The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1881-05-19
THB BORROWED BABY.
Detroit Free Press


PLEASE, mann, I've come to borrow the
baby?p
The speaker was rosy-cheeked girl
who lived with the family across the way
1t was regular nuisance, this lending the
baby all the time. She did not seem to
belong to US, at all, any more. I suppose
we were all little Jealous, because she
really did love these new people so much,
and they took so much pains with her,
teaching her little cunning ways and pref
~ sayings; and must say they were most
judiciOus, meyer giving her sweet things to
make her sick, Or letting her take cold.
So, for the hundredth time, I rolled little
Dudu up and kissing her good bye, sent
her off to act her part as a borrowed baby.
When John came home to dinner and
found the baby gone again he was just as
angry as he could be.
why can't they get baby of their
own, and not always be borrowing ours, 3"
the asylum and take their pick of babies .
But not like ours, John, said quickly
well, no, of course not; but don't pro
pose to have strangers going halves with
our baby. Besides [ won't have them
teaching that child any more nonsense OF
the religious sort, and they may as well
know it; when they bring her back this
time you may as well settle it up once for
ALL"
I forgot to say that John and 1 were
both free thinkers and did not go to church
or subscribe to any of the religious beliefs
to which we had been educated. We had
both graduated in a brilliant intellectual
school, utterly devoid of the foolish super
stitiOns of any religious faith and we in
tended to bring up our child in the same
4
once occur to us that ours was the strength
of youth and presumption or that our
ignoronce could pull down in a day what
knowledge had been thousand years build
ing. We felt that we were sufficient to
ourselves, and our child.
The baby came home. She was nearly
three years old. but, after all, only baby,
and as l took her from the girl said:
1--WE won't be able to lend the baby any
more, Mary; her papa and | both think it
isn't good plan, and we cannot possibly
do without her; the house is too lonely.
Tell your mistress so with my compli-
ments,"
I'm sorry, ma'am," said the girl, ''be-
cause we all loves little Dudu so much, and
she's real sweet. She can sing Jesus
Loves me- all through, and not miss a
word"
Superstition I exclaimed angrily,
"tell your mistress for me that l do not
wish my child to learn those senseless
hymns. do not believe in them, nor do
l intend that she shall"
Not believe Them gasped the girl.
"Why' you amt heather be your"
| dismissed her curly, and when John
came home told him of the message
had sent.
THAT is right, little womanl I guess
we know enough to take care of this little
blossom, hey wee Willie Winkie don't
WEI"
Somehow just then an old forgotten
text flashed into my mind. MY grace ia
sufficient for thee" and it ran up and
down the garnet of my thought all the
evening" When / put Dudu to bed ]
noticed that her hand were hot and hel
eyes seemed heavy. There were lots OF
diphtheria in the place, but she had not
been exposed to it in any possible manner
our neighbors who borrowed the baby be
ing as afraid of it as we were, for that was
why no baby was in their home,
Oh, that dreadful time. l cannot recall
it now-the days-hardly more than a day
of anguish, that awful suffering and the
end, the parched lips and the fever bright
eyes-the awful realism of death, and not
hope, one word of comfort only the cruel
dreary, unlighted grave that yawned fol
our darling!
Just at the last there was a moments
peace. It was not on US that her last 10 Ok
fell. We turned to see who or what she
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 a glad look of rec
ignition wan face, and we all heard the
last words as they fell in awful distinctness
from the baby lips: 'Desus loves me, dis
/ know"
Yes they sung it at her funeral, for we
buried her with no heather rites, and some
good man prefaced few consoling words
with the text, MY grace is sufficient for
thee but oh! the tender melody of the
child voices that sang her above:
Jesus loves me, this know,
For the Bible tells me so;
Little ones to Him belong,
We are weak but He is strong
And when it was all over, and only the
memory remained of so much beauty and
sweetness. and our hearts were going back
to the dust of ashes of unbelief, our good
neighgbor came like an evangelist, and Civ
ing US of h9r own brave Christian strength,
gained at the foot of the cross, said wisely
''Be content; God has only borrowed the
babyp'