave it to the inner voice of conscience to deal the final clenching blow, feeling confident that when the subject was ready the Holy Spirit would attain the end : attingens a fine usque ad finem fortiter et disponens omnia suaviter. It was a position of grave re- sponsibility, as well as of difficulty and delicacy. Being on intimate terms with Bishop Wiseman, De Lisle considered it a duty to take counsel with him as to the limits of his advice and action in regard to the Tractarian party. While he agreed with ISTewman to a combined movement of Anglicans towards Eome, he listened to Wiseman's warnings on the danger of delay on the part of individuals.^ After his first visit to Oxford, De Lisle, in a letter to Bishop Wiseman, drew in glowing terms a picture of the readiness of large numbers of the Anglican Divines to join the Church of Eome. In reply Bishop Wiseman wrote to him on the subject as follows : — - ^ But it must be admitted he did not draw the hard and fast line generally- drawn by Catholics, who have not the same belief in national movements as opposed to individual, which he never ceased to entertain. Drawing indi- viduals into the Church he likened to fishing with a rod ; hooking one fish at a time. National Conversion by means of Corporate Keunion he likened unto the Apostolic practice of fishing with a net, " gathering in multitudes of all kinds of Fishes." And this he considered to be his own special call from on High, to prepare the way and hasten the times for when the Divine Word should once again be spoken to Peter : Cast your iiets into the deep. E. DE L. XII TRACTARIAN CONFERENCES 255 St. Mary's College, St. Stanisl, 1841. Most Confidential. Your last letter has indeed filled me with consolation, and sincere joy. I shall not fail in a second letter to communicate its contents to the Holy Father through Cardinal Mai. But I foresee that it will be almost necessary for me during the vacation to run to Kome. Indeed I think it probable I shall be desired to do so — as any communication on the subject in question is too delicate to be made otherwise than orally. More- over, there are too many other matters on which it would be advisable to have a more intimate communication with the H. See, and as for myself I feel the serious responsibility of becoming (as I at the same time earnestly desire to become) the organ of intercourse between it and our Oxford friends, mthout clear and distinct instructions, such as I feel cannot be satis- factorily given except on full explanations, and by word of mouth. Again I should like something to emanate from the Pope towards encouraging our views — recommending mildness, prayer, calling on the Bishops for reforms, etc., and particularly checking all alliance with Dissenters. All this I could probably get done by going on the spot, but not otherwise. I have entered on this matter to ask you what you think of such a plan — no one of course must know of it. I would go to Paris, and so on to Eome — the Bishop only knowing my plan. He is now in London, so that if you can come over, I could see you alone. I must mention that, though I have not said anything to him about your last letter, I have found it necessary to con- sult one most prudent person under confessional secrecy, because I find some advice necessary for my own guidance. — I am ever, dear Sir, yours affectionately in Xt, N. Wiseman. De Lisle's participation in the Oxford Movement and his influence on many of its chief leaders is to be sought for in the conferences so frequently held in Oxford. Mr. Bloxam of Magdalen College invited many of his friends, sympathiiiers with the Movement, to meet De Lisle. On these occasions the chief points which agitated the University, the opposition of the heads of houses, the scurrilous abuse by the Protestant party, the courageous yet prudent and self-denying action of the leader on the suppression of the Tracts, were subjects which excited the deepest interest. 256 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. Divergent opinions at these meetings were not suppressed. Some, in spite of De Lisle's presence, did not hesitate to criticise Newman's imputed timidity. W. G. Ward, one of the more impetuous of the younger school, vigorously attacked what he called the hanging -back of his leader, who, instead of breaking with Pusey and Keble moving on divergent lines, kept up his ancient intimacy and coniidence. In the first instance De Lisle shared in these criticisms. In other conferences his sanguine views as to the Eeunion of the Churches excited singular interest. His confidence in the capacity of the Enghsh Church to get rid of her abuses and to return to a purer faith and practice in- spired confidence. The direct and vigorous way in which he met the objections raised by his Oxford friends against the Church of Eome, his explanations of points of doctrine and devotion which they misapprehended, his thorough knowledge of the actual working of the Catholic system, his personal experience of the Catholic Church as it lives and works to-day, produced a singular effect upon their minds. The Oxford Divines knew nothing of the Church of Eome by personal experience. Their knowledge came from books, from history, in part, perhaps unconsciously, from the Elizabethan Tradition. Before conferring with De Lisle they had never spoken to a Catholic on such subjects, they had never entered a Catholic church at home or abroad.^ The moral atmosphere of Oxford, infinitely superior to that of the outer world, was still tainted by an anti- Catholic breath. The magical effect of personal intercourse once more worked wonders ; what comes direct from the heart;, as was the case with De Lisle, went to the heart. Standing on Oxford ground, encompassed on every side by ancient Catholic survivals, with a mute testimony to their Catholic origin from the very walls within which they were assembled, De Lisle's appeals came almost like a new revelation to their hearts. It is therefore not to be wondered at that after repeated conferences with the Oxford men his influence became one of the active powers in the Catholic movement. ^ On one occasion the Kev. Frederick Oakeley went into a Catholic church ; on discovering his mistake he rushed out horror-stricken. XII TRACTARIAN CONFERENCES 257 At first Newman on prudential grounds, but with no lack of personal kindness, avoided De Lisle's presence at Oxford, as he explained by letter as we have already seen. At a later period the great Tractarian leader and his CathoHc disciple met on the occasion of De Lisle's second visit to Oxford, as is recorded in the following letter to Lord Shrewsbury : — Qrace-Dibu Manor, 23rd Sunday after Pentecost, 1842. I will now give you some Uttle account of our visit to Oxford, premising that I am strictly forbidden to communicate the sub- stance of our private conversations to any one. I must therefore confine my remarks to the external progress of Catholick views in the University, such as might be evident to any one who visited the place. By so doing I shall make you understand what is going on without violating the confidence which others have reposed in me. At the same time I must request, if you write again to Dr. Pusey or to any other member of the Uni- versity, that you will not allude in any way to this letter. We set out last Monday — that is Dr. Gentili and myself. Dr. G-entili wore his religious habit all the time, which was much afprmed of in Oxford. I was surprised to find on arriving at Oxford that letters had been written to various members of the University from various quarters informing them of our intended visit and warning them not to receive us. These letters were written by various Evangelicals of this county. I rejoice, how- ever, to add that our friends treated them with the contempt they deserved. They served, however, as an occasion for a good deal of merriment at the expense of the silly Calvinists who had written them. Nothing could exceed the kindness of all our friends. On our part, we were quite enchanted with Newman, whose amiable manners are only equalled by his gigantick learning and talents. I had never seen him before, though I had corresponded with him so long. We also visited Dr. Pusey, and found him what we expected — a most interesting and striking person. I think I never met with greater humility joined with such prodigious learning. Dr. Gentili had a most interesting conversation with him on the great mystery of Tran- substantiation, but, of coui'se, I am not at liberty to say any- thing further ; I said nothing myself on that occasion, but was only a listener. We were perfectly astounded to find the great progress made in the University towards sound Catholick ideas. A year and a half had elapsed since my last visit, but I could VOL. I S 258 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. hardly have supposed that eight years would have witnessed ' so great an advance. The most remarkable external proofs of the great fact I allude to are the works which have issued from the University Press or from members of the University within the last Month. Let me name the last No. of the British Critich for this very October. Read or make some one read to you the FIRST and THIRD articles of that No. if you ivish to know what is going on at Oxford. But more admirable still is Mr. New- man's translation of a portion of Fleury's Ecclesiastical History, to which he has prefixed an essay in defence of all the great miracles recorded in Ecclesiastical History as having taken place in the Catholick Church. This work has only been out four days, and already it has excited a prodigious sensation. It is quite magnificent ; not only perfectly Catholick and orthodox, but written with a power of argument perfectly tremendous. New- man has the intellect of the Cherubim — forcible like the lightning flash, clear as a crystal stream. Get this work immediately, it will delight you, and though, of course, controversial in the highest degree, it has nothing dry or tiresome about it ; while the exquisitely told narratives from the histories of the Saints give it an air even of romance that is quite charming. Besides these a beautiful translation of some of St. Athanasius's treatises against the Arian Hereticks has just appeared, also by that inde- fatigable Newman. Amongst other things a beautiful translation of Thomas k Kempis, in which full justice is done to the 4th book. But my letter would resemble a bookseller's catalogue if I were to mention all the books which have issued from the Oxford press bearing upon Catholicism. I have named enough to excite your curiosity, and I promise you, if you give way to it, a great treat. Dr. Gentili was perfectly astounded to find men's minds so far advanced. You must not, however, mis- understand me. What these good men are working for is the Reunion of Xtendom. They have no thoughts of quitting the English Church. Their object is to restore not to destroy Her. You 'ivill perhaps say that you think they ought to set about this object in another way. It may be so. In the abstract, no doubt, it is the duty of every Man to join the visible communion of the Catholick Church. But Men who are out of that com- munion may work towards Unity, and yet not perfectly see the full force of this abstract duty in consequence of what Theologians call an erroneous conscience. Now an erroneous conscience may arise from various causes, but so long as a man is under its influence he is bound by it, no matter how false it may be. Hence it becomes others, who see their brethren labouring under such a conscience, to treat them with the utmost charity, the XII TRACTAEIAN CONFERENCES 259 more so as God Himself often purposely leaves His creatures under sucli erroneous influence from inscrutable designs which we cannot fathom. One thing is quite clear, that the labours of ' these learned Men are totally undermining Protestant Heresy i and preparing the Youth of our Upper classes for the reception ' of Catholicism ; and it is equally clear that if Newman, Pusey, etc., were to join us now the education of Youth would immedi- ately fall into the hands of the Ultra-Protestant Party. At all events, my dear Lord Shrewsbury, those who disapprove of the course which the Oxford Divines have adopted ought to en- deavour to remedy it more by earnest prayer to our Lord, His blessed Mother, and all the Saints, beseeching of His Divine Majesty to illuminate their minds and to draw their hearts to what He sees to be the right course. I say more by p-ayer than by arguing. Above all, bitter expressions ought to be avoided. What shall we gain by calling " some of them wicked and others fanaticks," as I see in a certain letter now lying before me ? Do not be very angry with me, but nothing on earth shall ever stop me from saying what I believe before Almighty God that I ought to say. Do not misunderstand me. I am not advocating the errors of others ; I only desire that God's work may not be hindered by an indiscreet zeal. I say " God's ivork" for such I < verily believe the Oxford movement to be, whatever errors individuals may fall into in carrying it on. I think it right to tell you, though ymh mil soon know it from other quarters, that your remarks on Newman and Pusey in your last published letter on the Extaticas have excited at Oxford very painful feelings. I knew it would be so, and I foresaw that it would diminish the influence which I was so anxious that you should acquire there. It may, however, be retrieved. For the love of Christ and His Blessed Mother let me entreat of you to be charitable and for- bearing. Believe me, you will not regret it three years hence. Once more I trust to your kindness not to allude to my letter if you should have occasion before long to write to Oxford. . . . By-the-bye, what odd prejudices Pugin has got against the Jesuits. He judges of the whole body from one or two indi- viduals. This is very unjust. I wish, however, when he goes to Oxford, he would not talk against them (the Jesuits) so much. Several persons remarked on it to me. And he is too fond of descanting on all the little miseries of our English Catholick body. Doing this tends to confirm any lurking prejudices in the minds of our Oxford friends. For my part, when I go . there, I make a point of making the best of the state of things amongst ourselves, and yet without in any way deviating from truth ; for instance, I gave Dr. Pusey an account of the sort of 260 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. mode of going on in our more pious Catholick families, such as the Stourtons, Cliffords, etc., at which Dr. P. seemed much edified. The Oxford Divines are exceedingly anxious for our clergy to appear in the Clerical habit, and to make publick Missions after the continental fashion in our great manufacturing Towns. One of them (Newman) said to me that if we did this, and obtained large numbers of converts from amongst the half- pagan population of these great towns, the effect would be to make the Anglican Bishops " capitulate " at once. Mark the ex- pression — it is a very forcible one — but, for heaven's sake, do not talk about it, for I have almost done wrong in writing it even to you, though I have not mentioned names. The fact is, consummate prudence and reserve are necessary at this most interesting crisis of English Catholick affairs. In these discussions at Oxford Bishop Wiseman took a lively interest. But since his conversations with the Oxford men were of a confidential character, De Lisle took care in his communications with Bishop Wiseman not to divulge the more intimate facts or names which had been given to him, but gave a general purport or outline of his interviews. Mr. Bloxam was especially careful to warn De Lisle against letting the fact be known that they were hold- ing direct communications with Catholics. Bishop Wiseman was fully alive to the value of personal influence, from De Lisle's signal success with the Oxford Divines, and gladly accepted his offer of a personal introduction to some of the Tractarian Leaders. Bishop Wiseman had already expressed his anxious desire to be in communication with some of the Oxford Divines, but as he wrote to De Lisle he feared embarrassing them by any intercourse, as, should it become known, it would be immediately thrown in their faces. In a subsequent letter Bishop Wiseman wrote : — Dr. Walsh has fixed the 21st of this month for me to give confirmation at Oxford, which has long been intended. If I have a spare day, I certainly should wish to go over the public institutions of the city, but I will forego that pleasure if there be danger of my visit being considered a matter of parade or an excursion. So far I should be glad to canvass the opinion of any of your friends there, as I wish to hurt no one's feelings, to expose no one to obloquy, and to avoid particularly any xii OXFORD 261 mingling of secondary motives with the discharge of a purely pastoral and spiritual duty. I would not for the world give rise to a suspicion that I had made the administration of a sacrament a cloak for other purposes, however important I might deem them. De Lisle at once communicated to Bloxam Bishop Wiseman's intention of visiting Oxford on the 21st of July, and his desire to become acquainted with him and his friends. On learning of this proposed visit Mr. Bloxam wrote as follows : — St. Mary Magdalen College, 9th July 1841. It is with considerable reluctance that I sit down to decline your kind offer of a visit from Bishop Wiseman during his stay in Oxford the week after next. The honour of a call from so learned and celebrated a theo- logian would be to myself personally delightful, but under all circumstances you will make allowances for me, if I deny my- self the very great gratification of receiving so distinguished a guest . . The motives which have decided some of my friends to decline meeting Dr. Wiseman here on that occasion will easily suggest themselves to you, and I am not afraid that Dr. Wise- man will put any but a right construction upon them. It was no doubt disappointing to Dr. Wiseman, on various grounds, to find that objections were entertained at Oxford to his proposed visit to that city, for he wrote under date Scarborough 1841 to De Lisle. . Mr. Bloxam's letter saves me from a considerable em- barrassment. I can have nothing of course to lose by not meeting any one there, but I should have been sorry to have had to decide for myself between placing others in any awkward position by my offering to see them, and my neglect of any coiKtesy on the other hand, by my keeping aloof. Mr. Bloxam's letter at once puts the matter at rest. I will simply stay at Oxford as long as my ecclesiastical duty requires, and start probably the very same day. However, I shall look forward to the pleasure of seeing Mr. Bloxam at St. Mary's, Oscott, with you in the course of next month, and if you could get Mr. Ward - or Sibthorpe, or any other of the party to accompany him or meet you there, I should be still more deUghted. 262 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE ohap. I think Mr. Bernard Smith's observation very true that his friends at Oxford all speak and think of Catholic practices and institutions as things past or possible not as things actually existing and acting. I think that a visit to our College will do much to increase the desire to see the country Catholic. A little envy is not a bad ingredient in that dissatisfaction which will breed good desires. There can be no question, from what I have already recorded, that Mr. Bloxam was the most timid and cautious of men. De Lisle had a long experience of his timidity, and took the first opportunity of informing Newman of Wiseman's desire of meeting him during his ecclesiastical visit to Oxford. Newman having a grave objection to re- ceiving Catholics in the University, especially a Catholic of such eminence as Bishop Wiseman, proposed meeting in the city of Oxford. The meeting of two such men as the leader of the Oxford Movement and the representative champion of the Catholic Cause was an event which appealed to the hearts of both men. Each was frank, candid, and outspoken. Without, however, entering into confidential relations, Wiseman left a favourable impression on Newman's mind. The memory of that memorable meeting was not lightly forgotten by either.'^ As time went on, many of the leading men of the Oxford Movement came to see De Lisle at Grace-Dieu. They took part with deep interest and devotion in the ritual and reli- gious observances. What was partial or mutilated in the religious services at Oxford, was carried out in Grace-Dieu Chapel in the exact form and fashion as in the Parish churches before the Eeformation. The hymns and psalms were chanted in the Gregorian tones, as indeed they were at Oxford. The veneration of our Lady and the invocation of Saints > were familiar to the Oxford Divines, but seemed here more at home, as it were, than in their own chapels. Among these visitors at Grace-Dieu were Mr. Bloxam ^ Mr. Bloxam, being unaware that De Lisle had arranged a meeting between Bishop Wiseman and Mr. Newman, wrote under date 22nd July 1841 as fol- lows : — "You will be pleased to learn that Dr. Wiseman has had an interview with Mr. Newman and also with the author of the letter in the Univers." XII GRAOE-DIEU 263 of Magdalen College, Frederick Oakeley, Frederick Faber, W. G. Ward, Sibthorpe, Wackerbath, and others. Another chief point of attraction and interest was the Monastery of Mount St. Bernard. Most of these divines had never seen a monastery except in ruins, had never been inside a Catholic church at home or abroad. To his Oxford friends, who came of course at different intervals by twos or threes, De Lisle explained the practical working of the monastic system and the peculiar features and characteristics of the Cistercian order ; meeting fully and freely any objections or difficulties which were raised. In those stirring and eventful days the centre of the highest intellectual activity was at Oxford, where, as was said at the time, " high thoughts and low living " were com- bined. In the Common Eooms of Oriel and Balliol the profoundest theological discussions were carried on with singular power and animation. Newman's famous concili- abula drew men together, inspired their minds and lifted up their hearts. Under the spell and sway of Newman's genius these discussions became the centre of the Oxford Movement — the mainspring of its action and the inspira- tion of its literary activity. Like a newly kindled fire, his influence spread, and its fascination passed by degrees be- yond the walls of Oxford. The Protestant party rose up in opposition. Its most intellectual champion was Tait of Balliol, between whom and W. G. Ward vehement discus- sions constantly took place in the Common Eoom. Men who had lived, and breathed, and passed their life under the influence of the Oxford Movement, and whose intellects were enkindled by its fire, did not change their nature or habits when they, for a while, went abroad. Hence, on their visits to Grace-Dieu, like theological dis- cussions and enquiries were carried on and found a fresh impetus from De Lisle's arguments and from his more familiar acquaintance with the points at issue between Anglicanism and the Catholic Church, as well as his deeper knowledge of Catholic theology. De Lisle was possessed of great argumentative powers, and his earnestness of voice n^^M- 264 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. and manner added weight to his arguments. He had already by his ample correspondence and visits to Oxford made his guests familiar with his engrossing hope of a Corporate Ee- union of the Churches. This idea offered greater induce- ments to many of the Oxford men than the more simple and direct plan of individual returns to Catholic Unity, if for no other reason, because in a certain sense it placed the Churches of England and Eome on the same level. Many Catholic controversialists, both before and since, apart from graver objections, have on this score alone condemned Corporate Eeunion. But De Lisle held this objection to be ill-founded for the simple reason that Sovereign Powers may and do treat with inferior powers like as Sovereigns do with their subjects. Orthodox churches may similarly treat with unorthodox churches without waiving their own orthodoxy just as the Council of Florence effected a reunion between the Greek and Latin Churches without derogation of the prerogatives of the Eoman See. If it be objected that the Church of England having no Apostolic succession and no ^ Orders is not a Church at all, then the question of Eeunion resolves itself into the more elementary one of the Corporate Eeunion of the English Nation, for then the Established Church, from the strict theologian's point of view, would only represent the English people organised from a religious point of view, and the Pope would be dealing with the Anglican Bishops and Convocation as he has often dealt with the Minister of Eeligion in quasi-Catholic countries like France or Austria. The charm of personal intercourse was not without its influence on the Oxford men. It tended to lessen diffi- culties, and pointed out new methods which might be adopted towards reunion. Another effect of personal influ- ence was to rub off the rough angles, which rarely fail to beset controversialists. Catholic books of devotion in common use were spoken of or shown to his guests by De Lisle. Such books, for instance, as Paradisus Animae, unknown to them, excited their admiration. On one occa- sion De Lisle presented to Newman the above book. New- man, in reply, wrote as follows — OXFORD 265 LiTTLEMORE, NEAR OxFORD, 8th March 1842. Dear Sir — I am well acquainted with the Paradisus Animse, and return you my best thanks for the kindness which has led you to send it to me. I have not seen nor had I heard of Mr. French's great com- pliment ; you speak as if you knew him ; if so, might I take the liberty of begging the favour of your conveying to him my acknowledgments, when you have any opportunity of so doing. It is not the first attention he has shown me. You must allow me to be honest with you in adding one thing. A distressing feeling arises in my mind that such marks of kindness as these on your part and his are caused by a belief that I am soon likely to join your communion. It is of course humiliating to me thus calmly to allow and dwell on such an idea and to discuss such a prospect ; but I dread very much lest you should take a false view of me. I must assure you then vrith great sincerity that I have not the shadow of an internal movement, known to myself, towards such a step. While God is with me where I am, I will not seek Him elsewhere. I might almost say in the words of Scripture, " We have found the Messias." He certifies His Presence by Notes ; I consider that there are persons among us who have as clear notes that He is with them where they are, and those scriptural ones, as any which I ever heard urged in favour of the Roman Communion being the true Church. And I will give you one plain token against forming such anticipations about me. Never could I (please God) proceed per saltum from the pastoral office in one Church into another Church. Such an act is repugnant to all my feelings of pro- priety and decency, of charity towards my flock and my brethren, of awe and reverence towards my Master. Nothing but a miracle or the like of one could, I think, lead me to such a step. While I am a servant of the English Church, this is a guarantee that I am at a distance from every other. I do not, however, of course mean to imply that, did I cease to be a parochial clergyman, therefore I should be of necessity on the 'Change. — I am, dear sir, yours very faithfully, John H. Newman. De Lisle made numerous presents of this and other like books of Catholic devotion, to Bloxam, W. G. Ward, and many others of his Oxford friends. Dr. Pusey had already adapted for Anglican use with omissions and alterations, 266 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. some ancient Catholic works. But now, for the first time, Catholic books of devotion unexpurgated were brought into circulation at Oxford, and exercised no inconsiderable in- fluence in promoting the rehgious revival. The charm of Catholic life, of religious services, and of unostentatious piety, as witnessed at Grace-Dieu, left a deep and abiding impression, as is recorded in many a letter from Oxford Divines who had visited Grace-Dieu. Oscott College, under its illustrious President Dr. Wise- man, played no inconsiderable part in the religious revival in England. Oscott had worked concurrently with Oxford in the revival of religion, though independently. As the Oxford* Movement grew in vigour it undoubtedly reacted upon Oscott. At a later period the Catholic influence of Oscott was not unfelt by the Oxford Tractarians. By his intimacy with so many of the Oxford men, De Lisle opened the way for personal relations between Oscott and Oxford. He invited many of the Oxford Divines to visit Oscott and introduced some of them to its