Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1879-11-20

Or the hearts that 60 aStray!
Let us step outside the stronghold
OF our selfishness and pride;
Let us lift our fainting brothers;
Let us strengthen ere we chide;
Let us, ere we blame the fallen,
Hold light to cheer and guide.
All! how blessed--ah! how blessed
Earth would be if we'd but try
Thus to aid and right the weaker,
Thus TO check each brothers sigh;
Thus to talk of dutys pathway
To our better life on high.
In each life, however lowly,
| There are seeds of mighty good;
Still, we shrink from souls appealing
With a timid "if we could :"
But God who judgeth all things
Knows the truth is, "if we would"
MRS. ATKlNsON'S BABY.
The Atkinsons have had terrible time
over their baby. MIR. Atkinson sent home
folding crib, with Stats made in two pieces
and hung upon hinges When they opened
their crib and put the mattress in it, Mr.. At
kinson omitted to fix securely the catches
that hold the STATS Mr. and Mrs. Atkinson
went to bed early that night, and about II
o'clock, while they were asleep, the baby got
awake and began to kick vigorously. The
result was that the Stats slowly descended,
and deposited the mattress and baby upon the
floor. The baby, being particularly wide
awake, crawled out into the room, and, see
ing light in the entry, went through the
door Just as Mr.. Atkinson's aunt, Miss Boggs,
was coming up stairs to bed. She picked the
baby up, and finding that its father and moth
er were asleep, she carried it to her room in
the third story, determined to take care of it
during the rest of the night.
About an hour later Mrs. Atkinson woke,
and thought she would glance over at the
crib to see how the baby was getting along.
No sooner had she Gone so than she jumped
from the bed in alarm. The baby was not
there! The bottom seemed to have fallen
out of the whole contrivance. Her first
thought was that the baby was lying under
the mattress smothered to death. She pulled
the mattress aside, hut there were no signs of
the baby.
Then, wild with alarm, she shook Mr.. At
kinson, and told him to get up. Atkinson
growled out, i'll sleepy tone
"The paregoric bottle is in the closet; 60
and get it yourself!'
"Alonzo! !" shrieked Mrs. Atkinson, "you
don't understand. The baby is gone. 1t is
gone !-stolen kidnapped! murdered may
be! Oh, what shall 1 do o?-what shall |
do?"
"Now be calm, julia" said Atkinson, get
ting out of bed "don't get hysterical The
child, most likely, is under the bed"
"No, it isn't no, it's not there p exclaimed
Mrs. Atkinson, upon her hands and knees.
"Possibly," said Alonzo, beginning to feel
uneasy, she has crept into the closet; let us
look"
"This is HORRIBLE" said Mrs. Atkinson,
clasping her hands.
"Do you think" asked Mr.. Atkinson,
"that he could have crawled into a bureau
drawer and pulled il to- after him?"
"Certainly not !" said Mrs. Atkinson.
"You know he couldn't"
II think 1 hear him now. He has fallen
out of the window |" said Mrs. Atkinson, as
faint wall foated mp from the back yard.
"No, it's only Mrs. Magruder's cat yowling
on the fence" replied Atkinson, as he closed
the SASH "Have you looked in the bath tub
in the next roomf Perhaps he has gone to
take BATH"
"Drowned I know it! I am sure Of it,"
yelled Mrs. Atkinson, rushing into the bath
room.
"He's not there" said Atkinson. "Could
he have gone down stairs and fallen into the
sugar bucket in the pantry?"
"We must search the whole house for
him." said Mrs. Atkinson.
So they began TO hunt. They looked eve
rywhere. In the clothes hamper, in the kitch-
en- cupboard, in the pantry, and even in the
cellar, but without avail.
"He couldn't have gone up stairs" said
Mr.. Atkinson, "because he can't climb the
steps"
"No, he must have been stolen! He has
been stolen by burglars shall never, new
er see him again-never!"
"Don't give way, Julia. Be calm. l will
90 at once for the police"
Mr.. Atkinson dressed himself hurriedly,
and dashed down stairs and out into the front
street. He met a policeman almost at the
door, and in frantic accents laid the case be-
fore him. The policeman sounded an alarm,
and soon had six other policemen at hand.
They entered the house, and proceeded to ex-
anime the fastenings Everything was right,
and one Of the policemen said
"In my opinion the burglar is in the house
yet"
"We'll go for him." said another. So they
drew their revolvers and proceeded to search
the building. Presently Mr.. Atkinson heard
the report Of pistol in the kitchen. He
rushed down.
81 think I've killed him. said Policeman
Jones. Bring light, quick?'
"And killed the baby, too! y shrieked Mrs.
Atkinson.
"By George, I forgot about the baby" said
the officer
Then the light came, and they found that
Policeman Jones had shot his dog, which
had followed him into the house. Then Po-
liceman Smiths pistol went off accidentally,
and the bullet hit the kitchen clock, which
struck nine hundred and eighty.one, and the
confusion and racket So unstrung Mrs. At
kinson's nerves that she went into Mysteries
and emitted successive yells of terrific char
acter. This brought Miss Boggs down from
the third story in great alarm.
"What on earth is the matter?" she called.
"Matter ?" said Atkinson. "Don't you
know that burglars have broken into the
house and stolen the baby? Why, we've
been having the awfulest time you ever heard
of for the last two hours"
"Why, I've got the baby up stairs with
me" said Miss Boggs; "Ive had him all
night"
"You have?" exclaimed the party in a
breath.
"Certainly."
"Do you mean to tell me-" said Atkinson.
with supernatural calmness, "that that baby