and their own leaders. Don Bosco, as Father John Baptist Lemoyne records in his Biographical Memoirs, succeeded in confronting and appeasing them, “using all the arts of the most refined charity to calm them down, help them and wrest them from those cursed associations”.787

Dominic Ruffino, a young writer and theology student, provides us with interesting information on characters of this type. He tells us that Don Bosco had accepted some young incredibly wild “artists” (= working boys) into the Oratory, part of one of the “cocca” in town. Amongst other things at times they ‘disturbed the peace of the house.’ They had come into the Oratory as boarders but “were not the last interested in doing good”. One of the assistants took them to heart and got some results. One of them even asked if he could be “shown how to change his life”.788

We also have reference to case that happened several years earlier, of a 14 year-old, son of a drunkard and anticlerical father, who happened to end up at the Oratory. This youngster had thrownhimself headlong into the various recreational activities of the Oratory but refused to take part in religious functions. He was following the teaching of his father and he did not want to turn into a “mouldy old idiot”. Don Bosco succeeded in winning his trust by being tolerant and patient towards him, so much so that “within a few weeks the little rascal had changed his mind and behavior”. The biographer comments, “at the time and for many years to follow how many scenes there were of the kind, and only thanks to Don Bosco who, with his patience and prudent charity, won over very many reluctant, one might say brutal hearts, bringing them back to God's grace and thus making them happy”.789 This behaviour particularly reflects the atmosphere at the beginning of the Hospice: it was a small family! However, the problem of order and discipline would seem more complex and difficult when the Oratory in Valdocco has 800 or more boarders. Those trying to keep to the preventive system, based on reason, religion and loving kindness, would find it hard to reconcile the three elements.. Even Don Bosco himself would reach a point of taking up a suggestion his closest helpers had proposed of reserving a reflection room for the more difficult kids. This suggestion had arisen as a result of repeated debates on discipline and punishments. We have documented information on the meeting held on Aug. 12, 1866 and on the conferences of March 28 and April 24, 1869. Fr Michael Rua, who wrote the minutes, reports: “We have spoken to Don Bosco about it and he approved of it. The only thing was that we spoke of dividing the 'reflection room' into two, but Don Bosco decided that there should be only one”.790 We have no records of how the decision was eventually carried out. It is significant, however, that Don Bosco also allows 'repression' as part of his preventive system thought with milder punishments for ordinary cases and more severe ones when there were really wild kids involved.791

Don Bosco had already written about this issue in the Historical sketches where he classified young people at the Oratory in Turin into “wild, scatter-brained and good” boys. Don Bosco said the former kept people “very busy” so very minimal goals were set for this group.792

In Italian, 'discolo' ha three connotations, the second and third of which are mild compared to the first: someone “who acts without respect for social, ethical norms, rebels against any kind of discipline, is idle and licentious”. The connotation closest to Don Bosco's thinking is milder: a 'discolo' (unruly type) is rather too lively, habitually undisciplined, cannot stand orders and discipline (= a boy). He could also

787MB III 329; cf. MB III 326-333; in one of his notes, dated 20 February 1863, John Bonetti registers the account by Don

Bosco of one of his interventions in a violent rift between two of the 'cocche': it was not the only one and, he adds, to

“prevent further offence to God” it was worth facing up to the very real danger. (G. Bonetti, Annali III 1862 1863, pp.

63-64).

788D. Ruffino, Cronache dell'Oratorio di S. Francesco di Sales No. 1 1860, pp. 10-11.

789MB II 565-568.

790Cf. J.M. Prellezzo, Valdocco nell'Ottocento..., p. 155; for various references cf. pp. 147-148, 154-155.

791We will take this up in Chap. 17.

792'Cenni storici..'., in P. Braido, Don Bosco nella Chiesa..., pp. 78-79.