Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1891-03-11
Why the Baby Came.
BY MARGARET z. sANasrE2,


Fillowed on flowers, with q half.opsn
bud in his tiny hand, the baby lay, q
beautiful image of repose. Nothing
could be loveker than the delicate face,
the little lips just parted, the white
brow shaded by soft, silken curls.
There was nothing of the repulsion
from death which some people always
suffer beside a corpse, to be felt by the
most sensitive here. As beautiful now
as he ever had been in his brief sweet
life, the darling seemed to be asleep.
But ii was a frozen sleep. The strong
man, pale with suppressed emotion,
was one who had felt the fountains OF
fatherhood stirred for the first time,
when the little one uttered his first
feeble cry. The mother, leaning on
his strength now, because grief had
crushed all her own, had been thrilled
with the highest Joy of womanhood
when this nursling was given her, siI
months ago. Everything was over
now The little garments must be
folded up, and put away. There would
be no need of wakening in the night to
take care of baby. Baby was gone.
The minister said tender words, and
prayed a prayer of thankfulness and
trust. He had been to SO many baby
funerals in the quarter-century during
which he had led his flock, the words Of
comfort came readily to his lips, and
he meant them every one. He felt that
of such as this wee blossom were the
flowers fittest for the kingdom Of
heaven.
By-and-by, the last rites we're per-
formed. There was one little mound
the more in the cemetery, and one
more desolate house in the town. These
bereft parents were elect members Of
the largest household under the stars,
the household of the mourning.
The world is full of sympathetic
hearts that are busted with their own
cares and perplexities. There are al
ways many to have a passing and very
sincere sorrow for those who have been
afflicted, yet after awhile, when in the
opinion of friends there has been time
enough for the recovery of cheerful
ness, even relatives and friends begin
to chide the persistently sad.
''Why did the baby come, il it was
SO soon to be taken sway? say these.
You may notice that you seldom hear
this question from the lips of mother.
She is glad, away down in the pro-
foundest depths OF her wounded heart,
that she had the child, though, it be re-
moved from her arms. She is glad to
wear the mothers crown, though it be
q crown of thorns.
- To the inquirer may this answer be
made. The baby came for two great
reasons. One was that he might broad
en- and enlarge the whole ife-sweep of
all who loved him. Their care for him
gave them a comprehension of the mys-
terry of childhood, and feeling of the
fatherhood of God, that without him
they might never have possessed.
The other was that the little spirit,
flying heavenwsrd, might draw by a
slender silver-thread, invisible but
never slackening, the hearts of father
and mother, to the land where He
dwells, of whom the whole family in
heaven and in earth is named. The
baby came not in vain.-Nanfords
Magazine.
A CHILD should be taught to respect
other persons property, and not to
destroy it, especially not to injure or
mar any part of a hired house any more
than he would his mothers own house.
A CHILD should be taught not to tres
pass on his mothers neighbor's prop
erty, in fact, he should be instructed
in all these things as soon as he begins
to understand the difference between
mine and thine, and that knowledge
comes very early.
THERE are a few points on which even
small children could be instructed to
advantage that many mothers entirely
neglect, but Of course these are not in
telligent mothers. A child should be
taught never to taste anything from a
bottle, lest he iniure hin self. Never
to touch what does not belong to him.
Never to make bonfires. Never to tor
ment animals, for two reasons, one be-
cause it is cruel, and the other is be-
cause he might receive injury thereby.