The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1917-09-22

oiHSe Inc UdDy 5 DlrLn, mourning had
been said about its name. For weeks
before, Helen had thought of count
less names. She had spent many hap
Ply hours dreaming of what she would
call her baby-her beautiful, golden
haired, blue-eyed baby!
She had made list of names and
talked them over with Warren. If it
were to be boy, she wanted most of
all to call it after it's father. But
Warren had vigorously protested
One Warren" in the family, he said
was quite enough! And he believed in
giving children individual names of
their own, and not those of their pa
rents.
This had killed a secret hope that
Helen had long cherished, that if it
should be little girl, he would insist
on calling it after her.
Elimination.
But with their own names elm
mated, Helen's fancy had lowered
uncertainty around many others.
Warren was inclined to the strong
old-fashioned names like, John, Will
liam, Mary and Elizabeth.
But Helen wanted something more
modern, and, as Warren said more
romantic and novelish." Richard
and Winifred headed her list. Warren
laughed, and said as long as she
didn't insist on Reginald or Ger
aldine, he wouldn't offer serious OBJ
jections to anything ele.
But now that the baby had come
and it was neither blue-eyed nor
golden-haired, but was instead.
very homely, red-faced, bald-headed
to talk of names. And she was
grateful to Warren for his silence on
the subject.
They just called it "baby"-that
seemed quite sufficient for the time.
They didn't even use che feminine
pronoun. Its crying" or cts
asleep" was what they usually said.
1t was Warren's father who first
brought up the question of the name.
For days Helen had been dreading
the time when he would come to see
the baby. She begged Warren not
to let him just yet, to put him off
on some pretext until she was
stronger and the baby a little older.
But, one afternoon, wholly unex-
pected, he stopped at Warren's of
him-said it was quite time he saw
chat baby!" Warren was helpless.
He did not even have a chance to
telephone to Helen.
When they reached the apartment,
they found her in an old wrapper,
her hair in disorder. She had just
got the baby to sleep, and was sort
ing over some flannels which had
come from the laundry.
:. Hex confusion and embarrassment
were painful. She had always dis
liked and feared her father-in-law
and for him to find her like this!
Grandfather's Advent.
"And where is that baby?" he
asked in his curt brusque way.
"It's in the nursery. I've just got
it to sleep!"
"Well, l must see the bay. That's
what l came for. Is this the nur-
sery, in here?" starting toward the
door.
Pm afraid if you wake it up now
it will cry" Helen objected nerv-
ously.
ooh, well babies must cry some;
it's good for them. oh, here's the
little shaver. He was bending over
the crib now.
Only the top of the baby's head
and its little red clenched fists were
visible. Helen stood on the other
side of the crib, praying that it
wouldn't wake. And then, to her
dIndZeIlleuC he QeIDeTdlSIy uIeW lLo
covers from it's face.
The Baby .Awakens.
ooh, father-you mustn't awaken
it," protested Warren, who was
standing behind Helen. cts so hard
for Helen to get it to sleep"
"I'm not going to awaken it. but
I can't see it all covered up like
that"
But already the baby was awake.
1t gave one bewildered look up at
the unfamiliar face bending over it,
and then began to cry-not an or
binary baby whimper, but an angry,
protesting scream. 1t had never
been abruptly awakened before. and
it was loudly proclaiming it's wrath.
With All indignant glance at the
father-in-law, Helen took It up and
tried to soothe it. But it had never
screamed so loudly, its face never
seemed so red nor its mouth so
large. Helen was miserany con-
scious that Mr.. Curtis was watching
it critically. She tried to shield its
face in her arm. But it persisted
in wriggling around so it could be
plainly seen. 1t was all she could
do to repress her own tears of anger
and modification.
Martha" Proposed.
rand what are you going to. call
it ?" her father-in-law asked, quite