TO THE BOYS AND GIRLS OF OUR CATHOLIC SCHOOLS.... iii
INTRODUCTION.... ix
IN MEMORIAM (Introduction) Alfred Tennyson............ 1
THE LEGEND OF SLEEPY HOLLOW Washington Irving.... 3
EVANGELINE Henry Wadsworth Long fellow........ 48
WHAT AMERICA OWES TO THE CHURCH. Rt. Rev. Richard Gilmour......... 147
THE NAME OF OLD GLORY. James Whitcomb Riley.......... 153
OUR COUNTRY. William Cardinal O'Connell .........155
VIGIL OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION. Maurice Francis Egan.......... 161
BALLAD OF TREES AND THE MASTER Sidney Lanier .........162
EXCERPT FROM' , THE LAND OF THE LONG NIGHT"..Paul Du Chaillu....... 163
THE HIGH TIDE AT GETTYSBURG ...: Will Henry Thompson. .....176
"HOW THEY BROUGHT THE GOOD NEWS FROM GHENT TO AIX" Robert Browning....... 180
THE CALL OF THE SPRlNG.Alfred Noyes .........183
A VAGABOND SONG Bliss Carman .........186
THE SIGHT OF THE BLIND. Rev. Daniel A. Lord, S.J. ........187
A HYMN Edgar Allan Poe...... 203
DEFINITION OF A GENTLEMAN. John Henry Cardinal Newman ...204
ROUGE BOUQUET Joyce Kilmer ........206
THE SONG OF THE THRUSH T. A. Daly ........208
TIlE WORK OF A RANCHlMAN Hermann Hagedorn.... 209
THE FOOL'S PRAYER Edward Rowland Sill..... 223
THE GOLD-BUG Edgar Allan Poe.... 225
A LIFE-LESSON James Whitcomb Riley...... 280
TIlE OLD HOME Madison Cawein.... 281
THE HOUSE WITH NOBODY IN IT Joyce Kilmer ......282
A FISHERMAN OF COSTLA..James B. Connolly ....284
HOLY IRELAND Joyce Kilmer.... 315
A BALLAD OF EASTER ...Theodosia Garrison... 327
MALCHUS THE MONK Andrew Lang.... 328
THAT HOLY THING. George Macdonald ...337
SEEING OURSELVES Rev. Francis P. Donnelly, S.J. .....338
STARTING A CONVERSATION. Rev. Francis P. Donnelly, S.J. ......341
IN THE HOLY NATIVITY OF OUR LORD GOD. Richard Crashaw ....344
THE MARTYR OF MOLOKAI. Charles Warren Stoddard... 346
THE SMALLWEED FAMILY .Charles Dickens...356
CHAPTER ONE , "THE BLAZED TRAIL" Stewart Edward White...... 384
A MILE WITH ME ...:...Henry van Dyke..... 386
MARGARITAE SORORI William Ernest Henley ....387
WHEN TULIPS BLOOM ...Henry van Dyke.... 388
ROSES IN THE SUBWAY ..Dana Burnet .....391
THE THREE KINGS OF COLOGNE Eugene Field......392
THE SWORD OF ROBERT LEE Rev. Abram J. Ryan ....394
REUNITED Rev. Abram J. Ryan.... 396
THE MAN WITHOUT A. COUNTRY Edward Everett Hale.....398
SUGGESTIONS FOR HOME READING FOR SEVENTH, EIGHTH AND NINTH YEARS. ....439
Definition of a Gentleman by John Henry Cardinal Newman
(from the American Cardinal Readers, Book Seven, pgs. 204-205)
It is almost a definition of a gentleman to say he is one who never inflicts pain. This description is both refined and as far as it goes accurate. He is mainly occupied in merely removing the obstacles which hinder the free and unembarrassed action of those about him. His benefits may be considered as parallel to what are called comforts or conveniences in arrangements of a personal nature: like an easy-chair or a good fire, which do their part in dispelling cold and fatigue, though nature provides both means of rest and animal heat without them.
The true gentleman in like manner carefully avoids whatever may cause a jar or a jolt in the minds of those with whom he is cast--all clashing of opinion or collision of feeling, all restraint, or suspicion, or gloom, or resentment; his great concern being to make everyone at their ease and at home. He has his eyes on all his company; he is tender toward the bashful, gentle toward the distant, and merciful toward the absurd; he can recollect to whom he is speaking; he guards against unseasonable allusions, or topics which may irritate; he is seldom prominent in conversation and never wearisome. He makes light of favors while he does them, and seems to be receiving when he is conferring. He never speaks of himself except when compelled, never defends himself by a mere retort; he has no ears for slander or gossip, is scrupulous in imputing motives to those who interfere with him, and interprets everything for the best.
He is never mean or little in his disputes, never takes unfair advantage, never mistakes personalities or sharp sayings for arguments, or insinuates evil which he dare not say out. From a long-sighted prudence he observes the maxim of the ancient sage, that we should ever conduct ourselves toward our enemy as if he were one day to be our friend. He has too much good sense to be affronted at insults; he is too well employed to remember injuries. He is patient, forbearing, and resigned, on philosophical principles; he submits to pain because it is inevitable, to bereavement because it is irreparable, and to death because it is his destiny.
He may be right or wrong in his opinion, but he is too clear-headed to be unjust; he is as simple as he is forcible, and as brief as he is decisive. Nowhere shall we find greater candor, consideration, indulgence; he throws himself into the minds of his opponents, he accounts for their mistakes. He knows the weakness of human reason as well as its strength, its province and its limits.