Idaho semi-weekly world. [volume] (Idaho City, Idaho Territory) 1875-1908, 1891-06-12
BABYH00D'S PILLOW.
A REVERle THAT TAKES A MAN
BACK TO HIS INFANCY.

=
Happy Hours-Papa Gives Him Candy
for Being Good The Mother Whose Kiss
Finds Her Little One In the Dark.
Eleven O'Clock strikes. Immediately
make ready to set my papers in order
on my desk and turn out my lamp, when
all at once my bed, on which | have
somehow turned a more contemplative
look than usual, begins to wear a strange
mysterious air, meditative and thought
ful, with its coverlet turned down, its
sheets open and its pillow ready for my
head. Why do | sit down again and
think an hour? and still another hour?
My lamp goes out of its own accord, and
the night passes without needing me.
IN THE LITTLE WHITE CRIB.
/ am years old again. | sleep in a
little white crib, larger than papa's
/ leather valise, smaller than mammals
piano: crib draped with fresh curtains
which close about me every evening and
are fastened with a silver pin ito make
me little room" When | raise nIs
mead see above me an ivory cross
swinging at the end of blue ribbon that
hangs from the cornice; on each side of
me Is long white silk net, SO that |
shall not fail out But | am always
kicking OF the covers and slipping
through it and they continually find me
with an arm or a leg caught and hang
/ ing in the meshes
/ My crib, which warm with my little
childish body, where | am given my
warm milk in the early morning, which
Is so comfortable when the doctor saws
am sick, stands at the foot of papas and
mammals big bed, SO that it gives me
| great confidence to be SO near them
they who are afraid of nothingl do
not know how it is, but | must be always
asleep when they come in to go to bed
| never see them. Their bedtime is later
] than mine, much later-perhaps even an
hour. As soon as Pie, my nurse, big
! girl, brusque and good hearted, who
teaches me how to say my prayers to the
Bon Dieu in German--as soon as she has
given me my dinner, quickl Lam popped
into little bed whose end my feet never
see When shall be as big as my night
| gowns? In spite of all my efforts | can
never catch up to them.
Then as soon as | am stretched out on
the mattress, and Pie has vigorously
tucked me in, | cry out with all my
might, lamentably, like little dog that
is being whipped; Mamma. Mammal
/ Some one comes. There is a noise of
| footsteps in the corridor. 1t is papa and
mamma. Papa says: "Will you stop
making such noise, you little rascal:
We can hear you all over the house!" He
turns to the nurse and frowns:
"Pie, he says, tell me the truth Has
this child been naughty"
"Nein, he has been very goot," says
the excellent Pie
"Then he shall have piece of candy"
says papa, satisfied at once.
Mint papa, mint" l cry out.
Eyes, mint" and papa himself drops
into my little moist, open mouth the big.
white crumbling pennS which l love so,
and which begin to taste as soon as its
| penetrating odor reaches my nose. I'm
der my little teeth the mint drop disap-
pears like magic. Mamma whispers;
Eat it up, then, little goose" or, "He
] VIII break ms teeth 10 pieces,
MAMMA DOESN'T SAY a WORD.
Then she bends over me, and then !
whip out my two arms from the cover
let to clasp her around the neck.
/ know very well that it must tire her to be
weighted down so, but still | like to do it.
And then | love her sol She kisses me
twice, three times-then with her pretty
fingers she hurriedly traces the sign OF
the cross on my forehead before | came
there were two little brothers who both
went away to heaFen) and she tonderly
closes the curtains without ccasing to
look lovingly in at me through the open
ing which grows smaller-smaller.
At last the curtains are tight shut and
can see nothing more. But | can hear,
Papa has already gone away to his study,
where somehow know that he is going
to smoke a cigar Mamma, ah, but
mamma is still there. She is talking to
Pie in a low voice-she is talking of all
kinds of things and they are all about
me. Then the lamp goes on its nightly
journey. 1t travels about, it changes its
place; finally it is put on a certain corner
] Oh lIlG udIllclp lGCe, Always tLe sdHlt
corner where its dim light cannot reach
me- Then | hear the noise of the fender
"a chair put in its place-a carriage in
the street-then-
All at once am at last man, and am
wearing trousers like myiUncle Edward
But often | awake with start ano
then a great fear of the night and the
darkness seizes me; | stretch out my
arms and knock-toc, toc!--on the big
bed. The big bed will protect me. Toe
toci Toe. tool The knocking itselt
frightens me in the silence.
The big bed creaks confusedly. heai
papa, salf awake, telling me in queer
droll tone to be quiet. Ssh! We are al
asleep" he says; every body is asleep.
Mamma does not say a word. She rise,
she rises-and ah! even after forty
years my heart recollects the light fall OF
her dear soft feet on the carpet and the
sound of her low voice, invisible like
herself, murmuring close to my cheek
What is it, darlingG' while without
hesitation her kiss comes straight to me
in the night and unerringly finds me. .
Translated from the French for The Phil
adelphia Times.