in no wise be inconvenienced thereby. From that moment on, every one who had less than half an hour before witnessed the scene of sorrowful parting, which had so touchingly told how completely the little fellow had walked into the hearts of his benefactors,—from that time on, every one felt a personal responsibility for the comfort and safety of the boy. Introduced under circumstances that rendered him a hero at the outset, at the end of the first day he had already become the pet of the passengers and the object of their kindliest attentions.
While the claim that this child was remarkable for beauty and cleverness might lend sentiment and romance to my simple narrative, the fact is that he was neither handsome nor bright. In appearance he was simply a plain, plump, red-cheeked, flaxen-haired baby boy, with apparently little to be proud of, save his evident good health and a pair of large blue eyes that seemed frankness itself. His accomplishments were few, indeed. Не was still, as the sisters had said, learning to walk. His vocabulary included but three or four imperfectly spoken words, and he wils conspicuously deficient in that parrot-like precociousness so common and frequently so highly prized in litale children. But what our youthful companion lacked in attractive outwardness was more than made up by the true in wardness of one accomplishment he did possess. That was silence. This virtue he practised to a degree that soon won for him the admiration and affection of all. Though exhibiting no sign of embarrassment at the friendly advances of the passengers, and while not unmoved by their tender attentions, he maintained through that long journey a humble air of mute contentment that lost its balance on but three occasions.
His quiet ways were a theme of constant comment, while his presence proved not only a source of increasing pleasure to our sinall band of tourists, but did much to relieve the monotony of the tedious journey.
One important detail in the boy's eventful history was missing. Cared for by strangers from earliest infancy. deprived of his mother's love and father's care, he had thus far not even received that all-important parental gift,—a Christian name. To the sisters he had been known simply as "Baby." By that infantile
