But, if something came to him--? He
had vowed not to seek; he had not vowed not to take. Might it not
be his plain duty to take? Might it not be the will of God?
Something, of course, did come to him, though it seemed for a
moment that it would elude his grasp. Wiseman died, and there
ensued in Rome a crisis of extraordinary intensity. 'Since the
creation of the hierarchy,' Monsignor Talbot wrote, it is the
greatest moment for the Church that I have yet seen.' It was the
duty of the Chapter of Westminster to nominate three candidates
for succession to the Archbishopric; they made one last effort,
and had the temerity to place upon the list, besides the names of
two Old Catholic bishops, that of Dr. Errington. It was a fatal
blunder. Pius IX was furious; the Chapter had committed an
'insulta al Papa', he exclaimed, striking his breast three times
in his rage. 'It was the Chapter that did it,' said Manning,
afterwards; but even after the Chapter's indiscretion, the fatal
decision hung in the balance for weeks. 'The great point of
anxiety with me, wrote Monsignor Talbot to Manning, 'is whether a
Congregation will be held, or whether the Holy Father will
perform a Pontifical act. He himself is doubting. I therefore say
mass and pray every morning that he may have the courage to
choose for himself, instead of submitting the matter to a
Congregation.
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