Bolax, Imp or Angel—Which?

by Lester Chadwick

  CHAPTER V.

  THE PICNIC.

  The feast of the Assumption. What a glorious day! Clear and bright, morelike June than August.

  Mrs. Allen and Amy went to early Mass. After breakfast Aunt Lucyproposed taking Bolax to high Mass, as the music was to be unusuallyfine. St. James' choir from the city volunteered their services. Mr. VanHorn sent out a fine organ to replace the squeaky, little melodeon, forit was the first anniversary of the dedication of the little countrychurch, and all wanted to have an especially fine service.

  Bo promised to be "better than good" while in Church. There was a verylarge congregation, the country people coming for miles around to hearthe music and assist at the grand high Mass.

  When Aunt Lucy and her charge entered the Church every seat seemed to betaken. Mrs. Allen's pew was filled with strangers, so dear old MadameHarte beckoned her to come into her pew.

  From the beginning of the service, Bo was in an ecstasy of delight,except for an occasional tapping of his feet when the music was veryinspiriting, he sat motionless.

  Not to impose on the child's patience too long, Madame Harte offered totake him out during the sermon. "Oh, dear Hartie, is it all over?" saidBo. "No pet, but the priest is going to give a sermon, and you would beso tired." "No, I wouldn't, what is a sermon?" said Bo. "Oh, a very longtalk, dear; come out with me," whispered Madame, "and I will bring youback when the music begins again."

  "Will the priest tell stories?" asked Bo, when he got outside. "I likelong talks when the talk is stories."

  "Come dear, let us sit under that tree over there and I will tell you atrue story." "Oh, thank you, Hartie dear."

  "Once long ago, our dear Lord died and--" "Rose again and went up intoHeaven," said Bo all in one breath. "Mamma tells me that every day at myprayers."

  "Well," continued Mrs. Harte, "after Jesus went up to Heaven His holyMother was very lonely, so she prayed and prayed to Jesus to take her upto Heaven, that she might be with Him forever. Well, one beautiful day,just like this, Jesus called a company of angels and sent them down tothe earth to bring His blessed Mother up to Him."

  "Did the Angels march out of Heaven like soldiers?" asked Bo.

  "Yes, dear; they put on their brightest robes, and beautiful clouds ofcrimson and gold surrounded them, and then they carried the holy Motherup, up, until they came to the golden throne where Jesus sat, ready towelcome her; He placed her beside Him and there she remains happyforever."

  When the organ began the grand music of the Credo, Bo made a dash forthe door, and could scarcely be persuaded to enter the Church quietly.After he was seated, he listened intently and was apparently very muchinterested in the Altar boys.

  At length came the "Agnus Dei," which ends, as all have heard, with"Dona nobis pacem." The music score called for a repetition of the word"Pacem," somewhat in this manner, "Dona Pacem, Pacem," the basso callingout "Pacem! Pacem!"

  With startling suddenness, Bo exclaimed: "Why are they singing about aPossum?"

  Aunt Lucy caught him by the hand and hurried him to the side door, whichwas fortunately near; those who were within hearing, with difficultycontrolled their laughter. "Are you crying, Aunty?" said the funnyyoungster, as he saw the flushed face of his aunt. "No, Bo, dear; I cameout because you spoke so loud." "Oh, I forgot; please forgive me; let mego in again; I'll be so good, but Aunty dear, I didn't know they everlet possums into Church." Mass was not over, and as it was a holy day ofobligation, Aunt Lucy felt unwilling to leave until the last Gospel. Onreflection, however, she thought it best not to give further distractionby returning to her seat.

  On her way home, she stopped to see a child, who belonged to theCatechism class, hoping to find him able to join the rest of thechildren, who were going to have their annual picnic. The little fellowhad hurt his foot, but his mother said he was now able to walk nicely.

  After Mass, Miss Devine and Madame Harte drove over to Allen's to seeabout the proposed outing. There they met the ladies Keating, alldiscussed Bo's latest exploit and laughed heartily about the Possum.

  "Our class has increased so largely this year, I fear we cannot haveroom for all the children on my grounds," observed Mrs. Allen. "Supposewe make it a straw ride," said Miss Keating. "We can give a substantiallunch, with ice cream and cake for dessert, and a bag of candy to takehome." "Oh, grand! grand!" said Amy, clapping her hands, "and Ma, dear,I have two children I want to invite; they don't come to the classbecause they live so far away; I mean little Johnny Burke, who is lame,and Dotty, the blind child. I love them because they are afflicted."

  "My darling, you shall invite the poor little ones, and I am glad to seeyou have such a compassionate heart." "Suppose we hire Johnson's big haywagon," said Miss Keating, "it will hold all the children and two grownfolks to look after them."

