Catholic children -- Juvenile fiction; Families -- Juvenile fiction
"Let me tell you, my dear child, boyhood with all its little griefs and
troubles, is the most joyous time of life; its very spring time when
everything is fresh and beautiful. I did not appreciate it when I was a
boy, but now I sometimes sigh for it. If boys who are longing for the
time to come when they may be men could only know what a man's life and
work mean, they would pray to be kept at school all their lives.
"I wish I could gain the ear of all the boys in the world, I would say
to them affectionately, in the language of the Holy Apostle St. Paul. Be
strong; shun anything and everything that has a tendency to weaken your
mental and moral life.
"For you, my beloved son, I now say: Be strong in the grace you will
obtain by constantly and devoutly approaching the Sacraments. If the
love of God is the motive power of your life, you will grow from a
noble boy into a noble man."
Father, mother and son sat together late into the night; then kneeling
in devout prayer they retired to rest.
At seven o'clock on Wednesday morning, Monsieur Le Curé sent his
carriage to take his niece and her husband to the station. Madame
Casgrainie and Mrs. Allen bade each other a tearful farewell.
When on the train, Bolax bravely suppressed his emotion, so that the
parting should not be too painful for his parents; then Monsieur Le Curé
invited him to spend the night at his house, hoping to comfort him. In
the morning, our brave boy entered the College, where he found that
several of his classmates had returned. Fulton, Adolph and Tardeef gave
him a hearty greeting; soon they were exchanging droll stories and
making each other laugh at their adventures during vacation. On the
whole, Bolax's second year opened with pleasant prospects and under more
promising auspices than that which had preceded it.
Here we must leave our hero, asking the readers who are interested in
his story to pray that his future life may prove all that his parents
are trying to make it, viz: Pure, honest and noble in every sense of the
word.
END.
Author's Notes
Transcriber's Note: These comments are not part of the original printed
text of the book; they are excerpted from notes hand-written by the
author in Villanova University's copy.
"This book will tell you how my children were carefully trained in their
religion--It is true to life. I kept a diary of all my children's
saying and doings and from this wrote the book."
"The odd name comes from the boy's father calling him bow-legs because
as a baby he walked crooked. The boy caught the sound as 'Bolax' and was
so called until quite a big boy."
Historical Notes
Transcriber's Note: These notes were hand-written in Villanova
University's copy of the book by a librarian. They are not part of the
original printed text.
In 1892-93 the son of Mrs. Josephine Culpeper, Osmond J., attended
classes at Villanova, to which reference is made in her pages.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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