The Portland daily press., 1899-08-12
!. His Majesty the Bdbu.
By Ian MscIarens
One of the Famous Authors
Human Sketches.


I'D. +. !. /. !. i. : !. i = = + i. + + +
Until the bus stopped and the old gem
tleman entered we had been contented
and genial company. travelling from a sub
urb into the city in high good fellow
ship, and our absolute monarchy was Ba-
by. His mother was evidently the wife of
well doing artisan, wise looking, ca
pablo, bonnie young woman, and Baby
was not marvel Of attire, nor could he
be called beautiful He was dressed aft
er careful, tidy. comfortable fashion,
and he was clear skinned, healthy
child; that is all you would have noticed
had you met the two on the street.
In bus where there is nothing to do
for 40 minutes except stare into one an
! others faces, baby has the great
chance of his life, and this Baby was
made to seize il. He was net hungry,
aHd there were no pins about his clothes
and nobody had made him afraid, and he
was by nature human soul So he took
us in hand one by one till he had re-
Guced us all to n state of delighted sub
lection, to the pretended scandal and
secret pride of his mother.
His first conquest was easy and might
have been discounted, for against such
an onset there was no power of resist
ance in the elderly woman opposite-one
of the lower middles, fearfully stout,
and, of course, grandmother. He sim
ply looked at her--if he smiled, that was
thrown in-for, without her knowledge,
her arms had begun to shape for his re-
ception-so often had children lain on
that ample resting place. BLESS is little
| cart; it do me good to see i'm" No one
cared to criticise the words, and we re-
marked to ourselves how the expression
changes the countenance. Not heavy
and red, far less duh, the proper adjec-
tive for that face is motherly.
The next passenger, just above Gran
ME, is lady, young and pretty, and a
mother Or course: did you not see her
look Baby over, as an expert at her
sharpest? The mother Is conscious OF
inspection and adjusts ribbon his maj
esty had tossed aside, and then she
mcekly awaited approval. For moment
we were anxious, but that was our fool-
| ishness, for in half minute the iady's
face relaxed, and she passed Baby. She
| leaned forward and asked questions and
| we overheard scraps of technical detail:
| "My first--14 months-six teeth--always
| WELL" One was a lady, the other
| working woman; they had not met he
| fore; they were not likely to meet again,
| bui they had forgotten strangcness and
| differences in the common bonds OF
| brotherhood. Opposite ME priest was
| sitting and saying his Office, but at this
point his eye fell on the mothers, mud
| thought his lips shaped the words
"Sancta Maria" before he went on with
the appointed portion.
| Raby had wearied of inaction and had
begun another campaign. and my heart
sank, for this time he courted defeat.
On the other side of Grannie and within
baby's sphere of influence was a man
about whose profession there could be
little doubt, even il he had not had a
bag on his knee and were not reading
from parchment document. After a
long and serious consideration Of the
| lawyers clean cut, clean shayen, blood
less face, Baby leaned forward and tap
ped gently on the deed, and then, when
the keen face looked up in quick inquiry,
Baby replied with smile Of roguish in
telligence, ms IL to say: "By the way,
that parchment would make an excellent
drum; do you mind me- A tune has
just come into my head"
i The lawyer, of course, drew away the
deed and frowned at the insolence of the
thing. No, he did not-there is q soul in
lawyers If you know how to find 1.-THE
smiled. Well, it was not first rate
smile, but it was genuine, and the next
time he did 1t better, and afterward it
spread all over his face and lighted up
his eyes. lie had never been exposed in
such a genial, Irresistible way before,
and so he held the drum, and Baby
played q variation on "Rule, Britannia
with much spirit, while Grannie appealed
for applause. IF he don't play as well
as the band in Hyde park Of Sunday"
After well deserved rest of 40 sec
onds, during which we wagged our heads
in wonder, Baby turned his attention to
his right hand neighbor, and, for the bal
ance OF the minute. examined her with
compassion-an old maid without ques-
ton, with her disposition written on
the thin lips and the hard gray eyes.
None Of us would care to trifle with her.
VIII he dare? II he has not! That was
his chief stroke of genius, and 1t deserved
success-when. with an expression OF un.
, affected pity he put out his soft, dim.
pied hand and gently stroked her cheek
acting as il to say: "Poor thing, all alone
lone, lone! I'm so solly, solly, solly, SC
yelly, yelly, yelly solly." Did I say that
} her eyes were tender and true enough tc
! win a mans heart and keep 1t, and that
. her lips spoke of patience and gentleness'
/ II did not, repair my neglect She
must have been a beautiful woman in
her youth-no, no, today, just when she
: inclines her head and Baby strokes hei
cheek again and cooes, Pretty, pretty
. pretty, and so velly, velly, velly good
4 Was that not lovely flush on her cheek
: -oh, the fool of man who might havi
: had that love! She opens a neat little
bag, and as this is public affairs We
watched without shame Quito so; sh,
Is to be away all day and has got a fru
gal luncheon. and-it's all she can do II
. return. Perhaps he cannot eat It.
don't know. nor does she. Baby way