The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1880-04-30

Susan?" asked Miss Sophia, bending
over Susan as she sat on the rug undo
ing the parcel.
"What else should il he, ma am ?" re-
plied Susan, stripping of roll after roll,
rs Miss Sophia watched her, feeling, she
knew not why, some sense Of assisting ut
the mysteries of creation, and of import
ance mt having been selected, rather than
Miss Browuell, perhaps, while, rs
Susan opened the last fold, and began
rubbing the little bare thing within with
her kind, rough hand, the atom of Il
creature, warmed with the friction and
the blaze, stretched all its dimpled
limbs, and smiled in her face great
rosy, blue-eyel smile, with the tear upon
the cheek---a cherubic smile that woke
every tender chord i'll Susan's being.
Miss Sophia" she cried, "if you
don't adopt the baby, shall.
Adopt II baby, Susanw cried Miss
Sophia, starting back in horror.
Yes, ma'an. Adopt n baby. This
baby"
But, Susan" began Miss Sophia, as
If entirely agreeing with the man who
thought it best to reason with mule,
nobody does such II thing. 1t isn't re-
spectacle"
"Goodness gracious, Miss Sophia!
AS If Mt our time OF life we'd stop ut
that"
But, besides, it is the child of wicked
people, and would only grow up wicked,
and break our hearts.
I'D risk it,
"And in my health. How can you be
so heartlcss. Susan
lin cure you," said Susan, stolidly.
"rhey always send them to the aims
house, Susan. You must run right out
and find one of the selectmen.
"Selectmen are MI abed this time of
night, Miss. You'll have to keep it any
way till morning, or well he took mp lor
murder. Aud if you keep it till morn
ing you may rs well keep it always-the
dear little creeter."
Susan. " cried her mistress, :" do
believe you're crazy"
NO more'n YOU be. Not bit of il. "
cried Susan with sudden vchemence, her
little black eyes swapping like Prince
Rupert drops. "I'm healthy hard
working woman. I've never married;
but I've always thought Id like to mar
~ widower with baby, for the sake
OF the baby. Iain't no opinion of man:
but could Il stood him for the sake of
the baby. And now here's the baby
without the widower. | call it a leadin'
of Providence. Ii You take 1t, it's all
the same to me, us l shan't never leave
you. But if you won't, Miss, why can
earn enough for its little bite and sup
with my two hands, and Ill keep it in the
kitchen"
II couldn't think of such thing!"
gasped Miss Sophia. "Sick, and old,
all alone, and the worry, and work, and
trouble for somebody else's-
"you just hold il minute, Miss, "
said Susan, rolling some of the wrap
pings round it again, while L get II sip
OF milk"
1.-The oftop the milk, Susan" said Miss
Sophia, lifting the tiny weight to her
shoulder like piece of egg shell china.
"Yes'm, | know. One-third cream
and two-thirds water, I've had 'em on
my hands before this"
And when Susan CAME back, having
been gone an interminable period, pre-
pairing food also, Tor the night, she
found Miss Sophia holding i'll the big
chair, with the bit oil face Struggled up
under her chin, us ii she had always
been used to it,
81 guess I'll have it sleep with me to-
night, Susan" said Miss Sophia, after
some hesitation.
IAN right, ma'am."
"You don't suppose I'd be likely to
smother it,"
"Pooh, just wait till / blow up the
fire i'll your stove. This is what l call
watching the new year in To some pur-
pose. It's the little New Year himself. -
And when Miss Sophia went to sleep,
that warm atom on her arm and that vel
vet cheek against her own, and woke up
in the middle of the night with the glow
of the fire ON the ceiling, it seemed as if
the room was full of angels, and that
this was what she had been waiting for
all her life.
81 guess, SUSAN" said Miss Sophia,
as she came down with her wide-awake
little bundle in the early New Years
morning, "that We won't do anything
about seeing the selectman to-day. It's
New Years, you know"
Susan had Just came in with pair of
had run down to Miss Threadneedle'
while her fires were kindling. "Jess
you say" she replied readily. "And,
perhaps, when it's gone to sleep, you'll
cut out some little things for me to run
up on the machine. And the scene OF
that bath, with thermometer and hot
blankets, and the two women, swelling
with Importance, III mortal terror of pull
ing the little limbs out of Joint, and in
ccstacies Of admiration over the perfec-
ton Of the miniature body, the convolu-
tions of the ears, the transparency of the
tiny nails upon the tiny toes, the roars of
the victim, and the hushing between
whites, as the wetting and wiping and
powdering and polishing proceeded by
piecemeal, is something that defies de-
scriptiOn.
Breakfast being over and Miss Sophia
sitting by the fire again, with the dream
ing infant Oh her knee, watching intent
ly certain premOnitory symptoms, she
suddenly set up cry that made Susan
Jump. ooh! Susan! Susan! Oh do
look here she cried. "What can il
be?" And she threw up her hands and
dropped her knees, as if the little thing
squirming Oh her lap were a spider and
she wished to shake it off.
"Lor', ma'am, you'll have it III the
fire next" cried the learned Susan.
cts wind. They often has it. Here,
this is the way to do, and, turning the
small object dextcrously, as if it were a
griddle-cake, she had it, face down, on
Miss Sophla's knee, with Miss Sophia
vigorously patting its back.
81 didn't know Ihad 30 much strength,
Susan" said Miss Sophia.
81 said 'twOrlld do you good, miss"
"The collie! To think of it! Pain
and trouble the minute it's in the world
there now, there now, the precious
thing--and nobody to love 1.-THE dar.
ling, dearest one !" cries Miss Sophia.
"To think-oh, Susan oh, Susan It's
having Il convulsion. It's black in the
face! What shall We do? What shall
We do?"
"a convulsion! A fiddlestick It's
got the hiccups. I'll get drop of sugar
and water. There, there, there !" And
presently there was silence, and then
there was rest-rest with the little head
dropping ON one side, and sweet secret
sort of wisdom Oh the little face.
Glow they make you love them when
they are going to sleep!" cried Miss
Sophia. eff we don't send this baby
off to the selectmen tomorrow we never
CAM"
All day long the two women went ani
came about that mite. AS for Susan
she could not bear to leave it long