The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1888-02-18
THE PATIENT TRAVELLER.
He Couldn't Manage Baby, But Whipped
an Individual of His Own Size.

He Couldn't Manage Baby, But Whipped
an Individual of His Own Size.
Just this side of Bloomington baby
in the rear Of the car began to cry. He
was lusty-lunged little fellow, and
made more noise than half Il dozen
babies ought to have. The passengers
turned-a good many of them with no
very pleasant expressions on their faces
to investigate. They found man
best to quiet him. There was no woman
in sight That was what the tiny suf-
ferer wanted-a woman-his mother
to drive away all his little troubles and
soothe him into quiet slumber. The
man did all he could. He was large.
benevolent-looking man, with a sad,
melancholy expression and world of
tenderness in his eyes as he looked
down at the little bundle Of humanity
and rocked it to and fro. But the baby
refused to be comforted and screamed
the louder. So it went for dozen
miles. The other passengers were
growing impatient, and two or three of
them got up and went forward. There
was a touch of sympathy in some faces,
but more bore a scOwl. Neither seemed
to make any difference with the baby
he screamed louder, if any thing, as
the train sped on. The man who held
him was weary, but still he bent over
his little charge and sought in low
words-clumsy baby talk-to hush his
weeping. There was a man in the next
seat in front-a cold, hard-featurcd
man-who had been disturbed in read
ing book. Half a dozen times he
, turned and looked at the man working
with the baby. Each time he glanced
with q deeper scowl Still the other
strove to soothe the little one. "Thore,
there, don t 90 cry SO? Maybe 90 mama
-" He stopped.
'If you can't keep that bowling brat
of yours STILL" said the Manufactured
man as he turned in his seat, you d
better chuck it out the windOwr'
The man with the baby glanced up
surprised, panied. For the space of
half minute he looked tho other full
in the eye, and then he leaned forward
and with voice choking with emotion
said
/ This young one isn't mine! a dod-
gasted woman gave it to me to hold
/ while she made fool trip forward to
the baggage car to see if they'd got her
trunk, and guess she's never coming
back! But I'll be dashed if you can
run on mer' And he dumped the baby
down in one end OF the seat, and, with
an altogether different look in his eye,
/ jumped out in the aisle and got the
Manufactured man by the collar, and
jammed him down on the floor between
the seats, and got up on him with both
feet, and took hold of the hat-rack with
his hands, and raised himself up and
dropped back on the hard-featured
man till he had the features pretty well
softened up. And it appeared quite a,
if he would have been going up and
down like pile-driver yetif the woman
who owned the baby hadn't flounced
back into the car and rescued the in
FAINT and quoted him in about ten
seconds, and told him in a loud, clear
voice that she didn't know she'd left
her little, darling, pwecious baby boy
with great, big, ugly prize-fghter.
Then the benevolent man quit jumping
and went and sat down in another
seat with his face very red, while the
hard-featured party crawled up looking
as if he would have to carry his feat
ures in a sling for three weeks.-F. H.
Carruth, an Chicago Tribune.