The weekly Thibodaux sentinel and journal of the 8th Senatorial District. [volume] (Thibodaux, Lna. [i.e. La.]) 1875-1898, 1893-08-05
HIS BABY FACE.
It's Disagreement Brought Happi-
ness to James Ellis.

JlI-luN ILLS ID iuUctu Il 1uUnV DOV,
laughed Julia Costello to a friend.
They say he is head over heels in
love with you-follows you, is to be
found somewhere neal you most of his
time. They tel me you have complete
ly bewitched the boy" reioined the
friend.
Il must confess he seems to act very
foolishly. No matter what l do or say,
or ignore him, | cant scare him away.
| have never done the slightest thing
to encourage him." Julia soberly re-
piled.
whats the matter with the boy,
then, that he hangs around you SO
much?" the friend asked.
Il don't know" Julia slowly said,
and added in a wlstful manner, 81 won
der whether Jimmie will ever be a man
will ever look like a man
Hes a pretty boy, anyhow" laughed
the friend.
Pretty as a baby" said Julia, join
ing in the laugh.
The subject of this conversation was
not a boy. u a man of thirty years.
a man OF full stature, yet with the ex-
pressionleSs face of a baby. 1t was
round and full. The skin was of a soft
pink color, with a tinge of darker color
IN the cheeks. The eyes were large
and of a light blue. and opened in an
innocent surprise when their owner
was spoken to. He had a little chubby
nose and a small mouth. There were
no lines or shadows on his face.
He was a pretty man; SO pretty that
his face was repulsive to man and to
womankind. There wa nothing about
the face to counterfeit the Sc emingly
exp~ressionless vacuity there. Strangers
continually asked: ''NVho is the mar
with the baby face?' The reply was
always Jimmy Ellis. The man James
Ellis was swallowed up in the boy
Jimmy.
Another characteristic heightened
the effect of this b~oyishness. His voice
was pitched an octave higher than is
usual in men. He spoke in a light,
chattering tone that went off into a
screech. He talked and laughed like a
woman. All his male associates as he
became older grew away from him, de-
riding the man with a baby face and a
woman's voice. Womankind seemed
ever to be making sport of him.
lame Ellis was extremely sensitive
in respect TO these characteristics. He
was conscious of the fun and sport
others were having at his expense. In
consequence he gave humanity a wide
berth. While he did so, he hated that
big baby face of his. 1t made life mis-
cradle to him. 1t angered him at times
to hear his W voice. He had tried in
vain to coax d growth Of whiskers to
hide the face. A tuft of yellow hair
here n there was all that made it's
appearance. In despair he had given
up any further attempts in this direc-
ton.
Notwithstanding these outward signs.
James Ellis was a man of true. honest
and honorable instincts and aspira-
tions. He delighted inthe pleasures of
a robust manhood. He was an all-round
athlete. There "a not a better horse
back rider in the town in which he
lived. His mother had died when he
was q child. His father died when he
reached his majority. leaving him a
home in the Pennsylvania town of
b and two farms lying GEAR the vii
lage. An aunt had been installed as
h~ousekeeper over the home.
James Ellis was a better manager of
the farms than his father had been be
fore him. He gave them his constant
attention. There vas no part of the
work on the farm he could not dc.
Those under him knew what he expect
ed from them. James Ellis not only
knew how to manage the farms better
than his father, but knew how to live
and enjoy life and that which he made
better.
There was not a better library in
the town than his; he had collected it
himself. He was a lover Of art. James
Ellis was a talented man. His large
hunting dog heard many a solilouny
that for originality and brightness
would have rivaled the mental caliber
OF by far the greater number of his
fellow-townsmen.
James Ellis life had been, however. a
failure, as he looked at it-an unhappy
fallure-a miserable existence, caused
by a baby face and a woman's voice.
His greatest happiness, and at the
same time his greatest unhappiuess.
was his love for Julia Costello. He was
not content unless near her. He wor-
SHIPPED her. It wa the love of a strong
man; the only love of a lonely life. He
had known her from childhood and
had always loved her. He loved her
because he could not conceive how life
could be complete without her. Be-
aus he believed that with