The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1877-05-03

controlling power which would enable
her to put a finger squarely upon them;
her whole little hand flew up and down
the shirt front, satisfied if it touched a
stud in its sweep; now, with evident de-
light, she reaches straight for one, and
holds it firmly; two months hence she
will, with corresponding increase of in
telligence, be able to unscrew them all
and throw them on the floor handy to be
stepped on.
At last she grew tired and fretful.
Philip" said Mrs. 6chottguhn, as she
measured off needleful of darning cot
ton, "why don't you let her have her play
things9' and then Philip put her in
high chair, and so wedged her up against
table that she couldn't fall without up
setting table, chair, and all, which was
impossible, and set before her on the
table her playthings, of which the fol-
low ing is an accurate list:
One basket.
One rubber doll.
One iron clock key.
One paper box.
One rubber ring.
One piece of white wax.
One tin pail cover.
One pair shears, with spool stuck
over the points.
One rubber rattle box.
One pair little wooden shoes, outgrown,
such as mothers lay away in bureau
drawers.
One red apple.
One silver spoon.
One string Of button moulds.
Two pieces flannel listing-onc red,
one blue
One hard rubber bracelet.
All these Philip spread out for the
baby to play with, and at the same time
he got ready to pick them up from the
floor as the baby dropped them, if that
is possible. She grasped first the string
Of button moulds, and, after shaking
them for second, threw them away.
The Major was glad of this, for he dis
liked to have her play with the button
moulds, and tried to secrete them, but
the watchful baby cried for the string.
"Let her have them, Philip" said Mrs.
schottguhn.
II don't think they're NICE" said
Philip.
"Philipw
That settled 1.-THE Major delivered
the button moulds. The baby held them
for an instant and then dropped them
again, and as he picked them up the
Major demonstrated with Mrs. Schottguhn
Being of soft wood, the button moulds
got dirty very soon, and Mrs. Schottguhn
is pink of neatness, the Major wondered
that she could cling so tenaciously to
them; but Mrs. schottguhn laughed al
most contemptuously, and said she never
heard of bringing up baby without a
string of button moulds to play with, and
she stoutly asserted that it would be reck.
less to attempt it. The Major mildly
pointed out that many millions of chill.
aren had been successfully reared without
the aid of button moulds, and he appealed
confidently to her own knowledge of the
fact that they are of comparatively mod.
ern invention, having come into general
rage for cover buttons with the same," q
Juror whose rise was perhaps with hel
own recollection; but, to the Majors
amazement Mrs. Schottguhn coldly dis
avowed any such knowledge, and boldly
repeated that no mother ever thought Of
such thing as bringing up child with.
out button moulds. Subsequent inquiry
Of his friends convinced the Major thai
Mrs. Schottguhn's statement was entirely
correct, but he didn't continue the dis.
cussion further, for as he leaned over te
pick up the doll and bracelet, the baby
dropped the iron clock key down his back
and temporarily diverted his thoughts
Then she swept off half dozen things al
once, and pounded vigorously on the
table with spoon, while the Major was
picking up the scattered toys. Then the
baby made q flash quick movement t.
put the spoon in her mouth, missed thu
mark, and narrowly escaped gouging ar
eye. The Major hastily seized the spoon
the baby cried, and Mrs schottguhr
said:
"Philip, let her have the spoon"
"I'm afraid she'll hurt herself with it,
NO. she WON'T" said Mrs. Schottguhn
and she added, not fippantly, but Sc
riously, "God always looks out for drunk
ards and little childrcn;'' and Philip was
forced to admit the truth of at least hall
of this statement, for he remembered, a.
he picked up the shears, the rattlebox and
, the little WOODEN shoes, that only the
! night before, while walking through Gin
ton place, he had seen drunken man fall
over hydrant and twist himself into &
distorted figure 8, get up, smile vacantly
and yet good-naturedly at the hydrant
and walk off uninjured; while q sobel
man who had fallen in the same way ovel
the same hydrant would have been broker