Ashtabula weekly telegraph. (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1880-1886, 1880-09-10
A Chapter on Babies.

true, nevertheless, that wherever there
is civilization there the helpless infant is
the most powerful member of the social
circle. Ever since the wise men of the
East sought out and bowed in humble
submission to the Christ-child, mankind
have acknowledged the autocracy of the
baby in swaddling-olothes. The first
faint cry of distress of the newborn in
FAINT summons the entire household to
the rescue. Every member of the family
gives in his or her allegiance and be-
comes the bond-slave of the new master
OF mistress. The baby is regarded with
as much wonder and admiration as il it
were the first revelation of infanthood.
All its wishes are commands; all its
whims have the force of Royal orders in
council. If there is a rustic of clothing
in the cradle there is a rush and patter
of big and little feet to its vicinity in hot
haste to anticipate the possible wants of
its little occupant. II the baby sleeps
there is silence in the house; II the
baby wakes there is a great hubbub. The
baby stares, and COOS, and crows, and
laughs whenit has learned how to laugh,
and the whole family stares, and COOS,
and crows, and laughs in discordant
concert. And each member of the
pleased circle disputes with all the 9TH
ers the privilege of holding, and kissing,
and tickling the infant phenomenon for
every baby is a phenomenon. Every
baby, in its own household, is the pret-
tiest, cunningest, brightest, and in all
respects the most remarkable infant that
was ever born into the world. Hence
the autocracy Of the baby is logical; it
rules by divine right of being the pretti-
est, cunningest, brightest, and in all re-
spects the most remarkable baby in the
land of the living. Nor is it strange
that the power of the baby is supreme
in its circle, when it is considered what
grand achievements are possible to its
future.
The baby is boy. His face is a tri-
der, perhaps, as he filings his arms
wildly about in the vain endeavor to
seize his toes with the view of inserting
them between his toothless gums. He
makes abortive passes at his ears, and
at last probably succeeds in grasping
and giving his own little pug-nOse a viO-
lent wrench, whereat he screams with
infantile rage and bursts into tears.
During this interesting episode of pug
nscity the subjects of the baby-the
family-watch him with absorbing at.
tention, and at the denouement, after
soothing his lacerated feelings, they de-
clare confidently that he is an infant
Caesar, or an AlexaI der. In a word,
that he is destined to military renown-
to save the Republic, or march over its
ruins through seas of blood (the blood
of other people,. Or the boy-baby sue
ceeds In capturing his pink toes, and in
stead of putting them in his mouth, fin
| gers them one by one methodicaly,
carefully, as if counting them, and the
excited auditory declare that he is des-
tined TO excel in mathematics, that he
will be an astronomer-anOther Newton
and advance from counting toes to
counting stars. Doubtless when he gets
away from his mothers apron strings,
and tumbles on a stone sidewalk, or
gets knocked over by his big brother,
he will see new constellation of stars
! The baby-boy has habit of running his
chubby fingers through the thin locks
of hair which adorn but do not cover
his half-bald pate, and looks the while
wisely out of his big brown or little blue
eyes, and his adoring subjects detect the
genius of philosophic mind, and dis
Germ in the drooling infant new Plato,
or Bacon, or a Descartes. There are
more warriors in the cradle than on
horseback, and more mathematicians,
philosophers, statesmen, poets, and
painters in long clothes than are
dreamed of In the waking or sleeping
hours of old maids and old bachelors.
Girl-babies are sweeter than boy-ba-
bies Their faces are not so red their
fingers and toes are of more delicate
pink hue; their feet are smaller; their
hands are not so chubby; and their arms
are more shapely. Their noses may be
a trihe more "puggy," but their eyes
are soft and gentle, and possess in per-
suasiveness what they lack in command
ing force. They are more like viOlets
and daisies than boy-babies are. There
is infinitely more character in the dim
pied face of the girl-baby than in the
puffy countenance of the boy-baby. As
soon as the eyes of the girl-baby open
in wonder upon the world they seem Ca
reflect faint glimpses of that intuitive
perc6ptive faculty which distinguishes
the female sex. The big bOy-baby
doubles" his fist in very suggestive
but disagreeable way the girl-baby lies
in the cradle with an open palm. The
boy-baby soowls; the girl-baby smiles
seraphically as if already familiar with
the art of fascination. The boy-baby
filings his arms about frantically, and
kicks off his socks the movements of the
girl-baby are graceful, and il she wall:
her cry is protesting rather than defiant
like that of the boy-baby.
Here is girl.baby resembling the
lily: grace, purity, and high purpose
are even now discernible in the round,
dimpled face, and she is pronounced Q
second Saint Cecilia. Another is the
counterpart of the tuberose bud; an ex
preston of gentleness mingled with
lirmness shines in the soft blue eyes
and the little court surrounding tn,
cradle point TO the infant as Laur,
waiting for her Petrarch. Another hal
the bearing of Queen-of a Victoria
or of a Maria Theresa of Austria. An
other beams forth rays of compassion
from every feature, foreshadowing q ca
reer of mercy which shall rival tina
of Florence Nightingale in the British
army hospitals of the Crimea, Anothe
appeals for sympathy with the forecas
of life of devotion and suffering, call
ing to mind the fate of the Maid Of Or
leans. And so on through the oatalogu
of the worlds heroines. Then, too, tn
cradles of the land are doubtless nov
occupied by infant Elizabeth Cad
Stantons, DIR. Mary Walkers, Ann
DiekinsOns. Susan b. AnthOnys. Bely