THE “SHOW” BABY.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVIII, Issue 2758, 12 March 1910, Page 4 (Supplement)

THE “SHOW” BABY.

“That poor child works for her living quite as hard as her father does.” was the remark someone made to me the other day, as wo camo away from a tea-party. The child in question is two years old, and is a delicate blue-eyed little fairy. It seemed ridiculous to talk about her “working.” But now I come to think about it 1 suppose she did. She kept a roomful of people amused for nearly three hours, which must have been very hard work for a baby. She just finished mastering the art of conversation, and her proud mother seemed untiring in her efforts to draw her out. “Tell Mrs. S'mith about that funny motor you saw yesterday.” “Say your little verse about the Teddy Bear!” “Now do your dance with dolly ” “Show Mrs. Jones what the clown at the circus did!” and so forth during the whole afternoon. We sat round, and did nothing but enjoy ourselves thoroughly, and choruses of “Isn’t she clever?” “What a sweet little darling!” and the like, spurred her on to even greater efforts "At the end of the afternoon, when she had curtseyed very prettily, and kissed most of us good-bye, she flatly refused to embrace the rest, so she was dismissed in disgrace as a “wicked little ’baby,” and carried;, off weeping bitterly. The whole of the baby’s little audience was composed of women who have children of their own, and none of them would have been intentionally unkind for the world, and yet there we sat and allowed that 'poor mite to amuse us, without thinking how tired she must be getting. A society entertainer, when giving an afternoon recital, generally limits his performance to half an hour, that being about as much as the average grown-up can endure ! So I think with the deepest shame of the two and ahalf hours of selfish enjoyment with which that poor child provided us. She did not even get a fee and was dismissed in disgrace.