The Family Circle

New Zealand Tablet, 28 August 1919, Page 45

The Family Circle

SCHOOLDAYS IN IRELAND. Many years have passed since I lisped Our Lady’s name In a far-off city schoolhouse well known as Notre Dame, Where before a little altar the children came to pray To her who’s known in every clime Our Lady Queen of May. We gathered for that precious shrine such flowers as could be found * And plucked the hawthorne-bushes, which scented all around. While above us warbling sweetly in the clear blue Irish sky Were the blackbird and the linnet and the lark so loud on high. The Brothers were our teachers; how can I e’er forget The interest that they took in us; I think I see them yet With their happy, smiling faces and their earnest, winning way As they solved our knotty problems or joined us in our play. ’Twas there we learned of Ireland’s awful struggle for the right v To worship God as she knew how despite the tyrant's might ; Of St. Patrick and St. Brigid, of SS. Brendan and Finbar,' Of SS. Malachy and Columkille; old Lismore and Armagh, Those boys are scattered far and wide ; some died across the sea “On Flanders’ fields where poppies grow’’ to prove that they could be The bravest in the battle, like their sires of long ago At Fontenoy and Limerick or Benburb with Owen Roe. Oh ! who is he that would not give the world with all its joy To be amid such scenes again and feel himself a boy And grasp the hand of Brother Pat and Brothers John and Paul, ■ , Or .doff the hat to Father Tom, our sagart brave and tall? The world is safe while schools like these abound throughout the land, Where God comes first in all they do, where bigotry is banned ; Where our Sisters and our Brothers spend their holy lives all day For the welfare of our children, and for Mary, Queen of May. —Thomas J. Butler. LIFE’S FAILURES. Every year I live I am more convinced that the waste of life lies in the love we have not given, the powers we have not used, the selfish prudence which will risk nothing, and which, shirking pain, misses happiness as well. No one ever yet was the poorer in the long run for having once in a lifetime “let out all the length of the reins.’’Mary Cholmondeley. “HONOR THY FATHER. . Boys, when you speak of your father don’t call him “the old man.” Of course you are older now than when you were taught to call him father. You are much smarter than you were then, you are much more manly looking, your clothes fit you better, your hat has a modern shape, a,nd your hair is combed differently. ' Your father has a last year’s coat, a two-year-old hat, and a vest of still older pattern. He

can’t write such an elegant note as you can, and all that, but don’t callhim “the old . man. Call him father. He has given the best years of his life to promote your welfare. He loves you as much now ■as he ever did, though he goes along without saying much about it. Therefore be not ungrateful. Treat' him kindly and brighten his declining years. . THE NAME MARGARET IN THE CALENDAR - OF SAINTS. Any girl named Margaret has the choice of some excellent patrons, as follows:—St. Margaret of Marina, virgin and martyr, daughter .of a pagan priest, disowned by her father and later put to death, after having been miraculously saved twice when former attempts were mad© to kill her Blessed Margaret Colonna, Poor Clare, noted for her charity to the poor and her patience in suffering ; Blessed Margaret Mary Alacoque, through whom the Sacred Heart devotion was revealed by Our Lord, and who is soon to be canonised St. Margaret of Cortona, of the Third Order of St. Francis Blessed Margaret of Hungary, a nun of the royal family who was so consecrated to contemplation and penance that she was venerated as a saint even in her lifetime; Blessed Margaret of Lorraine, a duchess who became a nun; Blessed Margaret of Savoy, a marchioness who became a Dominican nun when she was widowed and who evaded the attempt of a nobleman to have her released from her vow so that she could marry him ; St. Margaret of Scotland, a queen whose private life was most holy and who did great things for the Church of her land ; Blessed Margaret Pole, an English countess who suffered terribly in prison under blood-soaked Cromwell for the faith, and who was finally put to death. ONE ON THE BOBS. A contractor, having heard that his men did not commence work at the proper time, thought he would drop down about 6.30 one morning and see. Going up the yard, on Friday morning, he caught sight of a fellow standing smoking and his kit not even opened. ‘ Simply asking his name, which he found to be Malcolm Campbell, he handed him four days’ pay, and ordered him to leave the yard at once. After seeing the man clear off the 'premises, he went to the foreman and explained that he had made an example of Malcolm Campbell by paying him off for not starting at the proper hour. ‘•‘Great Scot, sir!” ejaculated the foreman, “that chap was only looking for a job.” TESTING HIS WILL-POWER. The proprietor of a fruit store chanced to glance out the plate-glass window and saw a small boy lingering around a case of apples exhibited close to the sidewalk. ‘‘Hey, there, boy,” exclaimed the fruiterer, going to the door, “what are you doing?” ‘Nothing,” laconically answered the boy, with his eyes still fixed on the apples. ‘‘Nothing, eh?” doubtfully returned the man. ‘‘Aren’t you trying to steal some of those apples?” “No, sir,” responded the youngster, “I’m trying not to.” —■ , j ON FAMILIAR TERMS. “I were a-layin’ down behind the breastworks one day,” said the veteran prevaricator, “a-firin’, at the henemy, an’ a-’ittin’ of ’em hevery time, when I ’ears the patter of a ’orse’s ’oofs be’ind me. Then a voice said : —• “‘Hi, there, you with the deadly haim! Jist come ’ere ’alf a mo “ ‘I turned round an’ salooted, an’ who should it be but the General ’E come up an’ shook me by the ’and. ' “i’-‘Wot’s yer name?’ sez ’e. , - “ ‘Logan, General,’ sez I. '