  "That will be just the thing," said Miss Devine, "my contribution shallbe the ice cream and cake." "and mine," said Madame Harte, "the candy.""I will help with the substantials and let the little things have morethan enough for once in their lives," this from Miss Keating, whosewhole time seemed to be taken up with helping the poor. "We can drive toSilver Lake woods," she proposed, "that is just six miles away and willnot be too long a ride." After making all arrangements, the ladies tookleave of Mrs. Allen, promising to be on hand on Thursday, August 20th.

  The next day was Sunday. At Catechism class Mrs. Allen told the childrenof the proposed ride and picnic, which should take place on the nextThursday; all expressed their delight and you may be sure, thought ofnothing else during the intervening days.

  The next morning Bolax was playing with his dogs on the lawn when TomHoden made his appearance; he stood outside the gate, looking wistfullyat Bo. Mrs. Allen called him in and gave him some breakfast. "Did yourfather tell you of my visit?" said the lady. Tom answered in his surlymanner: "Yes, the old man said you was to the house, but I don't want togo to Sunday School, the fellows would call me 'rags,' and I ain't gotno shoes." "That can be easily remedied," said Mrs. Allen, "come heretomorrow and see what I will have for you."

  The poor boy's face brightened up, and making an awkward attempt tothank the lady, he ran out of the gate.

  When Tom presented himself next day, Pat was called upon to give him abath and dress him in a good suit of clothes. "Here he is, ma'am," saidPat, "and ye'd hardly believe it's the same boy."

  Tom held up his head and seemed quite happy; so true it is, that be oneever so poor, a clean, respectable appearance makes one feel at easewith himself and on better terms with his fellows. "Now Tom, I expectyou to be here on next Thursday morning at nine o'clock." Tom promisedto come and thanked Mrs. Allen.

  The appointed day arrived. Long before the wagon came, the childrenflocked into the garden. Pat was on the alert lest his flower bedsshould suffer.

  Miss Keating and Mrs. Allen made all be seated, and to while away thetime sang:

  "Wait for the wagon, wait for the wagon, Wait for the wagon and we'll all take a ride. We are all good children; our teachers say with pride. So now to reward us, they give us all a ride."

  The children clapped for this; then Aunt Lucy played on the piano whichcould be heard distinctly out on the lawn.

  Amy and Aunt Lucy sang:

  "Come where flowers are flinging Beauty o'er the meadows gay, Where glad birds are singing, Free from care the live long day.

  Come where skies are smiling, Where the merry fountains play, Come, all care beguiling, Keep with Nature Holiday.

  Then away to the woods, Where wild flowers bloom, Where the breezes are laden With sweetest perfume.

  With our feet light as fairies, And hearts full of glee, We will sing with the wild bird And roam with the bee, Oh, come away, away!"

  Mary Dowry called Amy's attention to a charming little girl about sixyears old, who smiled through the railing and looked wistfully at thechildren. She was dressed in a pink frock, which set off her soft darkeyes.


  Amy went towards her and she said, "Good morning," so sweetly. "Ibelieve she wants to come with us," said Amy. "Oh, don't let her," criedNellie Day, "she's only a Dago."

  "Well, I'll give her some candy," said Bolax, "I like nice Dagos," andgoing to his mother, he told about the strange child. Mrs. Allen gavehim a large bag of candy which he handed to the little girl.

  On receiving it she said, "gracias, gracias." What is she saying "grassyice for?" said Nellie Day, "perhaps she wants ice cream." "No" said AuntLucy "she is saying 'Thank you' in Italian. What pretty manners she has.I think some of our American children might profit by her sweet ways."

  "I'm sure she has a nice mother," said Amy. "Let us take her with us.""I would, willingly dear," said Aunt Lucy, "but her people would thinkher lost, and we do not know where to send them word."

  Great was the jubilation of the children, and not a little surpriseamong the ladies when the wagon appeared festooned with bunting, thedriver carrying a flag, and the horses' heads decked in like manner. Itwas so kind of Mr. Johnson to give the decorations. Miss Keating andAunt Lucy seated themselves and the children in the straw; then as theold song says:

  "Snap went the whip, 'round went the wheels, Were ever folks more glad."

  Old and young joined in the fun and made the welkin ring with theirmirth. Hetty and Pat put the lunch baskets and ice cream into thedayton, and with Miss Devine, Madame Harte and Mrs. Allen in the largecarry-all followed the procession to Silver Lake woods.

  The road strolled leisurely out of the village and then, abruptly leftit behind, and curved about a hillside. Silver Lake woods sat on a hillslope studded with pine trees; at the foot of the hill could be seen amost beautiful piece of water glistening in the sunshine. This was thelake. Life of the forest seemed to enter into the veins of the childrenand they ran and capered like wild deer. The horses were unharnessed sothat they might rest.

