Middletown transcript., 1897-03-13

nursery--it is too warm FOR the cnilo
| mp there y
Again I nodded, without a word
th Workmen were already busy in the
passage. There was ::nothing to be
done, for was it not all for o,sr childP
We two seldom talked about him.
When we did, we always spoke Of him
as cit" But ] was all the more con
scious all day long of the presence Of
this 1t in the house. "Hushi not so
much noise; 1t is asleep. 1t must have
its dinner. 1t must go out. 1t has
hurt ITSELF" The whole household
began by degrees to revolve round 1t.
This nameIess Neuter annoyed me.
"It isabsurd; he must have name, !"
l said at last.
II quite forgot to ask the mother /
mean the woman-I.is name,o answered
my wife. stShe said she was coming
again, but she has never been: sup
pose she is ill. Well, shall call 1t
Max. Max is pretty aud short, don't
you think so2"
"H'm,n said I, between two puffs of
my cigar. "Fritz is nice name, too. |"
81 can't have its name changed about
for what everyone thinks,'' she an
swered, shortly; aud going to the door
sue cried, stIs Max up yetfn. Our
child, indeedl
On one occasion, however, did
assert my due share in our child. AT
lunch time It was having dinner at a
little table in the adjoining room. In
the intervals of our scanty, Aickering
conversation we heard his merry babble,
accompanied by the rattle of his spoon.
| My wife had not moments rest; she
was perpetually to and fro between our
table and his, to see if the soup were
not too hot, or if 1t were not perhaps
taking too much.
"Wife," I said, quietly, but very de-
cidedly, ''from tomorrow 1t shall haye
its meals at table with us. 1t is two
years old-quite old enough.o
From that time 1t dined with us.
Sitting up in its high elbow-chair like
a prince, close beside my wife, the two
opposite seemed like hostile party.
The poverty-stricken, yellowish pallor
of the little face had given place to a
delicate, aristocratic bloom, and the
round cheeks above the stiff folds of
the dinner-napkin looked prosperous
and cherubic. Bravely did it work
away at its soup, and when it was
finished the little, round fist grasped
the spoon on the table like sceptre
My wife and had exchanged few
words and now sat silent. AS the sil-
ence was prolonged, the great eyes
seemed to open wider and wider. They
gazed at my wife, gazed sts me, in as
tonishment, almost uncannily compre-
hending, like the eyes Of grown-up
person who felt that all was not as it
should be between us. confess
frankly that those eyes confused me,
and that it was relief when Friedrich
entered with the next course. And |
know my wife felt the same.
It was the same thing next day. The
big, wonderfully blue eyes always
seemed to be gazing sort of reproach
full question at the pauses in our talk,
1 and, absurd as it may seem, we two,
man and woman, felt ashamed before
the child. Thus it happened that by
degrees our talk became more ami
mated; we explained and elucidated the
opportune lispings to one another, and
even sometimes laughed heartily toget-
her over the little ones stumbling
efforts to talk.
| Her laugh was as clear and pure as a
bell. How was il / had never noticed
it beforeP It happened often now that
as I bent over my writing that ringing
laugh seemed to sound clearly in my
ears, as though borne from afar.
| With the first Spring days It carried
on its doings in the garden, of which ]
commanded view from my seat in the
office; and she was generally there too.
I heard the patter Of the little feet in
the gravel, and then her step. Now,
as she made snatch at it, its chirping
voice Wed with the chorus of sparrows
now she held it, and I heard the
sound of kisses.
i How could work with such music
going yon2 had opened the window; a
warm balmy air sireamed in, and d
butterfly strayed on to my writing-desk.
Then she Appeared from behind a green
besprinkled thicket, dressed in dazzling
white upon which the sun poured q
| food Of golden light; only her face was
in the rose-colored shadow of her para
sol. Slim and graceful she came to.
wards me. l must have been blind
] Why, the aunts and cousins were right
4 she was beautiful Acharming smile
lit up her features; certainly at that
! moment she was happy-and the happi-
ness came from "her child"
/ A voice within me said. perfectly
distinctly, "You are monster"
i I got up and went to the window.
"What fine dayi" | said. The
prosaic words fell cold as the shadow
of heavy cloud upon sunny land
scape. She made some reply which
did not hear, tut the happy light hat
. vanished from her face. Then 81
lifted up the child. which stretched ou
its arms to her, aud caressed it befor
my very eyes.
J, II was then that the first feeling o
jealousy awoke in me. Real jealousy,
though Of 80 odd kind that I was no
!, lquite sura as to its object. When 1t
called LeE ssmamma" stab went