The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1883-05-24
HOW THE BABY WAS NAMED.

Alice Fcthcrtngton Rollins, IN ST. Nicholas.
HOW THE BABY WAS NAMED.
1t was an odd name, and there were
four of them; Jonas Perriwinkle, his
wife Susanna, and their daughter, Polly
Perriwinkle, making three, and the
baby filling out the number.
Now the baby never had name
not what you would say was real true
name-until he was five years old; for
he was such a wee thing and was SO full
of motion that his father, Jonas, used
to call him Lively. And before he had
reached the season of drums and mud
pies-yes, even before he had arrived at
the dignity of short clothes-everybo
in the neighborhood called him Lively,
and so there really was no use for any
other name.
OF course all babies are wonderful,
and everybody own baby is more won
derful than any other baby ever was;
but this little Perriwinkle had an aston
ishing faculty of doing things. Even
when he was so small that he could not
do much, he would hold his chubby
hands up before his eyes, and as the
fingers opened and shut would wink at
them in the most surprising manner.
When he found out that he had feet
and toes-and he made this discovery
very sOon-he would make a hoop of
his small body; and it was not long be-
fore he managed, in one of these aero
batic endeavors, to roll out of the
cradle. Fortunately he had become so
entangled with the pillow that it rolled
out with him, and he was not hurt but
after that, his father, who had once
been a sailor, fitted the cradle with what
he called ''rolling tackle" That is, he
put up light boards on each side of it,
that were too high for Lively to roll
over
But this story is not to be record of
Lively Perriwinkle's babyhood, though
that was amusing enough. 1t is to tell
of an adventure that befell him when
he was five years old, and which was
the cause of his having the oldest
name in the family. Now Polly, his
sister, was one of those happy, sunny
little girls, whom all people love; and
the neighbors, when they had anything
in the plaything order that was very nice,
always brought it to Polly. She was so
kind that everything loved her; and so
she had chickens and dog, and birds
and rabbits, and a guinea pig, and
when she was at home they would all
follow her. Even the wild birds were
never afraid of her, and would come
and eat from the ground close at her
feet; and one day Bellerophon, Squire
Browns big mastiff, seeing some
rough-loOking men in the road when
Polly was coming from school, walked
home with her. All the tramps were
afraid of Bellerophon, and Polly was not
troubled by them.
Now, Polly's chief treasure came to
I. 4
this was a white kitten, a little fat,
fluffy thing that used to coil up in her
lap and look like ball of cotton.
When Polly was at school, the kitten
was left in charge of Lively, who, for
a small child was very careful of
animals, having. been taught by his
father, Jonas, that everything that has
life has feeling, and can be hurt.
Now, Lively had a great love for
Polly, who was a most careful and
tender companion; and so when she had
fixed the food for the chickens and dog
and rabbits, and birds and guinea pig
and kitten, which she did every morn
ing before going 20 school, putting
them in a little closet her father had
made for this purpose, she told Lively
just what to do, and when to give it.
And then when she was gone, Lively
would go to the closet at least four
times every hour to see that all was
right; and he would then tell each one,
the chickens, and dog, and rabbits, and
birds, and guinea pig, and kitten, just
how their dinner looked, and when they
were to have it.
Now the kitten, who was so white and
fluffy, had been named Sambo; though
why a white kitten should be called
Sambo, which is the name, generally,
of black man, no one but Polly could
tell. Now Sambo had great propensity
to go travelling, and he was also very
careless. There was not a path in the
garden before the house, nor one in the
orchard back of it, that Sambo had
not explored, and through which Lively
had not followed him. Sambo too,
was fond of chasing moths; and
the day when Lively found his name
for his father said il was Lively's own
scovery-Sambo saw moth go flying
past him. And when Lively turned
from feeding the chickens to look for
him, he saw his white tail go behind an
apple tree that stood near the further
side Of the orchard, and hastily doping
the dish and the chickens dinner started
in pursuit.
Next to the orchard was a wood; and
as Lively ran along the path he saw
Sambo scamper through the fence and
run on between the trees, and just ahead
of him, seeming like org Of those wee
fairies that used to play such funny
tricks with people in the good old times,
was a white moth. Lively scrambled
through the fence and ran on after
Sambo, but the moth was in for race,
and Sambo was determined to win it;
and they kept ahead Of Lively, whose
chubby legs did their best, however,
and were not far behind.
Now, in the wood there was a brook,
not very deep one in the summer, un-
less there had been a rain; and there
had been heavy rain, SO the brook
was fIlI, and went singing and bubbling
over the stones. In some places, the
banks of the brook were about two feet
high; and in others, they were low and
sweet with wild-fowers. 1t can not be
said of Sambo that he was one Of those
wise kittens who look before they
Leaps" for, in trying to catch the moth,
he ran on until he came to one Of the
steep places in the bank Of the brook,
which were here quite wide. The moth