  Pat and Mr. Johnson's man put up swings and hammocks. The Misses Keatingand Aunt Lucy set the children to play games; Hare and Hounds suited theboys and they raced to hearts' content. The Lake was guarded by MissDevine's coachman, John, so that no venturesome lad would put himself indanger. The girls were easily made happy with quiet games, swings andhammocks.

  To the children, of course, the lunch was the principal feature, so theladies spread an immense white cloth on the grass, around which all sat,and were served to as many chicken and ham sandwiches as they could eat.Tin cups of delicious milk and lots of sweet buns followed. Then camethe ice cream and cake; by the time this was disposed of, it becameevident the children could hold no more, so Madame Harte's candy wasreserved for the homeward trip.

  The men were not forgotten, and were well supplied with a substantialdinner of cold roast beef, pickles, bread and butter, a dozen of lemonsand a pound of sugar to make lemonade. For, as Hetty, said, "dem derefellows ain't goin' to care for soft vittles; dey wants sumpin' dat willkeep dem from gettin' hollow inside." After the feast Pat and the othermen gathered everything up, and packed all into the dayton, then Patstarted for home.

  The ladies were rather fatigued after their exertions in amusing andwaiting on the children, so they rested in the hammocks awhile. As forthe little ones, nothing seemed to tire them, they tore around as freshand lively as if the day were just beginning. At four o'clock Mrs. Allenrang a bell to summon all to prepare for home. When the wagon came allpiled in, laughing and shouting in their glee. Amy was most attentive toher little proteges, waiting on them and attending to all their wants.Little Dotty kept saying: "Dear Miss Amy, I love you; I thank you, andI'll always pray for you for giving me such a happy, happy day."

  Bolax took little lame Johnny under his care, when the children werebeing placed in the wagon, he called out to the driver, "be sure to seatJohnny on a soft bunch of hay, because his leg is not strong." "Why didyou say that?" said Nellie Day. "You ought to have said, because his islame." "No, I just wouldn't say that," said Bo, "it might hurt Johnny'sheart; my Mamma says we must never let lame people know we see theirlameness, and never look at crooked-backed children, because it makesthen feel worse."

  When the wagon was ready to start, the driver offered to see all thechildren safely to their homes; he said most of them lived near thequarry, and he would take the pike road, which passed within a fewminutes' walk of it. Johnny and little Dotty he promised to deliver intothe hands of their mothers.

  The ladies Keating had ordered their carriage to call for them, and MissDevine's "carry-all" held the rest of the party, including Bo and Amy.

  This ended one happy day filled with love and kindness, and sweetcharity towards God's poor little ones.

  CATECHISM CLASS.

  On the Sunday after the picnic, the Catechism class met. All the pupilswere eager to show their appreciation of the happy day their kindteachers had given them.

  The subject of instruction was the Ten Commandments. Mrs. Allen made afew remarks in simple, plain words, showing the advantages of truth overfalsehood; dwelling particularly on the Seventh and Eighth Commandments,saying how happy one felt when his conscience told him, he was entirelyfree from the mean habit of lying and taking little things which werethe property of others.

  After class was dismissed, Tom lingered on the piazza. Mrs. Allen wentto him, and asked him if he wanted to speak to her. "Yes, ma'am;" saidthe boy, "I once took a wheelbarrow out of your yard; I am very sorry;if you will trust me, I'll work out the price of it on your place. Icould help Pat if he'd let me. I'm strong; I'm twelve now." Mrs. Allenwas touched with the evident sincerity of the boy, and thanked God thatthe good seed was already bearing fruit. Taking the boy's hand, she toldhim our Lord would certainly forgive and bless him since he bravelyacknowledged his fault. "You may come tomorrow and I will give you workand keep you here until I can get you a permanent situation." Tomthanked his kind benefactress, promising to return the next day.

  As he was passing out the gate Bo hailed him. "You're a good boy nowTom, so I can walk with you a little way; I am going to give you a pairof my darling white rats. They're such cute little things; they eat cornout of my mouth and run all over me." "Thank you, Bo, but I'd betterdon't take 'em, our place is full of black rats and they'd be sure toeat up the white ones." As Tom was speaking, he threw a stone at a birdthat was hopping along the path. "Stop that!" said Bo, "you're gettingbad again; that's a robin. Robins are blessed birds, because when ourLord was nailed on the Cross, a robin flew near and tried to pull thethorns out of His dear head, but robin was not strong, so he only couldpull one thorn out, and the blood of poor Jesus got on the bird'sfeathers so that is why robin's breast is red." "Is that really so, whotold you?" "My dear Mamma told me, and she knows everything in theworld, so it is true Tom, and if you want my Mamma to love you, you mustbe kind to animals and kind to birds especially to robins."