president, Dr. Wiseman. Many of them repeated their visits to the great Catholic college, and as their letters show, expressed their admiration and delight at its system of education, and its religious functions and ritual. In the following letter to De Lisle, dated Magdalen College, 14th Sept. 1841, Bloxam writes: — Oakeley and Ward both concur with me in expressions of delight at the truly Catholic ydo's of St. Mary's College, Oscott. Ward wishes to see the place again while the boys are there, and, if you allow it, will drop in u23on you on the way. If you and your good friends at Oscott are now plagued with Oxford spies, you must throw the blame upon me, as my description has excited the curiosity of many. Ward was especially pleased with Mr. Logan, which I am not surprised at. In another letter to De Lisle, Bloxam says : — My friend Sibthorpe left me yesterday for Oscott for the purpose of having an interview with Bishop Wiseman, for which I had previously obtained his Lordship's permission. Bishop Wiseman's influence at Oscott was paramount. XII OSCOTT COLLEGE 267 His profound knowledge of theology and church history, his high repute as an Orientalist and Syriac scholar, his intimate familiarity with modern languages and literature, his elo- quence as a lecturer, made him a tower of strength in defence of the Church against the attack of her enemies. What added greatly to these intellectual gifts were his profound piety, simplicity of heart, his personal kindness to all around him, and his sympathy with those who in doubt or difficulty came to him for counsel or instruction. Bishop Wiseman gathered around him at Oscott most of the foremost Catholics of the day. His experience as presi- dent of the English College in Eome stood him in good stead in organising and directing the course of studies at Oscott. He communicated not a little of his own enthu- siasm to his fellow-workers ; inspired them with all that is high and noble in thought, aU that is true and beautiful in literature and art, all that is holy in religion. Bishop Wiseman was an exact observer of the ancient rites and ritual of the Church. In training the ecclesiastical students at Oscott he made it a special point of duty to implant in their hearts love and reverence for the Holy See, and implicit obedience to its supreme authority. Bishop Wiseman introduced from Eome functions, devotions, and religious observances which had been lost or forgotten in the evil days of persecution before the Church in England had emerged as it were from the catacombs. He reformed many of the abuses which had crept into the functions and observances of the Church. He purged out of their minds the taint of Gallicanism, which, to a certain extent, still lurked and lingered as an evil tradition. Bishop Wiseman's masterful and persuasive personaHty was an instrument in God's hands at such a crisis in the fortvmes of religion ; it was his part to mould the minds of men and guide the action and policy of the Church in the face of the mighty movement, which, arising out of the dry bones of Protestantism, was introducing far and wide, into the Enghsh Church, Catholic ideas and principles. Christian Art was regarded in those days under Bishop 268 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. Wiseman as the handmaid of religion. In De Lisle and Pugin he recognised its most cultivated and inspired champions, and was of one accord with their views and principles. De Lisle as an apostle of Christian Art met at Oxford a sympa- thetic reception from many of its members, who were of one mind with him in their love and reverence for the ancient architecture of England. They shared his enthusiasm for plain chant, and introduced it into some of their college chapels, notably Magdalen, after the fashion they had so much admired at Grace-Dieu Chapel. Pugin, with like fervour, set to work in restoring in the spirit of their Pounders many of the towers and gateways of the ancient colleges. Pugin as well as De Lisle took great interest in the Oxford Movement, and both of them carried to Oscott the artistic traditions of Oxford as well as the new spirit of the religious revival. Dr. Wiseman appointed Pugin professor of archaeology at Oscott. His famous lectures gained a great repute for the college, and, published month after month, were read with the deepest interest by the Oxford men, forming, as it were, a connecting link between Oscott, the centre of Catholic influence, and Oxford, the centre of the Tractariau Movement. The beauty and calm of Christian Art offered a common restmg-place in the conflict of contending religious principles. Por it must be remembered that the revival in Oxford of many Catholic principles did not exclude a suspicion or dread more or less hostile to the Holy See. Whilst at Oscott, Bishop Wiseman was the stalwart champion of the rights of the Holy See and its spiritual supremacy. In Bishop Wiseman, Newman saw a foeman worthy of his steel ^ and felt the force of his blows, as is acknowledged in the following letter to Archdeacon Manning dated Oriel, ^ In the Apologia, Newman says : — ' ' Monsignore Wiseman with the aoute- ness and zeal which might be expected from that great Prelate, had anticipated what was coming, had returned to England by 1836, had delivered Lectures in London on the doctrines of Catholicism, and created an impression through the country, shared in by ourselves, that we had for our opponents in contro- versy not only our brethren, but our hereditary foes. These were the circumstances which led to my publication of Tlie Proplietical Office of tlic Church viewed relatively to Romanism and Popular Protestantism. XII OSCOTT COLLEGE 269 October 1838. Speaking of Dr. Wiseman's article in the Dublin Review, Newman says : — "Dr. Wiseman has laid his finger on our weak point; as Keble in his sermon, and you in the Rule of Faith, have exposed the weak points on the Eoman Catholic side." CHAPTEE XIII THE OXFORD MOVEMENT CATHOLIC OPINION IN ENGLAND, IRELAND, AND FRANCE THE " GOING OUT " OF THE TRAGTARIAN LEADER AND HIS FOLLOWERS. 18i3-1848 Catholic opinion, in regard at least to the earlier stages of the Oxford Movement, may be thus classified : At that period Catholic Society in England v?as an exotic plant. Catholics lived apart from the rest of the world, took little or no interest in public affairs, or in the intellectual or religious movements of their fellow-countrymen. When at length tidings of the religious revival at Oxford reached their ears they were at first incredulous that such things could be ; then amazed and half-amused. On learning from the newspapers, or from a priest at a family dinner- party, that clergymen of the Protestant Church at Oxford actually offered up sacrifices, believed in the Eeal Presence, or in the Sacrament of Penance, or in Prayers for the Dead, or the Invocation of Saints, they laughed aloud, or, growing red in the face, were indignant beyond measure at Protest- ants pretending to be priests, and claiming to be the successors of the Apostles. The more frivolous, or those who took the world and its affairs lightly, made polite fun of the Oxford Movement, attributed it to the vagaries of two or three enthusiastic young men who had travelled abroad, or tarried awhile on the shores of the Mediterranean, and picked up Catholic notions. One or two wiseacres, who professed to be in the secret, CHAP, xiii CATHOLIC OPINION 271 knew all about the origin of the Movement, and ascribed it to two young men of good family, both belonging not to Oxford but to Cambridge. One was converted by a " Vision," the other by a " Miracle." The one converted by a " Vision " was at once sent to Eome, and being heir to a large landed property, was instructed to marry; the other, being only a younger son, was called to Eome and made a priest.^ These two young men, so the story went, were the real authors of Puseyism; how they brought it about no one knows, at least no outsider. Dr. Wiseman and Propaganda, however, were in the secret. Such idle Catholic gossip reached Protestant ears, and soon the rumour spread, and was vouched for by the Protestant Association, that the Oxford Movement was a rank " Popish Plot " ! Other Catholics, more in earnest, taking their cue from their pet newspaper, the Orthodox, or Tablet, utterly mis- trusted the " Puseyites," looked upon them as hypocrites or pretenders, rated them in round set terms, and made fun of their claims. They wrote letters often on them to the Tablet. Priests even were as virulent in their abuse as lay- men. In their ignorance they believed that in abusiag the Oxford Movement, and in ridiculing Pusey and Newman, they were doing good service to the Church.^ Mr. Lucas, in the Tablet, was as coarse and vulgar in his abuse of the Oxford men as the bitterest Protestant writer in the Record. The Tablet, after the fashion of such newspapers, gathered ^ There was, after all, some foundation for this story, Kenelm Digby and Ambrose Lisle PhUlipps being both Cambridge men and active converts to the Catholic faith some years previous to the commencement of the Oxford Movement. ^ In a letter to Lisle Phillipps, dated Good Friday, 1841, Bishop Wiseman speaks of priests ridiculing and abusing the Oxford Movement and its leaders as follows : — "An Irish and an English priest, who had each engaged in con- troversy with Oxonians — one with Gladstone, the other in a newspaper series of letters, — have written in great dismay at the tone which I have taken as strongly condemnatory of the light and jeering one they had assumed, and wishing to know what I was about. I have written to both, without giving any of the facts or information I have derived from confidential sources, so that I trust I may save some of the harshness or levity that might otherwise have been exhibited at the present crisis." Among the leaders of this more enlightened section of English Catholics were Bishop Wiseman, De Lisle Pugin, Dr. Russell of Maynooth, Dr. Rook, and Lord Shrewsbury. 272 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. round itself a party who made it their business or pleasure to abuse or ridicule the Tractarian Party. The appetite grew with what it fed on. The Tablet, and its loud and noisy party, gave great offence to more enlightened Catholics, who understood better than these flippant writers the meaning and scope of the Oxford Movement, and who sympathised with the motives of its leaders. Speaking of the mischievous hne pursued with such virulence by the Tablet, Lord Shrewsbury said in a letter to De Lisle, dated 18th October 1841 : — Dishonesty in writing is, I think, a great crime, and I cannot imagine any upright man indulging in such means of obtaining a livelihood. But I suppose the privileges of the trade are great, and that they consider themselves to stand in the same position to their cause as an advocate does to his client. It is a sad reflection on us that we can never have either a respectable magazine or newspaper. I wish the Tablet were done for, for it puts us in a very odious light, and keeps up a deal of bickering. It is curious to note the influence of such men as Wise- man and Phillipps de Lisle in creating a new spirit in the Catholic Body. The majority of Catholics had heard, as it were from afar off, the echoes of the Oxford Movement. They had no real knowledge of its meaning or power ; they did not know whether the Oxford men were to be admired or abused, or to be ridiculed, as was done by the Tablet writers. Gradually this indifferent or half-amused sort of feeling gave way to the higher influences at work, and began in earnest to take sides. Bishops and priests learnt from Bishop Wiseman to their surprise that there was something deeper and higher in the Oxford Movement than they had hitherto apprehended. The lack of higher education was once more manifested ; the more thoughtful men felt that a great need existed of a thorough reform in the tone and spirit, not only of laymen, but of priests and bishops. Besides the dormant and ill-informed sections of Catholics, there was another section, zealous Catholics, like Lord Shrewsbury, who were deeply interested in the Oxford Movement, but mistrusted its leaders. In their enthusiasm XIII CATHOLIC OPINION 273 they jumped to the conckision that the followers indeed of Newman and Piisey were men of profound smcerity and piety, and on the verge of becoming Catholics, but were held back by the cowardice or perfidy of their leaders. Hence it was that Lord Shrewsbury, Kenelm Digby, and Bishop Baines and others, priests or laymen, attacked at times Newman and Pusey, disbelieved in their sincerity, and imputed evil motives to their actions. The two following letters afford a striking contrast between Lord Shrewsbury's prejudice, suspicion, and hasty and ill-judged abuse of Pusey and Newman, and De Lisle's larger views of the tendencies of the Movement, and his trust and confidence in its Leaders. Moreover this corre- spondence throws a curious light on the methods adopted by Dr. Pusey to hold in captivity those of his followers whom he feared were about to join the communion of the Catholic Church. On one occasion upon a penitent of his desiring to become a Catholic, he refused to allow her, and declared that he would answer for her soul before God. That lady, Mrs. Charles Manning, a year or two later became a Catholic, and bitterly complained of the cruelty she had suffered at Dr. Pusey's hands. All Souls' Day, 1842. . . . You must not speak of this letter on any account, nor write about it to Oxford, or speak of it till you hear it from other quarters, which perhaps you may. I do not accuse Pusey of wil- fully misrepresenting what I stated to him, for I am fully per- suaded that the condition of his mind at the moment was such as to render him capable of fancying any thing, and confounding every thing. The facts, as far as I am at liberty to name them, are these. Miss Isabella Yoxmg wrote to me, as I told you at the time, offering her contribution to the Bazaar, but wrote as a Protestant. Of course I wrote her a very civil answer. Some time afterwards she wrote to me again in great distress of mind, asking for advice. I cannot give you all the particulars, but I immediately rephed that the only advice I could give was for her to take the very earliest opportunity of applying to a pious and discreet Priest, to direct her in her difficulties. I gave her some exhortation at the same time, such as seemed to me the best suited to her. From that time to this she has kept up a constant VOL. I T 274 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. correspondence with me, always in great distress of conscience, but without having had the opportunity or the courage to apply to a Clergyman. Pusey visited her in the interval, saw my letters, I believe, and knew in part at least what she had written. Notwithstanding all his influence over her, she at last begged me to procure her admission into the Convent at Birmingham for a, month, that she might there pass a period of quiet reflection, and of course have the advice of a Clergyman. Pusey then wrote to me about her, saying (I cannot tell you what), but that which induced me to inform him that no violence should be done to her conscience, no controversy should be proposed to her, her questions only answered, her difficulties refuted. I gave him Mr. Sibthorp as the guarantee for this line of conduct being pursued towards her. But as to her not being taken into the Church within a month was never so much as hinted at. I told him, on the contrary, that I already considered her a Catholic, because she most sincerely desired to know the Truth, and was most willing to embrace it. Once within the Convent, I considered her quite safe — for she had already told me that her convictions were perfect. I saw all along that all she wanted was to be removed from the influence which Pusey had so long exercised over her. Pusey confounded Miss Young's assertion that she was to remain a month in the Convent with my assurances, and had fully made up his mind that within that period, at least, she shd. not be taken into the Church. I repeatedly told him that from the moment she entered the Convent I had done with her, that I left her in the hands of Mr. Sibthorp, who knew her almost as well as Pusey himself, and who had himself, thro' me, assured Pusey that she shd. not be hurried or forced into any thing. It was furthermore impossible that I could ever think even of making Pusey a promise that she shd. not be received into the Church within a month (and mind, he had never even asked me to do so) since the whole tenor of my advice to her was, that once she was convinced, it was her bounden duty to follow up those convictions without loss of time, lest the grace of God shd. be withdrawn from her by her neglect. This I over and over again impressed upon her mind, with the greatest earnestness. This is all that I feel myself at liberty to state in her regard. I am happy, however, to add that I had a very pretty letter from her yesterday, to thank me for the part I had had under Providence in contributing to her present happiness — and I do feel most grateful to God for having made me, in how- ever trifling a degree, an Instrument in this His kind and gracious mercy. . . . I think I told you that it was my opinion that there never XIII CATHOLIC OPINION 275 was a more deluded mind than Pusey's, and I am now more and more convinced of it. I hear from various quarters, and I have very good proof of it, that the reigning fanaticism of the day with them (pray excuse the expression) is the seeking after supernatural Evidences or Inspirations in favour of Anglicanism. It is the most common and most fatal resource of all Heresiarchs — only, for the moment, to instance Luther, Calvin, Wesley, etc. etc. — and joined, as it commonly is, with great fasting and austerities, is sure to make the Imagination an overmatch for the Reason, and, where there is no real sincerity, to entangle the mind in irretrievable error. Wesley's Character and conduct was so very very similar to that of the Leaders of the Oxford Movement, that I cannot but beg your attention to it. You may see it in a few words in Lord Mahon's Hist. (chap. "Methodism"). I dare say the work is at Garendon. As to the fasting, etc., of the Oxford men, I fear we cannot lay much stress upon it, seeing it was so common {vide p. 302, Brit. Critic, No. 64) in former times, and no distinctive mark of Truth. I am very very far from thinking with Mrs. Young that this great movement in the Church is all Oxford nonsense — but my reliance is upon those who follow, not those who lead. That the controversy is doing, and will do, a world of good I have no doubt, unless checked by the exposure of such conduct as that of wh. Pusey has now been guilty. I fear it will do much harm by checking the general advance, while it ought to do some good by inducing the sincere and wise to withdraw themselves from such pernicious influence, and carry out their principles to their own natural and necessary results. The Articles to wh. you allude in the Bri. Cri. are admirable. The 2nd in the vol. is also most curious, and interesting. The wonder is, that people who see so much cannot see a little more. It is impossible to go nearer the mark without hitting it, and we must ever be perplexed and astonished at their wonderful in- genuity in steering clear of the True Haven. One expects them every moment to enter, but just as they are off the mouth, they turn sail and steer clear away, almost as far as ever from any safe anchorage. They run back into the wide ocean, to be tempest-tossed, and buffeted by -ivind and wave like a log upon the sea, because they have no true compass or directing Pilot on Board. There must be many, however, who, undertaking to shift for themselves, will be guided by the lights which these men have enkindled, but which they nevertheless cannot see. . . . Pusey's great complaint was that we did not understand their position. I told him we could not, unfortunately, under- stand it as they wished it ; but after a few general arguments, 276 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. in which he wrote me word that he agreed, I confined myself to the fancy they have taken of guiding themselves by individual Inspiration. In reply, he asserted it only to be an accessory ground for Belief in their system {see note on other side). I wrote to him at very considerable length, and he to me (he beginning). I mention this because in one of his letters he told me you had put the question to him (how came you to think of it ?), and that he had of course answered in the affirmative. Neither have I any difficulty in naming this, because only those parts of his letter were private which related to Miss Young. Still I wish you not to speak of it, and more particularly not to write it to Oxford, lest (being very suspicious) he should fancy that I had not kept his secrets. Note from other side. — Does not this sufficiently prove New- man's vision to be an illusion of the Father of Lies, since they take it in Evidence of the Truth of their system, and in Justifi- cation of Schism ? Adieu, and Believe me, my dear friend, most truly and faith- fully yours, Shrewsbury. N.B. — The work referred to by Dr. Binns is the Anatomy of Sleep. It was reviewed in The Catholic, but not as it shd. have been. P.S. — I might as well have said that in arguing on the position of the Anglican Church, I gave it Pusey as my opinion that they argued and relied too much upon it. They allowed their position to blind and mislead them. They looked at the circumstances which surrounded them and said to themselves, "We must needs seek Truth, but we must find her at home." This, said I, makes you start from a wrong point, leads you astray in the progress of your enquiry, and baulks you in all your schemes. This is a fixed idea and settled notion which you adopt as an admitted axiom, and which governs the whole of your proceedings. You are predetermined to find Eight in England, and Wrong in Rome, etc. etc. etc. ; but divest yourself in spirit of the Externals which now, I am convinced (however unknown to you), influence your Judgement, and you will come, I am satisfied, to very different conclusions ; and so forth. I had not then read a line of the Development of the Church in the nth Cent. {Bri. Critic), but see how I am borne out in this view of the case, how that writer admits that the tone, the con- duct, the very doctrine, as well as the sympathies and prejudices of the Church of England, have ever been governed by her exter- nal circumstances — this alone sufficiently accounts for all her variations. XIII CATHOLIC OPINION 277 This certainly depresses my expectations of any great simul- taneous movement in favour of Eome. They will go as far as circumstances permit, but there they will stop. They have not yet the spirit of Martyrdom, nor the true Charity of the Saints, the Eeal love of God. They are seeking to mend themselves, but when that amendment comes in contact with their position (and that position is their interest), their zeal dies, and they come to a full stop. See how the grace of God pursues those who are sincerely desirous of following it. All the artifices that Pusey's ingenuity could compass, and all the persecution that a Mother's tyranny could desire, were employed to divert a young and guileless girl from the ways of Truth into which the Almighty in His infinite goodness has been so long leading her. After many trials, temptations, and struggles, she has come unscathed through the cruel ordeal she has undergone. It is only a spirit of Religious fanaticism that can, in any way, extenuate Pusey's conduct towards her. He saw her leaning to Catholicity several years since, and then told Mr. Sibthorp that he thought she would make herself a member of the Church of Eome. Yet did he do all he could to force her conscience from the just impulses with which it was visited, and that by means with which they are continually upbraiding us. Pusey acknowledges the Catholic to be a True Church, therefore it was not with him a question of life or death, but one, as far as she was concerned, merely of fancy, feeling, vanity, or Pride. All his mortification now comes fromithe signal defeat he has sustained at the hands of a weak untutored child ! He is ashamed of himself, fearful of the threatened exposure, and abashed and dismayed at the little influence he can exert over those whom he has had entirely to himself, and whom he had secured, as he thought, by the most solemn and indissoluble ties — for she, I have no doubt, was only the first whom he had intended to bind within his wily meshes. I told you he was a fanatic, and I think the proof is now pretty manifest. ^ Grace-Dieu Manoe, Feast of the Dedication of S. John Lateran, 1842. My dear Lord Shrewsbury — I have received your long and interesting letter, containing those also from Dr. Binns and Bishop Wiseman, both of which are very pleasing. But before I speak of their contents let me thank you very much for your ^ From this as well as from many others of Lord Shrewsbury's letters, it is evident that he had no real understanding of the drift and meaning of the Oxford Movement, nor of the character of its Leaders. 278 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. own letter, about which I will endeavour to give you my thoughts as briefly as I can. It must indeed be highly gratifying to your pious feelings to have been instrumental in two conversions, and though that gratification itself is a high reward, you must look forwards to the other life for the full measure of that glory which you will reap for your zeal and charity. I went mth Mrs. Phillipps to the consecration of Bishop Willson the week before last, and when at Birmingham I learnt from Dr. Wiseman the circum- stances of Dr. Pusey's visit to the Convent — but I must tell you that Bishop Walsh viewed it in a different light to the one in which you see it. He regarded it as a proof of Dr. Pusey's sincei'ity. It is not my intention to argue the question whether Dr. Pusey be sincere or not ; for my own part I should think it a very useless question to argue. It is not we who will have to judge him, but Almighty God, and He has expressly commanded us, "Judge not, that ye he not judged." It seems therefore to me a waste of time, if not a downright act of disobedience to the express word of our Saviour, to entertain the question at all how far this or that particular individual is or is not sincere, etc. I hope he is sincere, but if not, so much the worse for him. There is, however, one point of view in which I might enter- tain the questions suggested by your letter ; in other words, I would venture to ask whether it be good policy to accuse of insin- cerity men who have greatly contributed towards removing the prejudices felt by the English Nation against the Catholick Church, merely because they have not {i.e. as yet) gone the whole length of renouncing all error and of embracing the Catholick communion ? How does any one presume to say that such men will always remain in error, merely because they now cling to it t. or because they endeavour {conscientiously, I would fain hope) to make others cling to it ? Is the gift of prophecy so abundant in our day, that at a glance a Man may foretell the whole future of his Neighbour ? If such an one had been present at the martyrdom of St. Stephen, if he had seen one young man (Saul) more energetick than the rest in urging on the cruelties of that bloody scene ; if, on the other hand, he had beheld the countenance of the Saint, of which we are told that it shone like that of an Angel ; if too he had reflected on the miracles of our Lord, still fresh in the memory of all, on the prodigies that occurred at His crucifixion, and the other mighty signs and wonders that ushered in the first dawn of the Christian Church — I say surely such an one would have felt tempted to condemn that young Man, engaged as he was in so frightful an act in spite of such awful exhibitions of the power and will of God. xiii CATHOLIC OPINION 279 And yet had he condemned him, whom would he have con- demned 1 — no other than the glorious S. Paul, the Apostle of the Gentiles ! who tells us of himself that He did that very act " ignorantly in unbelief." Now it might almost seem to us at first sight impossible for St. Paul to have been really ignorant amid the overwhelming mass of divine Evidence that surrounded him. Yet the Holy Ghost vouches for the fact. I beg to say that as Dr. Pusey is placed under circumstances far less calculated to convince a Man who is in doubt or error, so are we infinitely less privileged to condemn him of insincerity than we should have been in the case even of the Apostle S. Paul. So much as to the propriety or the policy of condemning the motives of men, who in various degrees of error act up to the erroneous principles which they profess. As to what you mention concerning Dr. Pusey's having im- puted to you a h'each of a promise, that is quite another matter ; it is a personal charge brought against yourself, and it ought to be repelled : such a thing ought not to be said against an Earle of Shrewsbury without the man who says it heing forced to retract it. There I join with you, heart and soul. Dr. Pusey is a gentleman, highly connected, and he ought to have known better than to make such a charge against the highest Gentleman in the land. On this point he ought to meet with no quarter until he retracts. But then, any correspondence relating to this ought to be of a strictly private nature, if at least, as I understand you, he has not made the charge publicldy. I am persua,ded, how- ever, of Dr. Pusey's good faith and upright intentions, so I have no doubt he will shew how his mistake (for I am sure it was no more) arose. Inter nos I think this conversion of Miss Young likely to be very important in its results. The position of many of the Oxford men is more difficult than ever ; it is not only utterly indefensible (abstractedly), but I am persuaded that its unsound- ness must very soon become apparent to the men themselves. Still for God's sake never accuse the men who are in it at present of insincerity, for if you do, and this gets out, you will ruin all our prospects ; you will be making it a point of false honour for them to remain where they are, lest by abandoning their present post they should seem to admit the force of your taunt ; or what would be equally fatal, you furnish their and our enemies (the Evangelicals) with a ready weapon to take up against them, in case they should come out and join us. Eemember my words, our game is to make the most of these men, and to give them all the credit in the world (though on so serious a subject it is undignified in me to use the word game). 