Pierre weekly free press. (Pierre, S.D.) 1889-19??, 1914-02-05

POOR. LUCKY OLD JANE.
Being Part Of the Confessions of
a Successful Business Man.
Concerning Children.

From the Saturday Evening Post.

From the Saturday Evening Post.
The Italian fruit-vender on the corner,
whose dirty offspring craw among the
empty barrels behind the stand, knows far
more Of his children than do we of ours.
will have far more influence on the shap-
ing of their future lives. They do not
need us now and they never have needed
us. A trust could have per-
formed all the offices of ~parenthood with
paid others to be father and mother in
pal dothers to be father and mother in
our stead-or rather, as I now see, have
had hired servants to go through the mo-
tons for us: and they have done it well,
80 far as the mere physical side of the
matter is concerned. We nave been al
most entirely relieved Of care.
We have never been annoyed by our
chtldren's presence at any time. We have
never been bothered with them at meals.
We have never had to sit up with them
when they could not go to sleep, or watch
at their bedsides during the night when
more competent than we-washed their
little dirty hands, mended the torn dress
es and kissed their Wounds to make them
well. And when S o'clock came three
dainty little Dresden figures in pink and
blue ribbons were brought down to the
drawing room to be admired by our
guests. Then, after being paraded, they
"elS Sd11lcu UdCh " VIC nursery 10 re-
sumo the even tenor Of their independent
existences.
No one Of US has ever needed the other
members Of the family. My wife has
never called on either Of our daughters
to perform any Of those trifling intimate
services that bring a mother and her chill
dren together. There has always been a
maid standing ready to hook up her dress,
fetch her book or her hat, or a footlnan
to EDrinp unEtairS after tho forgof fan
gloves. And the girls have never needed
their mother-the governess could read
aloud ever so much better, and they al
ways had their own maids to look after
their clothes. When they needed new
ones they simply went down town and
bought them-and the bill was sent to my
office.
up anything that another in the family
might enjoy it, or forced to stay at home
that her sister might have the pleasure
instead. No; our wealth has made it pos
sible for each of my children to enjoy
every luxury without any sacrifice on an
others part. They owe nothing to eacil
other, and they really owe nothing to
their mother or myself-except perhaps a
monetary obligation.
But there is one person, technically not
one of my family, for whom my girls
have the deepest and most sincere affec-
tion-that is. old Jane, their Irish nurse,
who came to them just after they were
weane and stayed with us until the peri
cd of maids and g~overnesses arrived.
paid her $25 a month, and for nearly 10
years she never let them out of her sight
grooming over them at night; trudging
after them during the daytime: mendins
their clothes; brushing their teeth; cut
ting their nails: and teaching them
strange Irish legends of the banshee.
When I called her into the library and
told her the children were now too old
for her and that they must ave n gov
erness, the look that came into her face
haunted me for days.
yell be after taking my darlin's away
from me?" she muttered in a dead tone.
Twill be hard for mel" She stood as ii
the heart had died within her, and the
S100 bill ! showed into her hand fell to the
floor. Then she turned quickly and hur-
ried out Of the room without a sob. ]
heard afterward thai she cried for a week
Now 1 always know when one Of their
birthdays has arrived by the queer pack
age, addressed in old James quaint half
printed writing, hat comes for them. She
has cared for many dozens of children
since then. but loves none like my girls
for she came TO them in her young won,'
anhood and they were her first charges.
And they are just as fond Of her. In.
NL - LLL