The Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1???-1928, 1910-05-22
CARING FOR
CLARISSA

should have known better. That was
what every one said when everything
| was over and the Honeywells were at
home again.
The Honeywells were young. so. nat
urally, their child was young. They
| had named her Clarissa, and she was
q little over two years old and quite
the most wonderful infant in the
| world.
Mrs. Honeywell said 1t seemed prov
idential that her younger sister. Bess.
should have chosen to come to see
| them just at the time Honeywell had
to take a business "Trip east and want.
ed his wife to go along.
Mrs. Honeywells sister took Clar-
issa very seriously. her acquaintance
with children being only theoretical
| Clarissa surveyed her aunt specula.
| lively Experience had taught her
that you can never tell. This person
had large blue eyes and pink cheeks
and lovely shiny things on her dress,
| yet she might not turn out so we'll,
l
and access to the yard was permissible
Clarissa started things by running
! away.
III only she had eaten more break.
fast!" her aunt walled as she pre-
pared to dash out upon the street, at
tired as she was in negligee and
with no rat In her hair. How could she
| wait TO attend to her toilet when her
niece probably was being destroyed by
blood-thirsty automobile or was un.
| der the hoofs Of a raging horse? Her
apparently wild remark was really
more sensible than 1t sounds. The
Honeywells have an iron fence around
their home and always keep the gate
shut, so that their child may not wan
der. But the space between the bot.
tom Of the gate and the walk is so
large that unless Clarissa lately has
eaten a hearty meal she can wriggle
under.
She was found enthusiastically eat
ing unripe apples at corner stand,
for the good.natured owner OF the ap-
pies rocked not of the awful aches
contained In the emerald fruit.
Promptly Clarissa was led home in
disgrace. The disgrace was accentu
ated by the fact that as captor and
captive turned In at the HONEYWELL
gate a young man passed and bowed
after some hesitation to Clarissa' q
vexed and disheveled aunt. Clarissa
could not know that the young man
was a very particular young man,
whose acquaintance her aunt had
made on previous visit, and who
should have seen her again only In all
the glory of new gown and the cor
rect number of puffs and having the
proper air of languid ease.
'Clarlssa, said her aunt as they en-
tered the house. sometimes wonder
how you can do 1t when you have such
an angelic expression!"
Two nights later the young man was
calling and Clarissa's aunt had on the
gown and the puffs, and the young
man was properly impressed and
things were lovely until cough
sounded from above.
'listen!" said Clarissa's aunt, trag
ically Doesn't that sound like
croup?"
Does IT." asked the young man
looking appropriately alarmed. Does
she---is she subject to croup?"
"All children are subject to croup!"
declared Clarissa's aunt, grandly
She flew upstairs and the young man
telephoned 10 a doctor and then fol
lowed Clarissas aunt He found Clar
issa clasped III her aunt's arms, very
sleepy and pinkfaced and coughing
She does III just like that-~every
time tell hen to-" walled Clarissa's
aunt in tcrrorg What shall | do?
The--the cooks out! Run next door
and ask Mrs Whlte."
The young man ran He paused to
shout back from the foot of the stairs
that sometimes when babies were sick
they put them into hot water. Then
he slammed out of the front door.
When he returned with Mrs. White
and another woman dinner guest,
and the respective husbands, Clarissa' q
aunt was discovered putting the pro
| testing Clarlssa into steaming bath.
tub.
u thought they couldn't make any
noise when they had croup" said Mrs.
White. Il don't hpow anything about
| Group, anyway--'nf brought this bot.
| tle-they gave the ls1dicine to my lit.
| tie dog when he coughed Just like
! that 1t won't hurt her to swallow
| solne!"
I'M ho'd her head said the dinner
| guest "There-it's down"
Please go downstairs and get some
from the kilehen" cried Clarissa' 4
aunt. Doesn't she look awfully
queer-and red--and she screams so /,
| How wish the doctor would hurryl"
"put cold water on her chest" said
the dinner guests husband. "Thatll
cure anything"
Thank yon!" cried Clarissa's aunt
| Il viii. as soon as she's had the lard 90
Presently the doctor came. He ex.
| amined the child.
| .,ys.tI nhr Iiva hn.