The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1909-12-05

devious ways of pantry and refrigera-
tor, sought out the milk, and we were
very merry over warminp it,, for IT was
very wonderful occasion. Peleas
spilled n great deal on Nicholas per.
fectly polished griddles-oh, I could
not have loved him if his hands had
been firm and indifferent in such n
pleasant excitement. Then he came and
sat beside me, and the baby drank
with little soft shuddering breaths at
the painful memory of how hungry she
really had been. l bent above her, and
so did Peleas, our heads quite close
together as we watched her, and heard
the little soft noises and sighs, and
met her eyes grave, wondering criti-
cism. So long-so long 1T had been
since [ had seen that one serious eye
lifted to me as little face lay against
my brenst
Peleas put out one finger, and the
little funny hand caught it and clung
TO it. Peleas wrinkled his eyes at
the corners and smiled up at mel
had almost forgotten how he used to
do that and then wait for me to scold
him and to tell him that at that rate
I never could get Cedric to sleep. Some
way. when Peleas had done that now.
we sat silent. For very little babies
are never unlike, and if / had really
let myself | might have imagined, and
so l think might Peleas have imagined
that which, for more than forty
years, we have only dreamed.
At last the baby moved her head,
gurgled brief grace. and stared up
at us unwinkingly, and then wrinkled
her face most astoundlngly. Peleas rose
wildly and looked about frantically for
the matches-one would have said that
we were fugitives from justice, crouched
behind an open panel and that our
safety depended upon keeping that baby
quiet during the passing of the men.
alarms. / cannot tell how it is with
others, but when one is seventy baby
affects one quite like this, and to keep
it from crying seems all the law and
a fair proportion of the prophets. So
that when Peleas came with box of
parafin matches and lighted whole
handfuls before Millicente's IS baby s
eyes / could say very little. She did
stop crying, though she looked at these
humble pyrotechnics somewhat haught-
lily and as if she knew far more about
them than she cared to give out.
The stair-door docs not creak, and
Nichola was quite in the kitchen be-
fore we heard her. She indulged in
one comprehensive glance, which did
not even omit the matches, and she
nassed us on the other side of the
room.
"Its mother wants it right straight
off, sho remarked, with her back to-
ward us,
PeIeas and ] rose promptly and meek.
~ made our way upstairs. Old Mich
ola dictates to us all day long in mat
ters in which, as ! think, we are real
ly far wiser than she; how then should
we not yield in crises of which we may
be supposed to know nothipg2 Though
/ am bound to confess that / felt my
self rs wise as little Millicente, who,
as I have said, is a baby herself. And
this brings me TO something about
which / have often wondered, namely,
when the actual noon of motherhood
may bel For, as ] live IT seems TO
me that all the mothers OF babies of
my acquaintance are either themselves
babies or else ] catch myself thinking
of them that they arc too old and even
spiusterish in their notions to be able
perfectly to bring up the child And
yet il cannot very well be that l was
tho only mother neither too young nor
too old to train youth properly.
laid the little thing in Millicente y
; bed, and Millicepte smiled-that ten
der, pitiful, young mother smile thai
somehow breaks one g heart no mattel
how happy the young mother be- Anc
: an hour later, while the doctor was Will
: Millicente, an idea came to me that Sc
me in a delicious flutter. L had for
. gotten that there are such sweet ex
: citemcnts in the world. / huggcd tn,