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Show j Dorothy Dix Talks i ADOPTING A BABY. ntc I have received a letter in which a y . woman writes: " " My husband and I are a middle -faged, well-to-do, childless couple. We liave been thinking of adopting a baby, HfO Ibutour friends warn us against it, and tpa tell us of the dangers of heredity, and RES ot tho possibility that the child of un-Tr un-Tr known parentage that we take and I rear, and learn to love, may some day Sbring sorrow and disgrace upon us, be-:Jcause be-:Jcause the bad blood in his veins dootn3 j. i Jhlni to wrong doing. What do you titlf ? think about this? What do you advise IS :ius to do?" (23 , Adopt your baby. Don't listen to the y t croakers. Don't be afraid of their prop-T prop-T licsles, What if an occasional adopted child has turned out badly? Millions of it- our children have developed into way-Jjt way-Jjt 'ward sons and daughters who have jE . brought their parents' grey heads in M sorrow to the grave. T , Ul tuuiPt' UUU UUIU J1KO lO KUOW that the child one adopts comes of a ag) good, clean, honest stock, but after all, !jwe do not know very much about how 3 till :.(ar blood stells in a" human being, nor rgli-7- ;ihow far certain traits and qualities are ;! bequeathed by parents to their off-nrfjk off-nrfjk spring, alk Scientists generally hold that envir-iisiji envir-iisiji ;onment is of far more importance than j heredity in forming character, and '.W.Ms :Uhat the reason that the children of tf tiii criminals are so often criminals Is prteas :fmalnly because they are brought up iq i3jsa vicious atmosphere, and have noi i early training in the moralities. - :! Don't be scared off from adopting a Sibaby by the heredity bugaboo. Pick out :a child with a good, well -developed phead, and clear, intelligent eyes, and 1 trust to the environment that you can . give him to overcome any taint in his IJIjl T J blood. ' Furthermore, as for "heredity -well, JUlLI ' wnen it- comes down to brass tacks, there are mighty few of us who hare gotsuch a flawless family record, eith-J eith-J er physical, mental or moral that we Mtf- not UPC t0 goodness that our chil-ooitTa chil-ooitTa f ren """on't lake after some of our an-tndc an-tndc ? -store. Mii t 01 a11 n0Dle acts in the world I can toldi of none that is finer than taking r-a forlorn, lonely, loveless, homeless, motherless and fatherless litUc child, epre Vjnd giving him all the blessings that llcdfr lpaie nas denied him. Orphan asylums 1 ' ;j do great work, but you cannot raise a , i'-chlld properly by machinery. A child needs the human touch. He needs soft atOt jUaps and cuddling arms. bed-time . j stories, and somebody to kiss his hurts - . and make them well. He needs the PS " !vrvvann shelter of a homo just as much ;!as a flower needs the sun: And lack-LlSEFi lack-LlSEFi 4ne ese he is always a poor, stunt-f stunt-f .. ed, dwarfed thing that never reaches . . ,Jull growth, c 11,$ "When you adopt an orphan child and liitJ 'make him your own, when you give idiif 'Ihim a home, a father and a mother, app'j :7ou give a human being his chance in lain itho world. You are the magician, that rf!,' releases an Imprisoned soul. You en- dow a life with all its potentialities for !good for 'success, for achieving things, and it is as worthy an act as it is to endow a hospital. or librarv or any other public benefaction. And it is agood deed whose rewards re-wards you reap a thousand fold. Every tinle you feci your baby's soft little arms around your nck, every time you thrill to the cling of his helpless little hands, or stoop for his moist little kiss on your cheek, you will draw a hundred per cent dividend on your investment of money and care in it. And as for amusement and interest why, there is nothing else In the world so fascinating as watching a child's little mind unfold, and getting his quaint view point on life. The things that you had exhausted years ago have a new zest when you have a little child for company in doing them. Old fairy tales, old songs, old games you thought you had forgotten theiu. but they como bubbling up from the long lost spring of your youth when you are telling and singing them and playing them with the little girl or boy who has come to your house to stay, and who cuddles down on jfour shoulder should-er with shining eyes, whllo you open the long closed door of your own child--hood. Then again a child will make your very house sing with joy. What music in all tho world is like the patter of little face watching at the window panes for our return? What conversation conversa-tion so amusing as the babble of a little lit-tle voice that stumbles over the hard words? What wit so enchanting as the smart things our baby says? In all the world there is no such remedy for tho most fatal complaint of domesticity boredom, as a child in the house. One of the disadvantages that attends at-tends growing old is that as time goes by we lose interest in ourselves, and every year we have fewer personal desires de-sires that we enjoy gratifying. By the time we arc middle-aged we are pretty pret-ty well satiated with ourselves. We have had most that we want. We have achieved about all that we arc likely to achieve, our appetites and our ambitions aro bunted. After that we must take our pleasures vicariously to a large extent. We must live in others lives. We must invest 6ur hopes in others and gratify our ambitions through them. If there were no other reason for adopting a child than tills, it would be enough. The childless ' man and woman who bind a little life to Hiehs have taken out an insurance policy against a dull and dreary old ago, because be-cause they will live their own lives over again in the beautiful young daughter, or the talented son who will bring fresh interests, new aspirations, and tho joy and triumph of a young world to them once more. Childless people do well to adopt a baby. As a pel, a prize baby beats all the blue ribbon Pomperanian pups or Angora kittens in creation. And when your pet grows up, he will be a staff , to loan upon In your old age. |