“ ‘Your..fust name?’ sez ’e. , '- . ‘Dan, sir,’, sez I, ‘Dan Logan.’ , , “ ‘Well, Dan,’ sez ’©, ‘go ’ome. You’re a-killin’ too many men. It don’t seem ’ardly fair. It’s massycree, that’s wot it.is. An’ look' ’ere, Dan, don’t call me “General” me Herbert,’ ’sez ’e.” r NEAR ENOUGH. With a view to letting nothing escape her vigilance, Mrs. Muggins cross-examined the prospective housemaid, cook, and general all in one for five shillings a week. “You are quite certain you know your duties thoroughly?” she said, after "deciding to engage her. “You will answer the door to visitors, and wait at table, and ” “Oh, yes, mum,” said Mary Jane. “I am quite sure I will know how to go about them.” Mrs. Muggins was on the point of turning away when a thought struck her, and she suddenly swung round to the girl. “Oh, by the way, do you know your way to announce ?” “Well, mum,” replied Mary Jane, innocently, “I’m not sure about that but I think I know my weight to a pound or so ! ” SMILE RAISERS. “No,” said the honest man, “I was never strong at literature. To save my life, I could not tell you who wrote ‘Gray’s Elegy.’ .• “Mamma,” shouted little Lennie from the nursery, “Johnnie wants half the bed.” “Well,” asked the mother, “isn’t he entitled to half of it?” “Yes,” replied Lennie, “but he wants his half in the middle.” Little Ethel had been caught red-handed, and her aunt was lecturing her. “You surely knew you were doing wrong! Didn’t your conscience tell you that?” she said. ‘‘''“Will my conscience tell me when I’m being naughty, auntie?” “Yes, dear.” Ethel thought a moment, then remarked ; “Well, I don’t mind it telling me, as long as it doesn’t tell you!” A Scottish schoolboy, whose school was so far from home that he took his dinner with him, said to his mother : —• “Mother, does yer specs mak’ ye see things bigger ?” “A wee bit,” replied his mother. “Aweel,” he said, “I wad just like it if ye wad tak’ ’em off when ye’re packin’ ma dinner.” A horse-owner was trying to sell a wind-broken horse, and was trotting the animal round for inspection. The owner stroked the horse’s back, and remarked to the prospective buyer : “Hasn’t he a lovely coat?” But the other noticed that the horse was brokenwinded, and answered: “Ah, I like his coat all right, but I don’t like his pants.”