The Grange advance., 1874-09-16

zane state most explicitly tnaC Cney
have no accomplices, and began and ,ex-
ecuted the work alone. -. -
Ac0ANECrICuT BABY SHOW.
Trials OF a Photographer in His Ef-
forts to Take a Picture OF Forty
One Live Babies At Once-Subse-
quent Perplexities OF the Judges.
Last Saturday, Killingly, Conn.,. had
baby show. 1t came off in the Con-
gregational church, and a writer in the
Hartford Times describes the affair
thus:
''There were little babies and big
babies--sweet tongues and squally
tongues-light babies and dark babies
--blonds and brunettes. Among the
latter was one Of the African type, with
little round head like bullet, and
eyes ditto. There was baby from
Brooklyn, N. Y, and one from Provi-
dence. The handsomest baby Of ALL,
and the most richly dressed, TOO, was a
baby from Brooklyn, Conn.,, but its
mother refused to enter it on the list
of prize contestants, not wishing to put
it on exhibition or to make prize baby
Of it. Over fifty babies were entered
on the list, and forty-one were present.
Four Of the fifty died before
the day arrived. When they
were all collected, a photograph Of
the whole lot was taken in the arms of
mothers and nurses, sitting on the
front steps of the church. But the task
of arranging forty.one babies to be pho.
tographed all at once proved rather
formidable. Fifteen or twenty at a
time could be managed very comforta-
bly,; but as fast rs these were got into
position, fifteen or twenty others threw
up their arms or heels ard squealed.
Some doubled up their fists and punch
ed their mothers in the face. I volun-
teered to hold small, lymphatio infant
which kept on its good behavior. I
tried to get the little African, but it
was otherwise engaged. The baby
that sat just behind me fasten-
ed both fists into my hair and
set up lusty howl, in concert with
another one on the left, who had for
some time been sounding all the notes
of the gamut. The indefatigable photo
grapher kept up the tagging spirits of
the baby tenders, and his own too, pro-
curing fresh plates as fast as one was
spoiled by this restless mass of babies.
AT last it was announced that passa-
bic picture was taken, and the babies
adjourned to the inside of the church
for refreshments and prizes. There
was three classes Of babies, and a prize
for the handsomest Of each class. The
first class included those between two
and three years of age; the second,
those between one and two: and the
third, those under one year. There
were three judges for each class-nine
judges in all. The child that drew the
first prize-a solid silver cup lined
with gold-was bright, blue-eyed lit
tie girl by the name of Mary Jane
Hallowell. The second prize-a silver
knife, fork and spoon-was drawn by a
one.year-older, a little French girl
named Exilder Lafeur, whose parents
live in Killingly, her father following
the brick-making business. The third
prize-a silver napkin ring-was drawn
by bright little Punat baby named
Champlain. Whether boy Or sgirl
didn't learn. A baby Judge doesn't oc.
cupy the most pleasant position in the
world. If there are forty babies to
judge, you must inevitably rile the feel
ings Of thirty-nine mothers, for each
one thinks her own the handsomest, as
every crow thinks its own the whitest.
That baby got the prize!' said woman,
curling up the hair of a little dot of a
thing. That baby got the prize!
Humph! know q good many hand
somer than that one!' And she gave a
vigorous brush to each curl, as if to
emphasize the fact that her baby was
the handsomest, prize or no price,