26 MAY 1866, Page 3

A correspondent of the Pall Mall Gazette mentions the very

curious fact that the late Mr. F. Mahony (Father Prout) was offered a Cardinal's bat if he would devote himself to the exclusive service of the Pope. Ile agreed, and the negotiation was only broken off by a discovery "that his notions of temperance were too liberal for the Church." Father Prout told this story to the writer him- self, and it was subsequently confirmed by one of the highest Church authorities in Paris. The Father throughout his life was perfectly orthodox, and his abilities strongly impressed the leading men at the Papal Court.