The national leader., 1889-03-30
THE SECRET WAS OUT.
A fesmerized Baby.


they couldn't manage to make it sleep
even by dosing it with paregoric. Per-
klns at last got perfectly desperate.
He remembered reading somewhere an
account of the powers of mesmerzlng
persons, and 1T occurred to him that
| maybe he might mesmeilZe the baby
and keep it quiet at night in that ran
ner. He hadn't any great hopes OF sue
cess, but one night, when Mrs. Perkins
had gone down stairs to get some sugar
to put in the paregoric, Perkins rubbed
the child's eyebrows and made some
passes with his hands, and to his graft.
tication the baby suddenly went to
sleep.
When they awoke in the morning the
child was still slumbering, and Mrs.
| Perkins said she guessed it must have
gotten tooth through, which made 1t
feel SO much eas er. Perkins said lie
thought mayby it had.
After breakfast he went upstairs 10
see Of it was awake yet, but 1t wasn't:
and so, after giving 1t two or three
rough shakes without rOuSing it, he
went down to get his hat to go to the
office. Mrs. P:lkins called after him:
Don't slam the front door ami wake
the baby"
And then PERI ins did slam it fear
fully, and he Went away with G DOM in
/ his heart and horrible apprehension
that that baby would never wake up.
''What in the nation'u we do ii it
should stay asleep and live to he 80 or
90 years old and not get awake once!"
said Perkins to himself
! The thought was maddening. 1t
| haunted him for two or three hours,
and then he could stand it no longer.
He determined to go back to the house
to ascertain if the baby had come back
to consciousness. When he go1 there
Mrs. Perkins said:
''Isn't it queer how long the baby
stays asleep? He is not awake yet.
Nervous exhaustion, suppose, poor
little thing!"
Perkins felt awfull., and he went up
ana Jagged pin in tue baby's leg quiet
ly, so that his wife couldn't see him.
Still it lay there, fast asleep, and he
went back to his Office uncertain
whether to fly or to 60 home and con-
fess. In a couple of hours Mrs. Perkins
came down to see him. She was scaa!G
and breathless.
''Mr. Perkins, the baby is actually
asleep yet, and | can't rouse him! I've
shaken HIM, and called to him, and
done everything, and he don't stir.
| What can be the matter with him?
I'm afraid something awful has hap
pened to him!''
''Maybe he's sleeping up lot ahead,
so as to stay awake at night some
more" said Perkins, with d feeble
smile at his attempt at joking.
''Mr. Perkins, you ought 10 be ash
amed OF yourself to trihe with such %
matter. believe the poor child's GO
ing to die, and | want you to go straight
| for the DOCTOR"
Perkins put on his hat and started,
and in half an hour he reached the house
in company with DR.. Gllls. The de-
tor examined the child carefully and
said that it was very queer case, but
that in his opinion it must be under the
inhue ,ce OF opium.
Did you give it any while I WAS
asleep last night, Mr.. Perkins?" aSkel
Mrs p, susplciously aud tearfully.
NO. | didn't" replied Perkins.
lit Is extraordinary, said DR., ellis.
81 think | will go and call in DR..
BIZ Wn and consult with him about it,"
Then Mrs. Perkins began to sob, and
Perkins felt that he WAS almost a mur-
derer. He followed the doctor down
stairs, and when they reached the Lall
he said:
Doctor, if | tell you something, you
won't give me away on it?'
No"
well, doctor, [ mesnerzed that
baby.''
You did!' exclaimed the doctor IN
asto1ishment. "Well, why don't you
rouse it up again?H
~ don't know how; that's the mis-
chief OF it. Can't you find me pro-
fessional mesmeriZer to come and do
it?"
THE only one 1 know" said DR..
GillS, cant be got in less than four
days.
''By that time" shrieGed Perkins,
''the baby'll be dead and Mrs. Per-
kins'll be insane! What are we going
to do?'
Let's hunt up DR.. Brown; maybe
| he knows"
So hey started after Brown, and in
little While they revealed the secret
AID took him IN to see the baby. Dr.
Brown slapped its hands together and
rubbed its forehead, and all OF a sudden
the baby sat up and began to cry.
"W hat do you think was the matter
with him, doctor?" asked Mrs. Perkins,
Joyfully.
why, your husband says he mes
meriZed the child" said the doctor,
thonghtlessly letting the secret drop.
Then Mrs. Perkins looked at Perkins
as if she wanted to assasslnate him, bat
she merely calculated:
"Monsterl' and flew from the ROOM
She refused to speak to Perkins for a
week, and he has remarked to me:
| ''If the baby wants to holler now,
| I'm going to let him holler if he hollers
| fha tim of his head nf -