Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1884-12-20

I
Ransom; this child viii sleep in the
dark, as nature intended"
Il hope he'll give me that same privi-
| lege," said Mr.. Ransom in a sleepy voice.
In a few days Mrs. Ransom was as
heartily sick of her new experiment as
she had been of her old ones, but at that
juncture Mr.. Ransom asserted some of
the hrmness that crisis always brought
out in his character. His wife had le-
gally adopted the baby without consult
ing him. Now he was determined that
she should continue her experiment,
and said so. She was not unkind in her
nature, and pride rather prompted her
to make this particular baby a coal Of
fire to her enemies. They should see
what her theory really was worth. But
she had dreadful misgivings. The boy
grew, ate and drank Xix other children,
was as bright as the fOndest parents
could wish, but he acted exactly like
other little rebels of that age; cried all
night and slept all day; wanted every
thing he saw, slapped his mother Ran
som, pinched his father Ransom, hOWled
and acted like sin generally. He was
exactly ike the little girl Of the nursery
s0ng:
When he was good, he was very, very good,
And when he was bad he was hOrrid.
BLOOD will tell" said Mrs. Ransom,
when driven to the verge of despair by
the pranks Of Ransom, Jr.
But she found much satisfaction in the
knowledge that she had reduced her
theories to scientific practice. She had
often declared-afterth the fashion Of moth
ers who bring up other peoples children
for them-that babies were stuffed to
death. So she had system of feeding
hers at stated intervals, and pointed
with pride to the fact that David, Jr.,
did not suffer with indigestion.
David. ST., heard and was silent, and
Mrs. Ransom, went on wondering what
became of the superhuous sugar, cream
and cookies that disappeared from the
pantry.
About this period the mendacity of
Mr.. Ransom was something fearful.
Whenever there was a crash of break
ing glass, he appeared, Offering puss as
the culprit. 1t seemed as if he had con-
spired with the cat to break every avail
able thing in the house.
Mrs. Ransom was a believer in phren-
OlOgy; she had heard that a certain well
known phrenOlogist was to be in their
neighbOrhOOd, and she took her adopted
sOn-nOw three years Old-tO have his
head examined.
The phrenOlogist was tall and cadaver-
Gus looking. He closed his eyes, smiled,
and felt of the boys head.
BeneYOlence-large self esteem--fuIl
-destructiveness"- smile faded.
cd e-s-t-r-u-c-t-i-v-e-n-e- s-s-Why, my
dear madam, the boy will destroy every
thing within reach! He is"
Hold on That's the wrong bump"
called out Father Ransom. HE got
that when he fell off the roof of the
Summer kitchen"
"Blood will tell" said Mrs. Ransom,
triumphantly, as she paid So for a chart
~ al
Mrs. Ransom had declared that it was
all nonsense for children to have Group,
WhOOping-cough and measles, and
brought the boy up on homeopathic
principles. All the same, he was dOsed
with herbs and jalap when she was out
Of sight, and skinned through somehow
on a mixture of pathies that would have
killed a less obstinate liver.
Meanwhile Mrs. RansOm's neighbOrs
had theories of their own about the
small boy. They declared he Was an IN
mitigated nuisance. AS he grew older a
species of tailless cats developed-or,
rather, undevelOped-in the neighbOr-
hood. When questioned one day by his
brevit parents, the small David respond
ed:
'I did it with my little hatchet"
''Blood will tell" said Pa Ransom,
sOlemnly.
His temper was coliclzy. AS he was
to be reared as a child of nature he was
not reprOVed, and the consequences were
alarming. When he sulked his mother
would excuse him on prenatal princi-
pies. His blood was mixed, so when he
sulked Mr.. Ransom would remark:
chats the Scotch in him."
When he kicked and scratched:
"He's got his Irish up now"
Other natiOnalities served their turn.
To the natural and inherent depravity
of early boyhOOd he added an unknown
quantity Of trained morality that was
hard to bear. One Of his mothers pet
doctrines was that he was TO be a child
of nature, and tell the plain unVarnished
truth. When he was five years old he
gave a practical example of his raising"
as his father called it. He was playing
some aesthetic play of his mothers devils
ing, and, in his progressive dress-a
sort Of nOndescrlpt garment, cross
between a pinafore and a blouse
looked like a little monkey, when a
neighbor called. Young Ransom eyed
her sharply as she patted him on his
curly head.
shay" he asked in a confidential
tone, where's your fur?"
Eur" echoed the surprised woman,
"why, what do you mean?"
why, mamma called you an Olu
cat, and old cats have fur, dOn'tsh
shey2"
At another time Mrs. Ransom had I'M
| expected company. In spite of her the
cries and vagaries she was an excellent
/ housekeeper, and on this occasion was
much mortified to be caught without
pies. What is home without pie? She
sent David, junior, of to the bakery with
an order for a half-dOzen pies, which
! were promptly delivered, warmed in the
| oven, frosted with sugar and intended
/ to serve as an innocent diversion IN
| place of the genuine homemade article.
! When all were seated at the table par
/ taking of the first course, the ideal child
/ l,arrav n n, a 1O11G " bisDar.