River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1878-01-31
How Man Takes Care Of His Baby.


In spite of all the statements to the con-
trarv, there are men who help take care
OF their childeBn. They are the kindest
and best husbands in the world. They
90 not wish to see their wives overbur-
dened with care and worry, and they in
tend to help them a great deal, and actu-
ally do. Yet 1t cannot be denied, that
their opinion concerning the value OF their
services and siroir wives opinion on the
same subject do not exactly coincide.
One of these coed husbands will help dress
the children for breakfast, and speak OF
it with a grandly virtuous air, while the
fact is that Ae only washed tn face of
one while his wife washed and dressed
the other three.
He helps get the children ready for
church; that is, he buttons up Dicks
boots, and helps Jenny put on her gloves
after he has ieisurely and comfortably
dressed himself, while his wife ties sash
es, and hunts up odd glevef, and puts on
collars, and cifrls one child's hair ana
washes another's hands, and in the inter-
walls ''does np'' her own hair, and saves
the baby iroisl the razor, and Jenny's best
bonnet from the baby. he stands pa
tiently @ in:the hall as the bells begin to
toll, and milaly calls, st is getting late,
Maria Which fact Maria knows as
we'll as he does, for her hauds are tremb.
ling so with seriousness and hasts that she
can hardly pat single pin in is right
place. just; as the last strokes OF the
bell are sounding they hurry off to
church, lo0sing entirely the calming in
fiuence wliia, comes from leisurely
walk on fine Sunday morning He
takes the opportunity to remark, with
Just shaae:of reproot in his gentle tones,
II can't Understand why it takes you so
long to gut Seady. II really does seem
as if With aa much as do to help you,
we need aor be obliged to hurry so at
the last MiIsute. | don't like to see you
go up the aisle with your face as red as a
lobster, "sl-rshich of courie, is very sooth-
ing to Marit's irritated nerves.
The father cares for the baby at night
in very mulh the SAME fashion. The
mother has gifted the child into her own
bed, and back into its cradle again, in the
vain hopt Ehat in one place or the other
he will SO 90 sleep; has brought drinks of
water fof h5m rocked the cradle and sung
to its UNEASY occupant softly and sleepily
for an hour, till finally she thinks that if
she is to be in this semi-dmphibi0us state,
half out .of bed, and bait in, the air from
the open window is too cold for her. She
knows igishe tries to shut it herself, the
little tyrant will instantly miss her pres
ence and he ten times wider awake than
ever, ami all the hours singing and rock
ing will be labor lost. So, with much
regret, she softly asks John to get up and
close thcwindow He has lain remarka-
by still ahd breathed rather heavily, and
is so newhat difficult to arouse for man
who afterward declares that he was wide
awake AL the time.
But like a good husband she is, he
cheerfUlIY closes the window, and gets
an extra blanket for the baby, and pleas
antly asks, as lac settles down into the
pillows again, What makes the baby so
uneasy tp-nigihtl" He manifests a
strange Indifference to his wife's reply,
and in fact nothing more is
heard FROM him till morning, while his
wife slj.elsily and painfully works away
for All s,ur longer, But at breakfast,
with wiat calm mPlacency does he speak
of the. trouble the baby made us last
night, with an "us Y fairly editional in
! its comneehensivencss. The next night
he goes into a room by himself to sleep.
He +" can't stand it 70 have his restbroken
so, bat adds generously, III take care
of him lie next night" And so he does
till about twelve O'Clock, when the baby
wakes and cries For ten minutes he
tries faithfully to get him 10 sleep again,
and then ignomainiously retreats and calls
for "namma. "--B10m article By Mary
Blake, III "Hcmc and Society,"" Srri5Rer
for FEB