THE FAR E A ST.
August 1, 1934.
Mickie
Daly's
Diary
lVensday.
I didn't do it.
won't beleeve me.
But Toby Ryan
Old Toby Ryan
1s the greatest nark of a man under
the sun.
He works for the nuns
and has a little cottage away down
the end of the convent grounds. The
cottage faces the side street. and the
verandah is quite close to the foot
path-just like the cottage that the
old Greek tUrned into a shop.
It
is a very, very old cottage.
There
are a lot of them in the street. They
must be nearly a sentury old.
I
don't know why they make such a
fuss bringing Captin Cook's old cottage out here. We have plenty old
cottages a5 it is.
I don't beleeve Toby Ryan is an
Irishman.
He never makes a joke
and he never sees one. Perhaps he
comes from that part of Ireland
where the people cannot see a joke.
I don't mean the north-where the
Scotch people are.
My father told
me that there is an Irish countie
where the people have Welsh in
them and it has spoilt their seise of
hwneir~which is, he says, a terrible
thing· to happen an Irishman. I am
not sure ,w hich countie it is-Weckford, r think, But I hope, if it isn't,
that any Weckford person who reads
my diery will not be down on me. My
father didn't make it up. Someone
else told him.
Well, if it isn't
'Veckford, I don't know where it is.
I am sure it isn't Cork or Kilkenny,
becaase my grandparints came from
there.
Wherever it is, I bet Toby
Ryan belongs to it.
Perhaps Miss
MsStinger. too, and the Daceys.
This old Toby-the nuns call him
Mr. Ryan; we have to, too, when
the nuns are about-if a boy is sent
a message to him, away down the
end of the garden, he wouldn't think
of giving him a peech, even if the
trees are covered. In the grape seeson he wouldn't give you one grape,
and in apple time wouldn't let you
pick one up off the ground.
Not
even a lemon.
Now, a man who wouldn't give
you a lemon must be meen.
Suppose if he had oranges he would give
them away because they are orange.
But he hasn't any growing. If the
girls go a message, he lets them pick
up an apple if there's one in the
grass; or he might give them a peech
- i f it had a speck on it.
But not
boys. Oh, no!
He bates boys.
He looks on us sllspishisly. Even
in the church he turns his little blue
eye on us now and again, as if he
thinks we need watching. I'm sure
if one of us whispered he'd rush
round after Mass and tell Father
Dale.
Sometimes we save an apple in our
pockets-or a part of one-and when
we go past his trees, we take a bite
on the sly. He think's its one of his
apples. and nearly goes mad. Tells
Revrind Mother on us. I cannot do
that trick now, unforchintly.
Unforchintly, because I am not allowed carry anything in my 'pockets,
You see on lorries 'a nd trucks the
weight allowed to be carried: Tare,
1 ton, etc. On my pockets I should
pin a notice: Tare, Nix.
I wonder
if I did, would Sister Pawl have
mercy on me and let me use my
pockets again.
She might be from
Weckford for all I know; so I better
not try it on.
But about this old nark of a Toby
He has a canvas deck-chair on his
little verandah, and when he has a
few minutes off he sits there and
smokes and sometimes falls off to
sleep.
Now, I own up that I have
(30 )
often teesed old Toby.
We yoused
get a long, thin stick off a tree and
leave some leaves on the end.
We
,would brush this over his face lightly.
He would slap at it, thinking a fly
or a mosskito was at him.
When
he'd wake, we'd all be down the road
laughing. and calling out:
"T.O.B.Y.
, Toi:;)y was. his na,Ille.•. O.
We should not do this, I know.
I
gave it up long ago, because I know
that a boy, talking of going to st.
Columban's, should not be guilty of
such conduct.
Poor, old Toby . deserves his rest.
even if he is an old nark and hates
boys. He works like a horse for the
nuns.
He thinks the nuns cannot
be honired enough. This is a very
(That's
good tray in Toby Ryan.
a French Word,)
So I cut out teesing him long ago;
and now the old guy goes and blames
me abou t the stones!
When he comes out to sit in his
chair he flops into it. You see he's
pretty old and heavy and getting a
bit stiff.
Someone went. and put stones in
between the canvas of the chair, and
when poor old Toby Hoped into it
the other day, he came down on the
blue me-til cushin, Jike a big liner
striking a rock .
There's been a terrible row about
it.
He reported to Father Dale.
We've all been examined. Everyone
says I must have done it, just be·
cause I was convickted about the
Greek. I hope Father Dale beleeves
me. As if I'd tell a lie to a priest.
Old Toby had the cheek to come
down to my parints about it.
MY
father was angry with me-he
thought· Toby knew what he was
talking about.
However, when he heard that Toby
had only heard the children say I
. must have done it, and that was the
only evidence he had, my father
changed, and let me speak.
He
would not listen to me before. He
was going to give me a flogging this
time, all right.
Even if he wears
bl'ases, he could find a strap.