280 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. Above all let our weapon be prayer, not abuse; when we think we have a right to complain of them let us complain in the ear of our good God, who will keep our secret and per- chance remedy it, not in the ear of our loquacious neighboiir, who will only make mischief for us, for them, for the cause of God. I do hope you have not alluded in any of your letters to any- thing you may have heard from me about anything supernatural having happened to Newman. I am not aware, at least I do not recollect, that you heard about it first from me, but if you did, it was only as a strict secret, only because I knew you would hear of it from others, only because I wished you not to hear some absurd versions of it related by others, who knew of it from other sources. On no other account would I ever have men- tioned it : had I even done so, I should have been guilty of a breach of confidence ; as it is, I heartily blame myself for my indiscretion. If, however, you have alluded to it in any letter to Dr. Pusey, you will have utterly extinguished all the influ- ence I possessed at Oxford. God's will be done ; He knows I have been trying to serve Him and His Church. At the day of judgement you will see whether I did advance that cause or not by the course I have adopted. I will say no more, except that I am ever, my dear Lord Shrewsbury, your very sincere and grateful friend, Ambrose Lisle Phillipps. N.B. — ]\Ir. Seager has written to acknowledge your check of £15 for the Sarum Breviary. Do let me hear from you again as soon as possible, and do tell me whether you have alluded to the vision, etc., as I shall be under the necessity in that case of writing immediately to Oxford. I never mentioned anything to you about it except as a most skid secret. I feel quite uneasy about this matter. I hope Bishop Wiseman was not rude in his manners to Dr. Pusey the other day — if he was, he will have done more to keep humdreds of Anglicans (I speak advisedly) back than all my courtesy and charity towards them has done. I hope it will not be forgotten that Dr. Pusey is a man of Family, and that the eyes of many men of Family are upon this controversy and the respective proceedings on both sides. You ask me, what made me ask Dr. Pusey whether he was going to write to you 1 I asked it in the course of a conversa- tion which had turned in some measure upon your last edition of the Letter upon the Extaticas. Dr. P. spoke of you in very high terms. I wish the feeling was reciprocal on your part ; you XIII CATHOLIC OPINION 281 would be more likely to gain him. When I said you would prob- ably hear more from Oxford on the subject of that letter, I alluded to what Dr. Pusey told me, that he meant to write to you about it, but as he told me not to mention it to any one, I did not tell you ; I only vaguely hinted that you were likely to hear from Oxford on the subject. There is no intention (that I am aware of) of publishing anything in reply. In fact they do not wish to reply to your arguments, though they think you do not under- stand their position. In like manner even Bishop Wiseman betrayed a mis- trusting spirit in regard to the Oxford Movement. In a letter referring to Newman he writes to Phillipps de Lisle : — The position of the Oxford people becomes every day more painful. I am very much afraid of their turning their back upon Grace. Newman's appeal to the lawyers as to what constitutes Convocation is distressing. Again in another letter Bishop Wiseman shows that he did not in many points understand aright the character and motives of the Tractarian leaders. He did not clearly see how deeply Newman was bound on the Catholic principle of obedience to bishops ; nor what instant compliance the Tractarian Leader gave, for instance, to the wishes and directions of his Bishop in regard to the discontinuance of the Tracts for the Times. Again his retirement and long silence at Littlemore seemed to Bishop Wiseman to augur ill to his future, as if he were of set purpose crossing the designs of Divine Providence. It seemed indeed to Wiseman and many others as if Newman, in the silence and seclusion of Littlemore, were stifling the dictates of his conscience. The confidential letters written to De Lisle by Mr. Ber- nard Smith in regard to his intention of possibly remaining in the Anglican until he might be enabled to bring some of his parishioners with him into the Catholic Church, seem somehow or other to have got abroad. Whether his letters, as he feared, had been opened at the Post OflSce, or their substance divulged by hunself — as is more probable — in conversation, it is evident that these communications, in 282 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. an exaggerated form, reached in due course the ears of the Bishop of Oxford and of others. A year or two later, on Mr. Bernard Smith becoming a Catholic out and out, by expressing externally his allegiance to the Holy See, the papers reported on authority from a very high quarter that the Oxford men had, after his con- version, been recommending him to retain his living. Knowing that it was aimed at himself, ISTewman authorised the editor of a paper who had enquired of him on the point, as he writes in the Apologia : — " ' to give it as far as I was concerned an unqualified contradiction,' when from a motive of delicacy he hesitated. I added ' my direct and indignant contradiction, whoever is the author of it.' I continued to the editor ' no correspondence, or intercourse, direct or indirect, has passed between Mr. S. and myself since his conforming to the Church of Eome, except my formally and merely acknowledging the receipt of his letter, in which he informed me of the fact, without, as far as I recollect, expressing any opinion upon it.' You may state this as broadly as I have set it down. My denial was told to the Bishop ; what took place upon it is given in a letter from which I copy. My Father (writes Newman's corre- spondent) showed the letter to the Bishop, who, as he laid it down, said : ' Ah, those Oxford men are not ingenuous.' 'How do you mean?' asked my Father. 'Why,' said the Bishop, 'they advised Mr. B. S. to retain his living after he turned Catholic; I know that to be a fact for A. B. told me so.' The Bishop, who is perhaps the most influential man in reality on the bench, evidently believes it to be the truth." With his usual chivalry. Dr. Pusey stepped forward in Newman's defence, and wrote to the Bishop : — In the Apologia Newman wrote as follows : " The Bishop instantly beat a retreat," and quotes the Bishop's answer to Dr. Pusey's letter as follows: 'I have the honour,' he says, 'in the autograph which I transcribe, to acknowledge the receipt of your note, and to say in reply that it has not been stated by me — ■ though such a statement has, I believe, appeared in some of the public prints, — that Mr. Newman had advised Mr. B. xiii CATHOLIC OPINION 283 S. to retain Ms living, after he had forsaken our Church. But it has been stated to me that Mr. Newman was in close correspondence with Mr. B. S., and being fully aware of his state of opinions and feelings, yet advised him to continue in our Communion. 'Allow me to add,' he says to Dr. Pusey, ' that neither your name, nor that of Mr. Keble, was mentioned to me in connection with that of Mr. B. S.'" ^ Newman then goes on as follows : " I was not going to let the Bishop off on this evasion, so I wrote to him myself, ' I beg to trouble your Lordship with my own account of the two allegations ' [close correspondence, and fully aware, etc.] ' which are contained in your statement, and which have led to your speaking of me in terms which I hope never to deserve. 1. Since Mr. B. S. has been in your Lordship's diocese, I have seen him in Common-rooms or private parties in Oxford two or three times, when I never (as far as I can recollect) had any conversation with him. During the same time I have, to the best of my memory, written to him three letters. . . . The earliest of the three letters was written just a year since, as far as I recollect, and it certainly was on the subject of his joining the Church of Rome. . . I cannot recollect any other corre- spondence between us. 2. As to my knowledge of his opinions and feelings, as far as I remember, the only point of perplexity which I knew, the only point which to this hour I know, as pressing upon him, was that of the Pope's supremacy. He professed to be searching Antiquity whether the See of Rome had formerly that relation to the whole Church which Roman Catholics now assign to it. My letter was directed to the point, that it was his duty not to perplex him- self with arguments on [such] a question, . . and to put it altogether aside. ... Be assured, my Lord, that there are very definite limits beyond which persons like me would never urge another to retain preferment in the Enghsh Church, nor would retain it themselves ; and that the censure which has been directed against them by so many of its Rulers has a very grave bearing upon these limits.' " ^ This calumny about Oxford men recommending their friends, who had become Catholics, to retain their livings was traced, it seems, to an anxious lady who had said some- thing or other which had been misinterpreted against her real meaning. It must, however, be acknowledged that Mr. ' Apologia Pro Vita Sua, p. 182. London, Longmans and Co., 1890. 2 Ibid. p. 183. 284 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE ohap. Bernard Smith's indecision as to the moment, when he, who had for years claimed to be a Catholic, and finally admitted the claims of the Papacy jure clivino, and consequently admitted the uncatholic conditions of the Anglican Com- munion, should externally sever his lifelong connection with the Church of his baptism and outwardly proclaim his adhesion to the body miscalled, with controversial rancour, Eomish or Italian, had not a little to do with the circulation of the calumnious report.^ Nevertheless the allegations in the Press against the Oxford men for duplicity rendered them doubly cautious in their communications with PhilUpps de Lisle and other sympathisers who were in open communion with the Apostolic See. De Lisle's plan for Corporate Keunion implies an inclina- tion on his part not so much for individual conversions as for a combined movement. Under the circumstances his desire was perfectly legitimate and righteous. For, while advocating combined action, he never sought or attempted to retard those Anglicans whose convictions were formed from immediate adhesion to the Pope as head of the Church. Bishop Wiseman had promised him to take the whole question into consideration and to seek advice and encour- agement from the Holy See. St. Mary's College, Good Friday, 1841. My dear Sir — I am much obliged to you for your kind letter, and for your excellent pamphlet, of which I received from Dolman three copies. I have had letters from different quarters since mine appeared, and especially since my letter in the Tablet. An Irish and an English priest, who had each engaged in con- troversy with Oxonians, one with Gladstone, the other in a newspaper series of Letters, have written in great dismay at the tone which I have taken, as strongly condemnatory of the light ^ From the high Continuity point of view, however, there does not appear to be any valid reason why clergymen upon becoming reconciled to the Holy See should resign their livings. They would only be reverting to the position of such admired churchmen as Archbishop Theodore, Stephen Langton, Grosteste, Alfred the Great, or Edward the Confessor. It would probably be the duty of their Bishops to deprive them. E. de L. xiu CATHOLIC OPINION 285 and jeering one they had assumed, and wishing to know what I was about. I have written to both, without giving any of the facts or information I have derived from confidential sources. To that I trust I may save some of the harshness or levity that might otherwise have been exhibited at the present crisis. Easter Sunday. — Newman's letter to the Bishop of Oxford I have not as yet seen, nor from what I hear of it am I anxious to see it ; however, I must. I believe Mr. N. is right ; a fire has been kindled, not by them but by God. He can use the chaff and straw of his barn floor for this purpose (by which St. Aug. under- stands those separated from the Church) as well as burning brands from his altar, and this fire no man can extinguish. But its spread may be much checked, not by Protestants but by Catholics, some of whom seem unknowingly bent upon doing it. This consideration leads me to an important matter. I feel that the state of things in England ought to be made known to the Holy Father ; further, I greatly apprehend that erroneous and prejudiced views of matters, and especially of the manner in which some are disposed to view and treat the controversy. On these grounds I have thought of writing a full account of all that is going forward to one of the discreetest members of the S. College, Cardinal Mai, with a request that he will show what I write to none but the Pope. I would not mention names beyond those publicly known, as Newman's, but would even suppress his name, when referring to what he has privately written. But I will not send ofi^ anything till I hear from you, and have your permission thus secretly to apply what I know from you for the public good in this way. I conceive that the same feeling which prompted you to permit what you wrote to Dr. Walsh will admit the propriety of such a course. Let me know that the Vicegerent of Xt. approves of my course, and understands my motives, and I shall not care for all the world, nor allow differences of opinion to check my exertions. I must beg an immediate answer, as I do not wish to lose time, especially after Mr. Eathbone's Letter in the Tablet, which will excite a party-feeling in the matter, but still more after the Letter of a Catholic Layman about abuses, which shows me that I am con- sidered by the authors to have cut them up so severely in the pre- ceding paper. I know too well the character of the author (the clerical one I mean) of the shameful pamphlet not to apprehend that he will try hard to discredit me even at Eome, if it answers the purpose of the party which he represents. We have had several young men come here to make their Easter, or join the retreat, or enjoy our functions, which has given me much comfort — two young men of family from Woolwich College, Mr. 286 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. H. Whitgreave^ and his brother, and several others. Mr. C. Hemans, son of the Poet, a charming young man, with all her feeling and inspiration, came here on Thursday a Protestant, and leaves us this morning a Catholic. He is not the only straggler towards Rome that has come in my way. I have several most singular and interesting correspondences with persons I have never seen, but who are most anxious to become Catholics. Please to return Mr. Ne^ivman's letter as soon as convenient. — I am ever, my dear sir, yours sincerely in Xt., N. Wiseman. Dr. Baines is on his way to England, having given explana- tions to the Holy See of the Pastoral. The Pope, in a letter signed by himself, has communicated the result to the Bishop.^ In the meantime, however, partly perhaps in consequence of the charges in the papers against the Tractarian leaders, Bishop Wiseman seems to have become more timid than he was a twelvemonth ago in regard to Corporate Eeunion, and less hopeful than De Lisle of the Oxford leaders, especially of Newman. In a letter to De Lisle dated St. Mary's College, Whitsun Eve, 1841, Bishop Wiseman writes: — ^ Yesterday I received a most distressing letter from Newman which has thrown me on my back and painfully dispirited me, so that I have kept back a long letter which I had written to Cardinal Mai, for fear I may be myself deceived and may be misguiding the Holy See. ... In this letter Newman expresses his regret that I should have attempted to vindicate the Invoca- tion of the Blessed Virgin used in the Church, and argues it is a bad omen that we do not give them up. Now, really if his ex- ' Mr. Henry Whitgreaye of Moseley Court, Staffordshire, had married Miss Henrietta Clifford, and was thus De Lisle's brother-in-law. He was the father of Mrs. Ulric Charlton, De Lisle's only surviving niece. ^ Dr. Baines, Vicar-Apostolic of the Western district, had issued a violent Pastoral Letter abusing Phillipps de Lisle, Lord Shrewsbury, and other sup- porters of the Oxford Movement. The Bishop likewise attacked Dr. Gentili, declaring that his theological teaching was a disgrace to Catholicism. The Bishop was summoned to Rome, admonished by the Pope, and ordered to issue a second edition of the Pastoral mth explanatory notes. ^ Bishop Wiseman perhaps does not make sufficient allowances to New- man's fealty to his friends. His letter was written rather in support of his friend Mr. Palmer, hard pressed in his controversy with Bishop Wiseman, than with an uncalled-for depreciation of devotion to the Blessed Virgin. XIII CATHOLIC OPINION 287 pectation was that the Churcli, or that we, should give up our tender and confidential devotion towards the Holy Mother of God, or that the least of her pastors would join (on his private judgment) with Mr. Palmer in condemning expressions sanc- tioned and approved by her Pontiffs, how high indeed must his demands of condescension be before we can hope for reunion. In his judgment on the Oxford Movement and men, Bishop Wiseman approaches their relations with the Catholic Church, and the duty they owe to their conscience, with the exact precision of a theologian. In a letter to Phillipps de Lisle, 1841, he writes as follows : — I learn from Mr. Newsham (Priest at Oxford) that the under- graduates are constantly coming to him privately, and he says he knows of about forty who are ready to go abroad to study for the Church. If this should prove correct, who would venture to repel them or tell them to stay where they are ? I should tremble for myself were I to think of it. The Catholic doctrine is that each one must take care first of his own soul and not peril that for any consideration of good to others. Must they remain without sacraments, without active communion with the Church Catholic, on the ground that, through their remaining in schism, a future generation may be brought to unity ? I of course do not speak of such as Mr. Newman and Bloxam, who feel con- vinced that they are safe in their present position ; but only of such as have had their conviction shaken and are impelled by conscience to make this enquiry. Our duty seems to enjoin two things ; first, with the latter class, we must be open and candid and ready to receive them and encourage them to come, when, where, and how grace calls them, be they one or be they a thousand. Second, with respect to the former, we must be most careful not to encourage them with the idea that they are justi- fied in remaining in a state of schism for any consideration, although we may not feel it our duty to urge them forward faster than their own convictions carry them. These, if sincere, will justify them before God, but we must be on our guard against actively encouraging them, we may be running a great risk. . . . Now Providence, as you remark, will instruct us by facts ; and none could be stronger than a certain number coming over to us at once. It would be certainly an irresistible one. I have written to Eome, and am now daily expecting an answer, but communication with the Archbishop of Paris could be of no use, as he could not hold it otherwise than as the agent of the Holy 288 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. See. Only the Centre of unity can impart communion. If Eome should suggest the propriety of my undertaking a journey thither, I would not hesitate for a moment on the subject, and depend upon it, there is nothing in my power that I would not attempt to bring about the union of this country with the Holy See. I shall not care for any personal suffering in the cause. If, on the one hand, Bishop Wiseman at times judged harshly of the Oxford Movement and of JSTewman, as for instance the following passage in a letter of 1841 to De Lisle shows, — " I think Mr. Newman is a timid man, and one who looks forward to reunion as a mere contingency ; such is the tone of his note '' ; on the other hand De Lisle was but too apt to delude himself that the Tractarians were nearer to the Church than they really were. He believed in the reunion not as a mere contingency, as Bishop Wiseman puts it, but as an actual reality near at hand ; hence his line of action differed to some degree from that of Bishop Wiseman. De Lisle believed the Anglican Church to be a branch out off indeed, yet not altogether dead, of the Church Catholic because in schism, and only for the most part in heresy, whilst Wiseman held it to be not a Church at all. This different standpoint between the two men, equally eager in their desire for the reunion of England with Eome, must be borne in mind in considering the following remarkable letters on the Tractarian leaders and the Oxford Movement, might I not say of equal eloquence and power ? De Lisle with his heart full of elation, his imagination on fire, here and there perhaps almost on the verge of rhapsody, gives the following glowing description of the Oxford Movement and its leaders in a letter to John, Lord Shrewsbury, dated Barmouth, 1841 :— If I were to enter into a minute detail of all which the Oxford Men are now doing, I should indeed astonish you for I should write a volume rather than a letter. When I went to Oxford a few weeks ago, I was myself filled with amazement, and could hardly believe that I had not been enjoying the mere delusive visions of a dream rather than a sober view of realities — but yet it is no dream. To speak of only a few things : — They have made a most beautiful translation of the whole Eoman Breviary (part of which is already printed), and it is their intention to puljlish XIII CATHOLIC OPINION 289 this for the use and edification of such of the Laity as do not know Latin or might prefer saying the divine office in English. This translation has been executed with the most scrupulous fidelity : the Antiphons and hymns in honour of the B. Virgin have been given literally, and with all the force of the original expressions ! ! ! Can any thing be more astonishing than to see such a work emanating from the printing presses of the Anglican Church ? Then they are now engaged in republishing the Sarum Breviary, which must ever be dear to all true English Catholicks, as the office book with which our Church praised God in those glorious times, when England was the island of Saints, in the days of our heroick ancestors, when chivalry and devotion went hand in hand together, and when the honour of this world was not at variance vpith the honour of the world's creator. Well, this Office Book, so united with all our most precious and holiest recollections, are the Oxford Men republishing. Here let me say that they are anxious to have the concurrence of Catholicks in this great work. The publication is made by subscriptions con- stituting Shares of £5 each. Of these shares I have taken two, and I have procured the subscription for one or more shares from several of our leading Catholicks — your venerable Father-in-Law, Mr. Talbot, Lord Lovat, Mr. Stafford Jerningham, cum multis aliis. As soon as the Breviary is out, it will be followed by the publication of the Sarum Missal, Processionale, Antiphonarium, and other Service books of the English Church, anterior to Henry VIIL I hope you will add your Name for several shares for the Breviary, if so, will you let me know to that effect, and I will communicate the result to Oxford. Besides all this, they are now engaged in publishing new editions of approved ascetical works of our Church, such as the Spiritual Combat, the Imitation of Christ, etc., the value of which will be incalculable, as they will thus make known to innumerable readers the sublime spirituality of our Catholick authors, of which such readers would never have become aware had not their own divines edited editions of their works. Pugin will have probably told you in what a truly Catholick style they are restoring several of the old Churches at Oxford and in different parts of the country, erecting stone altars, placing massive candlesticks upon them, and candelabra in the sanctuary, together with embroidered antependiums, offerings of flowers, restoring choral services, erecting stalls for this purpose in chancels, in fine doing all they can, and much more than the most sanguine person could have anticipated a few years ago. Add to which that they have published a most beautiful and devout book of prayers for Unity, which they recite every Thursday (what will Bishop Baines say to that ?). In a word VOL. I U 290 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. when I reflect on all they have done, and still more on what they propose to do, I feel that any longer to doubt of England's recon- version would be not so much to evince a want of Faith and Zeal, as an incapability to make a proper judgment on facts the most palpable and convincing. Bishop Wiseman paid to Newman and the leading Oxford divines the noblest tribute of homage and venera- tion which a Catholic could offer, and which it is not too much to say they fully deserved. In his deep love for souls, his touching humility of heart, and self-abnegation, and with an enthusiastic hopefulness of soul, not surpassed even by Phillipps de Lisle, Bishop Wiseman, in a letter dated 1st April 1841, wrote to De Lisle as follows : — . . . Let us have an influx of new blood, let us have but even a small number of such men as write in the Tracts, so imbued with the spirit of the early Church, so desirous to revive the image of the ancient fathers ; men who have learnt to teach from Saint Augustine, to preach from Saint Chrysostom, and to feel from Saint Bernard — let even a few such men, with the high clerical feeling which I believe them to possess, enter fully into the spirit of the Catholic Religion and we shall be speedily re- formed, and England quickly converted. I am ready to acknow- ledge that, in all things except the happiness of possessing the truth, and being in communion with God's true Church, and en- joying the advantages and blessings that flow thence, we are their inferiors. It is not to you that I say this for the first time, I have long said it to those about me, that if the Oxford Divines entered the Church, we must be ready to fall into the shade and take up our position in the background. I will gladly say to any of them "me oportet minui." I will willingly yield to them place and honour, if God's good service require it. I will be a co-operator under the greater zeal and learning and abilities of a new leader. Depend upon it, they do not know their own strength. It is true that, weak as we are, they cannot prevail against us, because a stronger One than they is with us, and their might, in His, will be irresistible. Abuses would soon give way before our united efforts, and many things which now appear such to them would perhaps be explained. In regard to Phillipps de Lisle's plan of Corporate Eeunion, certain difficulties had presented themselves to Bishop Wiseman's mind. A combined movement towards xtii