The Manitowoc tribune. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1866-1878, 1878-04-18
THE PKETTIEST BABY.

Ff THE PRETTIEST BABY.
To the baby show? No, indeed !
God bless me no indeed"
Had the youngest sister of Mr.. John
Trueax (very bright and pretty she was,
With short, curly, black-as-the-rav
wing hair, and large, sparkling, dark as
e-midnight-sky eyes, proposed that he
should enter cage of the widest kind
of wild animals lions, tigers, leopards,
and panthers, for instance-heco could not
have shown more CONSERVATION end hor-
ror.
Mr.. Trueax, albeit he only numbered
some six-and-thirty years, was a misogy-
mist and misogamist. He outbachel
ored all the bachelors of his acquaint
ance and they were not few, as he as
sociated with none but single men, never
attended wedding, ahuddered when he
heard of birth, breaking off all com
munication with friends who plunged
into matrimony, and carefully avoiding
all women, rich and poor, proud and
lowly, with the single exception of Win
fired, his youngest sister, mentioned be-
fore, who had been left to his care when
2O-by dearly loved dying mother.
The reason? I'll tell you
Once on time John Trueax, then
jolly young fellow of five-and-twenty,
day had arrived. The groomsmep and
brfidemalds, the parents of Jack and the
parents of Gas he fondly thought) his
Lily, and a large number of invited
guests were present.
hol1 forn,ad of lovely Aouars b11nc
from the ceiling, prepared to shed its
sweets upon the heads of the happy
lovers; the minister waited, book in
hand; hundred wax candles helped the
gas jets to lend brightness to the scene;
the wedding supper was laid-when the
brides own maid, who had been sent to
tell her all was ready (she had requested
to be left alone few moments before
the ceremony, and, being an odd sort of
girl, nothing strange was thought of
this request), returned, pale and
trembling, to the room where the bridal
party waited, with a note which she had
found, instead of her mistress, and
which read as follows:
DEAR FATHER AND DEAR MOTHER do not
love him. The feeling mistook for love is
only that of friendship. Since we were en-
gagged have met Que whom / do love, and at
his wife, convinced that, dishonorable as my
conduct may seem, it would be thousand
times more dlshoDOrable to stand before the
altar with lie upon my lips, lie which would
condemn me to live a lie forever after. Tell
Jack I wish him all prosperity and happiness.
-..-- LILY.
The bell of flowers was taken down,
the wax candles were extinguished, the
minister departed, the guests were dis
missed, and John Trueax left the house
with curse upon his ips-for he knew,
in spite of her romantic note, that the
girl had been won by the wealth of his
rival-to become mater of women, a
foe to matrimony, Vice President of the
''Stanch Old Bachelors Club" and o
perfect Herod in regard to children.
What wonder, then, that he shrunk
back in alarm when Winnie proposed
they were on their way to the Academy
OF Music to hear some man make a
speech) that they should stop few mo-
ments at the baby show, whose flaming
posters suddenly confronted them as
they reached the corner of Fifth ave-
rue? -
"Do come, brother sand Winnie,
coaxingly-and you never in all your
life saw any one who could be quite as
coa1ing as Winnie
81 won'tl'' said brother, emphatic
ally.
"Just wee, little while"
81 viii not, with increased emphasis.
"John, if you don't, I'll invire Cousin
Mary and her twins, and Sister Lucy
and her eldest boy, the one that is
named after you, to the house to stay a
week" 1Frrnr.f, 9 Tk07r1EF
IF you do, IN b. N the house over
their heads, collect the insurance, and
fly to Europe" 49, ssas--s2
oJohn, I.leTe babies as much as you
dislike them- s-xssss-eA
It's no use. SzsssssssF
John, dear John, / never wanted to
eeanywhere so much, never" two da-
lnond tears in her black eyes
Five minutes, You said p,
"Did /? meant ten. 49,; -
well, ten; not an instant longer, re-
member. And, grumbling to himself,
What feel am !" in they went.
A large oblong room, around which
ran raised platforms on gwfricirrv we're to
be seen many mothers and more babes.
Some of the little ones were in baby
wagons, some IN chairs, some ON hobby
horses, some in swings, and some in the
material lap. There were brown babies,
yellow babies. rosy babies, cream-col-
ored babies, and snow-white babies ;
blue-eyed, hNxel-eyed, brown-eyed, gray
eyed, olack-eye1 and green-eyed babies;
laughing, crying, pretty, ugly, bright,
stupid, cross, jolly, serious and mis-
chievous babies; babies of all shapes.
all sorts, all sizes. and all ages is,
from ] month TO 5 years.
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