X.
_THE SICK BABY._
One night the dear little baby was very sick. Bessie woke many times,and as often as she did so, she found that nurse had not come to bed,and when she looked through the open door which led into her mother'sroom, she saw either her father or mother walking up and down with thebaby, trying to hush her pitiful cries and moans. In the morning thedoctor was sent for, and grandmamma came over to the cottage and stayedall day; but the baby grew worse and worse. In the afternoon Maggieand Bessie went into their mamma's room and stood by her side lookingat their little sister, who was lying on her lap. The baby seemed veryrestless, and was moaning and throwing its arms about; suddenly itthrew back its head with a very strange look on its face, and clinchedits tiny hands. Mamma caught it in her arms, and she and grandmammacalled for nurse to bring warm water. Mrs. Jones came with it in aminute, saying, "I had it all ready, for I thought it would be wanted."Maggie ran away; she could not bear to see baby look and act sostrangely; but Bessie stayed till grandmamma sent her out of the room.In a short time, Jane came to take the little girls to the beach. Theydid not want to go, and begged her to let them stay at home; but shesaid she could not keep Franky in the house all the afternoon, and shethought their mamma would wish them to go out as usual; so they said nomore, and went with her, like the obedient children they were.
They found Colonel and Mrs. Rush down on the beach. Mrs. Rush talked toJane a little, and then said she would go up and see baby. She left thelittle girls with the colonel, and he tried to amuse them; but althoughhe told them a very interesting story, they did not care about it halfas much as usual.
Mrs. Rush stayed a good while, and came back with a very grave face,and when her husband asked, "How is the child?" she looked at himwithout speaking; but Maggie and Bessie knew by this that the baby wasworse. Then Mrs. Rush asked them if they did not want to go to thehotel and have tea with her and the colonel, but they said "No," theywanted to go home.
When they went back to the house, Jane left the little girls sittingon the door-step, while she took Franky in to give him his supper. Itwas a very quiet, lovely evening. The sun had gone down, but it wasnot dark yet. The sky was very blue, and a few soft gray clouds, withpink edges, were floating over it. Down on the beach they could seethe people walking and driving about; but not a sound was to be heardexcept the cool, pleasant dash of the waves, and Farmer Jones' lowwhistle as he sat on the horse-block with Susie on his knee. Susiesucked her fat thumb, and stared at the children. They sat therewithout speaking, with their arms round each other's waists, wishingthey knew about the baby. Presently Mrs. Jones came down stairs andcalled out over the children's heads, "Sam'l." Mr. Jones got up off thehorse-block and came towards them. "Here," said Mrs. Jones, handinghim a paper, "they want you to go right off to the station and sendup a telegraph for the city doctor. Here it is; Mr. Bradford writ ithimself, and he says you're to lose no time. 'Taint a mite of usethough, and it's just a senseless wastin' of your time."
"Not if they want it done," said Jones. "Why, Susan, s'pose everybodyhadn't done everything they could when we thought this one was goingto be took, wouldn't we have thought they was hard-hearted creeturs? Iaint done thanking the Almighty yet for leaving her to us, and I aintthe man to refuse nothing to them as is in like trouble,--not if it wasto ride all the way to York with the telegram."
"I'm sure I don't want you to refuse 'em," said Mrs. Jones,--"one can'tsay no to them as has a dyin' child; but I do say it's no use. It willall be over long before the doctor comes; all the doctors in York can'tsave that poor little lamb. Anyhow, if I was Miss Bradford, I wouldn'ttake on so; she's got plenty left."
"I'll do my part, anyhow," said the farmer, as he handed Susie to hermother, and then hurried off to saddle his horse and ride away to thestation as fast as possible, while Mrs. Jones carried Susie off to thekitchen.
"Maggie," whispered Bessie, "what does she mean?"
"The bad, hateful thing!" answered Maggie, with a sudden burst ofcrying; "she means our baby is going to die. She wouldn't like any oneto say that of her Susie, and I don't believe it a bit. Bessie, I can'tbear her if she does make us cookies and turnovers. I like Mr. Jones agreat deal better, and I wish he didn't have Mrs. Jones at all. Mammawont have plenty left if our baby dies; six isn't a bit too many, andshe can't spare one of us, I know."
"But perhaps Jesus wants another little angel up in heaven," saidBessie, "and so he's going to take our baby."
"Well, I wish he would take somebody else's baby," said Maggie."There's Mrs. Martin, she has thirteen children, and I should think shecould spare one very well; and there's a whole lot of little babies atthe Orphan Asylum, that haven't any fathers and mothers to be sorryabout them."
"Perhaps he thinks our baby is the sweetest," said Bessie.
"I know she is the sweetest," said Maggie, "but that's all the morereason we want her ourselves. She is so little and so cunning; I thinkshe grows cunninger and cunninger every day. Day before yesterday shelaughed out loud when I was playing with her, and put her dear littlehands in my curls and pulled them, and I didn't mind it so very much ifshe did pull so hard I had to squeal a little; and oh! I'd let her doit again, if she would only get well. Don't you think, Bessie, if wesay a prayer, and ask Jesus to let us keep her, he will?"
