Los Angeles herald., 1891-04-19

IAN, have no children to give doll
to-" said Hans, in his native language;
but he went back to the toy table and
took the parcel that was handed to him.
81 will take it," said Ana.
She carried it home in her arms, say
ing to Hans every now and then:
"This is heavy-heavy as real baby,
as large and soft as if it were alive"
When they reached home she lighted
light, and sitting down began to un-
wrap the folds of muslin aud paper, and
shortly looked upon one of the most
beautiful objects they had ever seen.
1t was one of those wonderfully fine
imported dolls that are really artistic.
Its face was as sweet as cherub's, its
waxen arms and shoulders had dimples
in them, its faxen hair curled about its
temples. 1t had the face of little child
of two years old, and was as large as
baby of six months. When it was held
up its eyes opened; when it was laid
upon its back they closed. Ana stared
at it solemnly, and suddenly uttered
cry of rapture. Then Hans, all this time
attentive but remote, stepped forward
and knelt down beside his wife. He
timidly touched the doll with his finger.
''Kiss it, then, my beloved" said Ana.
He obeyed.
''This is no common doll," said his
wife. "This is doll child. The dear
Lord has sent it to us to compensate
Then they kissed it. That night it lay
between them folded in shawl. The
next day the neighbors were astonished
by seeing cradle carried into Ana's
house Curiosity leading them to call,
they found Ana sitting in her parlor
sewing and softly rocking the doll, which
looked as though alive. She was making
nightgown for it. No one dared to
laugh-somehow no one wanted to laugh,
for Ana repeated solemnly German
phrase, which can only be translated
thus, ''It is by the love of God given"
A certain superstitious admiration,
such as they felt when they looked at
holy shrines in the church on Christmas
night, possessed them, and Ana played
the mother to her doll in peace. She
dressed it as she would have dressed her
own baby, held it on her knee, folded it
in her arms and bade it kiss Hans on his
return home at night, and actually in
very little while there appeared in the
entry of the little house perambulator,
in which Hans and Ana took the doll to
ride every Sunday afternoon exactly as
other parents took their real babies.
Just as quietly as they had carried out
their long engagement these two grown
up children carried on their pretense of
being parents, and the nine days wonder
ceased to interest the neighbors in time,
save when they told it to astonish some
stranger.
Alas! who could have thought that
this curious play would end tragically?
But it did.
: One morning Ana, disheveled and in
tears, appeared at her late mistresses'
house. Her sobs choked her utterance,
but at last she contrived to say:
Z a"Oh, madam! great droubles-great
droubles-.de worst droubles dot can
come! Oh, madam!'
sis Hans sick?" the lady asked, fearing
that even worse had happened.
But Ana replied:
"His heart is broke like minel Oh!
never can We laugh any more-all is
goner'
The lady waited for an explanation.
1t came at last.
''My baby doll-my dear, God given
baby doll-is deadr'
''Ana, what are you saying? A doll
cannot die," said her mistress.
sSMxy 1N11 1,o1x r. =. !
deadP said Ana-''she is killed deadl
l tell you how dot happens: Last night
1 just put dot child asleep, NIT on her
de little nightgown and set de cradle in
de parlor we're all vos still, ven comes
my goot friend Gretchen und her hus-
band und her leetle dog, und make
some coffee on de table, und we drinks
und laughs. I thinks noding and Hans
thinks noding, but all de while Gretchen
say:
"'Vere goes dat bad dogY
"'Oh,' l say, 'he plays-never mind
81 wish to be polite, but she say:
"'Ven he is like dot still he does mis-
chief
$50 ven We laughs und eat leetle
cakes und drink coffee long time dey
go away, und she calls de dog und he
comes.
81 like not dot dogs looks, my friend
say. He has stole someding. If you
have got some meat put away for break
fast you find itnot'
"'Oh, guess all right say. But de
leetle dog lick SO on his mouth, und she
say:
"'All wrong, am sure
$50 l laugh, und We all shakes hands
und go, und We goes in und locks up,
und says:
"'Now get my doll child, and goes
straight away to bed,' und goes into
dot parlor door NIT a candle, und I see
my child lying deaf und bitten und
eaten by dot dog on dot floor, und falls
down und knows holdings"
AS soon as she could quiet Ana little
the sympathizing lady went with her to
her house.
There in the cradle lay a very dead
doll indeed. The dog had eaten the
wax head and arms and chewed the kid
body into tatters. There was no posi-
bility of repair or renovation; but after
a while it occurred to the lady to sug-
gest means of comfort, and she said:
"After while you can buy another
doll, Ana, One as pretty will cost some
thing, but you won't grudge that.
III