Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1908-01-02
they were
BLIND

I SNOh OutO
That's a fact" Herrick agreed,
! generously. you write me every word
they say about her, Bessie especially
I Uncle Doctor. I bet he'll be aston.
ished to see such fine, angelic baby.
Il know he will. The truth is, one
reason I'm so eager to take the baby
down there is that she's never had
/ any real appreciation outside of ours.
/ It's no wonder, in big, selfish city
! like Chicago, where every one is alb
sorbed in his own affairs. Why, even
! the grocer's boy acts as if he were
doing me favor when / tell him he
/ may look at her asleep in her basket!
I'm just going to revel in seeing IA
Their and mother and all the Bixby
friends go wild over the little darling.
There's the train"
The next morning, arrived at the
home of her girlhood, Mrs. Herrick
waited in a fiutter of anticipation,
while her own mother cuddled the
wonderful baby.
you haven't once said how pretty
| she is, mother" she complained at
last.
The grandmother smiled. "You
see, my babies all had dark hair and
a great deal of it right from the start, -
was her apologize reply. shes a
nice, healthy little girl, though, dear.
! Don't you mind"
Hello, there!" broke in boyish
voice as Mrs. Herrick's young brother
bounced in at the door. How do,
sis? Where's that kid? Gee, but
isn't he funny! This is your Uncle
Dan, sir"
What are you thinking of, Dan?
Your little niece is girl"
ooh, it's girl, know" sheepishly.
81 wasn't thinking for a minute.
/ Wasn't Chester awful disappointed
cause it wasn't boy?"
"Of course mott We both wanted
little blue-eyed, golden-haired daugh-
ter"
Call this golden hair?" inquired
the baby's grandfather, whimsically,
as he bent and stroked the scanty
down. I'm my day we'd have called
| ludt lOWu0du.
''Tow!" echoed the ruf1ed little
mother "You ought to see the baby's
hair CLEAN and CLINT in the sunlight!
! This house is so shaded with trees
that you can't half see her. Here,
I'll take her, mother She's tired and
sleepy-little blessing! Do I go to
my own old room?"
From her own old room Mrs. Her
| rick issued that afternoon proudly
bearing a freshly dressed baby. On
the stairs she stopped to pull down
one of the petticoats, so that it's fine
lace and infinitesimal feather stitch
! ing should peep from below the dainty
dress.
Man Fielding was always so crazy
about pretty clothing that she'll ap-
| preciate the work on that petticoat,"
/ she was thinking, as she hurried down
to the parlor, where one of the friends
of her recent girlhood was waiting to
| see her.
well, well, Bess!" was Mans greet
| ing lawfully glad to see you, if you
do look like a ghost of yourself. So
this is the wonderful infant? Let
me get look at the little tike. Well,
I declare! My goodness! Did you
ever!"
With that Nan definitely dropped
the subject of the baby and began to
tell about the course of study in the
literary club.
If Mans call was disappointment,
the visit of the married friend was a
tragedy.
what a mite!" she exclaimed II
suppose she looks SO little to me
because my Harold was always so
4 big. And I don't think she's as strong
as she ought to be, Bess. At her age.
Harold would straighten himself right
up. But then, Harold had cut two
teeth when he was as old as she is;
he's a sort of prodigy. can hardly
wait for you to see him.
The event of the day was still to
| come. Dear old Uncle Doctor, the
man who had officiated at the advent
of little Mrs. Herrick herself and who
had made a tremendous pet of her
ever since, was coming to view her
baby. She was especially eager to
| hear what he would say.
When he walked in the first thing
J he did was to pick up the child and
carry her to the window, where he
studied her at arms length for fully
i a minute. Then he turned to the
little mother, who stood, awaiting his
i comment, her heart in her eyes.
'Her face" he said, amiably, seems
to be perfectly symmetrical, except
that one eye is slightly strabismic."
That evening, in her room alone,
Mrs. Herrick sat down at desk to
fulfill her husbands request, but a
lump sWelled in her throat as the va
rious comments On the baby crowded
| into her mind. At last she laid down
| her pen abruptly and tiptoed over to
the bed. There lay the baby, wide
awake. Regardless of rules, her moth
er snatched her up and dropped into
| a rocker.
Let them be blind if they want
/ to- she whispered to the soft little
neck. Your mother knows that
you're the beautifulest, loveliest baby
| in the world-you nicey-picey, goody-
poody, sweety-tweety!
After that she felt much better
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