another hour of recreation, a little reading in preparation for next
morning's meditation, and examination of conscience as to how the
day had been spent, and then bed.

Two or three days a week, this routine was broken. Sometimes the
novices walked out into the country to a villa, where they had games
and ate their dinner. At other times they left their work to go
with one of the Fathers to some church or other, upon business.

It was a quiet, humble life, full of peace, near to God, hidden away
from men. In this life the novices had to continue for two years,
before they took upon themselves the obligation of vows, and before
they began the long studies that prepare a Jesuit for his work.
During those two years they tested their vocation, making sure that
God really called them to that life; and they tested their own wills
to see if they were ready to endure what such a life demanded of them.

Stanislaus did just what the other novices did, did nothing out of
the ordinary. Yet, of course, he was different from the others; he
was a saint. What was the difference? Just this: they did things
more or less well; he did things perfectly. If he prayed, he put his
whole mind and soul into his prayer. If he worked, he obeyed orders
absolutely, because in doing so he was obeying God.

There is in the Jesuit noviciate at Angers a series of paintings
portraying incidents in the life of Stanislaus. In one he is shown
carrying on his arm two or three bits of wood towards the kitchen.
Underneath is written, "He will err if he carry more."

The painting commemorates an occasion when Stanislaus and Claude