Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1860-06-21
A Chapter on Babies.
BY A cHILDLEss MOTHER.

GA baby in the house IS well-spring of
pleasure Then the houses of our ambitious
little village must be well watered, for such
crop Of babies as we show this season has rarely
been exhibited since Barnums famous harvest,
a few years since. Indeed, our excessive efforts
and improvements in this direction led one anna
teur judge to observe, in the classic lapguage of
Young America, that elf we were one-horSe,
we were certainly not one. baby concern.
Our district has ever been celebrated for its
choice flowers and elegant. boquets. Several
gentlemen have proved that our blackberries and
pears are likely to become as renowned as our
time-honored pippin, and now we may add with
truth that our babies are as "plenty as black.
berries, and quite as worthy of notice. We
have large babies and small babies; light babies
and dark babies; quiet babies and noisy babies !;
boy babies and girl babies-all sorts of babies,
except ugly babies and cross babies--iOrtunately
all our babies are good and handsome
AS we poor childless wives meekly 60 from
house to house, we learn that each new baby
that is presented for our inspection is heavier,
prettier, more forward and more excellent than
any other mothers baby " Mrs. Slouch's baby
is nice little creature, but 50 small !" " Mrs.
Sims baby is cunning fellow, but what
head - "Tho Tumble Bugs babies are always
dumpy, and the new one has such starry (not
starry eyes" Mrs. Flinders baby is darling
little girl ; but did you see tsnose?" Whereas
this baby-that is, the baby we are holding in
our awkward, unaccuatomed arms-is just the
dearest, loveliest, cunningest little creature that
ever was born We stife down rebellious
sigh as we think of our own quiet home, where
cradle cares AMI cradle joys peyer intrude
where no gentle baby breathing eyer freight the
air with sweet anxieties whe3sRs,g baby soft
murmur ofsatlshed content or hei NJ Complain
ing is ever to break the unnatural still of a
chiIdless home. We look on this mothers baby,
and our yearning becomes prayer for faith to
know that "God doeth all things we'll -
What a fine thing it is that each mother
thinks 50 we'll of her baby. We cannot help
smiling at this over admiration which sees no
defect in the little soft 'bundle of pink flesh"
and white cambric. We listen as the pretty
lady, duly arrayed in an elegant deshabiAe, re-
counts the peculiar excellences of her new treas
ure, and we can see nothing more beautiful and
interesting than happy smile of perfect content
with which, as the nurse hands out the baby, the
convalescent turns back the blanket and discloses
the little face and tiny arms What if the
mothers eyes were not so enchanted what
would become of all the unlovely babies what
would be the fate of those unsightly little mon
sters that are born in this troublous world? 1t
is delightful weakness, this inordinate affection
we will not degrade it by the name Of instinct,
but allow it the noble one of affectonate Judge"
ment.
The generality of mankind may take comfort
in the thought that, however unloved and un-
appreciated they may have been, each one was,
for time at least, and to one person, the most
interesting, and the most important of the hu-
man race. Beautiful manifestation of glori-
GUS nature is this instinct of maternal love =
From the highest to the lowest order of crea-
tion, fervently may we bless God for such
tranScendent gift. No elevation of rank, no
degradation of sin, can sxtinguish the spark;
and though it be perverted or exaggerated,
still there is ever in in its partaity, patience,
self denial, and seIf-forgetfulness, holy beauty
that must compel respect.