St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1874-07-17
Tending the Baby.

Iut odUy.
1t used to he n pleasant recreation.
But that was before mounted cradles
and baby-jumpers and nursery maids
were brought into general use. The
F play things were cheap, if not home
made, and were. exceedingly primitive
in their construction. A cigar-bOx
mounted on spOols and drawn with a
string, served as a carriage, and the
doll drawn i'll it was made of rags and
dressed in calico. There was a Jump
Jack of cardboard, which furnished
endless entertainment, and clamshclls
that made the incest tca-cups, and II
top, and Il whistle that grandpa made
ont of poplar stick. and score of
blocks picked up in the carpenters
shop. Baby watched the building with
eager interest, crOwcd when it was fin
ishcd, and knocked it down with his
foot with infinite glec. The peek meas
urc was il seat for him to sit on. or IL
little world for him to put in disorder
and upset when the whim struck him,
or Il car for him to get III. The broom
handle was an unfailing horse that al
ways came to time. Grandma's ball of
yarn was always in order, and when
other sources failed there was the cats
tail, the pulling of which invariably
produced music if it did not prccipitatc
il catastrophe. Sometimes Il drawer
was opened and baby rcvelrd i'll its
contents, and sometimes il button bag
was n mine Of treasures. There WIS
endless fun in getting the little toddling.
tumbling fellow up "n his feet for
trot. and IL tin pan with an iron spoon
and IL handful of hcans WAS Il sort OF
paradise and furnished delight for Il
millennium. Baby grew and made fun
enough for the whole household to pay
for his care ten times over. That Way
of tending the baby is now obsolete.
| The hall floor has been carprtcd. The
primitive playthings have been burned
/ To make room for Il hushcl or two of
/ toys. \ hired servant. who cares only
| for her pay and carries Il dime novel i'll
| her pocket to read 10y stealth. watches
| the little fellow i'll an Indifferent way.
pushes the toys to him now and then.
stutfS him when he cries. and. when
| he cries from the stuilimg. doses him
| from the bottle she carries in her
pocket. She cannot play herself. All
the play has gone out of her. She does
not quite see what babies are born for.
She looks on them all as trials of pa
ticncc and as sure to bring out the
bad temper in one rs Il mustard poul
ticc to raise Il blister. The ''dcar little
fellow" is the one plague of her life. and
the only comfort she has is when she
has administered parcgoric enough to
make him sleep beyond danger of wax
ing while she clatis the groccr's boy or
carries on an incipicnt Irritation with Il
Young sprig of a gardener Baby grows
pcevlsh and irritable and sickly. He
Is cNacting of attention and unable to
amuse himself. His manners are too
dcmonstrativc for the dining-rOom and |
his temper too bad for the parlOr
He has bad nights. The old people
look serious and say. ale won't he
raised" and even mamma thinks some
thing is really the matter with her
cherub, and wonders whether soothing
syrup or the doctor will best meet his
case. AT any rate something must he
done right away. rs she has got new
suit ofclothes for the little fellow. show
ing his sweet little white knees. and
must trot him ,ut so the neighbors can
see what beautiful eyes and hair he
has, and how the blue Jacket with silk
trimmings becomes his complexion.
And baby endures it all. runs the gaunt-
let. escapes from his enemies, and finally
survives even his school teachers. with
the endless examining. and appears with
fautless swallow-tail and irrcproach-
able kids on his way somewhere
Some babies are terribly tough. You
can no more kill them than you can
give dyspepsia to an india-rubheT doll.
But for every gutta-pcrcha baby that
is proof against nurses and doses and
parental folly there are dozen real
flesh blood creatures who cannot
stand such treatment and fall by the ,
way. They make most beautiful fu-
ner;Ils: but if an honest inquest were ,
held i'll nine cases out of ten the yer
diet would he. Died of bad tending"
Then this sort of care never trains chill :
drcn to amIIsc themselves. They have ,,
Il Surtcit of toys. but are not taught how
to get amusement ont of them. The ::
modern baby with Il house full of play
things has very little of the real rollick-
ing pleasure and fun that the boys and
girls used to get ont of shinglc toys |
quarter of IL century ago. The troub- !
lc Is not i'll the toys but i'll the tending.
Then it was real now it is makc-hc-
lieve. Then it cnticcd hy sympathy &:
now it repels by want of it. Then it
trained to sclf-Carc now it develops {
dependence and creates n desire to bc |
and cared for hN others. Then i
1t unsealcd Il fountain of joy in the t
heart now il chokcs the inward spring :
and breaks down vitality if not consti- :
tuition. Babies are very good things l
IN house where they are wanted and
rightly cared tor.-N. y. Graphic. {