Alpena weekly argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1871-1893, 1884-08-13
"The Baby Walks.n

| received n very important letter
this week. II contaiScd the announce
ment that 1.-The baby walks" II 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
have been looking every day for the
news for some time past. Our baby
has been n remarkable baby from the
very first, and q large number of his
immediate relatives have been waiting
with bated breath for the tdings that
his long journey had commenced. The
particulars of the suspicious event are
not TO hand, but / can see in my minds
eye 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 suppose
il they had been near enough to tele-
graph Office they would have sent me u
dispatch about the supreme event. AL
though the baby's fat legs are ridicu-
lousy sturdy, he has had all along u
great diilidence in trusting to them.
Now, last Sunday held and still main
tain that the baby took one distinct
step towards his devoted father.
The news was incredulously re-
ceived as being too good to be
true, and the whole family, from
his grandmother TO the kitchen girl,
collected around to see il he would
take another, but the little rascal
seemed to think il was the biggest kind
Of joke to bring his fathers reputa-
tion for vcracity into question by laugh
ing and holding on TO chair, but re-
fusing all the while TO move away from
IL. II was all in vain that held out
my hands and all the endearing induce
mcnts could 10 got him 10 take the
necessary steps 10 come 10 me. He
would keep one hand on the chair and
reach out with the other; but not until
he had clcnchcd his pudgy hand around
my finger would he let go the chair.
Once had cnticed him in this maurcr
TO quit the chair, and then suddenly
Withdrew my hands from his, leaving
him standing alone. lie lowered q
moment in wavering INDIGESTION and
then instead Of stepping forward SAT
cmphatically down and resumed his
favoritc STYLE of locomotion. He never
crept ~ an ordinary baby would have
done, but sort of hitched along HC
would sit down, 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 Will
his little dumplings of feet ahead ol
him like railway cowcatcher, ant
i'm this way he moved over tn,
floor in sitting posture ut Z
speed that was wonderful. Practic,
had made him SO perfect at this sort o
movement that he evidently came t,
look on walking as an ornamental sll
periluity. 1t was most comical to SCI
him forge ahead, as the boat-racer
call it, with both hands full hpldin,
them up from the floor and swayin,
forward without any help from them
He occasionally took to his feet, ant
with GREATNESS haste would work hi
way along the wall in II hand over han,
fashion until getting too clatcd ut his ncv
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
| ily baby's memory is Us short rs
baby, and the pcrils of .pcdeStrianisn
were braved again and again. Oftc,
the poor little fellow looked like u bat
tle-scarrcd veteran after his tumble>
but il is lucky thing that babies ar
exceedingly elastic, otherwise the pop
uiation of this country would not he q
great as il il now. Anyhow, anothe
competitor has entered into the grca
walking match; "Thc baby walks. "
L,tkc Sharp, IN Detroit Free Press.