Delaware state journal. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1870-1883, 1873-04-19
A Snow Storm and a
Baby!

OdUJ
The snow-storm was simply tremen-
dous, aud the baby weighed twenty-five
pounds.
Every evil has It's attendant good, aud
blessings often visit us In deep disguise
Had IL not been for the snow storm
might never have met the baby and but
for the baby I might never have been the
happy man am.
Five years ago hated babies. Their
very name was suggestive Of nocturnal
tours about the parental bedroom. mouths
unpleasantly moist to be kissed at regular
intervals, torn books, broken crockery,
long period Of tooth cutting agony, and
a host of minor evils whose enumeration
is more appropriate TO the gossip Of nur-
serydom than to conversation In general
society. Since l have become the father
Of two bolsterous cherubs, however, my
old censoTiousness has been slowly but
surely melting away. At the times set
apart by nature for those touching imam
We phenomena, my hair has been pulled,
my uatty beard twisted out of shape, my
fingers chewed, my Shakespeare reduced
10 sticky fragments, my DOre Bible con-
verted into gallery oi scrlptural studies
In water-colors, and /, Felix Scriblerius,
Esq., Journalist and ex-baby-hater, have
regarded these successive Developments
on the part of my offspring with all the
tranquility of an ancient stole. Nay, |
have gone even further. When our wee
Mamie transferred her affections from a
china doll to my cast of the "Venus dl
Milo, and left that time-hOnored concep-
tion under the hot shower.bath from ten
tn NInrsr a.Ia
did act 7 Five years ago ! should have
cried-"Lock the little wretch in clos
ct Spank her Send her supperless to
bed No punishment can be severe
enough for this s,,faRt terrible" As Il
was, rescued the deluged goddess from
her perllous position, gazed moment at
what had so lately been my cherished
ideal OF statuesque perfection, set the
shapeless mass upon the mantel, and
laughed; laughed till cried cried till
Mamie's blue eyes began TO flll with tesrs
Of alarm at her fathers strange behavior;
then caught the little culprlt in my arms
aud kissed her till nay lips were weary.
To this complexion am / come at last |
And the metamorphis had its origin In
an adventure of my bachelor days-a
chain Of circumstances IN which the 1ist
two links were snow storm aud baby.
It was beautiful day in January,
15-, when | bade farewell to my friend
Raleigh ut Albany, where l had been pay.
ing one of the ples santest OF visits, aud
stepped aboard train bound for New
York. A journallst's life is no rose.
s'rewn h ghway, and a metropolitan pub.
lie, greedy for 50 much news and 80 many
squibs each day, is the hardest Of task
masters. Therefore, one Of my profess
u. 10. s,fT a.,
hll during my absence that article OF fur
nlture sarcastically dubbed the editors
easy chair, aud packed me off for few
days Of dolce fdr niette, in the proyincesi
Ihsd thoroughly enjoyed every moment
OF my emancipation, and now, on my re-
turn to bondage, was in that envisblt
frame Of mind induced by good dinners
genial compaEiOnship, and respectable
hours, when one Is inclined 10 look al
coming trials through II sprt OF rOse-tint
ed inverted lens. Raleigh had used ever
effort TO prolOug my stay, but in vain. II
the clear brisk atmosphere of that winte
morning | disregarded the white cloud
climbing up, bank upon bank, in the dis
tant horizon. / laughed at my friend'i
apprehensions OF an approaching storm
shook his hand for the seventeenth time
Jumped aboard the train, and was sooi
moving across the railrond bridge.
Alas what Raleigh had family pre-
dleted proved appallingly true, and thoug
he rose several degrees in my estimatio
as q prophet, | confess | was not littl
disgusted at his success for we whirle
along, not away from the clouds, as ha
hoped, but into them, and in less tina
twenty minutes were in the midst of
binding snow storm. On we pushed
mile after mile, leaving the sun far benin
us, the storm Increasing in violence wit
every furlong. A brakeman, passin
through the car, shut all the ventilation
through which the fine white flakes wei
sitting, thus adding to our already gloom
prospect the additional horror Of clos
and choking atmosphere. With the con
fort loving instinct characteristic {
Americans under untoward circumstance
each of the passengers seemed to accel
the situation, and set about preparir
himself for long and tedious journe
Those who had shawls or rugs began
turn them TO some account one made
his a pillow, and another a comiorte
while third made his answer the pu
pose of weather strip, to keep out q
chilly breezes that found their wi
through the interstices In his windo'
sash, Books aud pamphlets were draw
from the deep recesses Of cosy travellin
bags, and among the less fortunate 1
morning papers changed hands fIeel
even the advertisement columns seemil
TO possess an interest for the genei
reader they had never known before.
Meanwhile the wind grew fercer a
the snow deeper every moment. (
long the train began TO move slower a
slower, and finally stood still altogeth
A ~ ahauH RIpar I
track, and we passed on a short distan
then came another full stop, then apotl
brief interval of travel; and at this ent
like pace we consumed a good half-h'
on every five miles Of road. My disi
pointment aud yexation knew no boun
tried to read, and found sensation
article In my newspaper, descriptive
boodthirsty murder. That exactly 81
ed my frame of mind, and | read II tr
beginning to end. Then turned the
per over and over, looking for someth
new but fold and twist II as l wou
whenever my eye rested on readRl
looking sketch II proved to be "some
ditloual particulars of the same cal
trophe. This state Of things only
creased my nervousness, till l hnl
threw the sheet under the settee, as
would get rid OF some horrible den
that haunted me on every side, and
signed myself to the rather monoton
compauionship Of my own cogilatlon
remembered having heard somewl
of an old eobbler who never could le
to read, yet acquired a wonderful kuS
edge OF that noblest of studies, hut
nature, by watching his journeymei
they worked at the bench. 'No
thought !, '1et inc steal leaf from
Oid fullnu9a hnoE and pprhapa / shall
rive both pleasure and profit from obs
ing my fellow passengers" Accordin
commenced with the seat directl
front Of me, which contained three