and the general impression made by Newman on his contemporaries show that these lines are more truthful than such self-portraiture usually is. With regard to his coolness there is a confirmatory passage in a letter in the second volume, where he describes in an amusing way his meeting Arnold—the chief representative of 'Liberalism' in the Church—in the Oriel Common-Room:—
'I was most absolutely cool, or rather calm and unconcerned, all through the meeting from beginning to end; but I don't know whether you have seen me enough in such situations to know (what I really believe is not any affectation at all on my part; I am not at all conscious of any such thing, though people would think it) that I seem, if you will let me say it, to put on a very simple, innocent, and modest manner. I sometimes laugh at myself, and at the absurdities which result from it; but really I cannot help it, and I really do believe it to be genuine. On one occasion in the course of our conversation I actually blushed high at some mistake I made, and yet on the whole I am quite collected. Now, are you not amused at all this? or ought not I to blush now? I never said a word of all this about myself to any one in my life before; though, perhaps, that does not mend the matter that I should say it now.'
