The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1876-11-30
BABY FRANKLY.

crushed them third time. "
BABY FRANKLY.
By CARL CLINTON. .!
Josie Young was fifteen, years old
Her father was dead and her, mother
poor, and the times very hard. stWhat
can I do to help mother 2" she said tc
herself =; and s'What can do to heir
you g she said to mother. There were
three other children besides Josie
Kitty, and Tommy land .*baby Frankly u
Her mother was a seamstress, and she
said:
"1f I had a little lady to look after
the children, and keep them out OF
mischief, and take care of them, and
wash and dress them, why I could get
a great deal more time to sew, and
could earn more money. Could you do
that, Josie %
"If it would help you very much.
can try," said Josie, and try she did.
That very night the little helper
commenced her new duties, and put
the children to bed. Kitty and Tommy
she quickly disposed Of. 1t took
Tommy just minute and half to get
out of his clothes, and into his
''nighty." One good plunge into his
bed and down he sank, down, down,
down, into the feathers, and nothing
was seen or heard of him again until
morning. Pretty soon there was no
Kitty to be seen; and then baby
Frankly was made ready but not so
easily as the others. After he was
ready for bed he must be put to sleep.
So Josie took the big rocking-chair,
and took Frankly in her lap, and began
trotting him to sleep, just as she had
seen her mother do. She trotted and
trotted, but baby didn't go to sleep.
Then she trotted more gently but
that didn't put him to sleep. Then she
carried him about the room in her
arms; and then she began to sing to
him and finally to trot him up and
down in her lap again, and to rock
him i'll the chair. She rocked and
trotted, and trotted and rocked; and
she carried and sung, and sung and
carried, till she could do it no longer.
She began to think he would never,
never go sleep. She wondered what
kind of baby he would be if he
should conclude never to shut up his
eyes and sleep again, but always be
wide awake. She said to her mother
perhaps Barnum would take him, and
carry him round the country, and have
him posted up on show cards as the
sleepless baby. But mamma said Bar.
mum should never have her baby to
carry over the country. So Josie and
her mother talked about the baby and
Tommy and Kitty, and about her
own father, who had died but a few
months ago, and how kind and affec-
tionate he was, and how he loved them
all, and used to work hard all day, and
then hold little Frankly at night in his
arms. Then the tears came into poor
Josie's eyes as she remembered it all.
She forgot how troublesome baby had
been, and how tired she had grown
trying to put him to sleep, and she
bent over to give the little creature a
kiss, and sure enough the little bit of
a baby was sound asleep his eyes shut
tight, and his little breast rising and
falling with his gentle breathing.
Thus ended Josie's first attempt at
helping mother, and she retired feeling
very proud of her success.
So she worked away day after day
and day after day her mother worked.
Some days it was real fun to care for
the baby and the other children. Other
days it was not so pleasant. Some.
times baby was cross and fretful, and
nothing wonld please him. He was a
very queer baby, and wanted his own
way. He wanted to paddle in the water
He liked to handle over the pieces of
coal in the coal-hod, and when his
hands were very black he always put
them up to his face, and that made the
other children laugh. From the coal.
hod he would go to his mamma s work.
basket, if he could. He would put the
thimble in his mouth the first thing
then he would get the scissors then
throw the spools of cotton about, and
then, if he was not stopped, he would
tip the whole thing over. Once he
tipped all there was in the work-bas.
ket into pail of water. Sometimes if
Josie took athing from him he would
get angry; and then he would scream
and kick. Oh! how those little feet
would fly ; and how those little hands
would strike, and how that little throat
would scream.
Well, then she had Tommy and Kit.
ty to please. Tommy was always in
trouble. One day his top was brok.
en- and his sister must mend it.
Another day a big boy in the street
struck him and sister must see to that;
another day he cut his finger, and
another day he tore his jacket, and
another day lost his clean new collar.
Well, what about Kitty?. She had
troubles by the bushel.basket full.
Her doll fell out of the chair and broke
her nose her kitten scratched her
own nose she tumbled down strairs,
and fell into the cistern, and oh dear
nobody knows what didn't happen to
her. Twenty times, day she must
run to sister Josie, or sister Josie must
run to her. What times they did have
some days F.; Tommy crying with burnt
finger, and Kitty sobbing with a
scratched face, and baby Frankly
screaming louder than all, and his feet
and hands kicking and swinging in
every direction and poor Josie trying
to comfort them all. But all this time
the good mother was working away
for dear life, and her sewing machine
was clicking away as hard as it could
click, to earn bread and clothes fol
them all. And so it went on day afte1
|day. How tired Josie would be a
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