The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1908-08-26
that CRYING BABY.
God PITY the Mother Of Sick and Cry
ing Baby.


arms, that and something more. The
baby was hungry and sleepy or sick or
frightened or mad. Babies never cry
for any other known reason.
AS | walked into dry goods store
in Chester last week, saw two ladies
trading and one was holding the cry
ing baby and at the same time looking
at goods. l heard one clerk say to anol h.
er idle clerk, "Why don't you 60 and
take that baby" and then said to me
in kind of fretful or veXed tone, -
II would never wait on q woman with
a crying baby" l did not know the
clerks or the ladies, but ! did think
that if that mother had heard what
that clerk said about her crying baby,
she would have left that store and left
all its goods behind her. If had
known that nervous clerk, and II ne
had not been busy, 1 would have CIV
en- him q lecture on common sense
patience and sympathy for mother
and her crying baby.
Whether be wac single man or
not, do not know, but | guess he
was. 1 know an A. r. P. preacher
who, when he was single could not
stand crying baby in church, and
once stopped in his sermon and asked
a mother to take her crying baby out
Of the church. She went out and never
returned to hear him preach again.
But when that same preacher became
a married man he changed his opinion
and his treatment of mothers and cry
ing babies.
II; too +rna f]of poopy nroo ohorc end
bearers too are disturbed at church by
crying babies, but no one more so
than the mother. 1t is right, according
to the Bible, :or mothers TO take their
young children to church, but it has
become unstylish these days. I have
heard of parents who could not take
their babies to church because the
singing would make them cry. That
was bad sign and a proof that they
did not sing Gods praise at home.
Observation proves that clean
neatly dressed baby is an attraction IN
a store, r. r. car, street car, steam
boat, hotel or in the home. And il it
should happen to cry all sensible peo-
pie, instead of being disturbed, per.
turbed or disguised, will show pity for
the baby and patience with the moth
er. Once there was man and his
daughter with five months old babe
which was the centre of attraction on
their Journey to the centennial Of Pixies
Peak, at Colorado Springs, in 1906.
The child was no disturbance, but
rather q pleasure to fellow travellers,
when they reached the Summit, over
$4,000 feet above sea level, the child,
with all the rest, was in the best of
spirits. The Peak was covered with
six inches Of snow and it was too cold
TO take the child out of the Summit
Hotel and the mother said to the land
lady, "WilI you watch my baby
while 90 out and look at the scenry?
Yes, with great pleasure and you need
never come back for it" AS they
were returning home through New
Mexico, that same jolly and attractive
baby one night began to cry as if it
was in great pain. The mother be-
came somewhat alarmed in q few
minutes a half dozen men and women
came to her with all their remedies that
could be found in the car. Instead Of
finding fault with the distressed moth
er of the crying baby, they did what
they could TO relieve and quiet it. All
at once the crying stopped, because its
tears had, no doubt, washed a cinder
out of its eye.
This reminds me of another story of
a crying baby; story that has assed
into history aud song. One night on
a r. r. car, many weary passengers
were trying to sleep, but not because
there was a crying baby on board. The
child continued to cry for miles and
miles. At last gentleman got out of
patience and lost his temper and said
10 the man who had the baby in charge,
"Why dent you take that baby to it's
mother?" The distressed man rose up
and said, Ladies and gentleman, |
am sorry that my child is disturbing
your sleep, 1 am doing the best | can
for tits mother is dead and is in
the baggage car on this train" This
little speach put an end to all COM
plants about the crying baby, and ex-
cited great sympathy because it was
motherless. The gentleman who had
spoken unkindly apologised and then
pinned q $40 bill to the baty's dress.
'sYet it is true that a crying baby
Is I'LL cuSuy W hotoASS o"SSt ASS'oA
er, balmy sleep" The plaintive, pain
full sound is enough to keep any ten
der hearted person awake for hours.
the poor babe is al ''iniant" that is,
speechless, unable to tell its pitiful
story. To cry is all it can do, this is
its only language, and it is always
more or less eloquent. But it is a
cheerful fact that not one baby out of
25 cries distressfully for any great
length of time. Where ever we 60,
we notice that they do more smiling
and cooling and laughing than crying.
They are the brightest flowers that
bloom on the path way of life.
My advice to preachers, teachers,
store clerks and travellers by day or
night, be patient with the crying ba-
py and rest assured that the mother,
if she is in store or any public place,
is doing all she can to stop the sound
that is not musical to her ears. If
she is at home and feels sure that the
crying is not caused by pin, or hun
ger or disease, she may perhaps, and
wisely too, let her darling cry itself to
sleep. God pity the mother cf sick
and crying baby.
John H. Simpson.