Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1914-02-11

Amaziah unaccustomed to young
children, never having been blessed
with any of his own, handled it as
if it might have been the saddle of
Judas or bear cub. Awakened by
the unusual treatment the child star
ed in wonder for an instant and then
began to cry, which, under the cir
cumstances, was quite natural and
quite to be expected.
wall! WALL" said Amaziah partly
to himself and Partly to the child
What further remarks might have
been made by the embarrassed Mr..
Badleigh will never be known, for
he was called to a sudden turn by
the appearance of his wife. who
hearing the crying child fastened to
its assistance, wondering where it
could have come from and what her
husband was doing with it. She did
not stop to make enquiries just then,
however, for she was hearing the
, cry of helpless innocence, from with
out, and hardening to the call of the
mother instinct from within. This
God given impulse was imperative
and very beautiful in Miranda Bad
, leigh. The little one as soon as it
saw her approaching, instantly ceas-
ed it's wailing, stretched it's hands
out toward her as if in appeal for
help and cried" Mammal"
This was more than the good wo-
man could stand; she was deeply
F., stirred, great tears began to fall on
? her honest face, you pore little
. thing" she said, reaching out and
Z taking it in her arms-"come to
Q me. Then she laid it on her mother
ly bosom and with gentle love that
was very touching soothed it into the
quiet of perfect content.
Where did this child come from
q Am? What is it's name and what are
@ you dom with it," she enquired.
e "Why, Randy, hit haint got nc
y name, on'y jest Jesse, its fathah an
n mothah is both dead an hits a offar
@ as yoh mout say; the fellah what
q came to the house that night, hi
q wanted we-uns to take it an raise Il
T like it b'longed to we-uns," replied
[ Amaziah.
n can that's what you an he wa
n talkin' about when you wanted me
: to leave the house an go out to the
n stable was it,"
6 WAL yis, Randy, it shore war
Z I'm boun' ter say it war, yoh see the
q stranger, he made it with while, ht
! shore did"
n I'm not blamin' you for takin
r the pore little lamb, goodness knows
4 I'll do the best i can for him. anC
" the poor starved heart throbbing with
G new impulse, one she had never
known before, drew the child in
n closer embrace to her breast, in q
. way so tender and so loving, that the
q waif for an instant curled his lip az
o though about to weep again in very
q sympathy with his new mother; then
v evidently changing his mind, ne
4 nestled down on her bosom where ne
Law with quiet satisfaction that
r seemed to say, this is my home. .
= And Mrs. Badleigh deeply touched by
\ the loving confidence Of the child
then and there resolved in her heart
:, that she would he all that mother
, could be to it, She would care for ii
. Just the same as II it were her own
9 A resolution which was destined
, never to be broken through all the
;. years of her life. Even Amaziah,
unused as he was to scenes OF the
sort, looked on with touch OF real
. tenderness, and blinked both eyes at
once, in which action he gave strong
testimony to the possession of feel
ling, supposed hitherto to have been
entirely foreign to his nature. So
it was settled that little Jesse should
become a member of the family, bear
the family name and share the for
tunes of his new father and mother
1t had been the purpose of the
: Badleighs, after brief sojourn on
the banks of the Mississippi to push
on westward where land was of the
finest quality and very cheap. This
plan was frustrated however; first
l by the sickness of little Jesse who
> was taken down with malarial fever
l and lowered for many days between
life and death.
The sudden change from com
; Portable home to the long, weari-
some journey, often in rain and
cold and storm, with insufficient
suitable nourishment had been too
. much for him; he was not strong
g enough to bear the strain; they had
2 therefore barely reached the great
( river before he began to show symp-
toms of the fever.
$ And then, to add to Mrs. Bad
In tah inns w c