The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1875-08-20

/ I'SL 81 sign, Jildt Sdlu
as plain as a chuckle could say, "Now fol
some fun and then one eye opened and
shut, and then both began peeping about,
until the head seemed inclined to bob of
the pillow. l felt little nervous at these
symptoms-only little. "Poh ~ said
to myself, "a roll or two of the cradle will
soon settle your business youngster - but
il did not. Baby was bound to have spree.
1t knew that its ''mother was out" That
big, bothersome blue bottle fly, too, tired
of watching for the ship over the clock face,
started on a voyage of discovery on its own
account, and the promoEtory which it
reached was the nose of the baby-a tempt
ing spot upon which it landed for refresh
ments, buzzing most vllainously as it did
SO. 1t was a ticklish landing, however,
and baby soon drove it off with a sneeze
that astonished its senses, and mine too
more than the hy's, for the fly was accus-
toned to ticklish situations, which | was
not Baby was thoroughly aroused. Up
went its round, chubby arm but rock Of
the cradle soon sent that back to It's place.
| did rock the cradle beautifully. The lit
tie head rolled to and fro as easily as if it
had been fastened on to toy mandarin's S
neck. | could not help admiring ms self
for the way in which I did it, and | am
sure that any reasonable baby would have
gone 10 sleep again, if only for compliment
sake but the baby in the cradle ddnt t.
The moment the rocking ceased, up popped
the little head with small, peevish cry.
That cry it was like the ''fizzing Of the
fuse of powder magazine-sure to end
in an explosion.
Were you ever reused in the middle of
the night by the maid-of- all work coming
in her slippers and night cap to inform you
that your house was on firc? Did you ever
stand by a Dutchman who was weighing
gunpowder with a lighted cigar in bis
mouth Did you ever stand over the boiler
of a Mississippi steamboat and expect every
moment to be landed on the tree tops half
a mile inland? If not you cannot conceive
my horror when heard that cry. | was
in a cold perspiration from head to foot
| have no doubt that hailstones as big as
peas might have been picked off my fore
head. | rocked for dear life, and baby
bounced about like a ball of india rubber :
but it was useless. ! sang all the songs
could think Of from the cabalistic 'Hush-
a baby to ''Cease, rude Boreas T.
tried tenor, and tried bass; bat the baby
did not know the difference. 1t seemed to
think it all base. The louder l sang, the
louder it cried. 1t was bawl and squall,
and squall beat. The squall peevish be
came the cry indignant, and the cry indig-
nant became the squall imperative. Blue
bottle buzzed with delight, and danced a
hornpipe on the window, while the clock
kept up a tantalizing "Go it ! Go it -
In an unlucky moment | lifted the little
tempest out of the cradle. Never, never,
never will commit such an act of thought
less imprudeuce again Before | did SO |
could have truly sung with the poet, ''The
white squall raves - but afterwards the
fiercest blasts seemed belching from that
little throat. In the hope of quieting the
tornado, | took it in my arms waddled to
and fro the room, tossed it up and down
until my shoulders ached, dandled it on
my knees-now the right one, now the
left; but nothing would do. Like an
eastcrly gale, that multiplied squall seemed
to be endless. / felt really alarmed |
was completely terrified. | saw visions of
convulsiCns aud such like ills that infant
''flesh IS heir to-" If | had been in the
city | am sure that a crowd would have
collected. | might have been taken up
aud accused of an attempt to commit in
fanticide-perhaps been published in the
papers as a wretch guilty of cruelty to
dumb animals. Dumb! How | wish that
dear family organ had been drmb I even
envied the deaf men that pick up cinders
looked at the clock, and exclaimed in
despair. ''When will the mother return ?'
and the clock answered, with mocking
monotony, Not yet not yet p Blue
bottle had ceased buzz ing, and returned to
its old quarters over the dial plate, to
watch for the temperance of the ship,
perhaps asking, as imratiently as | did,
the question, ''When will she return ?''
while the clock continued to repeat unccas-
ingly, Not yet not yet " l knew not
what to do, and rushed dozen times te
the door, hoping to see the coming relief
but the walls of the distant church and the
houses beyond were thick, and could not
look through them. The brook was laugh
ing in the sunshine, and murmured joyous
ly as it glided over the stones, and | felt a
strong temptation to pop the piping part
of the baby into it, | am sure the clock
cried mockingly, ''Do it do it!' but the
Thought OF coroner's inquest restrained
me-a country jury of Dutch Doors, with
short pipes in their mouths, and skulls two
layers of brick thick. There was rooster
upon the fence Tapping his wings, and
growing like Trojan-I do believe it was
ever my perplexity the pigs were grunt
ing in their sty, and a cow was giving
/ nourishment to her calf in a distant field
! SuGdeply n briUbt iIaa ctruck I Saizof