Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1881-03-03
The Borrowed Baby.

The speaker was a sosy-cheeked girl
who lived with the family across the
way. lt was a regular nuisance. this
lending the baby all the time She did
not seem to belong to us at all any
more, | suppose we were all a little
jealous, because she really did love
these new people so much, and they
took so much pains with her, teaching
her cunning little ways and pretty saw
ings; and ! must say they were most
judicious, never giving her sweet
things to make her sick, or letting her
take cold. So, for the hundredth time,
! rolled little Dudu up, and, kissing
her goodbye, sent her off to act her
part of borrowed baby.
When John came home to dinner
and found the baby gone again, he
was just as angry as could be.
why can't they get baby of their
own, and not always be borrowing
ours. he said Grossly. They could go
over to the asylum and take their pick
of babies
But not like ours, John, | said
quickly.
We'll, no, OF course not; but | don't
propose to have strangers going halves
with our baby. Besides, | wont have
them teaching that child any more non
sense of the religious sort and they
may as well know it; when they bring
her back this time you may as we'll
settle it up once for all
forgot to say thai John and were
both free thinkers and did not 60 to
church or subscribe to any of the relig-
ious belief to which we had been edu.
Gated. We had both graduated in a
brilliant intellectual school, utterly de-
void of the foolish superstitions of any
religious faith, and we intend to bring
up our child in the same severely
moral atmosphere. 1t did not occur
once to US that ours was the strength of
youth and presumption, or that our
ignorance could pull down IN day
what knowledge had been a thousand
years building. 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 | took her from
the girl | said:
We wont be able to lend the baby
any more, Mary; her papa and l both
think it isn't a good plan, and we can
not possibly do without her; the house
is too lonely. Tell your mistress so
with my compliments
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 word
'Superstitionr | exclaimed angrily.
Tell your mistress for me that [ do
not wish my child to learn those sense
less hymns. | do not believe in them,
nor do | intend that she shall.
'N-o-t-b-e-l-i-e,y-e them, gasped the
girl why, you amt heathen, be
you?
| dismissed her curtly, and when
John came home told HIM of the
message I had sent.
THAT is right, little woman! l
guess. we know enough to take care Of
this little blossom. Hey. wee Willie
Winkie, don't we?' ..,..
Somehow just then an old forgotten
text flashed into my mind, MY grace
is sufficient for thee, and it ran up and
down the earret of my thought all the
evening. When | put Dudu to bed |
noticed that her hands we're hot and
her eyes seemed heavy. There was
lots of diphtheria in the place but she
had not been exposed to it in any
possible manner, ouc neighbors who
borrowed the 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 it now-the days--hardly more
than day-of anguish; the awful suf.
fering and the end, the parched lips
and the fever-bright eyes-the awful
realism of death. and not one hope,
one word of comfort, only the cruel,
dreary, unlighted grave that yawned
for our darllngl
Just at the last there was moment 8
peace. 1t was.not on us that her last
look fell. We turned to see who or
what she saw, aud there stood our
neighbor over the way, whom she, at
least, sweet darling, had loved as her
self, and then she lifted the weary lit
tie hands, and glad look Of recognl-
ton was in the wan face, and we all
heard the last broken words as they
fell in awful distinctness from the
baby's lips, 'Desus loves me, dis l
know
Yes, they sung it at her funeral, for
we buried her with no heather rites,
and some good man prefaced a few
consoling words with the text, MY
grace is sufficient for thee. But OH!
the tender melody of the child voices
that sung above her:
"Jesus loves me, this know,
Forthe Bible tells me so
Little ones to lin belong,
We are weak, but he is strong"
And when it was all over. and only