CATHOLIC OPINION 291 Eeunion contained perhaps in itself a danger of bringing about delay in individual conversions. He felt likewise other apprehensions, as is indicated in a passage of the following letter, dated St. Mary's College, Feast of St. Blair, 1842. . . . What "Ward says about Newman's supposed spiritual illumination I own rather alarms me. I can conceive the Divine Wisdom permitting them to remain in schism for the working out of good, but positive admonition or inspiration to persevere in such a state is of course inconceivable. I dread therefore any illusion ; for, depend upon it, the Evil One will not rest nor cease to employ every art necessary to keep persons back from the truth. . . . O'Connell, the author, and powerful advocate of the repeal of the legislative and executive Union between Great Britain and Ireland, was a disturbing element in the formation of Catholic opinion in regard to the Oxford Movement in Ireland. He was an ardent, daring, and successful politician, beloved of the people ; and, though a devout Catholic, with a profound knowledge of theology, he was rather what would in the language of the Syllabus be termed a liberalis hodiernus — this is shown by his well-known axiom, " We take our religion from Eome but our political principles from home." At that period of turbulent agitation, when " the base, bloody, and brutal Saxon '' was in Ireland a popular and favourite description •of the English people, there was little or no chance to enlist Catholic opinion in Ireland in support of the Oxford Movement. With a few notable exceptions, bishops, priests, and people, from Archbishop M'Hale downwards, who had but little sympathy with English Catholics them- selves, paid no heed to the " Puseyites " of Oxford. They were abhorred Saxons. Could anything good come out of Nazareth ? At one time both De Lisle and Bishop Wiseman were in hopes of inducing O'Connell as a good Catholic to give his public support to the Oxford Movement. Bishop Wise- man, who was on friendly terms with the great agitator, did his best to convince O'Connell of the sincerity of the Tract- 292 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. arians, and of the good work he would be doing in promoting the growth of Catholic principles at Oxford. There was an interesting correspondence on this subject between De Lisle, Bishop Wiseman, and Lord Shrewsbury. At last Phillipps de Lisle, the most hopeful of men, gave up in despair the hope of converting O'Connell. The most that could be expected was to keep the great agitator neutral ; the con- troversy provoked by Lord Shrewsbury's famous " Letter to Bishop Wiseman," which broke out between himself and O'Connell, dashed to pieces all such expectations. In a letter to Lord Shrewsbury, dated March 5, 1842, De Lisle writes : — I have not yet received a copy of your third letter to Bishop Wiseman, so I conclude it is not yet out. O'Connell's answer to your second letter you have probably seen : it is a deplorable exhibition of the agitator's ill-will and vituperative powers. I am glad to see in the present Buhlin Review ^ a very proper re- monstrance against it. After the scandalous and atrocious performance of the Lord Mayor's (O'Connell), I confess I am daunted in all my hopes about coming to an understanding with him. His mission for good seems at an end. The most we can hope for is to counteract and nullify his evil machinations. The wordy warfare raged all along the line. O'Connell poured out the vials of his wrath upon Lord Shrewsbury and the English Catholics in general. The Tablet, which on Frederick Lucas being elected member for Louth was ' The Duhlin Review, an English Catholic quarterly, was founded in the year 1836 by Dr. Wiseman, O'Connell, and Mr. Quin, and with varying fortunes survives to this day. During the Oxford Movement it attained to a public influence which it has never since reached, except as an organ of metaphysical speculation in which Dr. W. G. Ward exchanged some power- ful articles with J. S. MiU and the Agnostic school. It was read not by Catholios only but by the Oxford men. Dr. Wiseman, in his masterly argu- ments in its pages, was the foremost champion of the Catholic cause in Oxford, especially in his famous controversy with John Henry Newman. During these eventful years — the most brilliant period of its existence — Pugin and Mr. J. B. Robertson likewise contributed to the Duhlin Review : Pugin his celebrated articles on Gothic Architecture and Christian Art ; Mr. Robertson, his able reviews of the Catholic revival in Germany, France, and Spain. Just before Cardinal Wiseman's death, the Diibliii Review passed into the possession of Dr. Ward. On Cardinal Manning's death, to whom Dr. Ward had left it, it became the property of Cardinal Vaughan. sin CATHOLIC OPINION 293 removed to Ireland, was under the influence of the agitator, and took eager part in the fray. Irish Eepealers and English Catholics were in open conflict. " Puseyites," friends of Lord Shrewsbury, Bishop Wiseman, and De Lisle came in for additional abuse. Irishmen in England under O'Connell's sway, bishops and priests alike, were as loud-tongued as Protestants and Dissenters in denouncing and ridiculing the Oxford Movement. Mistrust and dislike of England, begotten in the days of prolonged and cruel persecution — happily long since passed — still filled the heart and inflamed the imagination of so excitable a people as the Irish. There were happily however, in Ireland, men — a small minority indeed, bishops, priests, and laymen, — who held aloof from the turbulence of pohtical agitation. Men for instance, like Dr. Murray, Archbishop of Dublin, and Dr. Eussell of Maynooth were in frequent communication with Bishop Wiseman, De Lisle, Lord Shrewsbury, and other English Catholics, on the Oxford Movement. Archbishop Murray, a most enlightened prelate, deprecated political agitation, O'Connell, and the repeal of the Union. Dr. Eussell did his best to restrain the students in Maynooth from taking part in the political agitation of the day so detrimental and disastrous to their ecclesiastical studies. Dr. Eussell, a large-minded and enhghtened man, the most eminent scholar of his day in Ireland, a writer of high ability, took an active part in the religious revival in England. He was brought in 1842 by De Lisle into direct communi- cation with Newman. In a letter to Bishop Wiseman, Dr. EusseU showed the deep interest he took in the Oxford Movement, and his sympathy with Newman and Tract 90: — I have the less 'difficulty in troubling you with this idea that I am thus afforded an opportunity of expressing my sincere delight that your Lordship, as I perceive from this morning's Tablet, has anticipated the dearest wish of my heart, a com- munication with Mr. Newman, which I trust may lead to happy results. Since I have heard that he is the author of the prefaces in the Library of the Fathers, and still more since I read No. 90, 294 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. I have begun to entertain the highest hopes of his ultimately becoming a catholic ; and the evident approach which each new publication displays, together with the extremely amiable spirit (in everything except what regards some of our doctrines, which he misrepresents) pervading all that he writes, makes me believe that a brief intercourse with one whose opinions (as your Lord- ship's) he wd. respect, would do more than years of study to remove his unhappy prejudices. . . . His peculiarly intimate friendship for Froude indicates a warmth and amiability of disposition, and so strongly was my interest in him moved by reading No. 90, that I was several times on the point of writing to your Lordship to suggest, unasked, the course which I am delighted beyond expression to find you have taken ! I never fail to remember him at the altar, and I cannot say whether it be the work of fancy or of religious hope, what a large portion of my thoughts he especially, but indeed the whole party, engages." In the year 1842 Phillipps de Lisle took active steps to bring the real character of the Oxford Movement before the Catholics of France. It had been grossly misrepresented by captious writers in the Tablet newspaper and similar periodi- cals. It was De Lisle's first business to check the evil at its source and to prevent the caricatures of the " Puseyites " from being accepted in France as a true picture. In letters to De Lisle, Montalembert describes more than once the Tablet writers as " noisy, vulgar, and violent men," and invoked Bishop Wiseman's influence to put an end to the mischief that was being done to the Catholic cause in France as well as in England. The truth is, as De Lisle asserted, that Catholic opinion in England was dormant, and Catholics in England had no right or real understanding of the Oxford Movement. Hence De Lisle and Bishop Wiseman himself wrote spirited letters to the Tablet protesting against the line adopted by that paper. In a letter to Phillipps de Lisle dated March 13, 1841, Montalembert writes : — ... I have followed with great interest your correspondence with the Tablet on the Puseyites, and am quite of your opinion. Go on my dearest friend in your work of real progress and holy warfare ; the Almighty has already given you splendid marks of His protection and paternal love. . . . XIII CATHOLIC OPINION 295 In conjunction with Mr. Bloxam and other Oxford men, letters were written to the Univers newspaper explaining or commenting on the Tracts for the Times. In this view frequent meetings were held at Magdalen College, at which De Lisle, with the aid of several Oxford men, capable French scholars like J. B. Dalgairns and Le Page Kenouf, wrote letters to the Univers. The effect of these communications from De Lisle and his Oxford friends excited a singular enthusiasm among the CathoHcs of France. They recalled with dehght the crusade of prayer which Phillipps de Lisle in conjunction with Eev. George Spencer had introduced into France in the year 1838. Bishops and priests and religious congregations and com- munities had since that time continually offered up masses, communions, and public prayers for the conversion of Eng- land. The movement towards the Catholic Church in Oxford, the tidings of which were now re-echoing through- out France, seemed to their simple faith as an answer from God to their prayers. Which of us shall gainsay their pious belief? At all events it was the dawn of a brighter day. The fact that direct communications from a college in Oxford were appearing in the chief Catholic paper, the Univers, was a public and significant testimony to the growth of Catholic tendencies in England. French bishops and priests were startled from time to time by the publica- tion of letters from a few captious Cathohcs ridiculing the Oxford Movement and denouncing De Lisle and his Oxford friends. A controversy arose on the subject in France ; Phillipps de Lisle defended the sincerity and earnestness of the Oxford Movement, and claimed Bishop Wiseman, whose name was revered in France, as an authority in support of the movement. In consequence of these efforts, hopes were renewed and prayers redoubled. Inspired by De Lisle's enthusiasm, many of the leading Catholics of France made themselves direct communications to the Tractarian divines or visited Oxford. Almost for the first time the state of religion in England had become known to the Catholics of France. Eminent priests and bishops from time to time visited 296 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. Oxford, attended divine service at Magdalen and other colleges, expressed admiration at the Cathohc character of the religious services, especially the veneration of our Lady and the invocation of Saints. Some of these Cathohc theologians, the most eminent of whom v?as the Pere Lacordaire the great preacher and reformer of youth, intro- duced by De Lisle, were received and entertained by Newman himself^ At a later period, however, when for a time Oxford was convulsed by Tract 90 and the suppression of the Tracts for the Times, Newman besought De Lisle not to introduce at such a crisis, ecclesiastics from France into Oxford, as their presence at such a crisis might be mis- interpreted. At all events, it was certain that such a visit would renew Protestant suspicion and excite afresh their bigotry. Besides Montalembert, of whose visit I have already spoken, Berryer, the most celebrated lawyer of his day in France, the most eloquent defender of the Cathohc cause, of the rights of the Holy See, as well as of the principle of Legitimacy, came to Oxford. Other laymen of note, from France and Germany, especially since De Lisle's continental tour m 1844, were attracted, by their interest in the Oxford Movement, to visit its centre and offer their homage to its leaders. By such a personal intercourse, and by De Lisle's fre- quent letters to his friends abroad, the revival of religion in England came by degrees to be better understood in Germany and in France. But what is of still higher im- portance were Bishop Wiseman's full and frequent com- munications to the Holy See. De Lisle acted as an interpreter between the Oxford Divines and Bishop Wise- man, giving from an intimate personal acquaintance with them, their views and hopes, and explaining the difficulties which beset and sometimes retarded the progress of the movement. By such means the Pope and Propaganda we"^e kept au emigrant vnth the Oxford Movement, and ' In one of his letters to De Lisle, Bloxam wrote : ' ' Lacordaire, the great Dominican, arrived here yesterday and was greatly admired at Oxford. Pray tell him so when you next write. XIII THE GOING OUT 297 the temper and tone of mind of English Catholics, and the dubious line of action followed by some of their spiritual rulers. On Newman's final retirement to Littlemore a shadow fell on the hearts of men in Oxford. The voice of the leader, beloved of all, was heard no more at St. Mary's. There was silence at Oriel. The famous Concilidbula had ceased in the Common-room. The chief writer of the Tracts wrote no more. The ears of many, some in trembling of heart, others in some dread, almost in despair, hstened in vain for a word of hope, comfort, or guidance from the silent voice at Littlemore. It was a day of rumours and whisperings, of hopes and fears. Newman's silence and seclusion at Littlemore was misunderstood or misinterpreted by many. His intimate friends and followers believed in him, still hoped against hope that he would return once more as their leader and master. The opponents of the Tractarian Movement, in and out of Oxford, predicted evil things. They who knew him not, or took a superficial view of his character and position, or knew not the difficulties or doubts which beset his soul or stayed his final step towards Eome, feared, like Bishop Wiseman and others, that he was stifling the dictates of his conscience. Another effect of Newman's retirement to Littlemore, and all that it implied, was the cessation of active com- munications between Catholics and the Oxford Divines. Bishop Wiseman himself, in a letter dated St. Mary's Col- lege, 1842: "I have no news of any sort from Oxford. Indeed I have no longer any correspondence there." Bloxam wrote no more from Magdalen College to De Lisle ; was no more a frequent guest at Grace-Dieu ; visited no longer with his Oxford friends Oscott College. In the years 1841-42 his correspondence with De Lisle was most copious and confidential. At the end of the latter year a change came over his spirit. His timidity, always great, waxed apace as the following letter shows : — 298 AMBEOSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. St. Mart Magdalen College, Vigil of All Saints, Oct. 31, 1841. My dear Sir — I was afraid that you would not altogether like my last letter, but as it appeared to me that your expecta- tions were raised to see a number of members of our Church leave it and that in a short time and betake themselves to your communion, I thought that it would be but honest in me to tell you wherein I differed in opinion from Ward in this respect. Time will show which of us is right ; I do not pretend to anticipate God's will. When I spoke of one or two joining your Church immediately I alluded to the report respecting Mr. Wackerbath, and also to the case of my own friend Sibthorpe, of whom you would learn from Dr. Gentili. He has just left me perfectly satisfied with the step he has taken, and it is not for me to judge or to condemn what appears to be God's purpose in the case of others. Ward is writing to you a long letter, and I am but too glad to give over to him the charge of discussing points to which I feel myself utterly unable. My head is now throbbing with the agitation caused by recent events, and I must for a time seek calm and quiet. I speak candidly when I tell you, that however desirous I may be of reunion, I have never yet felt the slightest conviction that it is my own individual duty to leave the Church of England, and my repugnance to the notion is so great, that I must decline any discussion of it. It is too fearful a thing to be trifled with, and human persuasion only tends to make the repugnance at entertaining it more forcible. I am well satisfied that things are, upon the whole, working for good, and will continue to do so if we look only to God's will that we may follow it, and pray for guidance, that we may know what that will is. With respect to your visit here I should rather ■wish you to postpone it, both on Sibthorpe's account and for other reasons, but Ward wishes to see you, and I have no right to oppose any fancied obstacle, so you shall do exactly as you think fit. I will not fail to make enquiry about the lodgings. Pray do not be offended at anything I write, for I am in a wretched state. — Yours very sincerely, J. B. B. Newman's attitude, or the attitude of the Oxford authorities, or the frowns of the Bishops, or his own moral cowardice, or perhaps the stopping of his ears to the voice of conscience, drove Bloxam back. At all events, in a con- xin THE GOING OUT 299 versation with me last year Sir Page Eenouf, in his blunt fashion, said : — Bloxam is a backslider. At our frequent meetings at his rooms in Magdalen College, where De Lisle, Dalgairns, Ward, and others met for the purpose of communicating with the Catholics of France, he was more advanced in his Catholic tend- encies and principles than the rest of us. I know not what became of him. After a long silence of more than forty years,^ Mrs. de Lisle had occasion to write to Mr. Bloxam, and the follow- ing letter was his reply : — Seeding Priory, Upper Beedino, Sussex, 25th September 1885. Dear Mks. de Lisle — I cannot tell you how much a Letter from you has gratified me, bringing back, as it does, so many pleasant recollections. I have a very vague recollection of my entertaining you in Oxford in 1842, but I shall never forget your kindness and hospitality to me on my visit to Grace-Dieu in August or September 1841, when I enjoyed so much going to see Garendon and Mount St. Bernard, and, I suppose at the same time, Oscott. I remember thinking Wackerbath very clever, but a trifle eccentric. I was much struck with Dr. GentiH — and Dr. Wiseman's kindness was boundless. I hope that I repaid it in some little measure in Oxford afterwards, when he came suddenly upon me with some sixteen or eighteen Archbishops and Bishops, who had been attending the consecra- tion of St. George's ; and I entertained all in Magdalen College Hall, with the portraits of Cardinal Pole and Cardinal Wolsey looking down upon them. I had a Letter from the great Cardinal ^ only two days ago. He has about the ten first folios of " the Letters," and when returned I shall send him more copies. I contrive to call upon him at the Oratory, Birmingham, once or twice in the year, and always meet with the kindest greeting. What a wonderful man he is! — Believe me, dear Mrs. de Lisle, with very great respect, most truly yours, J. B. Bloxam. P.S. — I am expecting a visit from Mr. Lockhart next week, and shall be extremely glad to see him. During Newman's retirement at Littlemore only a few 1 See vol. ii. p. 10. ^ Newman was created a Cardinal in 1879, see Life of Cardinal Manning, chapter xx. 300 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. letters passed between him and De Lisle. At the time when it was feared that proceedings would be taken either by the Oxford authorities or by the Bishops, De Lisle wrote to Newman, to which the following letter, dated Littlemore 1842, is the reply: — My dear Sir — Nothing can be more munificent or more con- siderate than yom' offer to present me, remaining a Clergyman of the English Church, though not exercising a Clergyman's office, with a tract of land on your property, in the event of certain painful measures being executed by the authorities of our Church. But in truth I have no apprehensions of any such measures. There are a number of persons in various ranks and stations who either entirely sympathise with us, or are our well-wishers, and would defend us on an emergency. Our opponents clamour because they can do nothing else. I do not mean to say that something may not be attempted against us by persons high in the Church, but I believe it will be a hrutum fulmen. If all , the Bishops unanimously pronounced a condemnation of Catholic opinions, the lawyers say that it would not bind the Church or hinder an individual Clergyman maintaining them. The Con- vocation alone is the voice of the Church, and I do not believe the Lower House would concur with the Upper in such condem- nation. — I am, my dear sir, very faithfully yours, John H. Newman. Littlemore, 10th February 1842. At last, when the great event — long expected, long hoped and prayed for, on the one hand, dreaded on the other with an inconceivable dread, with anguish of heart and trembling of soul — came to pass, it fell like an electric shock upon the hearts of all men, friends and foes alike. On Newman's conversion there was joy of heart and thanksgiving of soul throughout the Catholic countries. The Anglican Church, on the other hand, reeled under the blow, trembled like a mighty ship that had struck upon a rock. At Oxford there was a parting of the ways, a hurrying to and fro, hither and thither, a withdrawing in fear at the going out of the mighty leader. Statesmen and politicians, poets and men of letters, were confounded, and looked upon Newman's conversion as utterly inexplicable. The newspapers reflected the general amazement, con- sternation, and horror. In many a quiet parsonage through- xiii THE GOING OUT 301 out the land there was sorrow of heart or a strange con- fusion of mind or a new dawning of light. A very large number of those who had passed under Newman's influence at Oxford, or had read the Tracts for the Times, followed sooner or later Newman's example, to which the following letter of De Lisle bears ample witness. Grace-Dieu Manor, 8i/i December, Conception of our B. Lady, 1845. The work of conversion is proceeding at a rapid rate, more than fifty clergymen of the Estabhshed Church have embraced the Catholick Faith since the commencement of the autumn ! and a vast number of lay people. Amongst others I know you wUl be glad to hear of the conversion of the Eev. Michael Watts Russell, who was received into the Catholick Church the week before last along with his wife, his sister Miss Isabella Watts Russell, his sister-in-law Miss Barker, and his three children ! ! he has given up his benefice, which was worth £600 per annum, but I hear he has a good private fortune. The same week Mr. Frederick Faber, another clergyman (of whom you have probably heard me speak, having long known him), gave up a living of £1400 per annum, and was received into the Church by Bishop Wareing along with seven of his parishioners (others of whom have since followed their example). During the last ten days I have reckoned up no fewer than thirty-four conversions men- tioned in diSerent newspapers as having taken place during that brief period in difi'erent parts of the country, all of them belong- ing to what we may call the educated class : amongst the number was a Mr. Wells, a young man of fortune and highly connected, his mother is Lady Ehzabeth Wells, a near relation of Lord Gainsborough's. While the tide of actual converts has been so wonderful, the movement of favourable feeling towards Rome amongst those who still cling to the English Church, and who look forwards to the ultimate reunion of Churches, has been in equal ratio : a new journal has been set on foot by this party called The Surplice. The first number was sent to me last week, and I was so much pleased with its contents that I have ordered it to be sent regularly. It contains translations from some of the best treatises of the early Fathers, so that it will famiharize the publick with the best CathoHck works, and show what was the true doctrine of the Primitive Church. Mr. Newman's book is a most masterly production, the whole edition of 1500 copies was sold in two days ! Of course being an abstract treatise on 302 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. general principles it is rather dry, partaking something of the character of Bishop Butler's Analogy, but I have no doubt it will do immense good amongst that class of readers for whom it is specially designed. It satisfactorily disposes of the Protestant objection to Catholick doctrines and practices on the ground of the supposed silence of the three first ages in their favour : he shows that it necessarily required time to develop in the minds of orthodox believers the legitimate conclusions from that nucleus of Revealed Truth which was communicated by our Lord to His Apostles ; that therefore, on the one hand, we were not to expect its full development in the earliest age of the Church, while the absence of such development before a certain period could form no argument conclusive against the legitimate developments of a later period. On the whole, I have no doubt that this work, treated in the masterly manner in which Newman has handled it, will produce an immense change amongst deep-thinking Pro- testants. At the same time, I am not disposed to admit alto- gether that in the earliest age of the Church Catholick, Doctrine was so little developed as some modern authors seem disposed to admit. Of course this part of the subject is a question of fact, which can only be cleared up by positive Evidence. It cannot, however, be denied that England at large looked upon ISTewman's conversion to the Catholic Church at first with simple bewilderment, then with angry sus- picion, rage, and horror. For nigh upon twenty years he was accounted as one dead or out of his mind. On the contrary, among strangers on the Continent who knew him not except by his writings, or by the reports of personal friends like De Lisle, Newman's conversion was hailed with infinite joy. It was regarded as a signal mani- festation of God's special grace ; as the triumph of a mighty intellect struggling through darkness into light ; as a noble sacrifice of all that was dear to his heart on earth in obedience to the guidings of the Holy Ghost. On Newman being received into the Church there was a general rejoicing throughout the Catholic world. Among the Catholics of England there was of course a deeper sense of gratitude and thanksgiving than elsewhere. Besides being an event of general public interest, it was to New- man's personal friends a special joy of heart, both for his own sake and for the Catholic cause in England. XIII THE GOING OUT 303 Among Catholics in England Newman had no intimate friends, unless, perhaps, a few of the recent Oxford converts, except Phillipps de Lisle, to whom he wrote the following letter : — LiTTLEMORE, 19th October 1845. My dear Mr. Lisle Phillipps — It gives me so much pleasure to receive such congratulations as yours, that I hardly like to say, what is too true, that I am unworthy of them. Pray do not think of me in a way suggested rather by your own faith and charity than the truth. Father Dominic told us that we were but babes in Christ, and that is the beginning and the end of it. I wish I could have the pleasure of visiting you, as you kindly propose — but am at present closely engaged. Mr. Dal- gairns wishes me to say that he proposes to write to you to-morrow. — With much gratitude I am, my dear Mr. Lisle Phillipps, very sincerely yours, John H. NewiiLA.n. Masses of thanksgiving were offered up, and Te Deums sung in the churches of Eome, France, Germany, and Belgium. I can bear personal testimony, for I was then studying in Germany, to the general enthusiasm expressed on Newman's conversion, more especially in Munich, where the illustrious leader of the Oxford Movement possessed many personal friends. Not the least distinguished was Dr. DoUinger. The triumph and rejoicing on the one side, and mourning and tribulation of heart on the other, are to me at all events mere trifles in comparison with the supreme agony of a human soul in its hour of trial and darkness. Who indeed in that dark day, that day to him of supreme agony, could have conceived the terrible struggle which Newman's soul was undergoing in patience, prayer, and silence at Littlemore. Before the sword of sorrow was withdrawn from his heart by the hand of God, before the light came from heaven which made to his soul all things clear, who is there amongst us who can conceive, far less describe, so tragic a drama of the himian soul ? When the supreme psychological moment came, the moment of final decision, what concerns me most is to discover, or try to discover, the state of mind, of thought, of feeling, experienced by Newman. 