The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1878-01-17
THE BABY.

by day, of the first beginnings of intelligence
in one of his own infant children. These OBJ
servations were conducted methodically and
, scientifically, and as the youthful Darwin was
q very ordinary and common child, differing
in no important respects from the domestic
infant, as seen and heard and felt everywhere
tho results of the elder Darwins observations
and study may be generalized and regarded
as full and ample history of the birth of the
human soul and mind and in exposition of the
) innate human instincts and ideas. This study
of his baby was begun by Darwin when that
interesting infant had reached the tender age
of one week. Its lineaments and habits were
carefully noted and examined each day. and
notes thereon jotted down. simple witch
ing OF the muscles, movement OF the eye, a
sudden cry, everything showing pleasure, grief
or passion was recorded. 1t was O tram
script of this record together with his infer
ences and deductions, that Mr.. Darwin has
lately published under the title of "Biographi-
cal Sketch of an Infant" The sketch will un-
doubleday be recognized as perfect by all old
bachelors, while fond mothers will probably
admit It's correctness as to the general baby
/. e., all babies except their own, that phenome-
nal infant whose tricks, ways and words are
wholly different from the rest OF baby kind.
At the very beginning, Mr.. Darwin gives
up the idea of forming once again that primi-
tive language which we all spoke before Babel
from the lisping utterances ofinfantile tongues.
He has undoubtedly read Herodotus' story of
the Lydian king who, desiring to know the
original tongue Of mankind, placed two in
fants on desert island, where they would
| hopr hur of.
and ewes for the necessary sustenance of
childhood. At the end OF q number of years
the island was revisited and the babies we're
interviewed. They were then discovered to
know only one word-"Bah" The Lydian
| philosophers who were called on for an ex-
| PLANTATION were greatly confused by the occur
renee, some holding that as this word was the
Phrygian for father, that tongue was prob
ably the most ancient in the world; while
others yielded to the belief that the babies
learned this expression from their eaprian
mothers.
After comparing the remarks first ejacu-
lated by his own and other infants, Mr..
Darwin comes to the conclusion that there
is no system, no regularity In these first
words of babies; it Is simply accidental
The first word Of the infantile Darwin was
"mum." MIR. Tame declares that his daugh
ter's first cutlery was "haw," while other
babies were discovered who had entered the
world with loud demands for "gook" and
"yaya." 1t was discovered, however, that
whatever the form of this word it always
meant the same thing, that s, that somewhat
limited but refreshing bill Of fare that babies
enjoy.
On this point Of original language Mr..
Darwin cites a curious case Of q founding
brought up In an asylum, conducted wholly
by elderly females. This baby, which had
never seen male face, broke out one day,
to the alarm and scandals of the Sisters
of the Asylum, with loud appeal for Papa"
The deduction to be made from this fact we
leave to others.
Babies are sympathetic, Mr.. Darwin finds
even to crying, and will join their urses
weeping il these make semblance OF grief.
Surprise, which is really the essence of humor,
comes at an early age, generally taking its
first form in that game Of "Bo-peep' that
every child naturally plays. While the baby
undoubtedly sees at the very earliest age, it
does not observe for many months.
Fear, Mr.. Darwin thinks, is constitutional
and inherited. Anger, while also inherited,
is likewise, to great extent, the result Of ed
ucation. Mr.. Darwin sets it down to the same
instinct that makes the young crocodile just
out of the shell snap its jaws. The instructive
push given to anything that comes in its way
or has hurt 1t, or disappointed it when it is
looking for something else, may be either
coaxed or laughed away by nurse or mother,
+ha .,f IL
nursery has his swiftly applied revenge for
toys, tables and play-fellows that displease
him.
The period of the awakening Of the moral
sense is debatable ground. A baby who is
slapped and chidden for unconscious offenses
will he likely to have confused ideas tending
to cowardice and concealment at a very early
age. When the little Darwin was two years
and some months old, he stole sugar from the
dining groom, and his manner being odd and
excited, it was set down to pleasureable emo
ton, struggling with conscience When a |
fortnight later he got into his pickles and
commanded his father, who tried to inves-
tigate his apron on the subject, "to go away"
he showed rapid progress in the art of rob- |
berry and deceit AS he had never been pun
iSiSu 1Oi CbCil1ueS biiO 6uSdIy Ills
wholly unable to account for the concealment |
of the pickles, was forced to attribute it to
some hereditary instinct of savage British |
ancestry.
Such, and many more, are the discoveries |
made by Darwin of baby life. While interest |
ing scientifically, they are equally inter-
esting domestically. Darwin, who has in
vaded the domain of mothers" has made /
some discoveries that even these close
studies of babyhood. have apparently over
looked. Should he write a book on the
nursery it is undoubtedly one that would /
prove popular. One point discovered by
him should be particularly noted by mothers:
that babies are close students of faces, and /
can read them much better than they can
comprehend words. Here is line upon
which it is easy to govern an unruly child