The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1891-03-11
THE NEW BABY.


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' bacj- from her little
eager, happy, upturned face.
When all of 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
Pi1iey to not say no more, for knew
what she meant; / 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 dlsap-
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 l 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 stop! If ever wink spoke
them did, to stop immegidly!
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 a
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, anoni 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;
if the love has gone out of the heart it
won't rest me nor comfort me no more
to 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 children!
SO she sot up kinder straight in my lap,
with her pretty lips quiverin', and the
tears a-runnin' down her cheeks.
And l 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 OWN to the six or seven
things mentioned by me prior and be-
fore this. But | felt that | must make it
right with Babe that very minute.
I knew how she felt-wounded love
and pr1de and jealousy, etc, ETC., etc.
knew that few syllables of about
the hardest lessons of life had come to
Babe, and / must help her spell EN-;
must help her with her lesson.
So l took her right into the parlor and
set down with her in the big chair, and
never said a word for a minute or two,
only held her clost to me and kissed
the shinin' hair that lay up against my
cheek.
She a-strngglin' 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 Study, with my cheek a-layin' on
the pretty head, the stiddy, firm clasp
and contact sort o. Gained 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 Bate
so well as that look that she had learnt
TO depend on. bns .z.-~--
Love has 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 ii
various places on her face. every one or
EN- sweet places. And then | went or
and talked dretful good TO Babe abou
the new baby. l confided in her, told
her all about how the little new sou
had come, unknown to itself, here int
q great, strange world, how helpless i
waz, how weak, and how We must al
help it, and try to make it feel itself a
at home amongst US.
And / tried 20 explain 1t TO her-hov
that as she had come first she owed &
courtesy TO the newcomer, and that she
must be ready and willin' 10 neighbol
with her. didn't use jest those words
but them was my idees.
told her how blind the little creete,
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 har1in' herself.
How Baby Snow couldn't talk for her
self at all now, and Babe must talk fo
her-good talk that little Snow couk
learn of her bimeby: how she oouldn'
walk. and Babe must go ahead he
and make good path for her to follow
when she got big enough.
1 told her Jest how hard it was for tn
little creeter to be put here in the mids
of sorrow and troubles and dangers, anS
how we must al of rs be jest as good Z
her as We could out of pity for the dea
little lonesome creeter.
So reused up Babes pity for her. snt