304 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. The first impression was perhaps a sense of relief at the final ending of a long period of mental difficulty and doubt, a feeling akin to the sensation felt on the ampu- tation of a wounded or broken limb. All that was cut out of Newman's soul — an erroneous faith and ancient belief in, for he never lost his affection for the English Church — by the knife of the Divine Surgeon, if an infinite supernatural joy, was in the natural order a human sorrow, an anguish of heart, a pain like unto the dividing of marrow from bone. To a sensitive nature as his, what an agony of heart was not the breaking asunder of ancient ties, old associations, and lifelong friendships ! Deeper even still was the pain and fear of the irreparable ills which his abandonment of them, out of obedience to the will of God, might inflict upon the souls of his disciples. His sense of responsibility, which he owed to those who had followed his counsels and teachings, was so deep as to make his heart at times shudder. A fear greater even than the fear of death, lest many of them, how many — beyond reckoning — might forswear the light of faith which he had inkindled in their hearts and minds, and wander forth in despair into outer darkness. Among the lesser sorrows of his mind, because purely personal, was a sense of absolute isolation. His mind worked no longer in the ancient grooves, was no longer in touch with his fellow-workers of other days, no longer in common with them pursued the aims and researches of his former life, going out from his ancient life into the new, at the decisive moment his mind was in utter loneliness, for of that final moment I am alone speaking. In his new hfe there came of course unto him new works, new aims, new associations, and a new home. This is shown in a letter dated Collegio de Propaganda, 7 th January 1847: — Collegio de Peopaganda, Jan. 7, 1847. My dear Me. Phillipps — I often thought of you and yours at Milan at St. Ambrose's tomb, as you wished me — and now I xiii THE GOING OUT 305 wish you all a happy new year from Eome ; making use of Coffin's letter for the purpose. We are very comfortable here, and find ourselves among excellent friends, who do all they can to make us at home. We employ ourselves very busily in reading, and the time seems likely to pass very quickly till we have to pack up and return. We were able to benefit by your kind introduction to Count Mellario; and were able to convey to him your book safely, though the custom-house people were very rude to it on our coming into Sardinia, tore open the seals and looked at the plates. The Count was in very bad health, and could not see us at dinner — however we dined in his house with Mgr. Polidori his chaplain and some other persons. Also he sent us to Monza and back with his agent as a companion, and procured us a sight of the Iron Crown and the relics of St. Gregory and Queen Theodelinda. Then he sent a letter ofif to the good Jesuits at Genoa, who were kind to us in the person of Father JoiU'dan, who speaks English very fluently, and gave us means of seeing every thing that we could expect to see in the short time we were there. Mr. Digby wished to see me in Paris, and gave me a most kind and pressing invitation to pay him a visit — but we were so pressed for time that I could not accept it. It would have given me great pleasure to make his acquaintance, and I feel very grateful for his attention, which I owe to your kindness. This is a very matter of fact letter, and something like "re- porting progress," and nothing more. But I think you will let me send it you, such as it is, as an acknowledgment of your kind offices to me, and in evidence that I am, my dear Mr. Phillipps, with kindest regards to Mrs. Phillipps, Yours very sincerely, John H. Newman. Whilst Newman was thus spending a sort of spiritual honeymoon in Eome, absorbed in theological studies and prayer, visiting the shrines and sights of the city in the world the most interesting, whether viewed with Christian or pagan sympathies, for both find satiety in contemplating the ruins or restorations of its ancient temples and renowned sites, a sorrow of a lesser kind now only afflicted him, that his name, in consequence of his acting according to the dictates of conscience, had become a byeword or mockery to his fellow-countrymen ; that his word was no longer believed ; that his honesty of purpose was denied ; that VOL. I X 306 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. instead of being revered in England as a man of honour, he was proclaimed in the public prints as a liar before men, and a traitor before God. Stranger among strangers ! The spectacle which he presented at that awful moment to different classes of minds I have already related. I will now speak of its effect on two of his most intimate friends — Manning and Gladstone. To Archdeacon Manning the exit of Newman was appalling, and filled his heart with dismay and fore- boding of ill. He said to Mr. Gladstone, " the Church of England is splitting to pieces." To him Newman's exit was like the foundering of a mighty ship, disappearing for ever into the darkness and depths of the ocean. To Mr. Gladstone, on the other hand, with his courage and splendid hopefulness, and signal trust in the Church of England, Newman's conversion, though it filled his heart with infinite regret, and, as he said to Manning, made him reel like a drunken man, brought no fear to his soul. He might have regarded with infinite pity Newman as the victim of an intellect darkened or in ruins, but a noble ruin never to be forgotten ! Such a ruin as Durham Cathedral might have presented if stricken by a thunderbolt, — a shattered structure, lofty, sublime, and noble, still infinitely beautiful even in its ruins. On Newman's leaving the Church of England, and on finding peace, joy of heart, and safety in the Catholic Church, the Tractarian Movement did not come to an end. Its leader's presence, and the magic of his personality, had departed from Oxford. But the spirit of inquiry which he had awakened in the hearts of men, the hopes which he had inspired, and the faith which he had implanted, still remained. In the inscrutable designs of Providence, they who had not gone out with Newman from the Church of England carried on his work — the work appointed of God. At the going out of Newman and his innumerable disciples, with the notable exceptions of Pusey and Keble, William Palmer, Charles Marriott, James Mozley — the most eminent and active of his fellow-workers, the centre of activity was xm THE GOING OUT 307 removed from Oxford, and passed into wider circles, and entered into new developments. As an inevitable consequence of Newman's conversion, the leadership of the Movement passed into lesser hands. The influence of Pusey and Keble had a far-reaching effect, if not at Oxford, in the country at large. Pusey still upheld the doctrines taught by the Tracts for the Times, with an implicit trust in the position and claims of the Church of England. The magic of Keble's personal char- acter and party still held many who might have followed Newman in attachment to the Anglican Church. Manning then Archdeacon of Chichester believed like Pusey, but with even greater confidence, in the Church of England. His chief care was to hold men back from Eome. His chief aim and work up to the time of the Gorham Judgment was to liberate the Church of England from the bondage of the Civil power. The real work of the Tractarian Movement, however, was /- carried on by the London men — working clergymen like Upton Eichards of Margaret Street Chapel, and Bennett of * St. Barnabas, and other like-minded men, as well as by the lawyers, like Serjeant Bellasis and Hope Scott. But Hope Scott, after the conversion of Newman, gave up his work as a Tractarian until 1850. Mr. Gladstone still believed, even after the Gorham Judgment, in the Church of England, still supported the Eehgious Eevival begun by Newman at Oxford, and the eminent statesman did so until his dying day. For eight years Oxford had been the seed-bed of the Movement. The early Tractarians were the tillers of the soil. They digged deep and scattered far and wide over the land the seed blessed of God. The first fruits of the Har- vest in 1845 were garnered by the Church. New husbandmen were set to work in new fields. Yet day by day the sickle is still reaping God's golden grain in the fulness of the Harvest. In the Anglican Church, who shall doubt it, is still visible the Grace of God working in the hearts of men, opening their eyes and guiding their footsteps, faltering it 308 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. may be too often, or falling by the wayside, to the Church's centre of Unity, the home of true Orthodoxy, towards Eome. Of the Anglican Church we may say : " By its fruits ye shall know it." What are its fruits ? We have only to trace its history — the history of the religious Eevival since the year 1833, when Newman, led by God's hand, commenced his appointed work, until our day, when indeed the Anglican Church has been transformed in faith and practice from what it was when the Oxford Move- ment commenced. In our day, when the sickle of the Divine Eeaper is stiLl at work among riper grain, when the Husbandman is still garnering the after-fruits of the first harvest, and though throughout all this long period, day by day, month by month, year by year, the Holy See has gathered tens of thousands of souls, yet the work itself, the conversion of England, is not as yet accomplished. To foresee the future the best way, perhaps, is to cast a rapid glance at the past. To judge of the final result of the Oxford Movement let us look at its first commencement. When the famous Company at Hadleigh, with its pompous Committee, its President, Vice - President, and Executive officers, with their rules and regulations and resolutions, had come to naught, yielding to the glamour of Newman's genius, his trust in God and fervour of heart, the Tractarian Movement began. Tract after Tract was issued at irregular intervals with varying force and differing pur- poses, but under one impulse. By degrees the prevailing darkness was penetrated ; the structure of ancient Pro- testantism in the English Church was, as time went on, removed or transformed. What was to be destroyed was destroyed. The fragments of ancient Truth were lifted up and welded together. With light, day by day, new light came. The movement strengthened and stiffened, and broadened its ways. A mighty vibration went through the whole dense mass, touching the hearts of men, and lifting up their eyes ; there was light on the horizon, and new life on earth, and new and far-reaching hopes, giving fresh vigour to the movement. XIII THE GOING OUT 309 Newman, in his humility of heart, declared the Via Media to be a paper-theory only. But surely it was not so ; it is a living and moving force still in our day.^ It refuses to be stayed or stereotyped, as too many desire, or to be " cribbed and cabined." The ancient impulse still survives. From generation to generation it grows and gathers through- out the land new force and light. There is light on the horizon, if unseen of many, visible to the eyes of those who, like Phniipps de Lisle in his day, watched in hope and faith the coming of the dawn of the day of promise. In his pro- phetic vision he saw the lines which point to Eome ; saw the building of the bridge over the gulf which separates the English Church from the Church of Kome. If his too sanguine hopes were doomed to disappointment, it was not altogether of his own fault. How consistently he main- tained his hopeful view of the future of the Anglican Church the following letter written in 1872 to the Eev. Mr. Brownlow, a convert parson, now Catholic Bishop of Clifton, wUl show. It illustrates the exact position he took up with regard to the controversy which has since been made to turn upon the theory of continuity, a position which is certainly more accurate than that maintained by the generality of Catholic Controversiahsts. Garendon Park, Loughborough, ■ leth March 1872. My dear Mk. Brownlow — Let me thank you for so kindly sending me your able Pamphlet on "The Church of England and Its Defenders." I have read it with much interest, and I think you have written it with no less Charity than ability, and I have no doubt that it may be the means of doing good to many. At 1 The theory that the Anglican Church was the happy mean between Roman excesses of doctrine and development, and the Presbyterian or Puritan defects of doctrine and sterility broke down in Newman's eyes and made him a Catholic as soon as he perceived that the Roman theory and practice represented no more than the legitimate requirements of a healthy growth and continuous life of the same organic body. The theory of mere structural continuity as a principle of offence and defence was as unknown to him as to patristic and mediaeval theology. It appears to be a theory justified for political rather than theological purposes, and as such has little to do with the Kingdom of Heaven. E. de L. 310 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. the same time I ■will candidly say, that while I most cordially agree with all you say about the utter unsoundness of the present Anglican Prelacy, and the non-desoript character of Anglicanism in general as the Representative of any definite form of Xtian Belief, — there are still a few expressions in your Pamphlet, and a few links in your chain of argument, which scarcely commend themselves to my own mind. But it is very likely, notwith- standing that, that your view may be a more accurate one than my own. I do not quite agree with what you say, p. 6 : " The Church of England is no real Church at all, but I am " to my mind, it was the Church of England that fell into schism under Henry VIII., and into Heresy under Elizabeth. It is true one Bishop stood firm in Henry's time, Fisher of Rochester ; and several Bishops and Dignitaries in Elizabeth's reign ; but the orthodox Prelates did not keep up the succession or an orthodox branch of the English Church ; very diflFerent in this respect from what was done in Ireland. On the contrary, no sooner did Card. Pole die than his place is filled with a heterodox Prelate (it is immaterial for my argument as for your's whether his orders were valid), and with few exceptions the whole baptized Body of English Xtians acknowledged him as their Primate. No Catholic Primate was opposed to him, and so with the other Sees, the State was allowed to have its own way, and when the schism had had full swing for 10 years or more, the only opposition at all effectual was that of the much maligned Jesuits, and they did nothing for keeping up the old National Catholic Church, but confined their Labours to upholding the Faith, and rescuing a few souls here and there. Morally and organically the English Church was won over both to Schism and Heresy — and I believe that what was atchieved in the 16 th century for Evil, for Schism, and for Heresy — is by the Almighty Power of the Holy Ghost in the 19th century to be atchieved in a counter direction for good, that is for Catholicity and for Unity. In other words, the English Church in the 16th century became Protestant, in the 19 th century she will become Catholic once more, and return to her obedience to the Indefectible Chair of Peter. I say this more as a looker-on than as a Theologian. It is what God seems to me to be doing — and so I think all that has taken place for the last 45 years, since I myself returned to Catholic Unity, testifies that a few ripe fruit have indeed during that interval been gathered, but they are only the first fruits and the guarantee of a Harvest, which is yet future — a Harvest which will consist in the return and reconciliation of the English Church as a whole, not in its dismemberment and a consequent ingathering into our own ranks of the disjecta membra of an XIII THE GOING OUT 311 exploded Body. Catholicism is leavening the old Church of England, hence all the discord and confusion we see, but every- day the Catholic element is becoming more and more dominant. If the Court of Appeal decide (as I hear it has) that Tran- substantiation can be held in the Anglican Church, it lets in the thin end of the wedge, which sooner or later will drive out the Zuinglian Element. Pari passu with doctrine the Architects and the Ritualists are working for the same end — they don't know it perhaps — but there is One who knows what He is about — God the Holy Ghost ; the Resurrection of the Dry Bones is pro- ceeding, there is a strange commotion, an unwonted jostling in the Field of Death, the skeleton is already clothed with sinew, and nerve, and Flesh — but the Spirit has not fully come yet — but He will come, what He began He will finish, and Children of Abraham will rise up from the Bones, the orthodox so often trod upon and despised. But I will not go on with my own musings on what I see of God's work, all I can say is summed up in the words of Divine Scripture. " It is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes," marvellous indeed ! If any man had foretold 40 years ago what we now see in the old Anglican Church more or less all over the Land and through the remotest colonies of our world-wide Empire, he would have been taken for a maniac, and yet it is a fact : " The Lord's doing, and marvellous in our eyes." Who that has watched all this wonderful progress can doubt that He who began it will complete it ? That He will not rest from His Labour until He has once more made England Catholic ? That will be the true consolation for the Papacy, for the successor of Peter ! Again thanking you. — I remain, very sincerely yrs. in Xt., Ambrose L. M. P. de Lisle. There are shortcomings and sins on either side. On ours a too darkened faith and trust, too faint a hope, too perverse or prejudiced a vision. On theirs hearts too froward ; hands too apt in their arrogance to lay down lines or limits, or to dictate terms ; in their vision too pre- sumptuous, and looking forward to the end without await- ing in patient humility God's guiding hand. But the original impulse still survives. The guiding of the Holy Ghost will not, it is to be hoped and trusted, be for ever resisted, nor be too long delayed. The original plan of the Movement was framed by the hand of man, but its issue 312 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap, xiii was appointed of God, in His tender mercy and love for religion in England — a clouded religion still. But under the sable cloud there is a silver lining, shining afar off at the dawn of day, in the coming of light upon the land. The Light of God's Eternal Truth. In that day, in the fulness of God's appointed time, the harvest of souls will be gathered in by the Divine Husbandman. CHAPTEE XIV THE EESTOEATION OF THE HIERARCHY IN ENGLAND " PAPAL AGGRESSION " THE " SECOND SPRING " 1850-1855 In 1850 God's hurrying hand swept over England, shook the souls of men, lifted the clouds that were gathering over their spiritual vision. A stagnation somewhat akin to the approaches of winter was beginning to creep into the heart and benumb the action of too many Catholics in England. A reaction had begun to set in. Many of the Catholic laity of the feebler and less hopeful kind were beginning to grow weary of the trixmiph and tumult of joy which followed the conversion of Newman and his disciples innumerable. Some of them even began to fear that religion was taking too prominent a place in the thoughts of men, was becoming too obtrusive and ostentatious an element in social life. Others feared, and at times whispered their fears, that the converts were introducing novelties into the services of the churches, especially in London. A few proclaimed aloud, with a touch of ridicule in their voices, that practices and devotions unknown to the Catholics of England were being imported from abroad, especially from Italy. They complained, moreover, that Lives of the saints were written by the Oratorians in an objectionable fashion, and filled with exaggerations suitable perhaps to the Italians, but offensive to the sober-minded Catholics of England. Active and fervent Catholics like Phillipps de Lisle and Pugin complained, not without justice, that bastard Italian and 314 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. debased Eoman fashions in vestments and Church -vessels were being imported from abroad by the Oratorians, and insisted upon as alone legitimate, to the exclusion of all the more beautiful forms revived by the intelligent study of Catholic antiquity. The revival in Christian Art and Gothic architecture was objected to and derided by many of the Oxford converts, who looked upon the national architecture of England as part and parcel of Anglicanism. In reply to De Lisle's severe criticisms on the London Oratorians and their attacks on Christian Art, Lord Arundel and Surrey wrote with a vigour and precision not common in his other compositions, the following letter : — Saturday, 11th May 1850. I have to thank you for the kindness of your letter, and to reply to that part of it which regards the Oratorians. I imagine you must have been misinformed upon the matter, as although I am bound to admit that the Oratorians are not themselves advocates of what you call " Christian Art," yet they are not engaged in any strife against it. They have never written one word, or instigated the writing of one word against it. With regard to the articles in the Rambler, they differ quite as much with Capes as they do with Pugin — in fact, as far as the Model . Church is concerned, they do agree with Pugin that it embraces all the defects of the old Art without its beauty. The Oratorians themselves are compelled by the rule of their order to an exact copy of the Mother House in Eome, even to the most minute details, and they are continually reminded of their Constitutions and exhorted to keep strictly to them. They do not pretend to interfere with other people, or to dictate to them what should be the style of their churches and decorations. In fact, I may say that which I well know to be the truth — their whole time is taken up exclusively in the Salvation of Souls, and in the strictest attention to the Eegulations and Customs enjoined by the Pope and Propaganda to that end. So far from wishing to create a party upon the subject of Art (or indeed upon any other subject), they speak most strongly against the introduction of such an element of strife, and have made quite a scruple of abstaining from writing in the Bambler or elsewhere about it. No one knows better than you do the number of idle rumours which are circulated respecting people employed in good works. For them to attempt any defence would not only be contrary to XIV THE HIERARCHY 315 the practice of the Saints, but it would be an endless and fruit- less task, for which they have no time. Now let me say one word. Why do you call one particular branch of Art, however beautiful. Christian Art 1 It appears to me to be at least strange in a Catholic to forget that, under the much abused Churches of Roman and Greek form, so many Saints have received their inspirations ; and that at this moment the spread of Religion in France is conducted entirely without reference to the external form of the building. There is nothing Gothick in the Church of Notre Dame des Victoires, so favoured by the Blessed Virgin as the Mother Church of the Arch- confrerie of the Heart of Mary. Neither does it appear essential anywhere that the return to Christianity should be accompanied by a return to the architectural tastes of our ancestors. God bestows His graces and favours without reference to these con- siderations. This is not matter of theory but of fact. It was under shelter of those very Gothick Churches that wicked men in England suffered the Reformation to take place. And assuredly the Piety and Zeal of the Oratorians themselves should be a proof that a return to Catholicity does not neces- sarily imply a return to mediseval art. You will be astonished when I tell you that I really have thought much of the enthusiasm on either side was in joke. I could not seriously believe that Catholics could speak with so much bitterness towards each other on account of such differences. I do feel, whatever may be reserved for us, that if we quarrel upon such matters as these we shall deserve the effects of disunion which we shall undoubtedly feel. I do not think you often find Saints greatly occupied with these matters, or that it is conducive to Sanctity to think too much about them. I think variety pleasing, always within the limits that the Church willingly sanctions, and I confess in travelling I like to find in one place a Gothick, in another a Grecian, and in a third a Byzantine Church. But to feel a repugnance to any one form in which it appeared due attention had been intended to the suitable display of treasure in the ornament of the temple dedicated to God would appear to me actually wrong. I am quite aware that you will pity and despise me for all this, and I will not bore you with more of it. But the simple fact is that there are men of piety on both sides of the question, and I am sure I should be glad enough to let each do what he will and only suffer me to worship God in either the Gothick or the Roman edifice, as may be most convenient at the moment. I cannot help thinking there must be many who hold this opinion, and are heartily tired of unnecessary disputes. With respect to the 316 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. Committee for the Oratorian Church, I for one would have nothing whatever to do with it if it undertook any other share than that of collecting the money. And if it were any other Eeligious Order, and I was able to assist them, I should never enquire into, or seek to interfere in, any of the details or in the choice of the Architecture. Do not think me uncharitable because I have not the gift of writing so kindly as you do. You know it would distress me beyond measure if I were so unhappy as to offend you, but I cannot help telling you exactly what I think, since you have called my attention to the subject, and I do entreat you to believe me, ever most affectionately yrs._ Arundel and Surrey. In the midst of these benumbings of heart and grum- blings of voice, amidst the divisions in opinion, and party spirit perhaps not uncommon among English Catholics, was heard the voice of Cardinal Wiseman proclaiming in the name of the Holy See the re-establishment of the Catholic Hierarchy. Not a day too soon came like a clarion-call his famous Letter from the Flaminian Gate. It fell upon England like a bolt from the blue. Again, Catholics of the feebler sort complained of what they called the arrogance of Cardinal Wiseman — hinted even that his assumption of the title of Cardinal was an act of personal ambition. Why, many of them suggested, did he not creep into England with becoming humility, speak with bated breath, and present himself without the Eed Hat, as simple Archbishop of Westminster. What was the use of provoking Protestant hostility ? Did Saint Augustine, as they urged in their folly, descend upon the coasts of Kent with show and pomp ? Did he address our heathen forefathers in pompous terms and in a chal- lenging tone ? Out upon such invertebrate Catholics — timid time-servers, moral cowards or croakers prophesying things of ill. Such a fearless challenge flung down before the people of England was the wisest policy Cardinal Wiseman could adopt. The Catholic Church in England had a Divine message to deliver to the English people. After three hundred years of enforced silence she had to proclaim anew the Faith which had been long since abandoned, and utterly forgotten by the masses of the people. The message XIV THE HIERARCHY 317 answered its purpose. The attention of the whole of England was at once arrested. In spite of the turmoil and hubbub invoked by the malodorous Letter of Lord John Eussell to the Bishop of Durham, in the midst of the ravings of excited fanatics on platforms innumerable in town and country, and the beatings of the drum ecclesi- astic here, there, and everywhere, the people of England recognised that a power unknown to them stood before their eyes and claimed a hearing. With their innate sense of justice such a hearing was granted, Cardinal Wiseman's " Appeal to the People of England " had an instant effect. A change came over the spirit of the people, to them the Catholic Church was no longer a remnant of ancient days, no longer a phantom created by malign imaginings, or a hideous caricature handed down by the Elizabethan Tradition. Had not Cardinal Wiseman with a manly courage and an unshaken trust in his fellow - countrymen made his famous " Appeal to the People of England " ; had he sneaked, if I may so speak, into his See at Westminster, the claims of the Catholic Church would have passed unnoticed, and its presence instead of being recognised as a living and moving force, would have been regarded with a sneer as the introduction of one sect the more into the country. Another beneficial effect of Cardinal Wiseman's action was to break down the insularity of English Catholicism, the narrowness of its views, the prejudices inherent to the soil. The fidelity of our Catholic forefathers in keeping alive from generation to generation the Eaith through the prolonged and evil days of persecution, calls for our deepest gratitude and admiration ; but when the days of persecution came to an end in the period between Catholic Emancipa- tion and the restoration of the Hierarchy, many Catholic county families throughout the land, owing to social in- fluences, silently and noiselessly abandoned the Faith. During the same period the effect of Protestant environ- ment was to dim the clearness of Catholic vision. Ancient Catholic devotions were dropped, and Catholic principles were in a degree somewhat obscured. Cardinal Wiseman's 318 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. Catholic spirit and the distinctness of his teachings came like a breath from Heaven into the tainted atmosphere which encompassed and corrupted English Catholics. In the height of the storm, when Protestant fanaticism was fanned to white heat by Lord John Eussell, when ministers of the Crown had lost their heads or tempers, Phillipps de Lisle wrote a masterly Letter to Lord Shrews- iury on the He-establishment of the Hierarchy and the present position of Catholic Affairs. This very able and argumentative pamphlet created a sensation by its outspokenness and the force with which the main points in defence of Cardinal Wiseman were driven home. At the day it was very highly spoken of.