Omaha daily bee., 1892-08-28

trim little lady OF perhaps 25 years took me
In charge and showed me over the whole in
stItution. She spoke little English and
much German and she talked about the
babies as wo walked through the garden.
This garden was cut up by long, wide aud
well shaded walks, and these walks were
filed with the nurses ana their babies.
A Thousand Foster Mothers.
Each baby has her own wet nurse and
along each walk were two lines of these
nurses, each with a baby at her breast, and
the whole garden was filled with such sights.
There were hundreds upon hundreds of
these nurses-buxom young peasant girls of
l6 years old and upwards, all dressed in their
best clothes, for it was Sunday afternoon,
and all wearing the picturesque caps Of the
institution. These caps are nurses caps OF
blue. green or red which are as full
as Tam O'Shanter caps at the top,
but which fit tight about the fore
head, and which are set rather on
the back of the head, so as not to hide the
forehead. The dresses OF these hundreds of
maiden nurses are cut low at the neck, and
standing at one end of one of these walks you
look along line Of 300 white necks shining
out under these bright caps, ana bordered by
to show the swelling OF these 800 busts. Half
OF the girls have babies sucking milk from
their milk white breasts, and the other half
have little swaddled infants who have had
their fill and are taking rest or sleeping in
their nurses arms. Al first you cannot no.
tice the dresses for the interest you take in
the nurses and babies and their feeding but
! as you grow used TO this you note That each
girls dress is much the same. The sleeves
full at the shoulders, are short, and leave the
arms bare TO the biceps. The waists are full
and half open ut the front, and the skirts,
gathered in at the waist, are short, and do
not reach TO tho ankles. The caps are OF diff
feront colors, but of the same shape, and the
! girls'are OF all types of Russian beauty and
| homeliness. Hundreds OF them are plondes
| and the fiaXed-haired, blue-eyed beauties OF
| the northern provinces are we'll represented
! Hundreds have the rosy cheeks that you find
| along the Neva and upper Volga. and here
| and there you see the dark eyes aud brunette
! faces which arc found farther south. AS
| stood upon tho steps, at one end Of the gar
| den, could see fully 1000 OF these girls in
| the garuen below me. Think of i'll A
thousand Russian Madonnas-not Ia oil or
water colors, but in living, glowing flesh and
blood-each dong tho Madonna act In earn
est and IN truth; 1000 babies performing
their part in the picture; and all this under
one OF the brightest skies and in one of the
prettiest gardens OF tho world. 1t was, ia
truth, sight worth coming TO Russia TO see
How the Babies Are Cared For
AS we walked through the garden the
nurses saluted us. The young matr0n bowed
to them and we raised our hats as we entered
one OF the walks, and at that moment the
i 600 red and blue caps bowed down to us.
The girls bow from the waist and not with q
nod OF the head, as we do. They are not
ashamed OF their business, und they hold up
their babies for us 10 look at as we pass. The
nurses seem 10 0e fond OF thor babies, and
would like TO show If Gao just how one OF
these Russian babies Is cared for Behind
each nurse along these walks stood a little
iron crib, aud these cribs are smaller than
any baby cribs you have ever seen. They
stand on iron legs, but they are not as big as
the average family clothes basket, and they
are about TWO feet wide, three feet long and
two feet deep. Each baby has q crib TO
itself, and there were, was TOLD 1900 cribs
standing In the garden NJ the time visited
IL. In some OF the crios babies were lying.
They rested on soft mattresses with their
little heads, many OF which seemed 70 me no
bigger than base ball. upon little pillows.
and over them were drawn nets to shield
their red faces from the too ardent kisses of
the wino. They looked most comfortaol and
venture you could get nowhere In the world