Page:Czecho-Slovak Student Life, Volume 18.djvu/511

rugged and picturesque mountains that surround it, Charles acquired the fundamentals of his education. After school, when not out-doors, or occupied with some of the numerous amusements the father provided for his children, he must have heard many a thrilling tale of the exploits of the hardy mountaineers of this region, who, again and again, sought in vain to throw off the yoke of Austrian oppression. He often listened to the public school principal discussing educational problems with his father. Nor was the spiritual side of the boy’s education at all neglected; for the training of a pious and affectionate mother was soon supplemented by that of an able parish priest.

REV. COSMAS C. VESELY.

These carefree, idyllic days soon came to an end, however, when Charles entered the high school at Jindřichův Hradec in far away Bohemia. The students were obliged to board with private families, and rarely were able to secure comfortable accomodations. The school itself was something of a disappointment to the boy. His highland accent was a source of much jollification to both teachers and students, his attempts at composition were received with derision by men who preferred conventional mediocrity to unconventional brilliance, and his literary aspirations were completely smothered by these pedantic onslaughts.

Among the sixteen instructors there were only few taking active interest in their students. The best ones among them were Dr. Joseph Novak, who took his boys to the town museum, archives, ancient castles and architectural points of interest in town and out; Dr. Jos. Kartak, prof. of Christian Doctrine; Dr. J. Korinek, prof. of Greek; and Dr. F. X. Prochazka, prof. of physics. These were men of genuine merit and sterling personality who could truly be called educators of youth rather than teachers of school subjects.

All in all, however, the boy must have welcomed the faculty physician’s advice to discontinue his studies and to repair his health at home by exercise in the open air. Under the excellent care of his mother he recovered within eight months. Then came the surprise of his life, when his older brother sent him an invitation to visit America and enclosed a ticket prepaid to Chicago. With no particular engagement in view and, probably, no particular relish for further education of the type he had experienced, Charles finally extorted permission from his parents by promises of an early return. He arrived in Chicago, May 9, 1905,