The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1886-11-10
COLORED ORPHANS.
WHERE THEYARE RAISED AND CARED
FOR AND TAUGHT.

Young Colored Ladies' and Gentlemen.
Methods Employed in Raising and
Training the Youngsters.
One day recently m Artist and reporter
were walking around together away up town.
They were looking for such things as people
arc interested in, the artist to make beauti-
full and poetical pictures of them, and the re-
porter to tell in plain and Lomely style what
the pictures were all about BY and by they
came in sight of big Luilding-a building
with grounds around it, and q building of
that peculiarly benevolent shape which says
to the beEoldcr rs plain as words, I'm
charity building; no Ole pays anything to
live in me-" A policeman, leaning his blue
back against n shady tree and blissfully
watching the cable cars whirr past, explained
that that was an asylum for young colored
gentlemen and ladies who had the hard luck
to be orphans, and that those were some OF
the young gentlemen having the pow-wow on
the porch.
A minute aftcrward the artist was pulling
the polished door bell of the institution with
10th hands. A gong sounded, and in a sec
ond hurricane started up somewhere, far or
in tho building, and caIno sweeping toward
the big door. 1t was pulled in, and the hurrl-
cane was found to consist of small colored
gentlemen, assisted by a smaller colorcd gen
teman, one about and tho other years old.
Both of these youngsters were plainly IN
state of high exultation, and reveling In I'M
wonted freedom. One cause of it became
plain when they announced that the superln-
tenient was not inland that they were at
tending to visitors.
BABIES WERE swAR1ING AROUND.
When the artist humbly asked permission
TO 60 out OH the porch, the youth who was
running things replied with some grandeur
that ho guessed so, but that there was no fun
there He carried the request to the wife OF
tho superintendent, and that lady was kind
enough to lead the way. 1t was big, wide
porch, carefully fenced in, and babies were
swarrning around there like flies IN q tally
pan.
And they we're none Of your every day
Youngsters With bald heads and light blue
eyes. They were solid young ONES: Babies
with thick heads Of woolly hair, with fat
arms and legs, with teeth that were stunning,
and complexions of wonderful variety, rang
inc from the color of nuch-watered tea to
that of well kept kitchen range. Each one
Of these youngsters had IN occupation diff
fcrcnt from that of bis fellows, and each had
spccial and most important interests to look
after. They all agreed, however, III having
the very biggest kind Of time that ever was
enjoycd by any porchful Of oolorcd babies
Tho boss of this little African colony was the
most motLerly of all colored women-a
woman more than old enough to be the grand
mother cf any baby there, n woman whose
every movement spoke Of countless babies
successfully stcercd through measles and
scarlet fever, and n woman with a smile to
keep babies warm and mako them feel that
life was worth living even on rainy days.
This was Mrs Jane Brown, the wise nurse
who has charge of NIL those little Africans,
and whose duty it is to see that the poor, thin
little young ones who often come to here care
grow and prosper in q way to make Jonah
and his gouTtls quite dizzy.
All babies, Hrs Brown says, are us delicate
as young turkeys, os every mother knows
But the negro babies are the most delicate
and difficult to bring up Of any. A colored
baby's legs would much rather ga crooked
than straight any day. A colorCd baby Is
not satisfied to have the measles and get
quietly through with them. 1t first gets the
measles, then picks up the mumps before the
measles arc over, and falls into tub of hot
water with measles and munps in full blast
Sometimes a white child will play near a
staircase without falling down. A colorcd
baby never.
A colorcd baby gets all the diseases he can,
and risks his life as often Us is at all conve-
nicnt, This is a trick which the colorcd baby
acquired in o,I slave times, when it didn't pay
him to grow up, anyhow, and he has never
gotten over it. For, of course, each colored
baby must learn for himself that slavery has
been wiped out.
SYSTEM OF RAISING THE YOUNGSTERS.
Hrs. Browns sy.tem of raising the rcfr'ac-
tory colorcd babies is very simple, and it is
also very successful. She does not let them
do ANYTHING that is bad for them, but lets
them do everything else. All of the young
oncs are very fond Of Mis-. Brown, and, never
having known their own mothers, live under
thu pleasant dclusion that they are all her
children, and all brothers and sisters This
promotes harmony among the young ones,
and causes them to receive the rare spanEiilSs
with as much submission as they do the muc b
more FREQUENT rewards.
Right near the nursery there Is a big room
which receives tho youngsters when the nurs
ery ceases to be sufficiently mature for them.
That is the kindergarten, and the talent OF the
artist, who is OH hand all this time, gives you
the first glimpse that was had of it. a bunch
of small colored boys were sitting around q
very low table absorbing wisdom through
eyes aAd ears md singing i'll chorus the I'M
portant facts that they had learned When
they said that they had ten fingers they held
up that number to prove it, and if any STU
dent as he sang "This is my thumb" had the
misfortune to point toward his ear, he was
scorncd by his fellows and censured by the
young lady who has charge of tho class
Besides the Kindergarten, where the chill
dren learn how to sing, there are six classes
which fill the children full of just as much
learning rs they can hold up to their 18th
year, when they leave tho institution and
start out i'll the world to earn living. There
was q hcad and a tail to every class, and the
tail as O rulo seemed to be having most fun.
There were success and triumph embodied i'll
the Young woman who wore medal, and tho
real troubles of life had begun with the very
young women, who might be seen here and
there doing penancc, with their faces to the
wall, carefully covering their heads with their
aprons to shut out tho sigh. Of mocking
youth. New York Sun.
Nemesis Overtakes Magnetic Healer"
A doctor at Portland, Ore, took too much
electricity while practicing what lie called
magnetic healing, and now he is suffering
from PARALYSIS of the lower eXtrcmiLics He
usci to Wear shoes with plates i'll the soles
OF them and stand on metallic plates,
which there was ali electric battery, and as
tho current passed through him he trans
mittcd it his patients by the laying on of