  "Well, little fellow, I will try for your sake. You see I never knowedabout nothing, so I done bad acts. Now since I go to Catechism classI'll try to do good acts."

  After leaving Tom, Bolax loitered on the way home, amusing himself withhis dogs; when he went into the house, Hetty called him. "Where you donebeen such a long time, boy?" "Oh, I was only down the hill," replied Bo."Well, here's me and sister a working while you'se playin'; just youcome, let me wash you' hands and den you kin help us make dese herecookies." Amy was already busy rolling out dough and cutting cakes, soBo was delighted to help. "Hetty, dear," said he, "if I roll this doughinto cannon balls will they bake nice?" "Cannon balls in my oven," saidHetty, "suppose they go on to bust, what den?" "Oh, they won't bust,Hetty dear." So Hetty put the cannon balls to bake with the pan full ofcookies and when they were done, she spread a nice white cloth on alittle table near the window in the kitchen, bringing out the crabapplejelly, which the children always considered a treat. Then she put abouquet in the center of the table and a pitcher of creamy milk. Thiswith the cookies and some peaches made a delightful lunch. Amyunderstood why Hetty was particular to set the table so nicely and keptdancing 'round and talk
ing nonsense.

  Mamma and Aunt Lucy had gone out for the day and she wanted to keep Bofrom noticing their absence. After enjoying the feast and feeding theirpets, their friend, Adele, came and took them out in her pretty ponycart. It was five in the afternoon when the children returned. As soonas Bolax entered the house, he began his usual refrain: "Ma, dear." Ashe received no answer, he suddenly remembered he had not seen his motherall day. "Why Hetty," said he, "is Mamma not at home?" "No, honey,"said Hetty, "she's been in town; she'll be home soon now, and she g'wanto give you a nice present when I tell her what a good boy you donebeen. Come now eat yon' supper, so you' Ma will find you in bed when shecomes home."

  Bo and Amy sat at the little table where they had had lunch. Hetty gavethem a nice supper and allowed them each to have a doggie beside them,with a plate to eat from.

  After supper they went upstairs to prepare for bed. Buz and Royfollowed. Amy took Bo into the Oratory to say night prayer. Bo beganvery piously "Our Father," but just here Buz bit his foot. "Stop that,Buz, don't you see I'm saying my prayers. Our Father, who art in Heaven.Buz won't behave." Bo called out laughing, at the same time. "Hetty,"said Amy, "you had better come up here, Bo's just giggling instead ofsaying his prayers." "I comin' up; you dogs git out of dis here Oritey;it ain't no place for laughin'. Now you better don't be a mockin' of deLord, Bo. I tell you somethin' might come arter you some night." But Bocouldn't stop, he was so full of merriment. "Well, I was saying myprayers with a humble and contrite heart when Roy came and thumped me inthe back." "Yes," replied Amy, "and you just let him; you had betterstop your nonsense." Hetty tried all her arts to get Bo to bed, at lastshe said: "Well, you always wasn't a religion child, anyway. I rememberone time when you was three years old, you' mother was a dressin' you upin a lovely coat and hat with white plume, she was buttoning of the coatand you kept wigglin', then she told you to try to be a good boy, elseyou' angel wouldn't love you. You said: 'Where is my angel.' 'Rightbehind you,' says you' Ma; then you pushed up against the wall andrubbed you back so hard. I was settin' dere and tried to make you stop.Your Ma, she say: 'What you doin' you bad boy,' and you answer'Squashing the angel!' You' Ma couldn't help smilin' and I jest falldown on de floor with laughin,' We was so taken by surprise."

  "Well, Hetty," said Amy, "that's the reason Bolax is bad, because peoplelaugh at him." "Oh, I wouldn't say that now," said Bo, "I'm near six,and I do love my angel; the laughing is all gone now; I can say myprayers." So Bo said his prayers respectfully and went to bed.

  A little after midnight, he ran into his mother's room. "Oh, Mamma,dear, did you hear it? Oh, it is awful, and I did say my prayers."

  Out in the entry Hetty was heard saying: "For de Lord sake! Oh, MissAllen, dere it is again."

  Mrs. Allen and the whole household heard a most unearthly shriek, butimmediately remembered it was the new fire alarm. After quieting thelittle boy and making Hetty understand what it was, Mrs. Allen lookedout of the window, and saw that a large house on the top of a high hillwas ablaze; as it was only a frame building it was soon destroyed, forthe firemen could not reach it.

  After the disturbance was over and all were going back to bed, Bo puthis arm around his mother's neck, and said: "I guess I had better staywith you Mamma, dear; you might get afraid again."