Central Catholic High School - Echo Yearbook (Fort Wayne, IN)

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.114 . L CENTRAL CATHOLIC - 'CATHOLIC WRITERS By Paul J. Foohey, '16. I.-John Henry Newman . lt is but twenty-five years since the greatest prose writer of the Victorian Age left the English nation to mourn his death. Within these twenty- iive years ithe name of Cardinal Newman has taken its rightful place among the great English writers. Year by year-yes, day by day-his fame is increasing. As men study him more, they love him more, as men grow more fair- minded, they honor him more. His life and his works afford example for the saint and food for the scholar. John Henry Newman was born in London in 1801..,. His father was an English banker. His mother .belonged to a French Huguenot family. At the age of seven he was sent to a private school at Ealing. Here he spent his leisure moments in reading Scott's novels and studying the Bible. At iifteen he entered Trinity, Oxford, and received the B. A. degree in 1820. In 1834 he was ordained in the Anglican church, and a few years later became vicar of St. Mary's, Ox- ford. He made a trip to Rome in 1832 and was greatly impressed by the Catholic services which he attended in Italy. His religious struggle now began and lasted for nine Years. It ended'in his conversion. to Catholicism in 1845. Henceforth he was to be the champion of Catholic Doctrine against those whom he had before helped to oppose it. He defended himself and the Church of Romein a masterly manner for the next forty- five years. Every attack made upon him was a boomerang for the attacker. He was too much of a scholar to use abusive words. Though a master qof irony and satire, he seldom employed these weapons, his knowledge and love of truth being sufficient to disarm his most sanguine op- ponent. , His work in education and reiigioni was not un- noticed. In 1879 he was made cardinal by Pope ilieo XIII. He had deserved the honor, and even his enemies admitted it. From then until his Heath in 1890 he stood out in bold relief as a great man closing a great life. Among the religious writers of the Victorian Age, Cardinal Newman is undoubtedly the first. His essays are remarkable in that he possessed the tact to show the delicate end which-he de- HIGH SCHOOL ECHO sired to attain, namely to justify the Catholic Church in xher doctrines and teachings, in such a way as to not offend or make enemies, even among the prejudiced Englishmen of his time. His powers in his religious essays he achieved by his wonderful ability of touching on moral and spiritual truths. . iNewman's greatest work is undoubtedly 'Apol- ogia Pro Vita Sua. It was written in 1864. Apologia was inspired by an attack directed at Newman by Charles Kingsley. It is a master- piece of irony. and satire which Newman so infre- quently used, although he was a master of it. Apologia did much towards softening th'e bitter feeling of the public against Newman which was caused by his defection from the Anglican Church in 1845. I Probably the most interesting and readable of all Newman's works is Calista, published, as he himself says, 'Kin an attempt to express th'e feelings and mutual relations of Christians and heathens in the middle of the third century. Another excellent work is his Loss and Gain. This deals with the conversion of a man to Chris- tianity, and was probably inspired by his own conversion. Two of Newman's poems, Lead Kindly Light and The Dream of Gerontius-, are mas- terpieces of their kind. This versatility of New- man in covering a range from poetry to religious essay shows his literary greatness and entitles him to a place in literature far above that of the ordinary religious-chronicler. Newman's style is a charming blending, of the academic and that of a worldly man. Its quality of simplicity and frankness makes it' distinct from that of other writers of his age, who failed to be frank without achieving harshness, and who could not attain simplicity without becom- ing uninteresting. There is a smoothness in Newmanis style which enables him to change from the lofty to the common without a jar. One of the most pleasing things about NeWman's style is that he is never guilty of affectation. He was able to achieve the most richly imaginative descriptions in almost the same language he used colloquially. Newman was essentially a Stylist, but his temperament modified by his religious imagination,, made him free from the aiecta- tion of the litterateur and the coldness of the mere scholar. Newman's style is fault1ess,'save for a slight tendency toward too great perspicuity, but his subtlety, smoothness, and versatility make him the greatest writer of the century. . . , I I 5 I - . sm..- E . ........,....il

