Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1878-11-01
A MIDGET.
PhiIadeiphias Diminutive Girl Baby
Healthy Child that Weighs only sixteen
Ounces.

Healthy Ch'td that Weighs only sixteen
Philadelphia Times.
After ascending by winding uncar-
peted pine stairway to the third story
of No. $50 North Fourth street, visitor
was ushered into the room where dwell
Mrs. Pincus and her wonderful little
baby. The room contains a small cook
stove, and serves as kitchen, bedroom
and parlor for the family, which consists
of Mr.. Pincus, his wife, a healthy robust
boy Of eighteen months, and the little
mite of humanity, whose fame, although
only fourteen days have passed since its
tiny wall first quivered on the air of
this world, has spread even beyond the
limits OF the great city in which it was
born. The room was decently furnished
but the family are evidently very poor.
Several persons besides the mother and
child were present. They all seemed in
excellent spirits, Mrs. Pincus, pleas
antfaced, healthylooking young Ger
man. American. apparently twenty years
old, stepped smiling to the bed, and re-
moving small hem-stitched handker-
chief, which served as counterpane,
proudly displayed the small specimen.
" 1t weighs just sixteen ounces, and
is perfect, she said, carefully brushing
away a fly which seemed disposed to
settle on the little nose
Sixteen ounces! 1t cannot be so
much" said the visitor, doubtingly.
Then after a pause a thought struck
him, and he said: "Ah, yes; sixteen
ounces, that's only pound l see"
The infant was asleep. Occasionally it
smiled the smallest kind of smile.
Just look at its hand,' said The
mother and at it's little nails, and at its
feet, and you ought to see it's eyes
Sucn great, beautiful blue eyes. And
see these she said, bustling to table
and holding up some dolls things-a
pair of socks of crochet work, about
an inch long, and little lace cap, trim
med with blue ribbons, too small to fit a
good sized ridge-pippin.
The visitor raised the tiny red hand
on the tip of his little finger carefully,
so as not to break it or disturb the
midget's dreams. Its palm is no bigger
than dry goods clerk S thumb-nail, and
its fingers are about half an inch long,
and scarcely larger than the graphite in
a reporters pencil. To show the size of
the arm the mother took off her we'd
ding ring and slipped it over the child s
hand and up to its elbow.
Does this -this-this baby eat, and
how?" said the visitor, blushing
Eat! ha! ha! hal" laughed Mrs
Pincus, slappng her knees in glee, as
she sat on the side of the bed. Il guess
she does eat She hangs on me like a
leech, and never lets so as long as there
is a drop left
Il am de gran'fader," said a slim,
mercurial German, who had sat, his
black eyes sparkling with pleasure, while
his daughter was exhibiting her prize
He could not restrain himself any longer
and he skipped about the room, gesticu-
lating and expatiating delightedly in
broken English upon the wonderfully
small points of little Estelle.
What is your name?" said the Wis
itor
The old Germans manner changed
! suddenly. He became very grave and
cautious.
don't want my name in de paper,
he said, seriously Not dat | an
ashamed of de baby, for | am broud OF
it, but | haf odder reason, | hat odden
reasons, my friend"
And are you proud, too?" said the
visitor, turning toward decent looking
young man, who, up to this time, haC
said nothing
Yes" he replied, with sort Of
shcepish smile. Then, suddenly raising
his head with a different expression OF
his face, said, in manly voice: "Yes
| am broud of it and love it.
Dere has been more dan twenty
eight doctors here to see it" broke il
the grandfather, "and dey all say dat i
ish de greatest wonder of de world, ant
dat it ish de schamallest child dat vas
effer porn and lived, and more dan
dousand persons haf been here to lool
at it. More dan tree hundred men, vim
Minis and schildrcn haf been down her
in der street at one time Waiting to get
schance.'
"We haven't let any strangers il
since Saturday" said the mother. "'The
filled the room so that it was too clos
and hot for the baby. They keep com
ing now, all the time, but we don't le
them come up stairs.
The maternal grandmother, middle
aged, substantial-looking, well-dresse
woman, was also present, and SCENE
delighted with the little one. ''The onl
way" she said, "that we can accoun
for it's being so small is that it is gil
from God"
| The grandparents, from their appear