CARDINAL NEWMAN.
[TO THE EDITOR OP THE " SPECTATOR:]
SIE,—I venture to send you some remarks of the late Captain Si Richard Burton regarding Cardinal Newman, which appear in the strange " Life " which his widow has recently edited; and which will be, I think, interesting to many of your readers. Describing the many events of his most event- ful life, ho allots several pages to the description of his Oxford experiences. When alluding to his residence at Trinity College and the celebrities thereof, he speaks of his having met Dr. Newman and Dr. Arnold at dinner at Dr. Greenhill's table, and proceeds to say :— " I took a great fancy to Dr. Newman, and used to listen to his sermons, when I could never give half-an-hour to any other preacher. There was a peculiar gentleness in his manner, and the matter was always suggestive. Dr. Newman was Vicar of St. Mary's at Oxford, and used to preach, at times, University sermons. There was a stamp and seal upon him, a solemn music and sweet- ness in his tone and manner,which made him singularly attractive, yet there was no change of inflexion in his voice ; action he had none ; his sermons were always read, and his eyes were ever upon his book ; his figure was lean and stooping, and the tout ensemble was anything but dignified or commanding ; yet the delivery suited the matter of his speech, and the combination suggested complete candour and honesty ; he said only what he believed, and he induced others to believe with him."
In a foot-note, Mrs. Burton adds that her husband " always said that if all Catholics were like Dr. Newman, nearly every thinking person would become Catholic."
The above observations testify to the remarkable influence Dr. Newman had over what appeared to be the most difficult
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