“But, Holiness, the libel was a dreadful one and grossly unjust.”
“But, Eminency, the accused was bound by his Christianity to suffer revilings and persecutions and the saying of all manner of evil falsely. He forgot that. In vindicating himself, he behaved, not as a minister of God but, as a common human animal. However, besides the so-called triumphant vindication of Monsignor Cateran, which The Slab glorifies in three separate columns, this same number bristles with improprieties. On p. 415, you have Dominican and Jesuit controversialists calling each other liars, and otherwise politely hating and abusing one another—”
“Oh, Jesuits and Dominicans!”
The Pope put down the paper, and looked. The cardinal collected himself for a sally in force.
“Your Holiness will permit me to say that all this is extremely unusual. I myself was consecrated bishop in 1872, fourteen years before You were a Christian; and it seems to me that You should give Your seniors credit for having consciences at least—”
“Dear Lord Cardinal, if We had seen a sign of the said consciences—”
The cardinal tottered: but made one more thrust.
“I am not the only member of the Sacred College who thinks that Your Holiness’s attitude partakes of—shall I say singularity—and—ha—arrogance.”
“Singularity? Oh, We sincerely hope so. But arrogance—We cannot call it arrogance to assume that We know more of a particular subject, which We eagerly have studied from Our childhood, than those do who never have studied it at all. Eminency, We began by saying that We desired to establish relations with you. Now, have We shown you something of Our frame of mind?”
“Certainly, Holy Father: You wish me to—”
“We wish you to act upon the sum of Our words and conduct, in order that England may have a good and not a bad example from English Catholics. No more than that. We may call Ourselves Christendom till We are black in the face: but the true character of a Christendom is wanting to Us because the great promises of prophecy still lack fulfilment. The Barque of Peter has been trying to reach harbour. Muting within, storms without, have driven Her hither and thither. Is She as far-off from port today as ever? Who knows? But the new captain is trying to set the course again from the old chart. His look is no longer backward but onward. Lord Cardinal, can the captain count on the loyal support of his lieutenant?”
“Holy Father, I assure You that You may count on me.” It was an immense effort: but, when it came to so fine a point, the nature and the pride of the man gave way to the grace of his Divine Vocation.
“Well now, only one more blow from the flail, and then We will take up the crook. Do stop your Catholics from toadying the German Emperor. Read that. It’s perfectly absurd for them to tell him that ‘the whole Catholic world would be delighted if the protection of Catholics in the Orient were confided to him.’ He’s an admirable person: but We are not going to confide the protection of Catholics in the Orient to him. England is the only power which can manage Orientals. And what right have these Erse and Gaelic Catholics to speak for ‘the whole Catholic world’? Do neither England nor Italy count? Do make these pious fat-wits mind their own business—make them understand that when they tell the Kaiser that ‘they will exert themselves to remove all misunderstandings between Germany and England’—England last, you note—they would be comical if they were not impertinent and entirely stupid—and of course disloyal as usual.”
Hadrian collected His documents and the book of newspaper-cuts: swept them all into a portfolio; and abruptly changed the subject.
“Will Your Eminency be good enough to tell Us the circumstances which led to Our extraordinary election?”
Barely recovered from his commotion of mind, and posed point-blank like this, Cardinal Courtfield hesitated and said something about the Acts of the Conclave. His aboriginally tardy temperament was incapable of keeping pace with the feline agility of the Pontiff. Hadrian perceived his difficulty, and intently pursued the inquiry from another footing.
“We know all about the Acts of the Conclave, which We shall read at Our leisure. But We want the more human light which Your Eminency can throw upon the subject. Perhaps it will be simpler if We use the Sokratic method. By what means did Our name, did the mere fact of Our existence become known to the Sacred College?”
“By my means, Holiness.”
“We understand that Your Eminency actually proposed us to the Conclave?”
“That is so.”
“And We infer that you also recommended Us: or at least described Us in such a way that the cardinals knew whom they were electing?”
“Yes, Holy Father.”
“Why did Your Eminency propose Us?” the Pope purred.
The cardinal seemed to be at a loss again. He appeared to have a difficulty in expression, not a lack of material for expression. Hadrian made a dash for the rudiments.
“There were other names before the College? Why were none of their owners chosen?”
“It was impossible to agree about their merits, Holiness.”
“Several attempts, no doubt, were made?”
“The Ways of Scrutiny and Access were tried seven times.”
“And then?”
“And then came a deadlock. None of the candidates obtained a sufficiency of suffrages: and none of the electors were willing to change their opinion.”
“And then?”
“The Way of Compromise was tried.”
“And, through Your Eminency’s means, the Compromissaries were induced to impose Us on the Sacred College?”
“Yes, Holiness.”
“Eminency, at the time when the Conclave first was immured, We hardly can have been in Your mind. It is improbable that you could have thought of Us then in this connection. At what point did We come into your calculations?”
“I ought perhaps to say that Your name had been brought before me some weeks before the demise of Holiness’s predecessor.”
“That would be in connection with the matter of which we treated in London.”
“Yes.”
“Precisely in what way was Our name brought before Your Eminency?”
“It was brought before me in a letter from Edward Lancaster—a perfectly frantic letter accusing himself
