234 Reginald Wilberforce [1896 



campaign in English interests. This is being advocated unblushingly 

 in the ' Pall Mall ' and elsewhere. I wrote to expose the scandalous 

 intention, but they would not print my letter. 



"10th Aug. — Started on a driving tour in the New Forest, stopping 

 the first day for luncheon at Lavington with Reginald Wilberforce and 

 his family. I have known Reginald all my life, that is to say, from the 

 year 1845, when we lived for a while at Alverstoke after my father's 

 death, and when his fa'ther, the Rev. Samuel Wilberforce, afterwards 

 Bishop of Oxford, was Rector of the parish. There were three boys 

 then — Reginald, at that time called Garton ; Ernest, now Bishop of 

 Chichester; and Basil, Chaplain of the House of Commons. They 

 were all three as bad boys as could be wished, and my mother nicknamed 

 them ' the sons of Eli.' Ernest, with whom I was in 'the same class at 

 school, an especially wicked boy, which is saying a good deal, but now 

 just as justly respected, and a Right Reverend Father in God. The only 

 good boy of the family was an older brother Herbert, but he had died 

 at sea, while the wicked ones lived on to adorn the Church of England 

 with 'their virtues. Thus is the child father to the man. I went over 

 the little parish church after luncheon with Reginald, who is an amusing 

 talker. 



He showed me the grave of his Aunt Caroline, who had been Cardinal 

 Manning's wife. It remains without inscription of any kind. The 

 old Cardinal visited it in 1876 and talked of putting up a stone, bu't he 

 was probably perplexed as to the wording of the inscription. ' Wife of 

 Cardinal Manning ' would have looked strange. Reginald, however, 

 thinks now of doing this, and suggests ' Wife of Henry Edward, after- 

 wards Cardinal Manning.' Reginald told me much else that was inter- 

 es'ting about Cardinal Manning's visit. He had come down for the 

 consecration of the Catholic church at Burton Park, and asked to be 

 allowed to lunch at Lavington, so they entertained him there, and he 

 saw all the old parishioners and was much affected. Afterwards he 

 walked to the top of 'die down with Reginald and discoursed to him! 

 about his soul, exhorting him to conversion — thus for two hours. 

 Their last words were: 'Think, my dear Reginald, if God should 

 require your soul of you to-night, where should you be?' To which 

 Reginald, ' Why, my dear Uncle Henry, I should be in the hands of 

 God.' As his Eminence was leaving, the parishioners all came to wish 

 him good-bye, and he blessed them each in turn. When Reginald had 

 put his uncle into the carriage, he said: ' And is 'there no blessing, no 

 little blessing for me?' They never met again, and 'he never cared 

 for me after this,' Reginald said, ' though he used to see my wife and 

 children and was always most affectionate to them.' He tells me the 

 way Purcell, his biographer, got hold of the Cardinal's diaries and 

 letters was this. He had had several conversations with Manning on 



