... You will take care,' he concluded, 'that things are
correctly known and understood where you are.'
The confederates matured their plans. While Newman was making his
arrangements for the Oxford Oratory, Cardinal Reisach visited
London. 'Cardinal Reisach has just left,' wrote Manning to
Monsignor Talbot: 'he has seen and understands all that is going
on in England.' But Newman had no suspicions. It was true that
persistent rumours of his unorthodoxy and his anti-Roman leanings
had begun to float about, and these rumours had been traced to
Rome. But what were rumours? Then, too, Newman found out that
Cardinal Reisach had been to Oxford without his knowledge, and
had inspected the land for the Oratory. That seemed odd; but all
doubts were set at rest by the arrival from Propaganda of an
official ratification of his scheme. There would be nothing but
plain sailing now. Newman was almost happy; radiant visions came
into his mind of a wonderful future in Oxford, the gradual growth
of Catholic principles, the decay of liberalism, the inauguration
of a second Oxford Movement, the conversion--who knows?--of Mark
Pattison, the triumph of the Church.... 'Earlier failures do not
matter now,' he exclaimed to a friend. 'I see that I have been
reserved by God for this.'
Just then a long blue envelope was brought into the room.
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