Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1881-05-24
MISC GELlANEouS.
THE BoRRoWED BARY.


IS the baby" s3
The speaker was rosy>oheeked girl who
lived with the family across the wav. 1t was
irregular nuisance, this lending the baby
all the tlme. She did not seem to belong to
US at all any more. l suppose we were all
little jealous, because she did love these
new people so much, and they took SO much
pains with her, teaching her little cunning
ways and pretty sayings; and / must saw
they were most judicious never giving her
sweet things 10 make her sick, or letting her
take cold. So, foE tho hundredth timo. I
rolled little Dudu up and kissed her good.
bye, sent her of to act her part as Dor.
rowed baby.
When John oame homo to dinner md
found the baby gone again he was lust as
angry as he could be.
.,#hy can't they gee baby of thoir own :
GROSSLY. "They could go over to the asvlum
and take their pick of babies"
"But not like ours, j ohn," said quickly
"Well, no, of course; but don't propose
to have strangers going halves with our
baby. Besides won't havo them tcaohiup
that child any more nonsense of the religious
sort, and they may as well know it; whom
they bring her back this time Won NAV as
well settle it up once for al!''
L forgot to say John and were both FREQ
thinkers, and did not go to church or SUBJ
scribe to any of the religious beliefs TO
which he had been educated We had both
graduated in a brilliant Intellectual school
utterly devoid of the foolish superstitions of
any religious faith, and we intend to bring
up our children in the same severely moral
atmosphere. It did not once occur TO us
that ours was the strength Of youth and pro-
sumption, or that our ign norance. could pull
down in day what knowledge had been n
Thousand years building. WO felt wo Were
sufficient to ourselves aud to our child.
The baby came homo. She was nearly
three years old. but, after all, only babv
aud; as l took her from the girl, I said:
We won't be able to lend the baby anv
more, Mary, her papa and both think It
isn.t good plan, and wo cannot possibly do
without her; tho house is too lonely. Tell
your mistress SO, with my compliments"
''Pn sorry, ma'am," said the girl, "be>
cause We all loves little Dudu SO much, and
she's real sweet. Sho can sing "Jesus
Loves Me" all thrOtgb, and not miss
"suporstitiOp!" 1 exclaimed .pcriIv.
"Tell your mistress for me that do not
wish my child to learn those senseless
hymns do not believe in them, nor do
tN>o-t b>c li>e>v-e theml" gasped the
girl. ''Why, you amt heather, bo you7"
81 dismissed her curtiy, and when John
came home told him tho message [ bpa
sent.
''That is right, littlc woman. / guess We
know enough to take care of this little bios.
som. Hey, wee Willie Winkie, don't we7y
Somehew just then an old forgotten text
flashed into my mind, "My grace is sufi.
eient for thee" and it ran up and down the
garrett Of my thought all that eyenin1
When put Dudu to bed noticed that her
hands wero bot, and ber eyes seemed heavy.
There was lots of diptberia in the place. biit
she had not been exposed to It in any nossi.
BILE mshner, our neighbors who borrowed tho
baby being as afraid of it as we were. for
that was why no baby was in their home.
oh, that dreadful time! cannot recall il
now-the days-hardly moro than da7-
OF anguish; the awful suffering and tie end.
the parehed lips and tho fever.brieht ewes
the awful realism of death, and not one
nope; one word of comfort, only the cruel.
darling. WI
Just at the last there was moment.
poace. It was not on us that her I..t losp
fell. We turned to see who or what sbe
saw, and there stood our neighbor over the
way, whom she at least, sweet darling, had
loved as herself, and then she lifted the
weary little hands, and glad look of reeog-
nition was IN the wan face, and we all heard
the words as they fell in awful distinc tness
from the baby lips:
.DesuSIoTes mo-lis know"
Yes, they sang it at her funeral, for we
buried her-with no heathen rites, and some
good man prefaced few consoIing words
with the text, "My grace is sufficient for
thee; but, OBJ the tender melody of the
child voices that sung shove her:
"Jesus loves mo this know,
For the Bible tells me 70,
Little ones 70 him beloue-
We ara weak, but he is strong"
And when it was all ever, and only the
memory remained of so much beauty and
sweetness, and our hearts were going back
to the dust and ashes of unbelief, our good
neighBor came like an evangelist, and Civ
ing US of her own brave strength, gained at
the foot of the cross, said, wisely:
.'Be. content. God has only borrowed