Me an' Babby [pp. 58-70]

1. "Me an' Babby."
sion had been faithfully transmitted to
her unborn babe. The resemblance was
almost perfect. There were the same
full-lidded eves with their well remembered look of fathomless serenity; the
same thoughtful brow and chiseled nostrils, and the curved mouth with its
expression of boundless pathos and tenderness; even the exquisite contour of
the chin and neck against the golden
floodings of her hair but followed the
lines of the picture.
My discovery was confirmed by John's
ejaculation as he here entered the room
and glanced over my shoulder: "A little
Madonna, as sure as life!"
A cruel fit of coughing here wrenched
the poor child awake, and we were
pierced to the heart to see the wasted
frame struggling for mastery over the
pitiless disease that had made such
inroads on this dainty citadel. Now
faint with exhaustion she lay panting in
John's arms, for he had raised her tenderly.
"Thank God, it cannot last long, - a
few days at the most!" he said in a
whisper. I felt that his words were
true, and in making our plans for the
mother we kept this thought uppermost
in our minds.
Wnhile we were talking Manuel returned with his sister, and her nimble
fingers were soon busily engaged in cutting and stitching the new calico, while
I dressed Babby in the neat garments
sent me by the kind minadre. The pretty
blue-flowered muslin gave her endless
delight, and she passed and repassed her
little hands softly over its crisp folds.
"Ah, Jesus be praised! but she looks
like the Holy Virgin at the Mission,"
cried Manuel excitedly, when I led her
out before them. He had brought her
a basket of luscious figs, and we saw
with pleasure that she eagerly ate two
or three of them. This made the boy
joy;ous, and he piled still more of the
pulrl)ie fruit in her lap, while he told her
stories or sang some merry song' he had
V OL. XIII. —5.
learned of the madre on summer nights,
when her children gathered about her in
the quiet gardens of the Mission.
Old Nancy evinced a dull appreciation
of her child's brighter looks, but I
thought sadly that even the magic of
mother love could hardly stir the sluggish pulses of her slow nature. Before
dark Francis and I had finished enough
garments to make it possible for her
Nancy to lay aside her old things and don
decent apparel. I prepared a bath for
her first, and tried to persuade myself
that she emerged therefrom sufficiently
cleansed to warrant the change of clothing.
That night and the several following
we spread a mattress for them on our
sitting room floor, and in the meantime
made all haste to fit up a one-roomed
house that stood half way between the
Mission and San Fernando. The building had been recently occupied, and was
in good condition. With the assistance
of our generous Spanish friends we had
furnished the house comfortably, and
one cloudy November morning it was
ready for their occupancy.
Manuel, whose services proved invaluable, had gone on ahead to complete
some special arrangements of his owvn,
and when the rest of us arrived there
was a bright fire of manzanita roots
crackling and snapping sociably in the
little stove, on which a tea-kettle danced
to a rollicking tune, while the sympathetic steam rushed from its spout as
though frantic to be first to welcome the
wanderers home. A graceful Maltese
kitten curved its back appreciatively
against the rich fur of a mountain lion's
skin which the boy had carefully adjusted to the snuggest corner of the homemade lounge. Both the kitten and the
skin were intended by him as special
gifts to Babby.
As we neared the door hle ran out to
meet us, and carefully taking the child
carried her triumphantly to her throne
and placed her thereon, where she sat a
1889.]
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