The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1878-01-10
Adopting Children

There are many childleSs people who
love children in the abstract; who adj
mire their cunning ways and sayings,
and who think they would like to adopt
child, to have one for their own to
pet and caress. They feel how lonely,
how unfinished a houee is, without at
least one little one to brighten it up,
and they look around to find one on
whom they can bestow that love that
every true-hearted man and woman
has stored up in some corner Of their
heart, waiting an outlet.
Just here comes in difficulty. For
getting that children are human, they
stipulate usually, that the child must
come of good parentage; next, they
want it perfect bodily; one person
wants a blue-eyed child, another a
black-eyed, as if death, in making or
phans, stopped to consider the color of
their eyes, or the shape of their limbs.
It is perfectly natural to have prefer
ence in the matter of the personal ap-
pearance Of child one designs receiv-
ing into his family, but we object to
the closing Of the heart against one of
these little waits, merely because it
does not come up to preconceived
idea Of what 8 child should be.
We knew lady once, gentle,
Christian lady, who was looking for a
child to adopt. She visited an orphan
asylum, saw many beautiful ones, and
passed them by. At last she came to
one who was rather plain. The child
turned abruptly away with a frown
when addressed.
"Oh, you won't want her." laughed
the matron. "No one likes her."
"Why not ?"
"She is shy and sullen, and besides,
she Ism pTetty!
81 will take herp the lady replied.
The matron was astonished. And
after everything was settled, and the
child was really to 60 she said ::"If you
will not consider me impairment, II
would like to know why you take that
little girl in preference to others, far
more interesting?
"For the very reasons you gave me
why I should not take her; she is plain
and unattractive, and no one wants her.
The handsome children can always find
friends, the poor and plain never"
She drew the child out from her shy
ness, trained her so that she. 2eeUer had
occasion to be suzzefs, and under the in
f1uence of her adopted mothers love
she grew positively pretty. All, hap
plness IS q beautifier, beyond all others. |
Another case occurs to me of a babe |
found on the doorsteps Of rich man
in Boston. The family were about to
send it to an asylum. when an Irishman
who was passing, offered to take it |
home. He had five little ones Of his |
own. Years passed. The child was
treated with more tenderness even
than their own, E'for he looked like a |
gentleman from the first" his new
father declared. He grew fast; alas |
ungrateful and disobedient. When we
became acquainted with the man who
saved him from charity, the boy was
twelve, and as bada boy as one often
sees. But they chung to him, prayed
for him, worked for him. What his
fate would have been would have been
would have been easy to see; but he
caught fever land died. His mothers |
answer to the question,-"Are you not |
sorry you took him ?" was q noble one. |
Sorry! indeed not. My Andrew
found the child with neither home nor
friends. He would never see q dogl
want-far less babe with soul. It'll
was his duty to take it. And wei
would do the same over again.
There are children and children; and
also people and people. There are men
and women who adopt children for
drudges; who, lazy and heartless them
selves, have no comprehension Of chill
dren, and who overtax their strength,
until they break down, and then they
have no further use for them, and Ell
Their ill-use them, or make them pub
lie charge. With this sort Of persons,
we have no words. But the generous
minded, conscientious person should
remember that there neUer was a per-
feet child. We have heard of such a
wonder, and have taken considerable
pains to find it; but are happy to say
our quest has thus far been vain; for
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