The Dalles daily chronicle. [volume] (The Dalles, Or.) 1890-1948, 1891-03-31
THE NEW BABY.

IN my lap, and was tellin' her story
I had jest got to the thrilhn' part of it.
when the good little boy, who always
minded his ma, had a hull pail of red
apples gin to him. And Babe was "a
lookin' up into my face with her big
blue gray eyes a-shinin' and her golden
yellow hair a-fallin' back from her little
eager, happy, upturned face.
When all of a sudden the kitchen door
opened and Miss Pixley came in, and
before she had been there some time she
says to Babe. a-winkin' to me at the
same time:
"Your nose Is broke now, young LADY,
Babe put her little fingers up to her
nose and felt of it, and winked to Miss
Pixley to not say no more, for knew
what she meant; I knew she meant that
Thomas Jefferson's little new baby
would crowd Babe, our Tirzeh AIMS
little daughter, out of our hearts.
But Miss Pixley went right on. She is
an old maiden, and has had five disap-
pointments, and some say seven, and
they have embittered her. and says she
to Babe:
Little Snow, the new baby will take
your place now in Grandma's heart"
Babe looked troubled; on her smooth
little brow 1 could see fall the first faint
shadow of that great black shape that
we call jealousy. Her big, sweet eyes
looked as if they was cloudin' up nicely
for tears.
And wunk severer and more vigelent
winks than l had wunk before at Miss
Pixley to stopl II ever wink spoke
them did, to stop immegidlyI
But she kept right on. Poor creeter.
l spoze them disappointments was the
cause ont She KEEP right on, and ses
she:
You won't be grandma's baby any
more now; she has got somebody else to
love now
And then the cloud did break into
rainfall of tears. Babe jest bust out
a-cryin', and snuggled down into my
arms, and laid her wet cheeks on my
bosom through the force of old custom.
and, anon! chow much like older human
creeters accordin' to her size) she drew
her head away as if sayin':
81 can't lay my head there any more
II the love has gone out of the heart il:
won't rest me nor comfort me NO more
10 lay there
And pride woke up in her: she was too
proud to make fuss, or beg for love-
How much, how much like big childrenl
30 she sot up kinder straight in my lap,
with her pretty lips quiverin'. and the
tears a-runnin' down her cheeks.
And I riz right up with Babe in my
arms and went out of the room pretty
quick, but not vigelent.
Josiah was there. wouldn't misuse
Miss Pixley owin' to the six or seven
things mentioned by me prior and be-
lore this. But l felt that l must make it
right with Babe that very minute.
I knew how she felt-wounded love
and PRIDE and jealousy, ETC., ETC., ETC.
knew that a few syllables of about
the hardest lessons of life had come to
Babe, and must help her spell 'em:
must help her with her lesson.
So l took her right into the parior and
set down with her in the big chair, and
never said word for minute or two,
only held her clost to me and kissed
the shlnin' hair that lay up against my
cheek
She a-strugglin' at first; Jealousy and
pride a-naggin' her; and she at first a-not
bein' able to hear any voices, only jest
them of jealousy and pride-jest like
older children exactly.
But after awhile, held her so warm
and stiddy, with my cheek a-layin' or
the pretty head, the stiddy, firm clasp
and contact sort o. calmed her, and then,
anon, she drew one little arm up round
my neck, and anon the other one, and
looked down deep into her eyes, right
into the little true soul, and that little
true soul saw the truth in mine.
Words couldn't have convinced Babe
30 well as that look that she had learnt
to depend ON.
Love has a language that though
maybe it can't be exactly parsed and
analysed, yet it can be understood ex-
actly, entirely understood. and Babe see
that loved her.
And then was the time that that
sweet little creeter put up her arms and
kissed me, and l says sort o. low like
but very tender:
Sweetheart, you know jest how much
/ love you, don't your"
And then kissed her several times in
various places on her face, every one on
'em sweet places. And then went on
and talked dretful good to Babe about
the new baby. confided in her, told
her all about how the little new soul
had come, unknown to itself, here into
great, strange world, how helpless it
waz, how weak, and how we must all
help it, and try to make it feel itself at
Eat home amongst us.
And / tried to explain it to her-how
that as she had come first she owed
courtesy to the newcomer, and that she
must be ready and willin' to neighbor
with her. didn't use jest those words
but them was my idees.
/ told her how blind the little creeter
was, and Babe, if only out of politeness,
must try to see for her, lead her straight
over ways she knew nothin' about and
keep her from harmin' herself