The Florida agriculturist. [volume] (DeLand, Fla.) 1878-1911, 1878-07-03

shawl, and an angular woman in
a calico dress and a sun bonnet, gasp
ed, "Why !" in q startled duet, fat
woman with small herd Of children
and market basket, shouted, "Wellw
and then Immediately clapped her
plump hands over her mouth as
though the exclamation had been
startled from her, and tall, raw
boned woman who wore horned spec
tacles and talked bass, said, "The
poor lamb p in such sepulchral tones
that everybody else laughed, and Mr..
Thumbledirk, who didn't know Just
exactly whether she meant him or
the baby, blushed scarlet and felt his
face grow so hot that he smelt his
hair. And his soul was filed with
such gloomy forebodings that all the
future looked dark to him.
The baby opened its blue eyes
wider than any man who never own
ed baby would have believed it
possible, and started at Mr.. Tumble
dirk with an expression Of alarm, and
a general lack of confidence that
BODIED distressing want of harmony
in all further proceedings. Mr..
Thumbledirk viewing these signs of
carelesSness with inward alarm, con-
celved the happy idea that the baby
needed change of position. So he
stood If 1non IFS foot a
1t is unnecessary to tell any mother
of family that by the execution of
this apparently very simple move
ment, tle dh1appy il.l.h md eE4l
thread Of the baby's clothes around
its neck in an instant. A general but
suppressed giggle went around the
room.
Mr.. Thumbledirk blushed, redder
and hotter than ever, and the aston
ished baby, after one Mortified look
at its strange guardian whimpered
uneasily.
Mr.. Thumbledirk, not daring to
risk the sound of his own voice,
would have danced the baby up and
down, but its little legs bent them
selves into such appalling crescents
the first time he let the cherub's weight
upon them, that the wretched man
knew in his heart of hearts that he
had forever and eternally most hope
lessly "bowed" them, and felt that he
could never again look a bow-legge6
man in the face without a spasm O.
remorse. AS for meeting the father
of this beautiful boy, whose life he
had blighted with a pair of crooked
legs-never, ne would face deatl
itself first. And in coming year.
whenever he met this boy waddlins
to school on a pair of legs like ice
tongs, he would gaze upon them as hi'
own guilty work, and would tremblt
lest the wrath of the avenging gods
should fall upon him.
Alarmed at the gloomy shadow:
which these distressing thoughts cast
over Mr. Thumbledirk's face the
baby drew itself up into knot anG
walled. Mr.. Thumbledirk balanced
it carefully on his hands and dandled
it, for all the world as he would
'heft" a watermelon. Instantly the
baby Strengthened itself out with such
alarming CELEBRITY that the tortured
dry nurse caught it by the heels just
in time to save it from falling to the
fioors
"He'll kill that child yet" said the
gloomy woman who talked bass, and
Mr.. Thumbledirk felt the blood
curdle in cold waves in his veins. BY
this time the baby was screaming like
q calliope, and the noise added mex.
pressibly to Thumbledirk's confusion
and distress. He.would have trotted
the baby on his knee, but the attempt
occasioned too much comment. The
fat woman with the market basket
said:
"Oh-h, the little dear!''
And the short pretty woman snap.
ped her eyes and said: !.