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ii?- CENTRAL CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL ECHO 3 OUR SCHOOL pointed superior, and from the very Iirst put forth ' By Leo N. Weber, '16 Chapter I. They were seated together around the study table in the little private room that so few have ever entered-the three men on whose shoulders rested heavily the burdens of future generations, and each, oblivious of the others, was weighing the past and gauging with foresight the activities of unfolding years. . The noise of a chair being pushed back broke the silence, and two heads were raised simul- taneously with the third member of the circle who had risen and stood before them. He was a man of medium height, with a face that seemed strangely young,-a queer contradiction to the silver-gray of the hair that showed beneath the purple skull-cap which he wore. His twinkling gray eyes grew serious as they fell upon the hand which he had raised as though in prophecy. There, upon his' finger gleamed the insignia of his office, the great purple amethyst set in its simple' band of gold-a ring which belonged to but one man, the Bishop of the diocese of Fort Wayne. Gentlemen, he said, there is need for a school of higher education for our young men. That was all, no other word came from those venerable lips. He seated himself again, and as he looked upon the two whom he had hon- ored by the privilege of his sanctum, he felt the result assured. Such was the founding by Bishop Alerding of that institution now so well known throughout northern Indiana as the Central Catholic High School. And so it came about that when the 1909 school-year began, the doors of old Library Hall were thrown open to the graduates of the Catholic. parochial schools, and over the portals was raised a sign in gold, The Central Catholic High School. People shook their heads and wondered, scof- fers were heard on all sides, with their I-told-you- so's and it-can't-be-done's. But the new school was established, and Rev. E. L. Lafontaine was made its superintendent. The Brothers of the Holy Cross were asked to take the school in their hands. It was only after much deliberation that the Order agreed to take charge of the school, for all knew that it would be uphill work for many years. Brother Marcellinus was ap- 'l the best of his efforts and took great pride in his work. One by one the barriers were sur- mounted and through the united efforts of all the school prospered, carrying out the intent of its founder-a Catholic preparatory institution for Catholic young men. At the beginning of the initial year there were twenty-three pupils in the High School, some taking the commercial and some the academic course. The commercial course was discontinued at the close of the second year, and those who finished the course received their diplomas. The school was henceforth to be but an academic high school. To many students two more years seemed a long time. But Brother Marcellinus cheered the doubtful by his words of praise and advice, and in a very short time won the honor and respect of every student. Year by year the student-body increased in numbers, and everyone worked for the success of the school. The boys were encouraged in all their sports, and soon were winning their laurels on the athletic fields. The teachers saw to it that the boys increased their capacity for learning, and acted like men. The students took care of the social functions of the school and won many words of praise for their manly efforts. In every enterprise they were backed by their Superior, Brother Marcel- linus, who told them there was no word like 'tfailure in the American language. 1600529- K 11-1: That's funny-the Echo guys came around and told me to write some class notes-and when I asked them what I'd say they bawled out, Shut up! and don't get fresh to us, you little Freshie. Well, we're just as good as they' are --and we work harder, too. We have only got two lazy fellows, 'and these two' don't know that no- body ever succeeded at C. C. H. S. who didn't get to work right away. And another t-hing they don't know that they can't have their own way be- cause nobody ever gets his own Way here. And another thing, again, a fellow must keep what- ever kind of a desk he gets because he's one of us Freshies. -K. M.

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J 4' CENTRAL CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL ECHO 5 THE HINT L..-i l 'By Leo Behler, '16 Just one in the world,'? said Joe Bennet to himself, as he gazed forgetfully upon the little picture of the girl who occupied his thoughts by day and his dreams by night. He looked at the picture for some time, kissed it, and then wrapped it up carefully and placed it in a cozy corner in his trunk. As he was sitting down again to his writing desk, he heard a knock at his door. He got up and opened it. There was his mother, a graceful woman of two score and ten years. , Father is in the library, she said, and he wants to say 'good bye to you now. All right, mother, said Joe, as he put his arm on her neck and walked along the hall to the library. He had always had a tender love and esteem for his mother, and even though he was a young man now, his child-like veneration for her had not waned. Mother was to him a sacred name. He entered the library and said, Father, mother told me you wanted me. 'Yes, Joe, said his father, I want to say a few words to you before you go back to college today. You know you are to finish this year. Now, I want you to work a little harder and get a little more serious. I was once young, too, and I liked my gay life, but, my son, it doesn't pay. Besides you are twenty-two now, and you're old enough to settle down when you are graduated next June. Here .is a check for a thousand, and be careful how you invest it. Hurry up and bid mother good-bye, so that you can come with me to the train in an hour. The man who had thus addressed his son was the foremost citizen in Fort Worth, K'entucky. No one ever dared to question his social stand- ing or.high moral character. He had married young-married a' virtuous and sensible young lady, and the serenity of his household wasqnever disturbed by, a family quarrel. As a business man, he was president of the First National Bank and devoted his whole time to his work. Joe went to his room after having thanked his father for the check and promised to do his best during his last year at school. He finished pack- ing his trunk, said good-bye to his mother, and at nine o'clock drove to the station with his father. As the Southern Limited was pulling out with Joe aboard, his Just-one-in-the-world opened her tired eyes and blinked eagerly at theclock on her dressing table. My goodness! twenty minutes past nine. Joe is gone, and I never went to the station to see him off, were the words she said aloud. But Miss Grace Ruth Winters knew that she had nothing to worry about. The fact that she had Joe Bennet for a beau made her the envy of all the good-looking girls in Fort Worth. Her father adored her. He had lost his wife when Grace was a mere triiie of a child. While she was still very young he sent her to a convent school, from which she was graduated a year ago. She remembered that graduation day well, because it was the day when Joe first admired her. It was Tuesday when Joe left Fort Worth. She a letter from him on Thursday, and not disappointed. She was waiting at expected she was the door for the mail man. O thank you! she said to the smiling letter-carrier as he handed her a ietter which had the stamp at the signin- cant angle. She tore it open and read the fol- lowing: - Dayton, Ohio, September 30, 1911. Darling Grace: ' I am back to the strenuous task once more, but my thoughts are of Fort Worth and you. Your little photo is ever on my table, but I am lonesome, very lonesome. I wish it was Christ- mas: I don't know how I can ever spend three months here. Yours in purgatory, 1 JOE. Grace sent the following by return mail: Winters' Mansion, Fort Worth, Kentucky, Oct. 2, 1911. Dear Joe: I got your dear letter this afternoon. O Joe! I am just as lonesome as you are. Father is very good to me, but you know I cannot always be talking to him, as he is in his ofhce most of the day. It seems a dream to think that we were so happy only a week ago. You remember how we walked in the park only last Sunday evening, and watched the moon pick its way through the clouds, and how, I said I would come to see you off on Tuesday? Don't be sore at me, Joe,-I slept till 9:20. Forgive me, dear Joe! I know you will. Come home for Christmas, and I'll make sure to be the first to congratulate you when you get your B. A. next June. ' Yours ever true, V ' GRACE. Letters were exchanged every week and terms