Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1896-07-02
PERSEVERANCE REWARDED.

se"SupS WucIc EuisOn lives.
The phonograph came to the Ed
ison labratory and the first baby t,
the Edison home about the sam
time; and when the baby was ole
enough to say "Goo-goo," and pul
the great inventors hair in q mos
disrespectful manner, the phono
graph was near enough perfection
to capture the baby talk for pre-
servation among the family ar
chives.
~ alseRu6lled m ssysra|
rolls with The pretty inarticuiations,
and laid them carefully away.
Bnt this was not sufficient. The
most picturesque thing about the
baby's utterances was its crying,
and the record of this its fond faith
er determined to secure.
How it would entertain him in
his old age, he thought, to start the
phonograph a-going, and hear again
the baby walls of his first-born.
So one afternoon, Mr.. Edison
tore himself from his work and
climbed the big hill leading to his
house. He went in a great hurry,
for ne is a man who grudges every
working moment from his labor.
A workman followed at his heels.
carrying the only phonograph that
at that time had been sufficiently
completed to accomplish really good
results.
Reaching home and the nursery,
Mr.. Edison started the phonograph,
and brought the baby in front of it.
But the baby didn't cry.
Mr.. Edison tumbled the young
ster about, aad rumpled its hair,
and did all sorts of things, but still
the baby didn'tcry. Then he made
dreadful faces, but the baby thought
they were very funny. and crowed
joyously.
So back to the laboratory went
Mr.. Edison in very unpleasant
frame of mind, for the baby's un-
timely good-humor had cost him an
hour Of work. The phonograph
was also taken back.
But he did not give it up. The
next afternoon he went home again,
and the phonograph with HIM.
But if the baby was good-natured
the day before, this time it was sim
ply cherubic. There was nothing
at all that its father could do that
did not make the baby laugh.
Even the phonograph itself, with
its tiny, whirring wheels, the baby
thought was meant for its special
entertainment, and gurgled joyous
ly.
So back to work the inventor
went again, with temper positive
ly ruffied. The next day, and the
next, he tried it, but all to no pur-
pose. The baby would not cry,
even when walked suddenly from
sleep.
But to battle Edison is only to
inflame his determination, which,
by the way, is one of the secrets of
his success. So, at length, after
much thought, he made a mighty
resolve.
1t took a vast amount of deter
mination on his part to screw him
self to the point of committing the
awful deed, but he succeeded at
last; and one morning, when he
knew his wife had gone into town,
he went quietly home with the pho
nograph; and stole into the nurse
ry, where the baby greeted him with
customary glee.
Starting the machine, Mr.. Edison
ordered the nurse to leave the
room. Then he took the baby on
his knee. and barred its chubby lit
tie leg.
He took the tender flesh between
his thumb and finger, clenched his
teeth, shut his eyes tight, and made
ready to-yes, actually to pinch the
baby's leg.
But just at the fateful moment,
the nurse peeped through the door,
and perceiving the horrid plot,
flounced in aad rescued the baby
in the nick of time.
Mr.. Edison breathed a mighty
sigh of relief as he gathered mp the
phonograph and went back to the
labratory. He then gave up the
project of phonographing the baby's
crying.
-