The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1883-11-08
"The Baby Walks"

] received very important letter
this week. 1t contained the announces
ment that "The baby walks" 1t is
with no desire to pun that / say that
this is great step forward for the baby.
Of course this event has not been en-
tirely unexpected in our family. L
have been looking every day for the
news for some time past. Our baby,
has been remarkable baby from the
very first, and large number of his
immediate relatives have been waiting
with bated breath for the tidings that
his long journey had commenced. The
particulars of the auspicious event are
not to hand, but can see in my minds
eve Just how the wonderful occurrence
took place. The baby Is out in the
country staying with his ''sisters and his
cousins and his aunts'' and 1 suppose
if they had been near enough to tele-
graph Office they would have sent me a
dispatch about the supreme event. AZ
though the baby's fat legs are ridicu-
lously sturdy, he has had all along a
great .diffidence in trusting to them.
Now, last Sunday 1 held and still main
tain that the baby took one distinct
step towards his devoted father.
The news was incredulously re-
ceiyed as being too good to be
true, and the whole family, from
his grandmother to the kitchen girl,
collected around to see if he would
take another, but the little rascal
| seemed to think it was the biggest kind
of joke to bring his fathers reputa-
tion for veracity into question by laugh
| ing and holding on to a chair, but re-
fusing all tho while to move away from
| it. It was all in vain that 1 held out
my hands and all the endearing induce
ments could to get him to take the
necessary steps to come to me. He
would keep one hand on the chair and
he had clenched his pudgy hand around
| my finger would he let go the chair.
| Once had onticed him in this manre
to quit the chair, and then suddenly
Withdrew my hands from his, leaving
him standing alone. He lowered q
moment in wavering indecision and
then instead of stepping forward sat
emphaticaliy down and resumed his
favorite style of locomotion. He never
crept as an ordinary baby would have
done, but sort of hitched along. He
would sit ilown, and, putting a hand
now one side of him and again on the
other, his fat little body swaying this
way and that would hitch along with
his little dumplings of feet ahead Of
him like a railway cowcatcher, and
in this way he moved over the
floor in sitting posture at &
speed that was wonderful. Practice
had made him so perfect at this sort O.
movement that he evidently came tt
look on walking as an ornamental su
perfiuity. 1t was most comical to SET
him forge ahead, as the boat-racers
call it, with both hands full, holding
them up from the floor and swayins
forward without any help from them
He occasionally took to his feet, anC
with breathless haste would work hi
way along the wall in hand over hant
fashion until getting too elated at hisnev
excitement would upset and roll help
lessly over on the carpet. These acci
dents shook his confidence for the tim
being in the stability of things, but hap
lily a baby's memory is as short as
baby, and the perils of pedestrianisn
were braved again and again. Oftel
the poor little fellow looked like bat
ue-scarred veteran after his tumbles
but it is a lucky thing that babies ar
exceedingly elastic, otherwise the pop
ulation of this country would not be a
great as it is now. Anyhow, anothe
competitor has entered into the grea
walking match: ''The baby walks. -
Luke Sharp, in Detroit Free Press.