Milford chronicle., 1915-04-23
ALADY Anu BABY
And Uncle Sans Polite Consul
In a City In France.
HOW THEY MET AND PARTED.

And How Light Was Thrown on the
Problem That the Woman, Who Was
French and VolubIe, and the In
fant, Who Was American, Presented
Not very long after having taken
charge of one of the consulates in
France l was one morning seated at
my desk busily engaged in figuring
over my quarterly accounts. when sud
denly a woman carrying a bundle in
her arms appeared before me. l had
not resided in France sufficiently long
to imbibe the unadulterated French po-
likeness, but 1 had progressed suf-
, ficiently to ask:
Madame, what can l have the pleas
IRE of doing for you this morning?"
Monsieur" she exclaimed. walking
toward me, holding out the bundle as
II to deposit it on my desk. this is an
American baby. What shall do with
it?"
Abashed at the prospect of so sud
denly becoming a father with the or
ange blossoms and rice omitted and
knowing that the American govern
ment had established no precedent OF
maintaining orphan asylums either at
home or abroad. hesitated a moment
and replied:
"Will the madame please be seated
over there by the door and tell me
why. being a Frenchwoman. she has
become possessed of an American
baby?"
1t never occurred to me to examine
the little bundle of humanity. | had in
previous times rather prided myself on
my ability to distinguish the nation
ality Of people. had even boasted
could tell them by their shoes. but
had never tried my perceptive powers
on infant physiognOmies.
"VOilaw she said. seating herself
shall never forget that word VOLTA.
1t was one of the first French words
ever learned. You know it means-oh
so many things when used exclama-
tOrily, as it generally is. Usually. how
ever. to the beginner in the French
language it conveys the meaning of
Here it is" That was about as far as
had progressed in my French educa-
tiOn at that time in regard to the many
varied meanings of VOLTA, and de-
termined that if it meant the baby then
it would retain its geographical loca-
ton indetinitely-that is, in the wOm-
ans lap over by the door. or preferably |
outside. But her VOLTA referred not |
so much to the infant as to the story |
of how it came to be in her possession. |
She talked volubly while ] tried to as
sumo the defensive power Of silence. |
But to FrenchwOman-well. silence |
simply means what the jockey gives
the horse in the last heat-encourage-
ment.
From the verbal French cyclone she
hurled at me | gathered a few frag
ments that enabled me to understand.
For three months she had been EN-
ployed as nurse by an American WON
an who had paid her good wages. -Four
weeks previously. however. the mother
had returned to New York. saying she
was going over for only two or three
days on an urgent business matter and
would return at once. She had not seen
or heard Of her since. Being woman
who had to work for her own living.
the baby was a burden on her hands.
She could hardly support herself. much
less provide for the infant. and as the
child was of American parentage she
thought the representative Of the Amer
lean government ought to take care
Of it.
| suggested that would write to the
rity authorities in New York asking as
to the genuinenesS OF the address that
the woman said the mother had left
with her.
And what shall do during all the
time you are waiting for an answer
starve:"
My answer finally was a twenty
frame gold piece. with which she de
parted. saying she would try to take
care of the baby until 1 could hear
from the New York authorities.
Now. the reasonable and the unrea-
sOnable part of the story is that since
her departure, though the sun has
'isen hundreds of times. she has never
1t had not risen more than
seven times, however, before learned
he reason.
1t was just one week later at an in
formal dinner Of the sixteen cOnsuls
who resided in the city that in the
course Of a conversation with my Ital-
an colleague l told him the story of
he woman and the baby, What do
you suppose he answered?
"Well. we'll" be laughed, why, that
jame woman came to my office. only
she had an Italian baby. And thought
was fortunate to get rid Of her for
70 francs"
In the general conversation that fol
owed l discovered that the woman
lad visited every one Of the sixteen
in the city. and by her abil-
ty to change the baby's nationality
rom English to German and from
Haitian to Japanese and all the other
.olors of the rainbow she had extract
n from fha ronS1lIor oornc of that mar |