Press and daily Dakotaian. (Yankton, Dakota Territory [S.D.]) 1880-1889, 1886-06-10

A yase-Alice'S one piece of royal Worces-
plates, a cut-glass tumbler, and
his W little chair, were broken before
Tuesday was well on its way, and we began
to believe that his mischief was over for
the day, and relaxed our vigilance.
But a moment after we heard a
heavy crash and the sudden sound
of breaking glass, and, pale with
terror, we looked up to find that the
urchia, strong as Hercules in his cradle,
had pulled Il small bookcase over upon
himself and was buried beneath the ruins.
/ uttered a Charlotte Cushman shrek,
and FASTENED to extricate his mangled
body from the wreck. Imaging my joy
and amazement at finding him unframed
amidst the debris, his big blue eyes fash
ing with delight at the success of his man
euyer. The floor was strewn with frag-
ments of broken glass and books of every
imaginable size and shape, and our one
Hibernian hand-maiden stood aghast in
the doorway when we called her in to re-
pair the ruin that our frolicsome guest
had wrought.
There was a tragic solemnity in Alice's
tone as she asked: GLOW now, Arabella?
Is this to go on2 Why, we shall ave
nothing left in the way of furniture II this
irrepressible child is allowed to AVE his
own way. Take him upstairs in your
room for u while, and see If you can not
amuse him with some harmless sport"
And she set to work with dust-pan and
brush to remove the evidence of L~orenzo's
latest adventure, while i, Selling that
youngster q little more forcibly than was
necessary, bore him off to the privacy of
my WI apartment.
1t was n very simple little room, hung
with dimity, and fitted with only such
furniture as necessity demanded, a bed, a
bureau, two or three chairs, a writing
desk, and an unsteady table upon which
were my fayorite books and a handful of
flowers in a Venetian glass. The sunlight
pouredtin through the south window and
falling in spots Of splendor On the floor
made such an attractive spectacle as !
paused on the threshold that the baby,
stretching out his hands with a crow of
delight, sprang directly out of my arms
and fell heavily to the ground. was mo-
tionless, speeches. with horror. Lorenzo
lay in q little heap on the floor, as silent
and as still asI, and my heart leaped up
into my throat with unspeakable dismay.
AT last found voice.
"Infanticideln / murmered hoarsely,
and then uttered q cry for help that
vi IN ALitN au ALI III ttlo SUdIIS
six at a time. Together we rushed to the
baby, convinced that he had ended his
earthly existence, and with tears standing
in II eyes, when Mary Ann breathed a
startled exclamation and held up a warn
ing finger. 4HHil you bark to thatf" said
she. aIt's the blessed darlin' passin' away,
an gurglin' as he goes"
There was indeed a faint sound issuing
from the round pink throat, and as / bent
over the heap of embroidery, saw the
little hand pressed closely down upon the
carpet over n of the spots of sunshine,
and heard q happy a~goo.goo-goo." "He
isn't deadl' I rejoiced, and catching him
in my arms looked into his placid eyes and
upon the rosy lips that drew themselves
together in a pout as he turned again 10
gaze upon the fascinating sunbeams.
Alice drew a long breath. "Who ever
saw or heard of such q child?" said she.
EITHER he is made of cast-iron or else
m~iraculously preserved, for the misfor-
tunes he has lived through in one short
morning are enough to haye crushed any
ordinary infant. How 1 wish we had never
undertaken himl Something dreadful is
sure to happen to him before this i'll
omened fortnight is over, and it's all your
fault. Borrow a baby, indeedl Why didn't
you borrow q whole orphan asylum" And
she cast upon me=a glance of bitterest re-
proach.
began to feel a little alarmed myself:
Lorenzo's conduct had not been such as to
bear out his mothers assertions as to his
angelic simplicity of demeanor, and he had
already wrought no small amount of havoc
in our quiet establishments.
ave are liz for it now I remarked. rue.
| fully,
what are you going to do with him.
thenP asked Alice, with a sarcastic smile,
and a cruel calmness in her tone. aFrom
this tim forth the responsibility is
yours. l wash my hands of the whole
matter
Out she went and shut the door.
GAliceie I cried, aAlicel"
No answer.
aAlicelp This time / fairly shrieked,
and, setting the baby down upon the floor,
rushed out in the hall, and hung over the
banisters in time to see my sisters skirts
whisk u of sight into the parlor below.
The baby had followed me, and before
could catch him he was rolling over and
over down the stairs, and landing at the
bottom set up his usual wall, which
brought Mary Ann to the rescue. His
head came smartly in contact with the
newelpost, and even vinegar and, brown
papercould not prevent the appearance of
a huge purple lump upon his angelic
brow. But he was himself again a mar.
;yelousiy short pace of time, and crowd
ing in Mary AIMS arms with a cheeriness
that caused the good-natured domestic to
beg that we would allow her to take him
down into the kitchen while she finished
up her ironing.
I resigned him to her charge with a
sigh of relief n strict injunctions to
keep him away from the stove and the
f%lat-irons, and sat down with Spencer
on Education for q few minutes, rest,
while Alice, taking no notice of me, sat at
the piano and sang Robert, tot que
Jaime in a voice which Brignoli had
once admired, but which was now sadly
cracked and shaky.
An our went by, Mary Ann had twice
| appeared at the door, once to tell me that
the baby had accidentally set down in a
kettle of lard, and the second time to an
nounce that he had pinched his precious
fingers in the crack of the door, and made
black and blue. i felt a reckless nonchal-
ance upon the subject, and begged her to
let me bear no more. AT last the clock
struck twelve. Alice still sung Justify,
and up the back stairs came a suggestive
odor, as of newly-fried doughnuts, that
pricked up my appetite. ! stole softly
down to see how Mary Ann was getting
OH In her preparations for luncheon, but
paused at b foot Of tho stairs in as.
constituent at the spectacle before me.
For Mary mn at the stove was standing
over her kettle of boiling fat and watching