The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1879-10-10
NacauIay's Love for Children.

Ii is one thing to be fond of children,
and another never TO get tired of them; ;
and Macaulay, Hannah says, was one
of those who never got tired. He often
spent the whole morning at her home
PLAYING with the children, and then ai-
ter luncheon carried one of them Off for
along walk. But the great treats for
him, as well rs tor them, were the eX-
cursions into the city to see the shows.
These did not come often enough 10
suit either him or the children--twice II
week is said to have been the average
he would have likcd-and they used TO
| last until the little ones, to use his own
expression, "could not drag one leg
after the other" The afternoons di-
version began with n bountiiul lunch
con in London, to which Macaulav al
WAYS added some knick-knack for
which the children had an especial con-
tempt, for the pleasure of seeing them
reject it with scorn. The afternoons
sights were the lions and bears, the
panorainas and the waX-works, or even
the British museum. One day he tells
their mother in letter how. all the
other exhibitions being exhausted, he
took the children to the national gal
lery, and how, while Charley and Mar
garet PLAYED the connoisseur, Georgy
said, honestly, "Let us go; there is
nothing here that care for at all :" and
again; 81 don't call this seeing sights /;
have seen no sights to-day" All of
which seems to have amused Macaulay
greatly. The elaborate process of send
ing valentine to his little niece Alice
Is recorded at length in his diary. Feb
ruary - lie buys asuperb sheet OF pa
per and writes the valentine. Februa.
ry Is he sends it OF to his sister Fanny
at Brighton TO be forwarded. February
If the whole entry of the day is about
the valentine: how Fanny came at three
with the children, Alice i'll perfect rap
lures, and begging quite pathetically to
be told the truth about it. When they
were alone together size said-thc little
witch-she was going to be very scri
ous, and down she goes on her knees
lifting up her hands in supplcaton
sDear uncle. do tell the truth to youi
little girl. Did You send the valentineY
And then he had to own it. Macaulay
would do almost anything TO please his
Il favoriies: he even tried to like theil
dog, and dogs he was not fond of. II
one place in his diary he dcnounces tho
animal rs II DcuSl tll'it 10 iiNi sIlOli
ing conversation" But when the dog
was the pet of the children, that wa
another matter, and he bought thinei
for it at the shops. and made poetr,
about it to an extent which made tn,
children happy, if it had no particula
| effect upon the dog. When he wa
; busy upon the second installment of hi
history, he would spend some precious
l time inserting gold piede in the sea
} of IA letter to his nephew George, 81
| that it might slip past the postofiicc an
, thorities, and would transmit it wit
t the casual remark that while tbs bes
5 part of lady's letter was in tn
G posiscrip, the best part of an unclc's wa
t in the seal. One day, coming out trol
a a collection of pictures, he saw NOR
S delightful picture, he says, than an
:, there. 1t was four pretty little sisters
from about eleven to six wears ole
C riding in donkey cart in deep shad
: lane, and quite beside themselves at i'll
+ treat. They were laughing and sing
d ing in way that almost made him CT
e with a sense of the beautiful, and whe
he asked them TO go on they sang lik
II little larks. Whereupon all the silvt
J, he had in his pockets went to buy doll
IS II Ilarper's Magazine.