He
could get one off his old port. MY
father beleeved me. My mother b~·
. leeved me as soon as I said, I didn t
do it, She did not want any evidence.
She told Toby I had never told her a
lie. He drew his mouth down as if h~
had picked up a glass of ale an
found it had tmned into castor oU,
and he said: "Moi:riya~."
It'S. ~~
. Irish word.
I thmk It means.
don't think."
He went away saying that pa~::;
do not know how to bring ,up heir
children these days-espeshlly tri I
boys. He said the only way to b D
up boys is to hammer them well,
The old tie-rint!
THE FAR E A S T.
AUgust I, 1934.
MY life is now a mizery,
I al-
most wish I had done it, just to get
rid of the thing. If I had done it
and been punished for it, it would a ll
be over noW. As i t is-I get all the
blame and everyone thinks I am telling a lie, and it will live forever.
I
hate people to think I tell lies. Be-
cause I don't. Lies are not my pradominint pashin, anyhow.
perhaps that's why this trial has
come on me, to humilliate me. That
must be it.
I am too proud about telling the
truth, and i t is no credit to me. It
is God's goodness to me that I am
not a liar like- -I forgot and wrote
a name. I must never do that.
I
should be thankful that I am never
tempted to tell lies, instead of being
proud and glorying in it.
I h ave
enough sins a nd faults and impel'feckshin s as it is, without lies. But
I was proud- I am still-about
telling the truth .
I'll have to try
to get out of it. This trial will help
me. I thought everyone lmew that
I do not tell lies.
I thought everyone would take my word. I am punished for my pride. I must try to
It will make a great
bear it well.
act.
When men deceive my father at
business, or when my mother gets
cheated buying things, my father is
very resigned and patient. 'M y
mother gets very indignin t-spesh1lly
if she buys fruit and vegetibbles and
finds out th ey are not too good, or
if she buys meat and its tuff.
She
goes off a treat about it. My father
just shrugs his shoulders and turns
out the parms of his hands (he looks
like a Jew when he does it), and says
some Latin words, out of the sarms.
I a-sked him h ow to spell the words.
I haven't time to look up a dick-
THE D I SARMAMENT QUE S T ION
KEEPS J OH N MANGAN. TONGALA,
VIC., QUITE BU SY.
__ .
shinery for English words for my
diel'Y- I'd never get it written if I
did-but it does not do to spell Latin
words wrong, because Latin is a dead
langwidge and must be spelt the same
a lways.
It might be right to spell
English words as I spell them, some
day, you never know.
If you look
at Old English in some old books
yoU'll see what I mean. It's all dif~
ferent to-day.
And it might be all
different again in another generashin
or so.
Bu t Latin doesn't ch ange.
It's dead.
You must respect t h e
dead. So I respect Latin and asked
my father to spell th e words for me,
so that I'll have them right.
The Latin words are: Omnis hom o
They mean: "Every man
mendax.
is a liar."
But it doesn't mean that everv
single man Dn the earth tens lie; .
My father said the sarmist said, h e
said it in his "excess."
I suppose
som eone had taken him down and
h e went off (like my mother ) and
put it in a sarm-he exaggerat'ed it,
I suppose.
My fa ther said that some men will
tell a lie for nothing and others
would not tell a lie for anything in
the world- they'd die sooner.
But
he said no one is full of truth. There
is too much original sin in us all to
let us be perfectly truthful- except
saints.
We tell lies to ourselves.
We deceeve ourselves.
I've been dolng that, I find .
So I am not the
truthful boy I thort I was.
I have
been telling lies to m yself.
I am
always telling Mickie Daly what a
tine fellow he is-better than Dacy
or Croftie or Billy Brooks.
I have
been flattering myself.
Jings!
It's hard to keep your
soul in order. Isn't it?
You find
new things every day.
I try to
patch mine up one way and I find a
hole in a new place!
I'm punished
about my pride in being truthful,
anyhow. Nobody thinks I am truthful now.
I am humbled-down in
the dust before the whole school.
t~e whole parish-for that Toby
Ryan will tell everyone that I put the
stones in the chair and made a
cripple of him for life, and that I
won't own up like a man and take
my fiogging.
I've a good mind to
go and say I did put them in. But
that would be a lie. Jings!
You'd
want to be a theeologin and a champyn boxer as well to get along in the
World these days . I've punched eight
boys already. But I've given in now.
I'm going to ackcept it as a trial, a
punishment for my vanity and make
an act of it. I suppose I should 'l ove
Toby Ryan for being the instrument
of my humilliashin.
I should look
on him as a sort of instrument in
God's hand, being used on me.
U
I were a saint I'd go and kiss old
(31)
SO:\I/i: OF MORGAN'S (S.A. )
MI SSI ONARIES.
LITTLE
Toby.
But I'm not a saint, so I
don't have to.
Jings!
