The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1920-01-03
NAMING BABY
By MARY LOUISE BuzzELI

John Merrill and his wife Lena. and :
the two nearest in-iaws, sat in solemn :
conclave in the pleasant living room :
of the Merrill home.
The occasion was an important one, :
being that of choosing a name for the
recently arrived heir. At first thought
II might seem q very simple matter to
select name for the small bit of h,l-
mainly lying in the white crib stand
ing on The rug; but only those having
been through the ordeal of finding a
name pleasing to perfectly new fa-
ther and mother-not to mention two
grandmothers OF quite opposite ideas
on the shbject-could possibly under
stand 1.-The difficulties Of the situation.
So the young mother was on the
verge of tears. and her husband was
on the point of making unseemly re-
marks to the two grandmothers~-bc-
cause of their persistence in advoeai-
ing their own individual choice OF Il
name for their helpless grandson.
Grandmother Griffith favored Adon-
IRAN, but Grandmother Merrill had
come out strong for leash, as being an
old family name.
and a better man than your great
| grandfather, Joash Merrill never trod
| shoe-leather, John :" she declared with
| some vehemencc, as she pointed a
| convincing finger at her son. "IIe was
| always first and foremost In all good
work in his native town, and l shOuid
i be proud to have your son bear tile
same name. How does il strike you:'
! Evidently it did not meet with much
fayor--for her son gave prolonged
whistle, and Grandmother Griffith an
| equally long sniff; while her daughter
smothered an exclamation Of dismay
when her husband Kicked her foot I'M
der the table Grandmother Merrill
was quick To sense the antagonistic
attitude of her companions and leaned
back in her chair in dignified silence,
after utterins a CURLY abused:
ooh. of course, / shouldn't wish TO
dictate at all in the choice Of n name
for my own grandson, though it does
seem as if"
She stopped short Mt the perfectly
audible "Joash!" that issued from the
pursed-up lips OF he other grand
mothcr-who evidently felt that the
baby was rs much her grandson rs he
was Selma Merrilrs. and she didn't
intend to be ignored
The uncomfortable silence that fol-
lowed In the wake of that remark was
broken by CHEEKY whistle outside,
and the sudden entrance of Tom Arm
strong, q lifelong chum of John Mer-
rli. He had just re urned from over
seas, where he had won both praise
and medals FOR his bravery under fire
He received warm welcome from ALL
and soon everyone was SO deeply in
terestcd In his enthusiastic account Of
his experiences lover there" that even
the new baby was forgotten for the
time being.
"Of course you couldn't go With so
many dependent on you, john" he
said. but | wish you could have seen
our boys in action. Why" he exulted,
1T was perfectly wonderful.
and then to see the way they tried
TO help each othcr-alWays praising
the other fellow, without trace ol
jealousy" Here Grandmother Merrill
shot shame-faced glance at Grand
mother Griffith, who returned it with
il sickly smile of understanding as the
yeung man went on: II never met a
single chap but who was ready to give
u comrade credit for every brave act
while he belittled everything he haC
himself done.
It And the OfticerS-wcll don't talk
S They were more like big brothers e
+. heir men than anything else. an,
Y, their wasn't a man under either Ed
< wards or Logan hut would have gon,
IS through any DANGER for them. And i
V | ever have a SON
$. Lena Merrill Interrupted hun h!
sprinGing To her feet and clnpping he
:. hands. as She cried
3 Why didn't we think Of It ourselves
& John? Logan Edwards Merriil-tha
3 is the baby's name. You haven't seer
& he baby, Tom. Come here" aud sh
Z led the way 10 the white crib. An
3 The grandmothers followed, nodding
X tsl1tSSI oHpioNdi, anu 50 Ilt tue Ob&i
4 father and likewise Tom Armstrong
= and SO in the twinkling Of an eye. a
& it were. the heir to the house Of Mel
4 rill was named-and without u dissent
y ing voice from the in-laws. And more
4 over, Tom Armstrong. received a vot
& of thanks for cutting the Gordia
!, knot, and Logan Edwards Merrill slev
& blissfully on, quite oblivious to tlI
z honor bestowed upon him.
& But after the rest were again seate
3 two white heads bent adorlngly ovt
g the small occupant of the crib, an
6 presently Grandmother Griffith mu
3 INJURED: That's fine upstandir
Il name, call it. and hope he'll live u
& to it. 1t was just petty jealousy, II
3 kind tie boys over there didn't have
& And GRANDMOTHER Merrill whispert
~ back: Don't mention it, And l.