Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1888-06-24
STOLEN FRUIT.

ing town not far from the Garden City,
there were assembled several women. There
would be nothing strange in this. for wo-
men are gregarious; of the free nature Of
birds, they flock together, and fill the vici-
mage with their chatter and their chirpings.
In this Instance, the asser1blage possessed
some unusual qualities not characteristic Of
the average conclaves Of the fair sex There
were five of them, and each of them save one
handled an infant on her knee, and, in fact,
one of the ladies had two of these appurte-
nances on her lap 1t was not convention
of nurses, nor of servant girls out for an air
ing with their charges, but meeting of gem
uine, really and truly mothers
None of the mothers present had passed
beyond 20 years Of age. One Of them, a
chubby girl, herself with baby mouth and
;he wonder lighted eye of young girlhood,
held in her arms a rampant infant which
any stranger would have sworn to be her
little brother In the arms of one Of the
quintet, girl yet in her teens, and clad in
deepest black, was pair of twins exqris-
itely dressed, and which clawed each other
with the ferocity Of a couple Of young tiger
puppies
There was one OF the Eve 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 Of
complexion, the clear beauty of her teeth, in
her abundant raven hair, in her dark, sensi-
tive eyes, and in her modest, winning de-
meanor. Sic was the only unmarried
woman present
This fact could easily have been detected
by an experienced observer. On the surface
there was nothing to indicate that she was
different from her visitors. Her face shoue
with happiness and her eyes flashed with sat
isfaction. She was, like the others, chatty,
vivacious. bubbllng 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 q virginia. shyness, and in her
postures and her willowy movements pal
pa5le 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 unccr-
tainty lowering about Them their charming
frankpess 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
enancipated from the chrysalis OF timid,
wondering maidenhood.
II.
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-
tons Of the chords of the nature of the new
mother Her babe is the rich fruition of her
maternal blossoms, the realization and per-
lection of long entertained hopes Every
touch of is soft hands is caress: every tone,
whether of pain or pleasure, affords her su-
preme joy in that it is an appeal of the help
less to the innurnerable resources Of her ma
ternity.
To the average observer the FIVE babies
would have appea-ed,to be in no respect I'M
Ike 10000 other babies There ere cailoused
men and unfeeling women who could not
have picked out any one of these Growing
infants from the others after study Of
weeks. And yet, to the mothers, each one
of these nursiings was as distinct from the
others as "a violet in bouquet of rosebuds.
While the friendly mothers generally ex-
tended liberation TO the little ones of the
others, each of them in her innlost soul Won
dered what they found to admire apart from
her own darling. Even if her infant had a
perceptible squint in his little eyes, and down
as red as a carrot, and a squawk as dissonant
as that of a guinea hen, still it did not inn
pair his superiority; he had 10000 little
sweetnesscs, and cunning ways, and endear-
ments which nobody but herself could COM
prehend.
The mothers gossiped, laughed, exchanged
experiences on infant collie and teething, dis
cusSed their husbands and inquired concern
ing mutual friends; the babies cooed, laughed,
cried, squalled and displayed on their faces at
the same instant tears and smiles, sunshine
and rain. They muncaed bits Of cake,
stranglsd over rubber tubes, tu,rbled over on
their little noses, and were shaken up, cod
died, scotded and caressed, as the situation
demanded
The young woman with the shy eyes was
the hostess Tho tnatrons assembled with
their babies were her old towIlswomen, with
whom She had played as girls, studied as
classmates and associated In social life They
had married. some OF them still lived in the
place. many had moved to other points Just
BOW some Of the absent ones had come home
on a visit, and their old playmate had in
v1ted them to have a reunion, aud spend
with her the afternoon The young hostess
was the daughter of wealthy parents. was
highly educated, accomplished in music, was
gifted With lmitlesS attractions and yet was
fast verging toward the fatal IS years which
would leave girihcod behind her
She was amia5le, Of q splendid family, Ell
gaging, handsome, and yet unmarried Nor
were there any indications o. a change In
this singular-for beautiful girl-condition.
Gossip connected her name with no sutton
nor prophesied husband in the near future
In fact, her friends. long vonted to her free
dom from the attention Of eligible men, had
learned TO consider her as doomed by fats to
everlasting spinsterhood
II is true that there had once prevailed
report that young and promising law stu
dent named Hoicorab had been enarnored Of
her years before, bat as nothing came OF it,
and the two were never seen together, the
report had died Of inanition, and the girl
had thencetorth moved, as was supposed, in
maiden meditation. fancy frean
The law student whose name had been
connected with hers married another lady in
the neighborhood, and had rapidly risen TO
the possession Of wealth and distinction in
his profession His wife died two years after
their marriage, laaving him little girl
Since the period OF her death. be had retired
entirely from society, and seemed to devote
his thoughts 20 the memory OF his wife and
the cars OF his rnotherless girl Re was
grave man, with a sad expression IN his IN
teIligene eyes. and, although not popular.
was highly respected IN the community Fer
9 time after the loss Of h.s wife society had
arranged several matches for him, but his
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