The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1916-05-21
THE NEW
BABY BRINGS
SURPRISES

tuAu n new DuDy, Sdl0 tn9
gray haired. young looking man ia the
club smoking room. Unless" he
added with q smile, ut 10 seeing thu
way babies are brought W nowadays.
That certainly gives the average man
the idea that he must be a relic OF
some prehistoric age.
MY daughter presented her husband
with an heir a little while ago. o-d az
I remembered my " grandfather
very well, II ann as a sort OF shock
to me that I was now In the venerable
class. Now It's very nice for other
people to be venerable. but ! suppose
nobody really relishes the idea Of being
regarded In that light himself. Being
a father is entirely different. a man
may be a father while he Is still quito
young. But a grandfather. Well, an
I said. that's different.
"It seemed sort Of ~incongruous. too.
II I shut my eyes I could see Mary
herself as the new baby she was 20
short a time ago. And now she had
a baby OF her own. Not one of those
dolls she played with yesterday, but
a real one.
'Of course. she's we'll past 20 by the
record in the family Bible. but not to
me. she isn't. She's still a child, and
I thought with great satisfaction that I
her mother was still an active. capable :
woman. although she was now a grand h.
mother. I felt that she was t~horoughllp
well qualified TO show Mary how {"
bring hat baby up and | know she q
be delighted to do 1t. for she Owe
babies. as all good women do.
You'd have thought the now bas :
was hers by the fuss she made. anc
believe she did think so herself nce
first. She didn't seem to he the lc -
bit troubled about being "A graft
mother. absurd as that seemed to me-"
But. my. what a lot I had to a Es
out in the following year. | had Az
ways been proud Of the way Mary
had been cared for when she was q
baby. and I had considered. that her
mother was almost pre%ternaturaily
wise in the art of mothering.
MARY herself seemed to me to be
n conclusive proof OF the wonderful
skill with which she had been reared.
h had had her share Of tho usual
, ailments OF childhood. but her mother
had brought them through them sue.
cssfully: and IL | do say II, she is =
fine, healthy young with AL
excellent mind OF her own which J
ike to think she inherits partly from
me.
Perhaps she did, but I never rca-
lied how entirely it was her "
mind till after that %youngstor made
his appearance. Now I'm beginning
10 wondc how she ever grew up at
all, for it appears that the whole
system of managencnt Of which | lad
been SO proud was hopelcssly wrong,
and the new baby is cared for IN an
entirely different plan.
81 couldn't begin to ,o,, Won how
MANY new IDEAS tina, Young moihcr
has about what should he ,lnrc with
a baby. AZ lcnst ,hov seo,n nov. IN
me. some of them are really sho,k-
ing tn nv wife I'm, Mary goes rirh,
ON. smiling and serene ign,rirr All
protests and poini,ur IN tho b,hy ri.
umphantly in ylndication NJ her tho
cries.
"" =" oas' s"e
- ""'. u '"c "'su-
=" 90! N'''a"'s : " 'u'he'
~ SENS 10 NE must ," /"
~ uoeS uhue' '"e treatment
&c So,
~ 'e"s'' mats the way II looks
10 me ana as for my VIE. she makes
me thihk or n hen that finds herself
me Srandmothe OF a ducklinc. She
almost hau a Mt when she learned
'nht the hahy never slept with rs
mothcr' Mary SAID shed love to cud-
uie II up nj night. nut IT was better
Tor nahF :" steep alone, and 1t has
Il room I" itself
I objected To that myself, saying
that II would Ice bad in case the Young
one should he III in the night. but /
seems u isn't according to the new
plan FOR II TO he III. and SO far il never
mas heen' It's a new type of baby, or
new TO me, that is. John never has
10 walk the h"or with II o nights, even