^ Within a month another pamphlet was published by Phillipps de Lisle, entitled : A few ivords on Lord John Russell's Letter to the Bishop of Durham. This spirited attack on Lord John Eussell's insolent and audacious appeal to fanaticism, written in Phillipps de Lisle's most forcible style, exposed and turned inside out Lord John's fallacies and sophistries. Newman himself expressed his high appreciation of it, as is shown in the following letter to De Lisle, dated The Oratory, Birmingham, 8th November 1850: — I thank you very much for the present of your noble Protest against the present outcry. It is just what all who knew you would expect from you. I should have acknowledged it sooner, but that I have been much engaged in writing and printing a Sermon of my own, which I preached a fortnight since at St. Chad's. . . . All will turn to good, though we have a fight. — I am, very sincerely yours, in Xt., JoHN H. Newman. At the moment when the " No-Popery " outcry was in full frenzy in London — when private individuals in their fanaticism were circulating at their own expense by tens of thousands Lord John Eussell's " Durham Letter," ^ Mr. Charles Waterton, the naturalist, wrote to Mr. Peter Middleton of Middleton Lodge, Yorks, from Walton Hall, under date November 12, 1850, "Mr. Lisle Phillippa's pamphlet is the perfection of Catholicity. I wish that it could be read by every Catholic and Protestant in the United King- dom. It is indeed a masterpiece beyond all praise." XIV PAPAL AGGRESSION 319 Birmingham, the capital of the Midlands, had already recovered its senses. In a letter to De Lisle, dated The Oratory, Birmingham, 13th December 1850, Father Newman bore witness to the sense of justice and of fair play displayed by the people of Birmingham. After congratulating him on the turn things were now taking. Father Newman wrote of Lord John Eussell and his fanatical Bill as follows : — A Town Anti- Catholic Address here was defeated on Wednesday in a meeting of nine thousand people, and to-day, instead of our being called " Candlesticks, Popes, and High Priests," two of our party were saluted with hurrah for Catholics. This turn of things was in no small measure to be attri- buted to the influence and statesmanlike views of Mr. Gladstone and John Bright, M.P. for Manchester, both alike fierce and persistent opponents of Lord John Eussell and his Ecclesiastical Titles Bill. Lord John Eussell's insolent assertion in his Durham Letter that Popery confines the intellect and " inslaved the soul " was an insult which the Catholics of England, with one heart, one mind, one voice, at once resented. Not a man in the Catholic body, unless possessed of the spirit of a mouse, could have submitted in silence to such an insult from the Prime Minister of England. Inspired by De Lisle's precept and example. Lord Shrews- bury, unlike one or two craven -hearted, ill-instructed, or worldly Catholic Peers, spoke out like a man. In his vigorous and effective fashion he supported De Lisle's pamphlet in defence of Cardinal Wiseman. In the follow- ing letter, dated Naples, 25th November 1850, Lord Shrewsbury writes : I have just seen the notice in the Catholic Standard of your brochure, and like it extremely. I hope you have advertised it in the Times, etc., it is apparently just what it ought to be, and beautifully written. Send it to Lord John and every member of the Cabinet, or they will not get it. I fear, however, that the unbelieving Minister will treat the Holy Vision as the mummery of superstition. 320 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. Besides praising Phillipps de Lisle's pamphlet, Lord Shrewsbury, in a letter dated 17th January 1851, says: Dolman will soon send you a long arid strong letter of mine to Lord John, it contains an Appendix which I had no idea of writing, but for a long and strong letter I received from Lord Clarendon complaining bitterly of the Primate of Ireland and his faction, of the lies they sent to Rome, the agitation they keep up at home, the Communism they preached in the Tenant League, their virulent opposition to the Colleges, their intimate alliance with Lucas, the Univers, and all the Ultra Catholic papers. Lord John Eussell's insolence and buffoonery struck Lord Shrewsbury on the face, and he resented the insult by pay- ing off the buffoon in his own coin, as is shown in the following words: I have just sent Dolman a MS. Parody on Lord John's letter for immediate publication. ... I trust it will be accurately printed, and that you will like it. Of course my name is not to it, as it purports to be the Original Version of the Letter. It enters so completely into the arguments on the question that I will say nothing here — I hope the Catholics will show spirit on this occasion, and show Lord John a bold front, for he has foully calumniated them. Pamphlet followed pamphlet in qiiick succession in defence of the Catholic cause, but Catholic protests only added fuel to the fire. The Lord Chancellor of England, in temporary aberration of mind, declared he would put his foot down on the Eed Hat sent by the Pope of Ptome to England. Insults flew about in that hour of madness like rotten eggs or dead cats — not uncommon in those days — at a General Election. Another incident in this fierce " No- Popery" agitation of a far different and higher character was the intervention of the late illustrious Leader of the Oxford Movement. The Oratory in King William Street, where Father Newman delivered his famous lectures on Anglican Difficulties, was filled from end to end with representative men, Anglicans as well as Catholics. With fine sarcasm XIV PAPAL AGGRESSION 321 and love of fun Newman turned the grotesque spectacle into supreme ridicule. His voice was heard above the hubbub of the hour, listened to by men of public repute — statesmen, politicians, and with special eagerness by men of letters, like Thackeray, Dickens, and many others. I shall never forget Newman's inimitable voice, some- times lifted up in scorn, sometimes quivering with suppressed emotion. Now the hearers were startled by a sudden outburst of indignation, the head of the lecturer thrown back in defiant scorn ; now saw a look of sadness pass over his face ; now a quiet smile as he gave a sarcastic description of some of the more absurd and grotesque displays of Protestant bigotry. There is perhaps no more curious illustration of the after-effects of the Anti-Papal agitation than is given by the conduct of Lord Shrewsbury and a certain section of English Catholics. In the first flush of the conflict, when the people of England had for the moment lost their wits, Lord Shrewsbury was as bold as Phillipps de Lisle could wish in repelling insults heaped upon Cardinal Wiseman in violation of the rights and liberties of the CathoHe Church. But when the popular fury began to abate. Lord Shrews- bury yielded to the social influences which encompassed him, opened his ear to timid counsels, to the whisperings of the craven-hearted, or even to the imputations circulated against the conduct and bearing of Cardinal Wiseman. At this juncture a shift of the wind came over Lord Shrewsbury's fluctuating opinions — a weather - glass in Catholic affairs, at least during this stormy period ; and he betrayed a pusillanimous spirit and a querulous tone, as the following letter to De Lisle, dated Palermo, 23rd Eebruary 1851, shows: As yet I have neither seen my own letter nor Lord John's doings. What strange times we live in ! What will come of it all no man can tell. We must hope for the best. Tho', certainly, ill-advised things have been done by us to provoke much of it. The pompous Pastoral from outside the Flaminian Gate, and bringing the Cardinal's hat to England, VOL. I Y 322 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. are evidently too much for the temper of the times, and in common prudence ought not to have been done. Any one could have told that they at least ought not to be. As to my quasi-defence of the Colleges, I do not (I think) say a vs-hit more than Dr. Murray, Professor of Dogmatic Theology at Maynooth, or than Dr. Crolly, the late Primate. You may learn this from the Tablet of Feb. 1, which is the last we have. You should take Dr. Murray's Annual Irish Miscellany. It is very clever and even brilliant, tho' not always (I think) very judiciously done — still he is at open war with the Tablet and (I believe) with O'Connell, and that is a great point. "What is Bennett about ? and so many others 1 It is dreadful that people move so slowly. Now is the time to push on. Where is Lord Dunraven ? Do give us some consoling news in the midst of so much misery. It is, I assure you, delightful to be out of such a boiling chaldron — one enjoys one's peace and quiet vastly. What a curse is Eeligious strife ! and how much some of us add to it ourselves ! It is bad enough to have to fight an external enemy, but to be obliged also to contend at the same time against a domestic foe, and a foe who is urging on the external enemy, is really lamentable. Did you see Lucas's villainous and insolent attack upon the thirteen Irish Bishops either in the Feb. 1st number or the one preceding it? Of course he will be furious at me — but without him we should know little of what was passing in the Catholic World. The Cardinal deserves well to have it called his organ, as I see it is — the organ of Cardinal Wiseacre, for he never had the spirit or virtue to disavow it. He would now have stood in a very different position, had he come boldly forward in condemnation of wicked and uncharitable principles, a zeal without knowledge, and a taunting, provoking, insolent style of address. The Hierarchy itself was reasonable, if not necessary, though certainly not so, unless Bishop Brown of — I know not what — and Administrator of Shrewsbury, has set an example which will be followed, by giving their rights to the inferior clergy. AVhy did they abolish the old Canon Law before they had another ready ? or why was it abolished at all 1 I don't understand that, and I see that silly Anstey has taken advantage of it. How shame- fully Lord Camoys has behaved ! What a miserable set we have in the Lords ! I wish you were there. Dear Lord Arundel and Surrey has come out well ; tho' I don't understand from Lord John's or Lord Lansdowne's speeches what gave occasion to his letter. I see no attack on our Loyalty from either of them. They merely seem to say, "You have gone too far ahead, we must draw you in, and chastise you for your XIV PAPAL AGGRESSION 323 presumption." I cannot see the end of it. Stanley and Disraeli have behaved abominably too — in fine all the world seems either to have gone mad or to have taken leave of every high moral principle. It is a real blessing to be from among such people. "\^'ho could have believed that such a mass of inveterate bigotry was clothed by such a specious covering of professed liberality. What a vixen Lord Johnny has turned out — only two years ago to say he saw no reason why a Catholic Bishop should not take the Title of a See, and now to bring in a Bill to prevent him ! This alone was justification enough for the Hierarchy — but none for the Hat, and Pastoral. Do tell me all your views, and all the news. I am very anxious for both. No doubt the Papal aggression, as the no-Popery out- cry was termed, had an injurious effect upon Catholics of the feebler sort. Too many of them morally shook in their shoes ; they were afraid lest Cardinal Wiseman's bolder spirit, his truer apprehension of the faith and devotion of the Church, his introduction of devotions common in Catholic countries, but forgotten too much in England, might expose religion to public derision and abuse. Hence such Catholics — of whom Lord Shrewsbury was a type — objected to Cardinal Wiseman's introduction out of fear of giving offence or scandal to Protestants of such devotions as the Quarant' Ore, with its quickening spirit of love and homage for the blessed Sacrament, as the Eosary, the public Invocation of saints and Veneration of relics, and the commoner use of images and crucifixes. Moreover, the publication of the Lives of the Saints by the Oratorians gave offence to some timid, perhaps sceptical Catholics, on the ground of the exaggerations which they contained, and the parade they made of supernatural occurrences. The effects produced by the re-establishment of the Hierarchy were like the blowing of a strong wind, cleared the Catholic atmosphere, swept out of the minds and hearts of English Catholics insular prejudices and littlenesses — the accumulation of years — braced nerves and hardened backbone, fiUed with new breath and life the moral and spiritual nature of men. 324 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. Fanatical Protestantism, by its brawlings and bellowings, had blown itself hoarse. Bigotry had to suffer its worse penalty. It became supremely ridiculous in the eyes of sober and sensible men. Eidicule fell upon its apostles from the Lord Chancellor down to the street boy, who chalked up No-Popery on the wall and ran away. The storm subsided almost as rapidly as it had sprung up. Lord John Eussell, the real author of all the mischief, fell from power. The Ecclesiastical Titles Bill shared the fate of its begetter. No one was a whit the worse for it. The Bill was buried in ridicule. Cardinal Wiseman triimiphed all along the line — another signal illustration of the principle that boldness, courage, and outspokenness are the stuff out of which victory is made. Time-serving, compromise, concealment, or sup- pression of truth in all its fulness is fore-doomed to defeat and moral death. " Honesty," let me again say, " is the best policy." Since that signal success obtained by the heroic courage and straightforwardness of Cardinal Wiseman, there have been timid Catholics early and late, who have come forward as apologists for the Cardinal. Some praised his motives, but imputed blame to his methods ; some hinted that he would have acted more wisely had he published no Letter from outside of the Plaminian Gate, or that the truths which he had spoken might have been uttered in a lower key. They suggested that such a flaming Letter was of no public use or benefit, or that it was a fine oratorical display, but lacked the wisdom of the statesman or the skill of a diplomatist, and still worse, the humility of the priest. Other self-styled apologists declared that Cardinal Wiseman had forgotten his duty to the Sovereign Pontiff; and instead of delivering a private message from the Pope to the Prime Minister of England, the Cardinal, in his ambition or love of display, had published it " upon the house-tops." All these apologists or minimizers, in their timidity or narrow-mindedness, pay a left-handed compliment to Cardinal Wiseman by praising his spirit and motives, but bewailing — for such it amounts to — the weak- siv THE HIERARCHY 325 ness of the flesh. But what does all the stuff and nonsense of these minimizers come to ? Had Cardinal Wiseman not written the letter from the Flaminian Gate ; had Lord John Eussell not written his Durham Letter ; had the Pro- testants of England not raised a No-Popery cry, what then ? What would have happened in England ? Things would whave run on pretty much as they did before the Establish- ment of the Hierarchy. The cravens would have boasted of the wisdom of their counsels ; the slow-coaches would have rejoiced in heart that their arm-chair comfort and peace were not disturbed. But the result would have been, had her presence not been brought home to their eye and ear, to their heart and soul, that the Catholic Church would have remained as utterly unknown as heretofore to the people of England. In the attainment of so happy an issue, De Lisle, by his example and influence, had an active share. His attitude of conciliation towards the Anglican Church was not with- out its effect upon the kindly bearing invariably displayed by Cardinal Wiseman towards our separated brethren. De Lisle was not only the Cardinal's staunch supporter in his public warfare, but was on terms of personal intimacy with him since the days when they were fellow-workers in the Oxford Movement. Both men were equally sanguine in their hopes for the return of England to Catholic Unity. In Cardinal Wiseman, De Lisle found a sympathetic helper in the revival of Christian Art, in the strict observance of ancient rites and ritual of the Church, and in the use of plain chant instead of the florid miisic of Italy and France. Another bond of sympathy, another element in common action between the eminent churchman and, in one sense, the lay -leader of the religious revival in England, was Cardinal Wiseman's love for the religious orders. He often showed his high appreciation of De Lisle's work in founding the Abbey of Mount St. Bernard, and in estab- lishing churches and schools in the Leicestershire villages. The Cardinal, in his frequent visits to Grace-Dieu, often expressed his edification at the life and conduct of so Christian a family. 326 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. At the time of the Establishment of the Hierarchy, Lord Shrewsbury, the foremost and most energetic among English Catholics, was virtually the representative and leader of the Catholic laity. He enjoyed the confidence of the most able and active of the Catholic party. He was of an enthusiastic nature, and possessed the gift of exciting sympathy so essential in a leader of men. Bishop Wise-^ man held Lord Shrewsbury in high esteem, as did most of the Vicars Apostolic. His well-known munificence and piety endeared him to the clergy and monastic orders. His posi- tion, of course, as premier earl of England gave him weight and influence in the country. Lord Shrewsbury, however, as I have already shown, had not altogether emancipated himself from the narrow and insular prejudices of the day. He objected at one time to Italian priests, like Father G-entili and Father Dominic, coming to England as missionaries. In common with not a few of the clergy as well as laity who were unfamiliar with the traditions and usages of the Church, he resented the introduction by Cardinal Wiseman of Catholic devotions from abroad into England. Apart, however, from these prejudices, which were by no means rooted in his mind, but merely incidental and fluctuating. Lord Shrewsbury was a man of independent character, as well as possessed of considerable literary powers. As a representative of the Catholic laity, he naturally felt aggrieved at their not having been consulted before such a great change in the government of the Church had been introduced. It was perhaps too much the custom of the leading ecclesiastics to act not only independently of the laity, but without their active concurrence, as was the case in the Eestoration of the Hierarchy. High-spirited men, like Lord Shrewsbury, and many others, resented such treatment, although in this case imaginary. The following interesting correspondence will explain in its measure the attitude of most of the English Catholic laity towards Cardinal Wiseman and the establishment of the Hierarchy. In a letter dated Naples, 25 th November 1850, Lord Shrewsbury writes to De Lisle : — XIV THE HIERARCHY 327 It was, I fear, and every one thinks, very ill-judged of Cardinal Wiseman to return as Cardinal. It was enough for him to be Archbishop of Westminster. It was, I fancy, all his own doing, for certainly the Pope intended him to remain at Eome. It has added to the excitement very considerably. As to the Hierarchy, I am anxious to know how it is to affect the lower clergy. If they do not get their rights, they have been scurvily treated. How came the good Pope to say it had been solicited by the Laity ? How or when was that done ? I have no recol- lection of anything of the sort. I am sure I would never have asked it without being assured that the inferiors would enjoy their rights as well as the bishops.^ Pray tell me about this. It is a hard case to put the responsibility upon us when (as far as I know) we have had nothing to do with it. Some few people who happened to be at Eome, such as Campbell Smith, might have asked, but no one that I know of who represented the Catholic body in any way. In the two following letters — the first as early as 1846 — De Lisle plainly shows, however, that Lord Shrewsbury had been of one mind with him in regard to the great benefit of introducing a Hierarchy into England, and begs his friend to urge on its establishment, and in the letter dated a year later, Phillipps de Lisle expresses his hope that Wiseman will soon be appointed Archbishop of London. These private letters seem to show that Lord Shrewsbury was inconsistent in saying that no one that he knew of had had anything to do with it. Probably he had forgotten all about it, his mind being full of church-building and more engrossing occupations. Gracb-Dietj Mauor, \bih December 1846. I am delighted that you enter into what I say about the Hierarchy ; it is impossible to overrate the importance of that, I firmly believe; we will talk more about it when I am with 1 This gi-ievance of the inferior clergy has not been righted yet, and is keenly felt, for the Catholic Bishops enjoy their canonical rights as against arbitrary action on the part of the Pope, whilst the parochial clergy have no such protection as against the Bishops ; the Laity too will not be thoroughly satisfied till diplomatic relations are re-established at the Vatican, for at present there is not any authorised channel by which their views and wishes can be placed before the Pope or the Roman Congregations, to the manifest injury of all parties. E. de L. 328 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. you, for which I ardently long. . . . There is not any real difficulty in the way of forming the Hierarchy. There is no difficulty here that does not equally exist in our Colonies or in the United States of America; and if its re-establishment be delayed, it will only be because God's anger is still hot against this unhappy country, and because He sees fit to treat us worse than the convicts of Australia. No one is more adverse to all agitation on the subject than I am ; but we still ought to do what we can by way of imploring our superiors, and by prayers and tears and penances, to obtain this great grace at last from our merciful God through the intercession of His blessed Mother. I implore you to urge the thing on. The second letter is dated 22nd September 1847 : — I think the appointment of Bishop Wiseman to the Pro- Vicariate of London very judicious. He was quite thrown away at Birmingham, but in London he may do great things. I do hope his title of Pro-Vicar is a sign of its provisional character, and that we shall soon have an Archbishop of London, prepared to assert for the Catholic Church of this country the respect that is due to it from Englishmen and from their Government also. As long as we have Vicars with outlandish titles, Catholi- cism here will appear only in the character of an exotic, timidly contending with the adverse influences of a foreign and ungenial climate. Do you not think so 1 The Catholic Church here must prove what she has ever done elsewhere, that all the earth is hers, and that she plants her footsteps in every land as its mistress, and the representative of Him of whom it is written, "The earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof." In his public Letter to Lord John Eussell, De Lisle, after doing his best to show that Lord Shrewsbury, in support- ing the Hierarchy, was on the right, the Catholic, side, said : — And now, let me ask, to what does all this violent outcry of the Protestant press tend ? what is its aim 1 It can hardly be supposed, even by the most infatuated bigot of Exeter Hall, that any member of the English Catholic laity would be found to listen to such an appeal, so insulting as it is to all that he holds dear and sacred ; still less, that he could exercise the slightest influence upon that august Pontiff who inherits from Peter the duty and the right to feed all the lambs and all the sheep of Jesus Christ, and whose predecessors for eighteen centuries have shown that neither the threats of tyrants nor XIV THE HIERARCHY 329 the powers of Hell could ever deter them from the fulfilment of their Divine mission. What then is its aim ? It is a base attempt to kindle once more the expiring spark of ultra- Protestant bigotry, and to convulse this Empire by raising, if it be possible, at the eleventh hour, that vilest of all popular clamours, the No Popery cry. The next letter shows how De Lisle sympathised to some extent with Lord Shrewsbury's criticisms and complaints, yet encouraged him in the bolder forward policy : — Grace-Dieu Manor, 5th March 1851. Let me say a few words on your letter to Lord John Russell. I thought it one of the best things you have ever written, and you have written more and better than most men ; and I am convinced from the way persons express themselves about it that it has told very well on the public mind ; in the first place, it showed that you were on the right, the Catholic, side ; that you did not sympathise with the Beaumonts, the Norfolks, and the Camoys ; but that, as every one had a right to expect, you were prepared nobly to uphold your Faith and the liberty of your Church against unjust aggression. For, however some of us may think (amongst ourselves) that the thing might have been done in a more conciliatory and prudent manner, that the proper status of Catholicism might have been secured without unnecessarily offending the prejudices of stupid John Bull, who is of so mad a disposition that the mere sight of a Cardinal's Hat sets him beside himself ; I say, however you and I may privately agree upon this point, it is quite clear that the appointment of the Hierarchy was not only a lawful and in itself inofl^ensive proceeding, but unquestionably nothing more than a reverting to the original and Universal form of Church Government all over the world, and to deny us Catholics the right to return to it would have been, what it is, a most atro- cious outrage to the principles of religious liberty. Now, then, I say your noble letter to Lord John Kussell was to me more welcome than I can find words adequately to express, because it put you before the public in that truly noble and Catholic position which you have always so faithfully upheld, and which will be your glory during life, and your comfort at the hour of death. . . . The Pastoral from the Flaminian Gate was a very flaming affair; but then how nobly the Cardinal redeemed it by his " Appeal to the good sense of the People of England " ; and after all we must remember every one has his own pecu- 330 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. liarities of style and manner, and so we must let the Cardinal have his. He certainly is a most able