Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1881-11-03


| that my eloquence was not making the
impression I expected.
ssMiss Bryce he began, eagerly,
the moment I stopped, II wanted to
ask you something. Do you think I
It's girl"
looked at him in considerable as
constituent. ell don't know exactly
have you got one?'
+" found one last night as came
| lice station now. The mother was in q
| fit in the street, and she died this morn
ing"
"Don't they know where she lived ?
| Has she no friends?'' I asked, dubi-
ously.
"No; I went round tonight. Lon
don's large place, and they can't find
anything about her." he returned; ''and
the baby win be sent to the work-house,
unless take it,
Babies need great deal of atten-
tion," I sagely observed. "Do you
really want it?"
There was q minutes silence before
he answered.
"Miss Bryce" he said, II am good
way past forty now, and since was six
teen I have never had anything to care
for or to belong to me. I'm poor and
plain, but this little creature would not
know that, and 1 would be better for
her than the work-house.''
"What does your housekeeper think
about it?''
"I haven't said anything to her yet !;
she's old, you know beside, babies sleep
nearly all day. he explained, with an
air of calm confidence, "and I am al
ways back by six; don't you think it's
possible? thought you would under
stand.''
I thought of the little mans forty
lonely years-Will and had each other
and turned to him suddenly. "Mr.
Jay, you helped us last night, and if you
take it III help you all I can with it. I
don't know anything about babies, but
it can't be very hard to find OUT
'sThank you,'' he said, gratefully.
eff you would look at it sometimes in
the day, or tell me what to do, I'm not
at all afraid of the nights.''
there was another low knock at the door,
and Mr.. Jay came in with big bundle
in his arms. There was not shade of
duA1cLy Ills 1dCc dS Hc pIOuOly
opened the rough shawl to show us his
new possession.
"There! isn't she q bonnie little
creature?" he demanded.
"Indeed she is assented Will, warm
ly, stretching up from his sofa to look at
the tiny face and placid blue eyes nest
ling among the gray folds on his arm.
It lacked no welcome from any one of
us that night. We solemnly debated
over the merits of various feeding bot
ties and vague fragments of half-forgot-
ten nursery lore for an hour; and when
Mr.. Jay gathered up his little wait and
left US, it seemed almost impossible that
only two days before we had been per-
feet strangers.
Before week was over, Mr.. jays
baby was an institution; but ali! the
anxious hours before we got into that
baby's ways-it had to come to that, for
it utterly declined to fall in with ours.
We read aloud elaborate theories from
ponderous tones on the propriety of
regular hours and firm training, but one
pitiful baby-cry scattered them all to
the four winds; and ah! the humiliating
blunders made in trying to fashion the
little garments and make it look like
other peoples babies. Hitherto, I had
ranked as moderately intelligent and
accomplished person, but those melan-
choly failures brought me down from
that pedestal forever.
Through the day the basket that did
duty for a cradle generally occupied one
corner of our tiny sitting-room, but
punctually at twenty past six, Mr.. Jay
appeared and took his treasure home
we did not hear much of the after pro-
ceedings from him-he was not COM
municative person; but through the
thin partition wall we often listened to
his hurried, quarterback walk for hours
together, trying to still its crying. Mr..
jays hair was rougher now, and his
general appearance lost much of the
neatness that had originally distin-
guished him; but there was lightness
in his step as he went down the street
every morning that there had not been
heretofore, and look of quiet content
was gradually dawning upon his insig-
nificant face that completely transfig-
ured it at times.
He had mentioned his new RESPONSE
bility at Grimsby's, and made inquiries
in every likely direction, but the little
waif seemed as completely unknown as
CnOugn IL naO COme-aS we sometimes
fancied Mr.. Jay verify believed-straight
from Heaven.
She grew very quickly into part of
his life. asked him merrily one night
what he would do with her if he CHANGED
to fall in love, and his lady-love objected
to this claimant.
He looked at his reflection in the
chimney glass full minute before he
spoke. ''Do you think look like man
for any woman to fall in love WITH" he
asked.
I could not conscientiously say that he
did. "But if you" I began, hesitat-
ingly. 1 had read or heard it some
where that any man not absolutely de-
formed might win q woman If he
wished. and wanted to put it as politely
as possible.
ssThat sbut' was over long ago for
me" he interrupted. ''That is why I !
wanted the baby"
And that was all we have ever learned,
then or later, of his past.