s opinions as a proof of
secret sympathy, and harbinger of future alliance. Thus, the censure
which he incurs will most often come from those whose views are
essentially his own; and the very matter which calls it forth will be
that which elicits the applause of adversaries who cannot bring
themselves to believe either in the truth of his opinions, in the
integrity of his motives, or in the sincerity of his aims.

There are few men living whose career has been more persistently
misinterpreted, more bitterly assailed, or more ignorantly judged, than
the illustrious person who is the head in England of the Church to which
we belong, Cardinal Wiseman has been for many years the chief object of
the attacks of those who have desired to injure or degrade our
community. He is not only the canonical chief of English Catholics, but
his ability, and the devotion of his life to their cause, have made him
their best representative and their most powerful champion. No prelate
in Christendom is more fully trusted by the Holy See, or exercises a
more extensive personal influence, or enjoys so wide a literary renown.
Upon him, therefore, intolerance and fanaticism have concentrated their
malice. He has had to bear the brunt of that hatred which the holiness
of Catholicism inspires in its enemies; and the man who has never been
found wanting when the cause of the Church was at stake may boast, with
a not unworthy pride, of the indifference with which he has encountered
the personal slander of a hostile press.

The Catholics of this country are attached to Cardinal Wiseman by warmer
feelings and more personal ties than those of merely ecclesiastical
subordination. It has been his privilege to gather the spiritual fruits
of the Catholic Emancipation Act; and the history of English Catholicism
has been, for a whole generation, bound up with his name. That immense
change in the internal condition of the Church in England which
distinguishes our days from the time of Milner has grown up under his
influence, and has been in great part his work. We owe it to him that we
have been brought into closer intercourse with Rome, and into contact
with the rest of Europe. By his preaching and his spiritual direction he
has transformed the devotions of our people; while his lectures and
writings have made Protestants familiar with Catholic ideas, and have
given Catholics a deeper insight into their own religion. As a
controversialist he influenced the