Waterbury evening Democrat., 1888-07-17
STOLEN FRUIT.

One afternoon, not long since, in the hand some par!0T of a fine residence in flourish ing town not far from the Garden City, therc were assembled several women There would bc nothing strange in this. for wo- men are gre<GlTiOUs. Of the free nature Of birds, tl.ey HOck together, and fill the vici- mage with their chatter and their cllirpings.
 In this instance. the assemblage possessed some unusual qualities noJ characteristic of the average ronrlaves, Of the fair sex. There were five of them, and each of them save one dandled an infant Cu her knee, and, in fact, one of the ladies had two of these appurte- na1ices on her Ian It was not a convention of nurses nor of servant girls out for an air ing with their charges, hut meeting of gen. uine, real!y and truly mothers
 None of the mothers present had passed beyond - years of age. One of them, chubby girl, herself with q baby mouth, and the wonder lighted eye of young girlhood, held ill her arms rampant infant which any stranger would have sworn to be her little brother In the arms ot one of the quintet, girl yet in her teens, and clad in deepest black, U,,ts q pair of twins, exquis- itely dressed, and which claWed each other with the ferocJy Of n couple of young tiger puppies.
 There was oHo of tic five women who was like and yet not like the others. She was, perhaps, older than her companions, al though she was yet young in freshness ot complexion, the clear beauty of her teeth, in her abundant raven hair, in her dark, scnSl- tive eyes, and ill her modest, winning de meanor Sho was the only unmarried woman present.
 This fact could easily have been detected I1-C clc Tn hn there was nothing to indicate that she was different from her visitors. Her face shone with happiness and her eyes flashed with sat- isfactiOn. She was, like the others, chatty vivacious, bubbhng over with riotouS joy, and thoroughly in rapport with the spirit of the occasion.
 And yet there was a marked distinction between her and her associates. which could easily be seen by an acute examiner. She had in her eyes virginal shyness, and in her pastures and her wilOwy movements q pal pablo sensitiveness that made her unlike her companions. The clear open eyed gaze Of the married women, their abandon, their re- pose as if there was no mysterious uncer- tainty lowering about them, their charming frankress as they barred their rose tipped breasts to suckle their babes, their freedom of laughter and conversation, their hilarious outbursts of fun, all announced them as emancipated from the chrysalis of timid, wondering maidenhood.
 IL
 It was a jolly party, both of babes and mothers The masculine soul, attuned to the coarse key notes of practical, every day experience, cannot appreciate the finer vibra- tions of the chords Of the nature of the new mother Her babe is tho rich fruition of her maternal blossoms, the realization and per | lection of long entertained hopes. Every 1 touch of it's soft hands is a CareSS; every tone | whether of pain or pleasure, affords her su preme joy in that it is all appeal of the help 1 less to the innumerable resources of her ma ternity.
 To the average observer the five babie: would have appeared to be ill no respect un | like 10000 other babies. There are callousec men and unfeeling women who could no 1 have picked out any one of these growing infants from the others after a study O. weeks. And yet, to the mothers, each on l of these nurslings was ns distinct from tn l others as a violet in bouquet of rosebuds While the friendly mothers generally ex | tended toleration to the little ones of tn others, each of them in her inmoSt soul won dered what they found to admire apart iron her own darling Even if her infant had | perceptible squint in his little eyes, and dow as red as carrot, and 0 squawk as disSonan as that of guinea hen, still it did not i'm pair his superiority; he had 10000 littl sweetnesses, and cunning ways, and endea1 ments which nobody but herself could con prehend.
 The mothers gossiped, laughed, exchange
 experiences on infant collie and teething, di:
 cussed their husbands, and inquired concerr
 ing mutual friends; the babies cooed, laughed
 cried, squalled and displayed on their faces a
 the same instant tears and smiles, sunshin
 and rain. They munched bits of cake
 strangled over rubber tubes, tumbled over o
 their little noses, and were shaken up, COG
 dled, scolded and caressed, as the situatio
 demanded.
 The young woman with the shy eyes WE
 the hostess The natrons assembled wit
 their babies were her old townswomen, wit
 whom she had played girls, studied [ classmates and associated in social life. The
 had married; some of them still lived in u a place, many had moved to otherpoints Ju
 now some of the absent ones had come hon
 on visit, and their old playmate had Ii
 vited them to have reunion, and spen t with her the afternoon. The young hoste I 1 was the dauphter of wealthy Darents w