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Show THE BEIT TOOK BABY'S LIFE. AltLTtDERMOST FOCI., FOH WHICH OUR UNJCar 35CIAI, CONDITION IS BESl-ONSIBLE. When Xorah McCormack came into the world by the way of Middle Mid-dle illey. In Cherry street, last September, Sep-tember, her mother smiled upon her baby ami then fell Into tho slumber that knows uo awakening. 'or-ali 'or-ali was an unusually robust baby, full of itaJltj. and dimples. Sue took kindly to her bottle of conJens-ed conJens-ed milk, and all through the w Inter kept getting fatter and stronger, uu til she could stand without help by clinging to a chair. Norah was ta ken care of by her ten year-old sis ter, Maggie, upon whoe Immature shoulders rested the responsibility of caring for the domestic interests of her convivial father, a boy of six and the baby. Maggie was a fair sample of the little mothers so frequently seen in the poorer quarters of New York. Sho was prematurely wise aud faithful faith-ful as a dog. The only regret she had when forced to give her attention atten-tion wholly to her work was tbatsbe could uut continue going to school. But the vague yearning in nermlnd to "know something" became more and more vauo as the months rolled away, until it was a dream of impossible fulfilment. A weary, pitiful existence it was for the child, icdeemed only by her love fur the baby, but none the iesa heroic. Jorab pever suffered, for want of attention In the day time. Sometimes, Some-times, however, at night, when fatigue bad locked Maggie's sense inexorably, the baby awoke nnd cried and then sobbed herself to sleep again. Maggie was so weary that a thunder clap would not have disturbed her. Up to the month of July the baby had enjoyed ex cellent health. Then came the heat as from a gigantic Mast furnace. All day long the sun poureJ its hot Ore down into Cherry street until the basement was as hot as the sands of Sahara. The heat Invaded tho tall tenement and turned the two rooms of the McCormack's Into veritable bikers 'foveas. The children chil-dren could see the East river rippled by a breese as they looked out of the front windows, but not n breath of coolness invaded the study apartments. Under the influence of this consuming con-suming fire Koran began to grow fretiul and jetvbh. Tho summer sun Is very cruel to little .children in Cherry Street. TJuJasby threw down the" stopper -of the vinegar bottle and refused to be comforted. She cried continually to be carried in Maggie's arms. She began to lose flesh, none week all li lim-plea lim-plea bad gone The lory sun as drinking the child's blood. The air which passed into tbosa feeble, panting lungs was cot freighted with the scent of apple blossoms and the odorous perfumes of the dewy wood, where Ytrdurecools the air. It was laden with noxious gases and the noisome exhalations from sewers. Dew never sparkles in that blistered locality. In ths evening, when the lamps on the big Brooklyn bridge were lit and the sun bad set behind tho Statue of Liberty, the moon an the stars came out with a more gentle, gen-tle, kind ray for the children than the sun had shown, and sometimes these heavenly lanterns brought with them a little brccie, whlih came sighing down the brick and mortar canyon with benediction of coolness from tho swift river. Jfot every evening did these blessed breexes come, but on those rare occasions when the breexe was strong t nough to ralso the dust Maggie took the baby down to the street and sat on the doorstep. She patched with delight the cool breexe lift tha hair from the temples of the chLU. She knew that coolness meant life and health to the baby. These were brief oases of refreshment which served to temporarily chrrfc the progress of the disease slowly eating the baby'' -vitality. A. little of the former brightness cam backlnto the baby's eyes as she reclined la her lister's lap and watched the children dart-log dart-log In mod oat among the Idle trucks. At first Nora could sit up with her bead NaUng against her sister's shoulder. But as the days grew hotter and hotter the baby Sesn to droop more and more, and WUbar Uto s'lairsr OaMlswsiiteffsrsseiais, . aip jfcrfc- 1CT"I meadow. The doctor came once a week to look at baby, but bis rueut cines were of no avail agalcst th awful heat of tha fierce sun, and with the loss of I Ulity tame laU of appetite. The condensed mill was always warm, becaUM) there w. no Ice to keep it cool. The neigl, bora came In now an I then with lit tie e, Ucicles, but Korab could not eat them, for de-Ire bad failed. One day a richly drased woman cam-Into cam-Into Middle Alley and gave an In vitation to all the mothers to go to an excursion to Itockaway Beach on the Fourth or July. With delightful de-lightful anticipation Maggie ironed out the baby's calico dress and decorated dec-orated her cheap bonnet with new ribbon. The excursion will surely cure the baby, she thought. It was a pitiful undertaking, tills dressing the baby for a day's outing. As if to encourage Maggie the Fourth dawned misty and cool. Ii was a sign to the anxious little mother of hope for the return oi health to the baby. Everything was so bright and cheerful on the boat that Maggie thought when there was so much bspplness there surely could be no pain. Maggie thought she saw signs of Improvement Improve-ment In tlie babj at first under the Influence of the ocean's cool breath. , Perhaps tbe ocean air was too siren, for tbe baby, or it may have been that tbe change of the oven air of the tenement was too great for her. At any rate, after Maggie had listened for half an hour to tbe de llghtful strains of "Annlo Itooney" and other be witching air;, as played by the band, she noticed that the baky was lying unusually quiet in her arms, bhe looked down at th infant and saw that its eyes wen closed and that there was a pinched look in Its face such as she had never seen before. At first sho wa alarmed and then she thought thi baby was asleep. It was such glorious day in Maggie's experience that she did not notice the uuusua) profoundness of the baby's slumber When the excursion relnXued at night Maggie carried tbe still sleep ing baby hack into the wooden ovei agalnand laid her in the cradle. As she removed the calico dres -nd tli little bonnet she noticed (hit n matter how sho shook tho child ii did cot waken her. The next morning one of tin neighbors came in and prepared tin bill for another excursion Bin was still asleep. Tills time the tri was in a carriage to a green fleli across the at Biver, where thou sands of oilier babies had preceded her. The field was covered with lots mounds and the grass was luxuriant Under one, of these mounds the) laid little Korah to rest. It is cool and pleasant where tbe baby I, sleeping, and sometimes the bird perch upon the lonely m und In tht twilight and sing liquid requiem- N. 1". rrtu. |