The Irish standard., 1888-05-05
CHATS WITH YOUNG MEN.

The architect of this column makes
profound bow and begs leave to say tina
he contributes this series Of articles ex
clusiyely for young men and no others
lie has a warm spot in his heart TO
young men Of all kinds, and though HI
has no objection against these chat:
being read by the young ladies who arr
certain to keep an eye on the boys anc
read what is said to them, yet he desires
to be understood at the outset that it is
| for the boys, and for the boys alone
that these talks are written.
~
The young men must not think thai
the contributor is sage OF philosopher
or chat he is a second Daniel come
amongst them; neither must they think
| that everything he says is original and
evolved from his osn brain. He dis
claims every pretension to wisdom and
originality, and will tell his readers in
the beginning, lest they might hereaft-
or accuse him Of literary piracy, that he
will borrow and steal the ideas and
even the language of others when nee
essary, and that he viii do SO without
using quotation marks or making men
ton Of the source whence he gets his
inspiration. To produce any thing en-
tirely new in this progressive age OF
ours would be almost an imE ossible
task, as every subject has already heen
treated to It's utmost extent.
~
And first, let me ask the young men
how many Of them learn something new
every day and add to their store Of
Notwithstanding that isof benefit
TO them either morally, mentally or
otherwise. You will learn something
new every day, my friends, if you keep
your eyes and ears wide open. BY the
proper exercise Of your visual and ;au-
ricular organs U mean tho eyes and
ears aforesaid>, you will be enabled
tc learn great deal. Your eyes are
given to you for observation and for
reading. and yGEc ears for listening to
others who may know more than you
do. The wise and ambitious Evil seek
the companionshlp Of the intelligent
rather than Che ignorant. Ae who lives
with hogs will learn to walIow; he who
lives with birds will learn to soar aiott
like the eagle. a. man is made as we'll
as known by the company se keeps, He
who frequents the billiard room learns
nothing elevating. !rhe best place to
find companionshlp is at home or in a
a literary or social club where congen-
ial spirits meet to interchange ideas on
useful subjects. If there is no club
within your reach, 20 to work and Or
ganize one. Find one companion who
will read, converse and compare notes
with you, then a second and. you have
already the nucleus OF a'literary associa.
ton.
~
Read good books ard avoid bad ones
az YOU would the plague or the Mime
apolis winter cholera. Reading is a
great educator, and nowadays there is
no excuse Cor being ignorant. You
can buy book of 200 pages filed with
the choicest gems of literature for the
price ola cigar. Eschew the narcotian
weed and buy the book. knowledge is
a power, smoking is an injury. But ii
you must have a fragrant Havana you
need not buy the book at all, but use
the libraries. In the Catholic libraries
every book is fit to read with safety.
~
You may ask where can a Catholic
library be found. L think they can be
found in every parish in this city. am
certain there is library land a good one,
in the Immaculate Conception parish.
The Crusaders have hall of their own
which was built by their pastor at no
expense whatever to the congregation,
and they have fine library and read
ing room with newspapers and maya
zines Of tbs best kind published on
either side Of the Atlantic. They have
also gymnasium where all calisthenic
exercises are practiced and where the
boys put on gloves la Sullivan to be-
come proficient in the manly art OF self
defense, and perchance, eventually de-
velope into frst-class ''sluggers' whose
fame in the hstic arena, like that of our
Gown Patsy,'' may hereafter circulate
around the globe There are about 100
Crusaders in this parish whose ages
range FROM Is to As. They have also g.
military club and a dramatic club, the
latter of which has achieved an envla-
bic distinction throughout the state,
some of the members having displayed
histrionic talent nearly if not quite ap.
preaching that of professionals. The
Irish drama presented by them at the
Peoples theater on the evening Of