The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1881-06-01
Our Baby Again.
TBy Jimmy BroWn.l

lBy Jimmy Brown.l
After this, don't say anything more to
me about babies. There's nothing more
spiteful and malicious than a baby. Our
baby got me into AN awful scrape once-the
time / blacked it. But / didn't blame it so
much that time, because. after all, it was
partly my fault; but now it has gone and
done one of the meanest things a baby ever
did, and came very near running me.
Ii has been q long time since mother and
Sue said they would never trust me to take
care of the baby again, but the other day
they wanted swfully to go to a funeral. 1t
was q funeral of one of their best friends,
and there was to be lots of flowers, and they
expected to see lots of people, and they said
they would try me once more. They were
going to be gone about two hours, and | was
to take care of the baby till they came home
again. Of course L said / would do my
best, and so l did only when a boy tries to
do his best, he is sure to get himself into
trouble. How many a time and oft have l
found this to be truel Ali this is indeed a
hard and hollow world. The last thing
Sue said when she went out the door was,
"Now be q good boy; if you play any of
your tricks III let you know" 1 wish Mr..
Traverse would marry her, and take her to
China. Idon't believe in sisters nyway
They hadn't been gone ten minutes when
the baby woke up and cried, and l knew it
did it on purpose. Now 1 had once read in
an old magazine that if you put molasses on
abahy's fingers, and give it a feather to
iay with, it will try to pick that feather of,
Ie nd amuse itself, and keep quiet for ever so
long. l resolved to try it.; so | went
straight down stairs and brought up the
big mOlasses jug out of the cellar. Then l
- hi -, - "a pootharto ni1laurc and
pulled out a good handful of feathers. The
baby stopped crying as soon as it saw what
l was at, and so led me on, Just on purpose
to get me into trouble.
Well, | put a little molasses on the baby's
hands, and put the feathers in its lap, and
told it to be good and play real pretty. The
baby began to play with the feathers, Just
as the magazine said it would, so l thought
L would let it enjoy itself while L went up
to my room to read a little while.
That baby never made a sound for ever
so long, and L was thinking how pleased
mother and Sue would be to find out u new
plan for keeping it quiet. / just let it enjoy
Itself till about ten minutes before the time
when they were to get back from the fu-
neral, and then L went down to mothers
room to look after the ''little innocent, J" as
Sue calls it. Much innocence there is about
that baby.
1 never saw such an awful spectacle.
That baby had got hold of the molssses jug,
which held more'n II gallon, and had upset
it and rolled all over in it. The feathers
had stuck to il SO close that you couldn't
hardly see its face, and its head looked just
like a chickens head. You wouldn't believe
how that molssses had spread over the car
pet. 1t seemed as if about half the room
was covered with it. And there sat that
wretched ''little Innocent laughing to think
how I'd catch it when the folks came home.
Now wasn't it my duty to wash that
baby, and get the feathers and molasses of
it? Any sensible persen would say that it
was. l tried to wash it in the wash basin,
but the feathers kept sticking on again as
fast as l got them of. So l took il to the
y bath tub and turned the water on, and held
the baby right under the stream. The
feathers were gradually getting rinsed away,
and the molasses was coming off beautifully,
when something happened.
The water made a good deal of noise, and
1 was standing with my back to the bath
room door, so that I did not hear anybody
come in. The first thing / knew Sue
snatched the baby away, and gave me such a
box over the ear. Then she screamed out,
MA! come hear, this wicked boy is drown
ing the baby. o you little wretch. won't
you catch it for this" Mother came run
ming up stairs, and they carried the baby
into mothers room to dry it.
You should have heard what they said
when Sue slipped and sat down in the mid
die of the molasses, and cried out that her
best dress was ruined, and mother saw what
astate the carpet was inl / wouldn't repeat
their language for worlds. 1t was personal.
that's what it was, and I've been told fifty
times never to make personal remarks.
should not have condescended to notice it il
mother hadn't begun to cry; and of course l
went and said l was awfully sorry, and that
/ meant it all for the best, and wouldn't have
hurt the baby for anything, and begged her
to forgive me and not cry any more.
When father came home they told him all
about it. l knew very well they would, and
just lined myself with shingles so as to be
good and ready. But he only said, "My
son, 1 have decided to try milder measures
with you. i think you are punished enough
when you reflect that you have made your
, mother cry.'
That was all, and | tell you I'd rather a
hundred times lave had him say, "My son,
come up stairs with me-" And now if you
don't admit that nothing could be meaner
than the way that baby acted, / shall really
be surprised and shocked.
Something About Fans.
IHarper's Young Folks.l
Kan 81 was the first lady who carried a
fon Che 1fuaA - o-oo ruhsoh roof and