What a
shock he'd get. Wouldn't he go mad
on me and h e'd tell Father Dale and
my parints that I was riderkuling
him.
I'd get the flogging then, I
You see, you never can
suppose.
tell people's reasons for their actions.
If I went and kissed Toby, because it
was he brought all this an gwish upon
my SOUl, he would think I was making fun of him, Father Dale WOUld,
too. He would say. I'm sure: "Mick
Daly can't you find anyone more
suitable than old Tobuy-us Ryan to
bestoe your caressis upon?"
I bet he'd say something like that.
And he'd give me a leckture for teasing poor, old Toby. And my father
would think it was done in derizjin,
too , and I'd get t he flogging in the
end.
Just because I was t rying to act
in a Christian spirit.
It proves you should never judge
people. I do.
But I must try not
to.
"Judge not" is a good mot to .
If ever I am a Bishop, over in China,
I'll have a motto something like that.
Friday.
I prayed for Toby Ryan last night.
The old tie-rint. But I don't feel
a ny better towards him-yet. I did
not punch any boys or put my tong
out at any girls who asked me about
Toby Ryan's air cushin.
The bOYS torment me, most. One
will call out: "Who tells lies?"
Instead of answering truthfully:
"We all do," they shout out: "Daly!"
"Who put the stones in Toby's
chair?"
HGinger Mick."
"Who squibbed owning up?"
"Mickie the Mug."
When a fellow can go them it's not
so ba d. You can get a good whack
in on a jaw or two . But when your
Gardyin Angle holds your hands it's
something terrible. I am suffering
angwish.
I am ashamed t o hear the name
Daly put down as a liar's name , It
THE
FAR
E A S T.
August 1, 1934
fiT 711/.'1 /t:)OR CfiT
For Noreen's
ry;?r::,'::-J.~~~I
TRNE /T //y TO
' FO/Y'OOFCrl7S ~~
Tiny, fjTiny Ones
Funny
Painting
Competition
(For Tiny Ones of Seven and
under,)
Colour the picture with paints or
challts.
Post to Noreen bef.ore
August 26.
She will give prizes for
the best efforts.
Addl'ess :-
NOREEN, "FAR EAST" OFFICE.
ESSENDON, W.5, VIC.
Is an honiribble name.
My father
will have to bear the disgras, too.
I bet my grandfather would not have
let his angle hold his hands if anyone
called him a liar. I bet he wouldn't.
He was from Kilkenny .
They say he could fell an ox.
When he was first here in Australia,
he was working up the bush.
He
was using a pick. Looking for gold ,
I suppose.
Some one said something about religion.
My grand ~
father stopped work and answered.
Then someone used Our Lady's name
as he should not, and my grand~
father threw the pick at him. The
man just jumped in time or he'd
have got it; and my poor grandfather would have been accused of
murder and hanged.
He would not
have minded a bit!
After that the
men were careful how they spoke
when "Big Mick Daly," br "Kilkenny
Mick," as they called him, was about.
Oh, that we could take that simple
view of things as to feel that the
(!Jne thing which lies before us is to
please God!
What gain is it to
please the world, to please the great,
nay, even to please those whom we
love, compared with this?
What
gain is it to be applauded, admired,
courted, followed, compared with this
one aim, of not being disobedient to
a heavenly vision ?-Cardinal Newman.
Well, I've got to try to control my
temper.
Mission priests cannot
throw things at the pagans if they
say anything about religion.
It's
easy to defend your faith with your
fists, but it's not the best way.
I'm suffering for my pride now,
not for my faith.
It will help me
later.
It's hard to suffer for what
you have done, but to suffer for what
you have not done is h arder.
(To be continued,)
FUNNY PAINTING COMPETITION.
(Prize- Winners
in
June
Contest. I
I.- Thelma Barbeler,' Townsville.
Qld.
.
2.-Evelyn Ostini, N.S.W.
3.- Mary Windsor, Albury, N.S.W
Commended:
Kathleen Pollock, Marie Manion.
Fred Macklin, . Patricia Traynor.
Shirley Robertson, Alma Ricardi.
Bernadette Matthews, Ted Hewby.
Raeburn Mullan., Noreen Hogan.
When anyone has to choose a state
of life, and wishes ·to know what be
should do for the good of his soul.
let him first strip himself of every
inclination of his own and place
himself generously in the hands of
God, equally ready for whatever He .
may call him to.
Then let him
apply some Gospel truths to the mat·
tel', draw from them their legitimate
consequence, and see how they relate
to the ultimate end for which God
crea ted us.
If he still remains un·
certain, let him imagine hiri1sel~ on
his deathbed or before the jUdg·
ment seat, which will teach him t~
do what he will then wish he ha
done.- St. Ignatius Loyola ..
MARGARET MAny MASON, VTC .. IS
A CONFIRMED I..hI.
(32)
The reason why there is nothing
doing in your house 'for the Foreign
Missions is because you are doing
nothing.