The Monitor. [volume] (Woodstown, N.J.) 1884-1892, 1888-08-03

Inever could see the use Of babies. We
have one at clubhouse that belongs to moth
er and she thinks everything OF it. / can't
see anything wonderful about it. All
it can do is to cry. and pull hair and kick.
1t hasn't half the sense of my dog, and
can't even chase a cat. Mother and Sue
wouldn't have a dog in the house, but they
are always going or about the baby, and
saying:
isn't it perfectly sweet !"
The worst thing about a baby Is that
you're expected to take care of him, and
then You get scolded afterwards. Folks
say
"Here, Jimmy, just hold the baby a min
uts, that's a good boy" and then as soon
as you have got it, they say, 'Don't do
that Just look at him ! That boy will kill
the child! Hold it up straight, you good
for-nothing little wretch J"
It's pretty hard to do your best and then
be scolded for it, but that is the way boys
are treated. Perhaps when I'm big folks
will wish they had done differently. Last
Saturday mother and Sue went out to make
calls, and told me to stay at home and
take care of the baby. There was a foot
ball match on, but what did they care for
that? They didn't want to go to it, and so
it made no difference whether | went to it
or not.
They said they would be gone only a
little while, and if the baby walked up l
was to play with it and keep it from cry
ing, and "be sure and not let it swallow
any pins OF course | had to do it. The
baby was sound asleep when they went out,
so | left it just a few minutes while | went
to see if there was any cake in the pantry.
If | was a woman | wouldn't be so
dreadfully suspicious as to keep everything
locked up. When l got back upstairs
again the baby was awake, and was howl
ing as if he was full of pins. So I gave
him the first thing That came handy to
keep him quiet. 1t happened to be a bot
tie of polish, with a sponge ON the end of a
wire that Sue used TO black her boots, be-
cause girls are too lazy to use the regular
backing brush.
The baby stopped crying as soon as l
gave him the bottle, and | sat down to read
a paper. The next time | looked at him
he'd got out the sponge, and about half of
his face was jet black. This was a nice
fix, for knew nothing could get the black
off his face; and when mother came home
she would say the baby was spoiled and |
had done it.
Now think an all-black baby is ever so
much more stylish than an all-white baby,
and when | saw that the baby was partly
black | made up my mind that if blacked
1t all over it would be worth more than it
ever had been, and perhaps mother would
be ever s much pleased. So | hurried up
and gave it a good coat of black. You
should have seen how that baby shined |.
The polish dried as soon as it was put on,
and I had just time to get baby dressed
again when mother and she came in. I
wouldn't lower myself to repeat their un-
kind language.
When you've been called a numbering
little villain and an unnatural son it will
rankle in your heart for ages. After what
they said to me | didn't even seem to mind
about father, but wen up stairs with him
almost as if was going to church. or
something that didn't hurt much. The
baby is beautiful and shiny, though the
doctors say it will wear off in a few weeks.
Nobody shows any gratitude for all the
trouble | took, and | can tell you 1t isn't
easy to black a baby without getting it
into his eyes and hair. | sometimes think
it is hardly worth while to live in this cold
and unfeeling world.''-A Boy, in London
Tit Bits.
WOMEN As IOlTR y \