person, and I cannot help thinking that all this outbreak will tend to good by making our religion more thought of and talked about. If the Hier- archy had come in quite quietly, it would not have done so much good by a great deal ; now as it is, Catholicism is the great subject of conversation from one end of England to the other. The English Government, and public opinion in England, opposed the introduction of the Hierarchy on the ground that it was an insidious and insolent act, as Lord John Eussell declared, of ambitious and intriguing ecclesiastics. Had they known that in reality the Pope's act was a con- cession to the Catholic body in England, of liberty and self-government, such knowledge would have done much to avert the outcry raised by the advent in England of Wise- man as Cardinal. Vicars Apostolic, as the Government ought to have known, were simply the Pope's representatives, absolutely dependent upon his will ; whereas, under a regular form of government, bishops enjoyed rights of their own, with greater liberty and independence of action. Hence the Hierarchy ought to have been welcomed by the self-styled champions of " civil and religious liberty '' as an act of abdication of arbitrary power on the part of the Pope. On the other hand Cardinal Wiseman, with his far- reaching knowledge of politicians at home and abroad, fore- seeing the danger, unforeseen by Lord Shrewsbury, of Lord John Eussell and the Government imposing restrictions on the Church, such as the right of nominating bishops, acted with such promptitude and decision as to avert as it did the possibility of such intrigues or interference of any kind. It is but fair to add that during his episcopacy. Cardinal Wise- man made it a duty and a pleasure to take the laity into his coniidence, gave them full liberty of action, encouraged them to discuss Catholic affairs in public, to hold meetings and send deputations to the Government. The only caution he gave them was this : Follow your own initiative on public action, but if you go amiss I will pull you up. This privilege, I may add, was especially enjoyed by the XIV THE HIERAECHY 331 inferior clergy, who worked in their own way with free hand and grateful hearts. The attitude of the leading Catholic laity of England in regard to Cardinal Wiseman and the Hierarchy was of a twofold character. In the first place, the hereditary Catho- lics, the l^orfolks, Cliffords, Shrewsburys, Camoys, Stourtons, Throgmortons and others, had, like true Englishmen, a sturdy love of independence. Educated at Stonyhurst, or Oscott, or Ushaw, and Prior Park, they followed the old traditions, and resented interference with the mode and method on which for generations the Church in England had been ruled. They looked upon Dr. Wiseman, who had been long absent from England, as a foreign ecclesiastic unfamiliar with English habits and but too apt, as they feared, to introduce from Eome novelties of one sort or another. But still more strongly did some of them object to a change in the government of the Church. Vicars Apostolic had satisfied their fathers. The system had worked well. The clergy were content, no one wished for a change, unless, perhaps, "a few ambitious or intriguing ecclesiastics," as they said, " like Wiseman and UUathorne." They opposed the establishment of a Hierarchy in itself, because they feared it would destroy the liberties of the English Church, and in ambitious hands might become an instrument of oppression on the laity as well as on the inferior clergy. Consequently, when in 1847 it became known that Dr. UUathorne was busy in Eome working in concert with Dr. Wiseman on the elaboration of a scheme for the restoration of the Hierarchy, the leading laity took alarm. Acting in conjunction with several of the more influential and cultured clergy — eminent priests like Lin- gard, Tierney, Dr. Ptock, Husenbeth, Errington, Weathers, Formby, and others, they raised a strenuous opposition. Statements were made to Eome that Dr. Wiseman did not represent the views of the laity, nor the wishes of the inferior clergy. By their energetic opposition the hereditary Catholics of England succeeded in postponing for a time the introduction of the Hierarchy. Another aspect of the opposition was in connection with 332 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE ohap. the question of social influence. The old Catholic families had for generations been the friends and patrons of the clergy. The Vicars Apostolic too were on friendly and familiar terms with the priests. Some of them, however, mistrusted the converts and their innovations ; two or three even indignantly declared that too many of the converts had come into the Church not to be its disciples, but its teachers. Many of the clergy were jealous of Dr. Wiseman, declaring that " he was always running to Eome after the purple stockings." The motto adopted or acted upon by too many of the English Catholics at that time was, " Let well alone." In truth, English Catholics had been for too long a time indolently dozing in their ease and comfort — such a prolonged torpor was somewhat akin to that of the Seven Sleepers. It was high time that good Lord Shrewsbury and the rest of his fellow-sleepers were awakened from their torpid apathy by the clarion-call of Cardinal Wiseman. Such a misapprehension of the Hierarchy, its scope and character, was too superficial and narrow-minded a view to hold its ground for long. De Lisle pointed out to Lord Shrewsbury and other leading Catholics the mistaken ground which they had taken up in opposing the Hierarchy.^ He soon succeeded in establishing to their satisfaction that a regular form of government in the Church, far from restrain- ing, would increase their independence and liberty of action. Hence Lord Shrewsbury and the rest of those who in 1847 had opposed it, in 1850 accepted the Hierarchy, but strongly objected to the way it was introduced by Cardinal Wiseman, and especially to his presence in England as a Cardinal. De Lisle, who shared some of Lord Shrewsbury's views, especially in regard to the necessity of an active concurrence and co-operation between the bishops and laity, had for many years urged upon Lord Shrewsbury the benefits which would accrue to the Church in England from the establishment of a regular form of government under a Hierarchy. At the time of the introduction of the Hierarchy, it ' "A letter to the Right Hon. the Earl of Shrewsbury, Waterford, and Wexford, on the Re-establishment of the Hierarchy of the English Catholic Church," London, 1850. XIV THE HIERARCHY 333 must be admitted that there were divergent elements of opinion among the Catholics of England. The leading hereditary Catholics may perhaps have betrayed a jealousy of Cardinal Wiseman, and a somewhat insular aversion to the introduction into the English Church of foreign customs and devotions. But in no sense of the word were they Galileans. Gallicanism is not love of independence and liberty, but an obstinate and wilful disobedience to the authority of the Holy See. English Catholics have invariably shown their fealty to the Pope both before and since the establishment of the Hierarchy. They have been denounced over and over again by an extreme faction of the Ultramontane party as Galileans. Let me give a few illustrations of this perverse habit of misinterpreting legitimate opposition into wilful disobedience of the Holy See. English Catholics, in object- ing to the mode in which Cardinal Wiseman introduced the Hierarchy, did not resist the Holy See, for they accepted loyally the act of the Pope. To give another illustration : At the time of the nomina- tion of Henry Edward Manning by the Pope to the Arch- bishopric of Westminster, the Catholics of England, the laity as well as the majority of the clergy and bishops, were denounced for their opposition to Manning by the organs of the extreme faction as Galileans, yet their instant and loyal submission to the Pope's act is a signal proof of their obedience and loyalty to the Holy See. Again, many English Catholics, and the majority of the bishops, on account of their opposition to the definition of Papal Infallibility as inopportune, were proclaimed by the same extreme party as Galileans or worse. In their oppo- sition there was not a taint of Gallicanism, as the event abundantly proved. A broad distinction must be drawn between resisting, on the one hand, the decrees of the Holy See, Papal Bulls, and Briefs, and on the other, opposition to the extrava- gant interpretation put upon them, for their own purposes, by men who hold themselves out as the sole authorised interpreters of the authority and acts of the Pope. This 334 AMBEOSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. audacious usurpation of Papal Authority was manifested iu a signal and odious fashion by M. Louis Veuillot and the Univers in France ; and by his yoke-fellow in audacity, Dr. Ward, and the organs of the extravagant party, the Dublin Review and the Tablet} Happily for us, happily for England, happily too for the Church in England, things did not run on as they did before the advent of Cardinal Wiseman and the Hierarchy. The full tide of conversions may indeed have been thrown back for a while, a handful of Catholics may in their weakness have lost the Faith, but the voice of God was heard in the land, the Divine purpose in the religious revival inaugurated in Oxford was still working out its ends. The Gorham judgment and the Papal Aggression outcry were potent factors enforcing public attention to the claims and mission of the Church in England. Men were asking one another who next is going over to Eome ? or where are all the expected converts ? are they frightened back by the Car- dinal with his Eed Hat and pomp and pride. Enthusiastic Catholics like De Lisle were enthusiastic still about the con- version of England. The submission of Archdeacon Mann- ing, the most sober-minded of men and the most cautious, gave a fresh impulse to the movement. In the Second Spring the tide of conversions set in again with fuller force. It is curious to look back to the announcement of the conversions made in the public papers week after week, of men of position and ladies of title, whereas the vast numbers of the common order who were daily received into the Church were left entirely unnoticed. People wrote to one another asking for news about rumoured conversions ; it was the topic of the day. The comments of Lord Shrewsbury on the doings in England, on the con- duct of Cardinal Wiseman, were curious, sometimes jocose, often serious or even pungent, as the following extracts from some of his letters show. ' Whatever view may be taken of the attitude of Veuillot and Ward in various conjunctures, it must be admitted that they proved themselves sub- stantially right on many of the questions so hotly debated in those days, and did immense service to the Church against infidelity. E. DE L. xiT JOHN, EARL OF SHREWSBURY 335 One is the following on the G-orham judgment, dated Torquay, March 21, 1850 : — I am sure I need not say that you take the deepest interest in this Gorham question. It is certainly making a stir such as we have not yet seen, and of which none can foretell the conse- quences. Have you read many of the Pamphlets and Sermons ? the Eesolutions and Protests of course you have seen in the Papers. Our friends Maskell and Dodsworth stand out pre- eminently above all the rest in strength and orthodoxy. If they are sincere, they must before long find, and attach them- selves to, that principle which can alone answer their purpose. Maskell's first letter (the 2nd is not yet out), and Dodsworth's two Sermons are excellent, and full of hope and promise. Many others, such as Keble, Sewell, Bennett, are too evidently look- ing out for loopholes, and I fear will find them big enough to escape through, though for the time they bark and yelp and make a great flutter within their prison-house. Their chains gall, and they wince, but I fear they will become the easier by the wearing, and that speedily they will hold their peace, and sink into their accustomed quiescent state. However, the battle is raging, and the prowess and courage of some must be rewarded. Is it not singular that all this jarring of the Elements has been raised by the greatest and most wily enemy of Truth, and yet that Truth must needs be elicited therefrom ? old Phill- pots certainly knew little of what he was about ; he is writing some famous Letter to the Archbishop ; will he be a martyr or a turncoat ? Heaven only knows. How they must all envy the peace and security in wh. they see us ! and at this moment, too, when the Head and Chief of Christendom and of the Church Catholic is about to be replaced in his See and seat of honour by the imited effort of all nations ! The earnestness and alacrity with which all the Catholic Powers came forward to vindicate the great principle which connected them with the Supremacy of Peter is certainly very remarkable (not to us, but to them), and must lead them into salutary reflections at this moment of struggle and dis- union amongst themselves. Your good uncle ^ is very Low Church, and very sore on all this. He says it will lead to nothing ; but we laugh at him. He was not, however, I think, very much edified with the pious Achilli. 1 Henry March Phillipps of Wellswood, a, retired naval officer with rank of post-captain, a sturdy Protestant, but a staunch believer in the necessity of the Pope's Temporal Power, which he more than once vindicated in public letters under the name of 'Vigil.' 336 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. In another letter dated Mivarts, 9th June 1850, Lord Shrewsbury says : — Though we are here, as it were in the midst of the Move- ment, yet we hear and know but Httle of it. Mrs. AUies, Mrs. Foljambe, Mrs. H. Wilberforce are, or are to be, taken into the Church, and their husbands [those who have any] are to follow. Maskill is sure, though not yet within the pale. Of Dodsworth there are various reports — that he joins the Episcopal Church of Scotland, that he comes over to us, that his troubles have turned his head. Which is the truth I know not. Again Lord Shrewsbury writes, 6th July 1851 : — The public seem far more Protestant than ever, and our progress anything but great. Manning is certainly a great acquisition, and we must hope will influence others ; but it was the Gorham Controversy that displaced him and not the Hierarchy ; and this appears to be the case with all who have yet joined us. They were every one of them more than half way over before the Hierarchy came forth, and as they have all taken six to ten months to look about them since that event, before taking the step, one might as well calculate that it had retarded, as that it had advanced them. In December 1851, Lord Shrewsbury writes, as follows: — I hear Manning is at Eome. It seems a pity he should have left so many Grandees behind him only half converted, for we do not hear of any wholly so. . . . The Hierarchy would have been everything that is right had it been wisely managed — but the Cardinal and Dr. Ullathorne ruined all. What a mess poor Newman is in ! How could he be so extremely imprudent ? it is inconceivable, and the Oratorian doctrine about miracles ; what mischief it does ! . . . Pray tell us all about the Catholic news, all the conversions, if any, for we hear none ; on the contrary all my letters from Bishops as well as priests are very gloomy. In reply De Lisle writes : — Garbndon Park, iZrd Jammry 1852. From what I hear from several leading Puseyites, the extra- vagances of the Oratorian School have thrown them back fearfully. Bennett's return to England and his taking a Living in Somersetshire seems to them a signal to remain awhile longer in the Anglican Church, and to look to a reunion with the rest XIV JOHN, EAKL OF SHREWSBURY 337 of the Catholic Church through her at some later period, for otherwise they think they must be forced into the vortex of Oratorianism. I have long thought myself that the extra- vagances of these good men would produce this effect and check the Catholic Movement. It has done so decidedly. I trust, however, that when Manning returns, as he is a sober-minded man, and takes a more conciliatory line than the others, he will be able to turn the tide once more in our favour. The wonderful thing to me is that our Bishops should not speak out more decidedly, rumour says that the Cardinal goes every length with the Oratorian Party. I do not myself believe this, but it is a pity he should let this impression be uncontradicted. On 27th January 1850, the mother of the present Duke of Norfolk, Lady Arundel and Surrey, the daughter of Admiral Lyons, was received into the Church. Her conversion is another proof of De Lisle's untiring zeal and faithful energy in bringing souls — princes and peasants — into the true fold. This event was communicated to De Lisle in a letter dated 11 Carlton Terrace, 28 th January 1850, by Lord Arundel and Surrey: — I will now inform you of an event which fills Lady Arundel and myself with joy and gratitude to Almighty God. She was received into the Church at the Oratory yesterday by Father Faber. She desires me to tell you she has constantly used your Manual for two years. The next day De Lisle, in a letter dated Garendon Park, 29th January 1850, wrote to Lord Shrewsbury the following : — My principal motive in writing now is to communicate to you and to Lady Shrewsbury the happy news of Lady Arundel and Surrey's reception into the Church. This morning's post brought me a letter from Lord Arundel with this joyful in- telligence. It took place the day before yesterday at the Oratory in London, and Father Faber was the happy priest to officiate on the occasion. It is really an event on which every Catholic heart will congratulate England. Next Sunday a clergyman of the Church of England is to be received into the Church at Leicester ! and from what I hear, there is a mighty wave of converts ready to break upon our shores ! I dare not tell you all I know, for, according to the old adage, there is VOL. I Z 338 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. uncertainty even when the cup has reached the thirsty lip. So let us wait for events, and not anticipate before they come. A few months later in another letter to Lord Shrews- bury, De Lisle writes : — Qrace-Dieu Manor, 6th September 1850. I cannot let this post go out without rejoicing along with you at the glorious conversion of Lord and Lady Fielding. There is no doubt whatever about it, as in the Guardian, which is the Organ of the Puseyites, there is an article upon it : it is not the only conversion, for young Bathurst, the clergyman of Kibworth in this county, has taken the same step, having been received by Father Newman at Birmingham. He has given up a benefice of £1500 a year — ''what a noble sacrifice." Both these conversions are deeply interesting to us, as Lord Fielding and Mr. Bathurst were both of them Leicestershire people. . . . A friend of ours writes to us word this morning that Lord and Lady Fielding were received by Bishop Gillis at Edinburgh. ... I understand that Lady Fielding is heiress to that mag- nificent place Penrhyn Castle in North Wales, with an estate quite unencumbered worth £50,000 a year!^ You must, how- ever, pray that she may have children, for she is delicate and has none at present ; and if she has none, the property will go to the son of a Protestant clergyman, whose name I do not remember. ... If Lord and Lady Campden should follow the example of their friends the Fieldings, Leicestershire will become quite a Catholic county. . . Mr. Bathurst's brother and two sisters are, I hear, likely to take the same step immediately. Not in England only but on the Continent numerous conversions were taking place ; for instance, in the autumn of 1851 the most conspicuous convert of that eventful year, the Eev. H. E. Manning, who was on his way to pursue his ecclesiastical studies at Eome, was accompanied amongst others by Mr. Aubrey de Vere, the poet, an Anglican. Influenced by Manning's example and conversation, when the party arrived at Avignon, the one-time seat of the Papacy, Mr. Aubrey de Vere was received into the Church on the 15 th of November in the Archbishop's Chapel. ^ This is quite inaccurate ; Lady Fielding was the heiress of the Downing estate in Flintshire with a much more modest rent-roU. XIV THE SECOKD SPEING 339 By far the most influential and important of the con- verts received into the Church on the Continent was Eobert Wilberforce. Out of affectionate consideration for his family and friends, especially for his brother the Bishop of Oxford, he avoided the sensation such an event would excite in England by going to Paris, where he was received into the Church in the year 1854. In reference to this act of kind thoughtfulness, Mr. Gladstone paid a high tribute in the following most touching and affectionate letter :— ^ Hawarden, 25th October 1854. My dear Wilberforce — To tell you the very plain truth, which I am sure you will forgive, your conduct for the last two months has been, since I saw your book, a pure enigma to me. It is painfully accounted for, though not solved, by your letter which arrived this morning. You are going to strike a heavier blow than any one has struck before you ; for they struck at the casket, you at the gem ; they at the Church of England, you right at the great central truth, with which your name has been so remarkably associated. Numerosa parabaf excelsce turris tabulata. Of course I do not mean that you strike knowingly, or that the enigma of which I speak can involve in your case anything at variance in intention with honour or religion. But, severing acts from motives, I scarcely know whether most to lament the evil you are about to inflict, or the evil you are about to suffer. Let me, however, turn from these harsh words to find a moment's solace in saying, how I recognise yourself in your intention first to cross the Channel. I at least am gratified for this token of filial piety ; and of the desire to mitigate when you cannot cure. May God bless you for it. ^ Just before the publication of the Zife of Cardinal Manning, Mr. Gladstone gave me the above letter, remarking "that it would aiford a striking contrast between the conduct of Eobert Wilberforce and Manning, as well as explain my attitude towards Manning after his secession." This letter was, unfortunately, too late for the Life. Thus far Mr. Purcell. At that time, however, Mr. Gladstone avers that his "feelings towards him can never alter." There is reason to believe that subsequent events soured Mr. Gladstone's mind in its attitude towards the illustrious Cardinal, and made him the victim of harsh judgments which in the earlier years of his conversion his transparent sincerity and straightforwardness had preserved him from. It will now be almost universally admitted that it was Gladstone, not Manning, who in later years appeared to tread the tortuous path of time-serving. E. de L. 340 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. You will see Manning soon. Pray give him my affectionate regards. I hope he knows that my feelings towards him can never alter. And may the Almighty Saviour turn the eye of His com- passion upon our wounds and breaches ; and may He grant to us all that we may meet on His right hand at the last day. — I remain always, affectionately yours, W. E. Gladstone. Eev. R. J. Wilberforce. Perhaps the most interesting and the most popular of the converts was Lady Herbert of Lea, who was received into the Church, after many years' delay, in Milan. In their Anglican days she had been a penitent of Archdeacon Manning. After his conversion he had continued his good work of guidance and advice, which finally led to her conversion. She is now known for her many beautiful, devout, and stirring books. Though of earlier date, it is interesting to recall here the conversion of George Eyder, the son of Phillipps de Lisle's uncle, the Bishop of Lichfield, the father of Dr. H. D. Eyder of the Oratory, Edgbaston, and of the Eev. Cyril Eyder, Provincial of the Eedemptorists, and of a third priest, the Eev. Charles Eyder of Smethwick. In a letter dated Eome, 5th May 1846, Lord Shrewsbury writes to De Lisle as foUows : — About two hours since, Cardinal Acton had the pleasure of receiving within the true fold your good cousins Mr. and Mrs. Ryder, and Miss Eyder, and the three little Eyders. The Cardinal told me it was a most affecting ceremony, and I hope will serve as an example to some of their numerous connections. I am sure you will be delighted to hear it. I fear they make a great sacrifice of worldly interests, but they have the good sense to prefer those that are Eternal. The last letter here quoted shall be from Father John Morris, S.J., sometime private secretary to Cardinal Wise- man, author of Troubles of our Catholic Forefathers, and other scholarly works. He was in his youth educated under Eev. Dr. Althorp at Wymeswold, in Leicestershire, where the beautiful parish church underwent restoration at Pugin's loving hands, the first of the old parish churches to be xn- THE SECOND SPRING 341 restored upon Catholic lines with return-stalls and rood- screen. The Dean of Canterbury, as he afterwards became, more than once brought him over to Grace-Dieu, and great M'as his consternation when the pupil outran the master in the search for divine truth and unity. Coll. S. Thomae Anglorum de Urbe, Fest. 8. Georgii M. 1847. My dear Mr. Phillipps — I am afraid I must have seemed very ungracious in not having answered your kind letter sooner but I trust you -nail excuse me for I have very little time unoccupied to write, for as you know, time in a Catholic College is not quite the same as at Cambridge, for bells first for one duty and then for another summon you away and leave you any thing but the unbroken time one has been accustomed to. I must thank you very heartily for the very kind interest you have taken in me, and at the same time I must tell you how sorry I am for the treatment, I do not know that I ought not to say persecution that you have endured on my account : it has thrown another item in the scale of gratitude that I owe you. Almighty God has been very good to me and fulfilled the dearest wish of my heart by placing me in a Catholic College to study for His holy Priesthood; this is what I used to look forward to and long for though it seemed hopeless and unattainable when I was going through the struggle of my conversion; and afterwards when my dear Father was debating plans of sending me to China or to India I felt quite undisturbed for I was sure God would find means of making me a Priest if He wished it, and now I am here. And I am studying for the Priesthood with the great advantage of being in Eome, learning in its genial atmosphere to uproot all remnants of the poison of Protestantism and in its place to implant all the feehng and practices of our holy religion carried to its own fair limits and not stunted by the withering cold of an almost overwhelming heresy. Besides here we are under the holy Father's own eye, his more immediate sheep, with his blessing continually resting on us, and we are in the midst of Martyrs and Apostles, and we are surrounded by all that is holy. I am looking forward vdth great pleasure to a visit to some of the holy places of Rome with you, for I trust you will come and pay the holy City a visit before I leave it which will be I hope about Easter in the year of Jubilee 1850. I have so much to tell you I hardly know where to begin, so as anything that I think would interest you occurs to me I will note it down. To- day is the feast of the Patron of England, and after our own 342 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE ohap. High Mass and Vespers we went to visit his Church, where there are some very interesting relics of him, amongst the rest, a little piece of his Vexillum. When I come home to England I shall try hard to get some interesting relics for one would feel quite lost without any after being in Eome where there are so many and grand relics. Those in S. Croce in Gerusalemme and the Santa Scala are alone sufficient to draw all the world to Rome. Then there is the Tomb of S. Peter at which to kneel and pray that the world might once more own the sway of the Church and acknowledge the fatherly rule of the Vicar of Christ. And for myself personally it is no slight advantage to be educated here, for people in England are apt to say that if one had been in Italy one never would have been converted, and to this a few years in the heart of Rome furnish one with a ready answer. I have not told you of the privilege we have had of receiving the Holy Communion from the Pope's own hand, and of assisting at his Mass. There was a feast at the Seminary with which we are connected in honour of a miraculous picture of our blessed Lady, and His Holiness observed it by coming there to say Mass and to give Communion to all the students of the Seminary. I suppose there has seldom been an opportunity that more would remind one