Evening star., 1935-02-10
NURSERY BABIES
STIR MRS. D|ONNE
QuintupIets' Mother on Verge
of Tears Over "Home-
like" Sight.
BY the Associated Press.

BY the Associated Press.
CHICAGO, February 9.-The sight
of rows of newborn babes in q hos
pital nursery today brought Mama"
Dionne to the verge Of tears.
Until now the outward stoiciSm OF
this 26-year-old Canadian mother OF
10 children, among them the famous
quintuplets. had provoked much COM
ment among those who have watched
her adventures in the city.
Visiting the Chicago Lying-in Hos
pital one of the leading maternity in
stitutions here, she pressed her face
close to the glass partition separating
spectators from the nursery. A wave
Of emotion rippled the placld-chlld-
ike face, her unrouged lips Quivered
and she turned toward her husband
Olivia
Mrs. Dionne murmured few words
in French, her usual low voice end
ing on fearful note.
Misses Her Babies.
The slim, dark-haired Ontario
farmer smiled back consolingly, con-
Germ manifest in his eyes.
"She misses her babies, poor girl,"
explained Mrs. Joseph Rochon OF
North Bay, Ontario, a relative, who
is travelling with the DionneS. In
spite of all the thrill Of sightseeing
she is lonesome for her children
Her visit to the huge modern hos
pital resulted in several of those rare
smiles that even the antics Of night
club entertainers did not provoke.
All of Mrs. Dionne's IL children
one 2-year-old boy died several years
ago-were born in the farm house
where she and her husband have lived
since their marriage in 1925. This
was the first time she had seen how
babies are cared for in a great urban
hospital.
"See, we have more babies here
than even you have at home" said
a nurse, and the remark, translated
for Mrs. Dionne, brought a hint OF a
chuckle.
Interest in Incubator.
Her interest focused on an incubator
in which slumbered prematurely
born infant, and she asked, as she
has seldom done, for details. She
nodded interestedly as the nurses were
told how the quintupletS, shortly a1ter
birth, were kept in an incubator.
Another look of interest was aroused
when it was explained that two OF the
hospital babies were twins. "So?" she
smiled.
She and Olivia, garbed in hospital
gowns, caps and gauze masks over
nose and mouth, we're permitted to
enter the nursery. The famous par
ents must dress thus when they visit
their own quintuplets in the special
hospital at Callander, Ontario, and
donning the uniforms today brought
giggle from the young mother and
the comment:
"JuSt like home"
Although she was obviously tired
from the perpetual round of sight
seeing and the ordeal of her vaudeville
stage debut yesterday, Mrs. Dionnes
face was more relaxed today and she
was overheard humming in that de-
tached manner that she has even in
a crowd.
Fears Being Exhibited.
Members of her party said she had
been fearful of being put on exhibition
during the trip, and had withdrawn
into the shy, stole attitude character
istic of her home neighborhood. She
had been in dread, they said, Of
wise-cracking reception because of the
numbers of letters she and her hus-
band had received after the birth of
the quintuplets.
The sympathetic reception of the
audiences at their "bow and thank
you" appearances, however, seemed to
have warmed her.
Mrs. Dionne smiled her thanks
when four members of the board of
the Lying-in Hospital, Mrs. Ernest
Freund, president; Mrs. H. Kempner,
Mrs Hermien D. Nusbaum and Mrs.
Joseph GroSsman presented her five
baby books Mrs. Nusbaum had
written.
Sunday is to be, aside from profess
sional appearances. a day Of rest"
Devout Catholics, they looked forward
to attending mass, for the first time
in a large metropolitan church.