Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1901-10-17

curious little OLD W0iEAn4Ak#A punches
OF hair bobbing about chronic
state of restless youthful spirits.
They talk aud gesticulass but they
do not fight or pitch penizes They
are little mothers, and they talk
about dolls, housekeeping. They
tell each other about tfs pinafores
they have at home, and pull out of
their pockets crude lik4le bits OF
crocheting or needlew9rk ''Oh.
my, amt that fine = rs and by a
hurdy -gurdy, street piaho or blind
fiddler comes along. Ten the lit
tie mites Of woEnen siras sheir books,
and cover the sidewalk with their
graceful dancing figures, and they
keep it up as long as some bystander
puts a silver of money n the piano
grinders hand. OF coarse all this
is wrong, but it is awfully cute. ev-
erything that is cute arfd pleasant is
usually wrong in the minds of some
folks. But, thank goodness, they are
not in the majority, 50 cuteness is
not sin.
1t is my candid belief that were it
not for the fact that men and women
unbend and surrender 10 the attrac-
tions of youthful cuteness, the whole
world would soon become a hades or
a lunatic asylum. We are invigora-
ted, refreshed, resurrected by lit
tie sentimentality, not the stiff, stilt-
ed sort that is afraid to smile very
wide for fear of breaking some pre-
cious blood vessel, but one that will
get down on.the floor and play hob
by horse for cute baby, or pretend
TO be a bear and hear his roars of
ecstatic delight. 1t beats blue mass
pills, and compels his liver to Sc
crete sufficient bile to insure good
digestion, sound sleep and light
heart, which hmeansa a good conscience.
There are lessons without number
to be learned from children nncon-
scious of playing the pedagogue. A
little arguing in the right direction
of the vein of thought or brain capa-
city, and the infant expands into a
sage that would have provoked the
admiration of Plato. ''Out of the
mouth of babes comes forth wisdom 7
was the way the very wisest man
that ever lived puts it. In my
younger days took a fancy to my
neighbor's baby, and was always
glad of an opportunity to have it all
to myself. | would pour all kinds
of stories into its little pink ears,
and it always listened with intense
gravity. So cutely wise would it
sometimes look when imbibing blood
curdling condolences to its tender
mind that often set my teeth down
hard ON its cute little fingers tomake
il yell with pain. 1t was music to
me, and it didn't kill the baby, for it
still lives.
A little mite of a blonde girl was
staggering along the street under
the heavy load of nearly half a peck
Of potatoes in paper bag, which she
was tightly straining to her breast
with both hands lest her burden
should drop. The big tears were
coursing unrestrained down her
chubby cheeks, caused by small
boy, who was following her up and
prodding her in the back with a
stick. The young william had her at
a disadvantage and was making the
most of it.
why, why said |, stopping in
front of them, the wicked infant man
keeping at n safe distance ready to
retreat What does this mean !?
Is this little boy your brother, my
child p
mo, sir, sobbed the young thing.
Il don't know him. He's been fol-
lowing me half block, punching me
in the back with a stick. and he
won't stop.
See here, said |, you take these
two pennies, buy two buns at the
bakery anb give this naughty boy
one, and see what viii happen.
She disappeared in the bakery
with the small boy still pursuing
her, and presently both came forth
with their positions reversed. The
little girl was hippity hopping and
smiling as she devoured her bun,
while the boy was carrying the load
of potatoes instead of the little girl
A penny bun had transformed him
into a friend and a gentleman.
Two friends OF mine, on q certain
Hallowe en-, conceived a brilliant
idea, and proceeded to develop it.
Lets take a lot of pennies and
distribute them among the kids as
lucky pennies and see what they
will do. -
A couple Of hundred Of these small
brazen caricatures of money did not
go very far, for in less than ten min
utes the news snread fnr and wide