of The Last Supj^er than an occa- sion when the Vicar of Christ distributed with his own hand the Bread of Life to a number of young disciples all trusting some day to become Priests in the Church of God. Afterwards we were given a place near the Pope at breakfast and had a beautiful opportunity of seeing him. We are of course loyalty itself here to the chair of S. Peter, and really apart from all spiritual claims the name of Pope Pius alone, to whom all Europe is beginning to look, is almost enough to bind one to it. May we not hope for the very greatest results from his pontificate ? God grant that the conversion of our own dear Land may be one. Few sights have so stirred up my Soul as the Solemn Pontifical Mass at S. Peter's on Easter Day and the Pope's blessing afterwards. The glorious ceremony of the former with its numberless observances which have come down from the earliest times carry one back to the days of early Christianity, and then the blessing of the World is perhaps the most glorious sight the Church dis- plays. I have now seen the papal blessing three times, from S. John Lateran's the Mother Church of the Earth on the day of the Possesso, and from S. Peter's on Maunday Thursday and Easter Day. I must not however remain on one subject or I shall not tell you half I wish to say. The procession on the day of the Possesso was very magnificent and would have delighted you extremely, the whole Court in their mediaeval flowing robes XIV THE SECOND SPRING 343 of all colours presented a sight that Rome alone could now show and that scarce could have been excelled in the ancient time. I have twice had an audience of his Holiness and I missed a third, namely one which Mr. Eyder got up, of converts only. I dare say you have heard that he counted up 75 or more converts in Rome during holy week, about half of which number were pre- sented in a body. This number of course does not include those who have visited Rome but left it before Holy Week. This number shows how false the supposition is that the adoption of Christian art and similar principles alienates men from the Holy See, for what but affection for the Supreme Pontiff could have brought them here. Mr. Pugin is now in Rome, I saw him two or three days ago, he intends I believe to spend about a week here and then go on to Assisi, Perugia, Florence, &c. where certainly he will find more remnants of Christian art than Rome can show, although especially in monuments and crypts, &c. it is by no means devoid of it. He was delighted with the crypt of S. Peter's where he was yesterday (Apr. 27) crowded as it is with Christian things, though of course it is impossible to say as much of the great Church above it. The profuse waste of money here on this most wretched style of architecture through the 400 churches of Rome has excited his indignation greatly. I believe he intends to visit Overbeck on Sunday, and I should very much like to go with him to see together two of the greatest men of the present generation. I am delighted to say that Mr. Pugin is a great deal better, he will I trust return to England made quite well by his tour. While I remember it let me ask you whether you have got any indulgences for your chapel, Calvary, guild, &c. I should think you could easily get a plenary indulgence for the former for all visiting it after confes- sion and communion on all great feasts, as well as a privilege for the Holy Souls for the High Altar, and perhaps a partial Indulg- ence every day, as well as to all that kiss the Cross of your Calvary ; and in the same way an Indulgence for your Holy Guild if it be canonically erected. If you like I will get these for you through Dr. Grant who understands these things well ; but perhaps I am only suggesting what you know already and have perhaps already obtained. I cannot help thinking that prayer for the conversion of England should almost be an indispensable condition for gaining an Indulgence in England. But this is one of the devotions for which I have learnt an affection in this country and which I should long to see introduced into England both for our own good and for that of the suffering souls. I wish I had time now to answer all your questions and talk to you about all that would interest you, such as that saintly person, 344 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. I almost said martyr, the Abbess Macrina, who has worked by God's grace several miracles, and about some of the most interest- ing relics and places here, but I will answer some of your ques- tions concisely and then conclude, promising you another letter I hope soon. Mr. Newman I have often seen — he is prospering and has just been joined by nearly all his friends from Maryvale. So far from that aljsurd story in the English papers being true, the pope has a great favour for them and has jjromised to pro- vide them with a house to go thro' the noviciate of the Oratorians of S. Philip here. I am delighted at the thought of S. Philip's glorious patronage and Apostolate being brought to England. He will work wonders for us. The basilica of S. Paul's now in pro- gress is a most disappointing place, not badly described as a mixture between Noah's ark and a railroad station, and this to cover the tomb of S. Paul ! Well we must hope for better times for Christian art in Rome, at present taste in sculpture, building, painting, and I suppose I may add music is as low as it can be. The revival must come from England I am sure. It nevertheless gives one hope when such a man as Overbeck is encouraged, and a place cannot always continue enamoured of Pagan art that contains such a store of beauties in the Christian Museum in the Vatican. When you write to me pray tell me how art is advancing in England ; I shall be very anxious when I return to see what advance it will have made in three years. I hope to return about Easter in the year of Jubilee, and I expect to receive the Tonsure and minor orders next Whitsuntide. Pray for me that I may be less unworthy of such holy things. I must now say good-bye. Offering you once more my hearty gratitude for the trouble you have undergone for me, and hoping to hear soon from you, a pleasure I am sure you would give if you knew how delighted I am to receive a letter from you. You must never undertake to pay your letters further than is necessary for the College undertakes every thing of that sort for us, so do not fear that you are putting a burden on me, not to say that the postage, were it fifty times as great, would be light for the sake of one of your letters. You know what interests me, for we, I trust, feel together and one day I hope may be fellow workers in the same cause. If there is anything I can possibly do for you in Eome, do entrust me with it ; I shall esteem it a pleasure to do it. The Eyders as you know have now left Rome. I was very much pleased with their acquaintanceship, though of course being bound to a College I could not see as much of them as I could have wished. However I trust I may meet them again in England. I have seen Mr. Coffin frequently — he is staying with the Passionists at SS. John and Paul until XIV THE SECOND SPRING 345 Mr. Newman's order gets into operation. He looks very well in his clerical dress. Pray give my kind remembrances to Mrs. Ambrose PMUipps, and ever believe me to be, my dear Mr. Phillipps, Vostro affezionatissimo in Gesti e Maria, John Morris. Mi raccomando alle sue orazioni e santi sacrifizji, as the good people here say. I trust you write to Jones occasionally. I tremble for him. He has everything worldly to hold him, nothing but prayer can gain him, but that I trust he is not without. The inauguration of the Hierarchy by Cardinal Wiseraan brought to a happy close the provisional government of the Church under which the Catholics of England were con- strained to live during the long winter of persecution. The Provincial Synod — the first in England since the Reformation — was held at Oscott. By this solemn act, the Church in England was brought into the freedom which the Church enjoys under the rule of the Canon Law, that is, so far as the Bishops are concerned ; the position of the parochial clergy still remains to be canonically regularised. It was the coming in of the " Second Spring," as Newman called it in his famous sermon before the Synod. CHAPTER XV REUNION OF THE CHURCHES OF ENGLAND AND OF ROME CARDINAL BARNABO AND PROPAGANDA ON CORPORATE REUNION CONDEMNATION OF THE A.P.U.C. APPENDIX III. 1855-1865 The " Second Spring " of the Church in England inspired De Lisle with fresh enthusiasm, fresh hopes, new energy in the chief work of his life — the return of England to Catholic Unity. During the most eventful period of the Oxford Movement, with a zeal perhaps not tempered with discretion, he had perplexed and " bothered " — to use a homely phrase — its illustrious Leader by a persistent in- troduction, in season and out of season, of the project of Corporate Eeunion. Newman had bade him wait until both sides, Catholic and Anglican, were in a better temper with each other. In that case he did not withhold from De Lisle the hope of an eventual Eeunion of the Churches. The coming of that " better temper " was for a while retarded by two events of the deepest importance to Angli- cans and Catholics alike. The first was the going out of Newman with so many of his disciples from the Anglican Church. The second was the establishment of the Hier- archy in England. The majority of the Anglican body regretted and resented the irreparable loss of their illus- trious Leader. Such a catastrophe at all events in the first bitterness of disappointment did not put them in a better temper with the Catholic Church. Even those who were most ardent among the Anglicans for Eeunion lost OHAP. XV CORPORATE REUNION 347 hope for a while or shrank before the storm of Protestant abuse ; the more timid or cautious, like Bloxam of Magdalen, for instance, or Sewell of Oriel, forsook the cause they had most at heart. In the " Gunpowder Plot Sermon," so dear to the Protestant heart of Oxford, on that day, on the 5th of November 1845 — the morrow of Newman's Con- version — Sewell was not ashamed to " turn his coat " and take sides with the Protestant Party. The numerous conversions which followed that of New- man undoubtedly put Catholics in a better temper with the Oxford Party. But it was of little avail. Too soon came " The Papal Aggression " outcry. The Established Church was beside itself with fury. The ancient Protestantism of the country, affrighted and abashed by the growing power of the Oxford Movement, broke out into a fit of bigotry. Catholics and Protestants were once more at daggers drawn ; called each other bad names, and sucked their thumbs in rage. Men of the world, " Superior " people who knew little or nothing about religion and cared less, shrugged their shoulders, observed in their pleasant self - conscious way " How these Christians love one another ; yesterday they were sighing for the Eeunion of Christendom ; to-day they are ready to tear each other's eyes out." The self-complacency of " Superior " people has ever been a favourite theme for the Satirist from Juvenal to Punch, which at the height of the " No-Popery Cry " immortalised by its famous caricature Lord John Eussell, the most self- complacent of statesmen. Such shallow philosophy, with its superficial view of things, was never more at fault than in its judgment of the events of 1845 and of 1850. When the heart of a nation is stirred to its depths like the earth by a volcano, all superincumbent masses are cast off Old prejudices, old associations, old habits of thought under the impulse of such a volcanic force are lifted up or shifted from one place to another or broken to pieces, or at least the incrusted bed, in which they had lain so long, is shattered. The ice-bound stagnation of the religious thought of Eng- land in regard to the Catholic Church ; its horror and hate 348 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. and dread of Catholicism begotten and nurtured by the Elizabethan Tradition, were broken up and dispersed, or at any rate driven into holes and corners by the religious ferment which surged upon the hearts of the English people at the Catholic revival and the message delivered by the Pope to the people of England. Such a profound emotion, no matter its fierceness and fury, is infinitely more favour- able to the discovery and cause of Truth than the profound stagnation and ignorance which had hitherto prevailed. Unlike the Shallow philosophers, men of fashion, and " Superior " people, De Lisle, with his deep knowledge of the human heart and quick insight into the nature of things, saw that at such a moment and in such a move- ment the opportunity provided by the permission of God had arrived for urging once more the return of England to Catholic Unity. The question of Truth in Eeligion was the question of the day. Even if in their fury or ignorance men expressed their hatred of the Catholic Church, yet they were compelled to feel and acknowledge its presence. Apart even from the opportune moment, the human means, essential for such a movement, were present in the faith and fervour of De Lisle. His prophetic spirit thus expresses itself in a letter to Lord Shrewsbury : — There is a glorious work going on, but many years must elapse before its results shall rise up to the surface. At present it is but an undercurrent ; a generation of old people must die off, then there will be one simultaneous burst of Catholick beauty ! I can only compare the present state of England in religious matters to that of a garden early in April. The external appearance differs but little from that which has pre- vailed during winter. The trees are still leafless, the grass looks if possible more faded than in January, only here and there a solitary anemony or some other little insignificant flower to testify that there is a work going on, a preparation, which, when the proper hour arrives, will produce a sudden change in the whole scene. But how joyful it is, to one, who has had experience in them, to perceive these little symptoms — he knows what a total change will ensue in a single fortnight, when once the south wind breathes its gracious influence over the land. So sudden is the change, that a superficial observer might think it the work of a moment, but if he reflects he will remember that a silent work XV COKPORATE REUNION 349 had long been going on ; the sap had been rising for many weeks, tho' unseen ; the little buds had been gradually swelling, and a thousand fibres had been spreading in every direction. The genial moment comes, and with it a sudden burst of all the glories and beauties of nature. " Flabit spiritus Tuus, . . . et renovabis faciem Terrae." I cannot but think this is the state of our England, the silent movement of old Catholick feelings and traditions. In De Lisle the Student of human nature will discover the elements to turn ideas into profitable account — force of character, imagination, confidence in himself inspired by trust in God. In him faith was a living force, his hopes were so vivid and so persistent as to take the form of prediction. In a certain sense he regarded himself as a prophet sent as it were by God to proclaim the coming of things invisible to the grosser eye. Hence it was he believed what he so often predicted, the return of England to Catholic Unity. The certainty of his convictions lent additional force to his influence over the hearts and minds of men. In evil hours, in times of reverse and of opposi- tion, his spirit, upheld by faith, remained undaunted. En- thusiasm may have its weak points and drawbacks, yet in the Leader of a mighty movement it is an instrument of incalculable force. De Lisle's character is best discovered in his letters, written in openness of heart and with a simplicity which in itself compels conviction. In the following letter, dated Garendon Park, 10 th December 1869, to the Eev. W. E. Brownlow,^ a recent convert from Anglicanism, De Lisle explained the motives and influences which guided his mind in the chief work of his life : — . . . There were three great objects to which 1 felt after my own conversion as a boy of fifteen specially drawn by internal feeling for the whole space of forty-five years which have since elapsed. The first was to restore to England the Primitive Monastic contemplative observance, which God enabled me to do in the foundation of the Trappist Monastery of Mt. S. Bernard. ' Now successor to Bishop Clifford in the Catholic Bishopric of Clifton. 350 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. The secoiid was the restoration of the Primitive Ecclesiastical Chant,! my edition of which is now recommended by the Arch- bishop of Westminster for the use of Churches and Chapels. The third was the restoration of the Anglican Church to Catholic Unity, and thus to reunite England to the See of St. Peter as S. Edward the Confessor foretold that the Gi-een Tree of Eng- land, which was to be " severed from its original stock for the space of three Furlongs,'^ should again return thereto without the help of any man's hand and flourish exceedingly." God knows how I have laboured for all these three objects, and how I con- tinue to labour for the last of them. I feel perfectly certain that England will never return in any other way, and to use Cardinal Wiseman's own published expression in his Letter " on Catholic Unity " addressed to the late John, Earl of Shrewsbury, a letter which His Eminence published at my earnest request in 1841, — the restoration of the Faith in England through the restoration of the antient National Church to Catholic Unity. Such was the object endorsed by Cardinal Wiseman in 1841. I think we are morally as well as physically nearer to its accom- plishment in 1869 than we ever should have dared to hope when the Cardinal published his " Letter." I have been tremendously opposed in this matter by those from whom I most expected aid, but no matter, the work is going on, and I believe it will event- ually triumph. I cannot conceive what its bitterest opponent can point to as giving even a ghost of a chance of realising the same end. Three weeks before Cardinal Wiseman died, I saw him on his dying bed, and he then assured me he still adhered to all that he had ■written in 1841. There are several other letters, both of earlier and later date, which have preserved for us evidence of the characteristic influences and inspirations which guided De Lisle in his lifelong work for the Eeunion of the Churches. I will recite a few of these letters. Some go back a long way, but the following correspondence is of permanent interest as it traverses the ground lately reopened by the Church Crisis agitation, and is probably the first indication of the ultra-Protestant alarm at the birth of the Anglo- Catholic movement in the Establishment. ' The Little Oradual or Chorister's Companion. '^ The three furlongs De Lisle explained to mean (after the manner of Messianic interpretation) three centuries. XV CORPORATE REUNION 351 To the Editor of the " Morning Post." Garendon Paek, November 23, 1846. Sir — My attention has been directed to a libellous charge, reported by you in your journal of November 18th to have been made against myself by the Revd. M. Hobart Seymour at the Meeting of the Surrey Protestant Alliance held at the Horns Tavern, Kennington, on the evening before. I appeal to your sense of justice to insert the follovt^ing remarks in reply. As soon as I was aware of the Statement reported to have been made by the Revd. M. H. Seymour which I first read in the "Guardian" of Novr. 18th, I at once wrote the following note to the Revd. F. Merewether of Coleorton, to whom Mr. Seymour affirms I made the disgraceful proposition which he states that he read in a Letter of mine. (Copy of my letter to Revd. F. Merewether, Coleorton Rectory.) Garendon Park, November 19, 1846. Dear Sir — I was surprised to see in "The Guardian" of yesterday Novr. 18th the following announcement Page 472, under an article headed Postscript. "The Eevd. M. H. Seymour is reported to have made the following very grave charge in which we trust there is no more truth, than [in] that of the Chairman ! " Mr. Merewether a Tractarian told me that a leading Roman Catholick convert in his neighbourhood had written to him to state that if Mr. Merewether would privately conform to Borne, he might trust to his (the writer's) honour to have it concealed, and that he might continue in his living as a Protestant Clergyman v/ntil such time as it would be convenient fm- him to make the matter puhlick. The name of the Roman Catholick converted Gentleman is Ambrose Lisle Phillipps of Grace-Dieu, Leicestershire. I stated to Mr. Merewether that I should like to see the letter from Mr. Phillipps. The Letter was brought to me, and in that Letter those facts were stated ; and it also stated that thirty Protestant Clergymen had privately conformed to Rome, but holding their Livings until that convenient season should arrive when they would come forward to avow their change, to avow their Popish Principles. Now you have the facts and you have the names, said the Reverend Gentleman as he resumed his seat." I need scarcely say that I believe you to be utterly incapable 352 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap. of having really made such a false and calumnious statement to Mr. M. H. Seymour, as that G-entleman is reported to have charged you with making : but as I shall be obliged to reply to it in the columns of " The Guardian," I request you to have the goodness to throw what light you can on this most atrocious Paragraph, which involves your Name in a way not much less disagreeable, than it does mine. I am sorry to trouble you on this occasion, but you will at once see that it is unavoidable. — I am. Dear Sir, faithfully yours, Ambrose Lisle Phillipps. The Revd. F. Merewether. (Copy of the Revd. F. Merewether's answer to the foregoing letter of mine.) CoLEORTON Rectory, Novr. 20 Psalm in part. Donati. '^ Epist. 14. al. 57 ad Damas. n. 2-7. ' De schism. Donatist. lib. ii. n. 2. * Lib. iii. contra hseres, cap. 3, n. 3, ex vet. interpr. XV APPENDIX III 421 Therefore, if it is the distinguishing and perpetual mark of the true Church of Christ that the sum of faith and social charity is contained in unity, flourishes, and stands out as a city set on a hill before all men throughout all time ; and if, on the other hand, it was Christ's will that the origin, centre, and bond of the same unity should be the Apostolic See of Peter, it follows as a consequence that all ecclesiastical bodies separated from the external and visible communion of the Eoman Pontiff cannot be the Church of Christ, nor in any way at all belong to that Church. To that Church, to wit, which in the Creed after the setting forth of the Trinity is proposed to be believed as the holy Church, the one Church, the true Church, the Catholic Church.i To that Church which is called Catholic not only by her own children, but also by all her enemies.^ To that Church which alone has so obtained that name of Catholic, that although all heretics wish to call themselves Catholic, yet when some stranger asks where is the Catholic Church, no heretic dares to point out his own church or chapel.^ To that Church through which, as through a body most intimately joined unto himself, Christ imparts the benefits of redemption, and from which whosoever is separated, however praiseworthily he may think himself to live, by this sole crime that he is disjointed from the unity of Christ, shall not have life, but the anger of God abideth upon him.* It follows in like manner that to ecclesiastical bodies of this sort both the name of Catholic cannot in the least degree de jure belong, and can in no wise de facto be attributed without manifest heresy. From these considerations, honorabiles ac dilectissimi Domini, you will perceive why this Sacred Congregation with so great solicitude provides against Christ's faithful being exposed to enrolment in the association lately instituted by you to promote, as you say, the unity of Christendom, and against their in any way favouring such an association. You will also perceive that every plan for bringing about concord will of necessity collapse and come to nought, unless it be brought back to those principles on which from the beginning the Church was established by Christ, and afterwards in every succeeding age was propagated by the Apostles and their successors, and which are lucidly expounded in the celebrated formula of Hormisdas, ratified as this formula has been, it is certain, by the whole Catholic Church. Lastly, you will perceive that the oecumenical inter- ' S. Aug. de Symb. ad catech. cap. vi. 10. ■^ S. Aug. de vera Relig. cap. vii. ^ S. Aug. contra, epist. fundam. cap. iv. n. 5. ■• S. Aug. ep. 141, al. 152, n. 5. 422 AMBROSE PHILLIPPS DE LISLE chap, xv communion before the schism of Photius, of which you make mention, flourished for the very reason that the Oriental churches had not as yet fallen away from the obedience due to the Apostolic Chair. Nor is it sufficient, in order to restore this most wished-for inter-communion, to lay aside secret grudges and hatred against the Roman Church. But it is altogether necessary, according to the precept and institution of Christ, to embrace the faith and communion of the Eoman Church ; since, as saith Venerable Bede, the most glorious ornament of your nation : Whosoever in any way sever themselves from the unity of the faith, or from his [Blessed Peter's] fellowship, can neither be absolved from the chains of their sins, nor enter the kingdom of heaven.-*- And would that, honorabiles ac dilectissimi Domini, since it has been proved that the Catholic Church is one, and can neither be torn in two, nor cut up into parts,^ you might no longer hesitate to fold yourselves in the bosom of the same Church, which, even as all mankind confess, has obtained from the Apostolic See, through the successions of bishops, heretical outcry notwith- standing, the summit of authority.^ Would that what the Holy Spirit has begun in you by the good will towards this Church put into your hearts. He himself might vouchsafe without delay to complete and perfect. This our most holy Lord Pope Pius IX., together with this Sacred Congregation, augurs for you with his whole heart, and most earnestly implores the God of mercies and Father of lights that, fleeing from the state of separation in which you were born [ex haeredata praecisione] into the heritage of Christ, the true Catholic Church to which, beyond all doubt, your forefathers belonged before the deplor- able separation of the sixteenth century, you may happily be found worthy to receive the root of charity in the bond of peace and in the fellowship of unity.* — Fare ye well. Eome, this 8th day of November 1865. C. Card. Pateizi. 1 Horn, in natale SS. Petri et Pauli. ^ S. Cypr. ep. -viii. ad Corn. ap. Constant, n. 2. ' S. Aug. de util. credendi, c. xvii. n. 35. * S. Aug. ep. 61, al. 223, u. 2, ep. 69, al. 238, n. 1 END OF VOL. I Printed by R. & R, Clark, Limited, Edi7ibiirgh. By the late E. S. PURCELL. LIFE OF CAEDINAL MANNING ARCHBISHOP OF WESTMINSTER Fourth Edition. 2 vols. Demy 8vo. Price 30s. net. BY EDMUND SHEKIDAN PUECELL MEMBER OF THE ROMAN ACADEMY OF LETTERS GUARDIAN. — " There is no doubt that he has dra-«ii a very vivid picture and one that gives not only to the general reader, but also to some at least who had a personal knowledge of the Cardinal, an im- pression of truthfulness.'" TIMES. — These two volumes, bulky as they are, wiD. command universal attention, and in intrinsic interest they will not disappoint expectation. . . . The real attraction of such a biography lies not in the literary skill of the biographer, but in the story he has to tell. Mr. Purcell has wisely recognised this." STANDARD. — " This profoundly interesting book." MORNING POST. — " This biogi'aphy is one of deep interest, re- ligious, political, and social, throwing much light on the ecclesiastical and political movements of the last half century, and on their leaders." DAILY TELEGRAPH.— "'So doubt the work which Edmund Sheridan Purcell has composed on the ' Life of Cardinal Manning ' will become the standard book of reference in all that relates generally to the Roman Catholic Church ia this kingdom, and especially to the late Archbishop of Westminster. The Editor has had the advantage of consulting Cardinal Manning's letters and diaries and the volumin- ous correspondence, which throughout his life he kept up with various distinguished and undistinguished friends." DAILY NEWS. — " A most important contribution to the religious history of the departing century. . . . The whole forms one of the most interesting biographies of modem times." DAILY GRRONIGLE. — "Written with absolute impartiality and outspoken freedom, with energy, lucidity, and fulness." ATREN^UM. — "The volumes contain an immense amount from the Cardinal's own pen that is interesting and that is worthy of pro- found study." 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