The Detroit times., 1911-03-27
BLIND BABY HAS
STIRRING TIME
How Little Arthur Valentine Was
Thrown From Flying Auto, and
Escaped Being Eaten by Pigs.
BY W. G. SHEPHERD.

SUMMITo, Nh, March 27.-Babies
are the bravest persons we know.
Babies wait In Babyland until some
one down on earth wants them. A
baby never stops to ask where he's
going; what kind of a place II will
be; whether he will be treated kind
ly; whether he will have enough to
eat He just goes. There isn't any
corner dark enough to frighten him;
any tenement room too crowded and
filthy; any family too poor and hun
CRY. He'll go, no matter where 1t Is.
All he wants to know is that he's
wanted.
Babies are the real knights of for
this world has ever seen.
And this is true story about one
OF the bravest babies you ever heard
OF. He heard, about three years ago,
that some one down here wanted him.
And down he came, In hurry, willing
to take his chances and see what des-
tiny hal In store for him.
He had hard luck at the very start.
The people he went to must have been
terrible folk. They did an awful
thing that made him blind. No one.
except themselves, knows who these
people were. When they saw what
they had done they dressed the baby
up In very fine clothes. But when
they fastened on his lace hood they
tied the string very tight-murder-
ously tied-around his throat. Then
they put him In shoe box. Then they
got into an automobile and took the
box with them, and dashed of down
a New Jersey turnpike. No knight
OF old ever hal a wilder ride. With
the string around his throat 1t was
hard to breathe. No one but very
brave and hopeful baby would have
lived through II.
A little dog was standing near
pig pen, by the roadside, when the
automobile passed He barked at the
machine. Then suddenly he saw a
shoe-box thrown through the air from
the automobile.
That was something to bark about.
He started to run for the box, but
IL alighted on top OF the fence. A
dozen big pigs hurried over TO see
whether the box contained anything
to eat. They couldn't reach It; neither
could the dog. And so the little dog
barked at II and the big pigs grunted
at II and II IL had fallen down on
the pigs side OF the fence something
too awful TO think OF would have
happened Knight Baby, you see. was
having plenty OF adventure.
But all the noise brought out the
farmer. He took the box into the
house: he, tooY had seen II 1y from
the automobile.
And there I'm the box was the baby
He gave one extra big breath whef
the farmers wife united the tight
string around his neck But there
wasn't any room in the farmers house
for a baby-much less a blind baby.
Few persons want blind babies.
The farmer took the Baby Knight
over to the poorhouse. For weeks Il
looked as II the baby had come to
the end OF his trail The chances
we're that he would live in the poor
house all his life: that no one would
show him how TO use MS brain and
hands and feet Blind babies, you
know. can't even learn 70 feel un-
less some one shows them what feel
ing means. The terrible chances we're
that he would live TO be an idiot: TO
knight of old. seeking adventure. ever
faced as horrible a thing as that.
nut one day luck turned. The over
seer of the poor farm herd oi the
Arthur homn Tor blind babes which
the international Sunshine society
had founded a. Summit, N. J. Tie took