Tribute to a Master 'Dum of the Rolling Button' THE other day 1 was discussing 1 with a friend the ancient question — whether teachers are born, not made. We were getting on to the point about the need or otherwise of degrees and training courses, especially for teachers up to 11-plus and even, in certain subjects, 0 level. I quoted my experiences at Stonyhurst, and I had in mind especially a teacher so brilliant that his classes remain vivid in my mind to this very day— and he had no degree. A day or two later. I dutifully picked up my CATHOLIC HERALn to see in the obituary column the death of Fr. R. R. Baines, S.J. Fr. Baines was the teacher I had in mind. One of his tags I always remember was "Dam of the Rolling Button." which illustrated by the picture of a button rolling along a bit of thread and remaining unchanged the rule that dune is followed by the present. I may have got the detail wrong, as it is years since I opened a Latin grammar! But what a born teacher he was, with his vivid, excited manner and slap-dash, noisy blackboard illustrations. And there were others at Stonyhurst in' those days, similarly innocent of degrees and diplomas. Once I myself taught, stiff with degrees, as it were, but, alas, I was the world's worst teacher —at any rate in the class-room. Not a sound was heard in Fr. Baines's class; I could not hear myself -in mine. Fr. Baines rose to many higher offices in the Society, and it is some years since I have seen him, but he was certainly one of the great men of my life. May he rest in peace.
'C.H.' Editor at 13
THIS jubilee year of the present CcrooLtc HERALD springs its surprises. Who should miter our office the other day but a gentleman from America who coolly informed us that he held the post of editor at the age of 13, and the paper he had edited at that age was the "Cumberland Catholic Herald". In those days, under the ownership of Charles Diamond. the CATHOLIC HERALD was split up into a large number of editions each with its own local name. (En passant, it may be remarked that if my memory is correct one of these editions in 1934. when the present paper was founded, had a circulation of 13.) His name is Benjamin Vincent Unwin, and he held his job from the age of 13 to 18 when he emigrated to America. No wonder, for his salary was four guineas a year without expenses until he managed to get half-expenses as well. In Boston he started to make money by selling engines to farmers. wrote for magazines, went into politics and became a Knight of Columbus. But I had better stop, or I shall have no staff left.
These English Landhauser
AGERMAN girl from Hamburg having joined our household, I have been engaged in scootering her to parts of the country south of London. One never knows quite how to take one's own country with which one has grown so familiar, though what with the sunshine, the fresh wind, the rolling white clouds against the blue sky, it did seem to me pretty good —And anyway i imagine Hamburg and its flat surroundings are no great shakes. But, whatever I thought, for her it was simply heaven. As we rode, she would scream out in delight, particularly where old houses were concerned. or when she spied a great house in a park. "1 shall stay in England," she would exclaim, "marry an Englishman, and live in one of these wonderful Landhauser." Another day. a shorter expedition took us to Hampton Court and Richmond. Perhaps by now I had captured her enthusiasm, and anyway the day was even more perfect. Apart from the obvious thrills, she was quite overcome by the way everyone walked on the lawns and even settled on them to picnic. In Germany such freedom is verboten lawns. If any. are for the eye, not for rest and fun. Her excitement was at its highest when. on one of the Hampton Court lawns, she saw a boy climbing an apple tree and shaking the apples down for his friends to pick up. "What a country. you can even do that!" she exclaimed. Regretfully. I had to tell her that if the boys were seen they would have to run for their lives. I had also to explain that the beauties of the river at Richmond seemed rather untypical. and attractive to me because they had a Continental flavour. "Not at all," she answered. "Much nicer than the Rhine."