The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1881-04-14
MRS. BARTONS BABY.

''Pretty baby! Mammals darling baby
Shut your little eyes and 90 to Sleep
John Seymour paused on the stairs
and listened. 1t was a deliciously
sweet voice, and the endearing epi-
thets were spoken in softly modulated
tones
''Blessed little childr' said Mr. Sev-
mour to himself, as he passed on to his
room.
"Mamma's pretty babyr' continued
Mrs. Barton, patting the soft brown
head that lay upon her breast. ELLA,
do shut the door! You always leave il
open. Who went up the stairs Just
now?"
II knows spoke up Master Bobby
Hartley, who was flattening his little
nose against the glass of the window
| from which the calm blue ocean IVES
| plainly visible. ''lt was the bald-head-
ed man. He tried to peek in the door,
too. | saw him. And he looks at YOU
all the time ut the table. l reckon he
] thinks Il heap of your
| ''fhe idea laughed the pretty wild
ow; ..why, I don't even know the man ;
name. Bobby. stop drumming on the
/ glass. You'll wake up Trixie Why
don't you 20 and play on the beach ?''
John Seymour, in the room above,
crossed over to his easy chair on tiptoe
for fear OF waking Mrs. Barton's Laby.
Such a lovely young mother as she
made. Mamma 5 darling baby!' The
words kept ringing in his ears. What
an exquisite voice; what caressing
tones; what u picture for tn artist! He
closed his eyes and seemed to see it all
the waving golden hair. the smiling
scarlet lips, the delicate fair check, the
round and rosy infant clasped in fond
embrace. '.Blessed little child!" he
thought once more.
A sunbeam that came creeping
through the open window gently
touched his smooth white forehead, and
glimmered on a certain tiny bald spot
and its fringe of light brown hair. Hon
est, dark blue eyes had Mr.. Seymour,
Roman nose and brown moustache,
with just a tinge of gray in honor of
his five and forty years.
'HoIioa!' SAYS jim stowe, entering
suddenly and striding across the room
in number eleven boots. where's a
chair? o, here's one"' dragging it to-
wards him. Hottest day l ever"
s.Do make less noise, Jim; you'll
wake up Mrs. Barton's baby
1.-The widow? Has she 4 baby? First
I've heard of it. How did you find out?
Pretty, is she not? Southerner, though.
Don't like 'em, Take her for all of me.
By iovei this is the coolest place I've
found to-day. Awful hot here when
there happens to be a land breeze. I've
been down on the beach with the Ben
nett girls. Going to the hop with them
this evening, too. Pretty lively crowd.
Don't like them, do you?''
mo. Powder, paint, false hair, fur
belows-no attractions for stald old
bachelor like me.'' And he thinks of a
certain sweet-voiced, blue-eyed mother.
Mammals darling babyr' some one
seemed to say.
''Well, 1 tell you what it is, John, 1 ]
do believe that you're A sudden
lurch, and with crash down came the
number elevens from their elevated
perch don't scowl so, man! Hang
Mrs. Barton's baby! 1 never knew you
to take such tender interest in a brat
before. She seems to have no friends
here. She stays up in herroom most of
the time, think.''
Naturally, as she is here alone with
her little brother, nurse and baby"
s.Ah, yes, the baby! By the way, Pve
never heard it cry, have you? Model
infant? / wish you Joy, John! Good!
There's the dinner bell. l hope it
won't wake Mrs. Barton's baby"
Miss Fannie Bennett sauntered down
the broad piazza just as Mr.. Seymour
lighted his after dinner cigarette.
ANY objections to my talking to you
while you smoke?" seating herself be-
side him. '.What have you been doing
with yourself all day? We've all been
down on the beach. Mr.. Stowe, Jen and
]. You SHOULD have gone with us. We
had an awful jolly time. Oh! say, you
know the pretty widow who sits oppo-
site you at the table? She came in to
see cousin Nell while we were away.
Didn't she look perfectly lovely Mt din
ner? Well, Nell says she had on an old
black skirt with slit clear down one
breadth this morning, and an old white
sack, and her hair was all rumplcd, and
stood in the door rubbing her eyes with
both hands. She said the cham ber'naia
told her that Nell was sicl-, 50 she
thought she'd make her n Little cali,
and she supposed, Of course, The room
would be dark, so she didn't wait to
dress. She'd been asleep all the morn
ing, because there didn't seem To be
anything else to do here: and she
hated the North; and she'd brought her
coiored servant with her, for she
wouldn't have = white one near her.
NclI says she never neafu woman rat
tie on so in her life. I'm going to get
acquainted with her just TO hear her
talk
A fearful talkeri s.Mamma's darling
babyi" seemed to say a tender voice.
What woman ever praised another?
"How homely woman hates her
pretty rivaln' mused John Seymour.
Miss Benefits eyes are dull and gray,
Mrs. Barton's bright and blue, SO the
former thinks the latter such n fearful
talI,er, untidy and Il bore. Oh, these
women! Oh, these womenE
Whit a little ball of something white
flew past and darted down the steps,
the pretty widow closely following and
screaming, ..Trixie! TriXie!' at the top
of her voice.
John Seymour dropped his fresh Ha-
vana in the grass and started in pur-
suit.
..Allow me, madam" as he reached
her side, '.to catch your dog for YOU"
But catching nimble Trixie was no
easy task. She took bee line for the
dark and deep blue ocean, Mr.. Sey-
mour close behind, the hot sun beating
down upon his hatless head. But final