"I think he will," said Bessie; "we'll try."
"Let us go into the sitting-room," said Maggie, "there is no one there."
"Oh! let us stay out here," answered Bessie, "there's such a beautifulsky up there. Perhaps Jesus is just there looking at us, and maybe hecould hear us a little sooner out here. Nobody will see us."
They knelt down together by the seat on the porch. "You say it,Bessie," said Maggie, who was still sobbing very hard. She laid herhead down on the bench, and Bessie put her hands together, and withthe tears running over her cheeks said, "Dear Jesus, please don't takeour darling little baby to be an angel just yet, if you can spare her.She is so little and so sweet, and poor mamma will feel so sorry ifshe goes away, and we will, too, and we want her so much. Please, dearJesus, let us keep her, and take some poor little baby that don't haveany one to love it, Amen."
They sat down again on the door-step till Harry and Fred came in.
"How is baby?" asked Harry.
"We don't know," said Maggie; "nobody came down this ever so long."
"Go up and see, Midget."
"Oh! I can't, Harry," said Maggie. "I don't want to see that strangelook on baby's face."
"Then you go, Bessie," said Harry; "my shoes make such a noise, and youmove just like a little mouse. You wont disturb them."
Bessie went up stairs and peeped in at the door of her mother's room.There was no one there but papa and mamma and the baby. Papa waswalking up and down the room with his arms folded, looking very sad andanxious, and mamma sat on a low chair with baby on her lap. The littlething lay quiet now, with its eyes shut and its face so very, verywhite. Mamma was almost as pale, and she did not move her eyes frombaby's face even when Bessie came softly up and stood beside her.
Bessie looked at her baby sister and then at her mother. Mamma's facetroubled her even more than the baby's did, and she felt as it she mustdo something to comfort her. She laid her hand gently on her mother'sshoulder, and said, "Dear mamma, don't you want to have a little angelof your own in heaven?" Mamma gave a start and put her arm fartherover the baby, as if she thought something was going to hurt it. Papastopped his walk and Bessie went on,--
"Maggie and I asked Jesus to spare her to us, if he could; but if hewants her for himself, we ought not to mind very much; ought we? Andif you feel so bad about it 'cause she's so little and can't walk orspeak, I'll ask him to take me too, and then I can tell the big angelsjust how you took care of her, and I'll help them. And then when youcome to heaven, you will have two little angels of your own waiting foryou. And we'll always be listening near the gate for you, dear mamma,so that when you knock and call us, we'll be yeady to open it for you;and if we don't come y
ight away, don't be frightened, but knock again,for we'll only be a little way off, and we'll come just as fast as Ican bring baby; and she'll know you, for I'll never let her forget you.And while you stay here, dear mamma, wont it make you very happy tothink you have two little children angels of your own, waiting for youand loving you all the time?"[B]
Mamma had turned her eyes from the baby's face, and was watching herdarling Bessie as she stood there talking so earnestly yet so softly;and now she put her arm around her and kissed her, while the tears ranfast from her eyes and wet Bessie's cheeks.
"Please don't cry, mamma," said the little girl; "I did not mean tomake you cry. Shall I ask Jesus to take me, too, if he takes the baby?"
"No, no, my darling, ask him to leave you, that you may be yourmother's little comforter, and pray that he may spare your sister too."
"And if he cannot, mamma?"
"Then that he may teach us to say, 'Thy will be done,'" said herfather, coming close to them and laying his hand on Bessie's head. "Heknows what is best for us and for baby."
"Yes," said Bessie, "and I suppose if he takes her, he will carry herin his arms just as he is carrying the lambs in the picture of the GoodShepherd in our nursery. We need not be afraid he wont take good careof her; need we, mamma?"
"No, darling," said Mrs. Bradford, "we need not fear to give her to hiscare, and my Bessie has taught her mother a lesson."
"Did I, mamma?" said the little girl, wondering what her mother meant;but before she could answer, grandmamma came in with the countrydoctor.
Mr. Bradford took Bessie in his arms, and after holding her down to hermother for another kiss, carried her from the room. When he had her outin the entry, he kissed her himself many times, and whispered, as if hewas speaking to himself, "God bless and keep my angel child."
"Yes, papa," said Bessie, thinking he meant the baby, "and Maggie and Iwill say another prayer about her to-night; and I keep thinking littleprayers about her all the time, and that's just the same, papa; isn'tit?"
"Yes, my darling," said her father; and then he put her down and stoodand watched her as she went down stairs.
It was not the will of our Father in heaven that the dear little babyshould die. Late in the night the doctor came from New York, and Godheard the prayers of the baby's father and mother and little sisters,and blessed the means that were used to make it well; and before themorning it was better, and fell into a sweet, quiet sleep.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote B: Almost the exact words of a very lovely child of a friendof the writer.]