THE DIMPLED DARLINGS.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 12768, 11 October 1919, Page 8

THE DIMPLED DARLINGS.

SCENES AT THE BABY SHOW LURE OF THE TWINS. FATHERS WERE MISSING. (Written for the “Star.”) The most interested spectators at the oaby show were tho babies themselves. They lay back in their mothers arms and gurgled to the continuous stream of friends, relatives and outsiders who had changed sixpence for a voting ticket at the front door of the Colosseum. In the old djiys before the war it was always possible to capture a green young city councillor or a courageous member of Parliament, hand him a- note-book. and appoint him Judge of the Baby Show. Nowadays people don’t look for trouble. They are apt to scent it a mile off and make a dash for the tell timber. That’s the secret of the inauguration of the ballot system at baby shows. It’s popular, plays no favotrrites, and avoids recriminations. FIRST IMPRESSIONS. People walking round with stumps of pencil, thinking hard, occasionally stopping to jot down a number, knocktng against other people in their prooccupation, apologising profusely and then moving on to the next class—all that came into a first impression of the exhibition. In addition there was sound, not sound divided into slirieks and pauses, but an insistent, even soothing murmur, as if you had stepped into the largest nursery in the wor ld about feeding time. Round the hall, in chairs, the mothers held up their babies for the admiration of the throng, and your best plan, when you saw a°dnnpkid darling whose blue eyes and curly hair touched your inner heart chords, was to jot down its schedule number without delay—“l vote for No. A 1 in the two-year-old class.” There is a story told of one man who got bustled by big female relatives, and had still to come to a decision when the hell rang. But his middle name may have been Solomon, as thev say in Chicago. THE STAR. ATTRACTION. “Oh, Jet’s see the twins. Mabel.” Nearly everyone said something like that sooner or later yesterday afternoon. The twelve pairs of twins on parade were easily the star attraction of the exhibition. _ If you admired one lusty infant, praised its pink cheeks and patted its dimpled legs, and then found its dead image alongside grabbing for mother 5 s bangle, well, friendly neutrality simply had to go bv the hoard Comic postcards that tell of father’s angnish when nurse holds up two_ fingers may ho all verv well m their way. but there’s always such a thing as the law of compensation. Two little hoys, dressed alike, fair wavy hair, dark bine eyes, drabhv faces, tightly-clenched fists—the casual observer was up against that when it came to voting for the best baby in the show, THEIR INFINITE VARIETY. Don’t think that it was all plain sailing round among the single babies. There was a Maori babv with twinkling eyes and the cutest smile; a dear little roly-poly; little girl babies with their hair in ribbons and bows, little boy babies in boots and pantaloons, babies half asleep in Jong white clothes, babies in blue frocks who fed from bottles; babies in other frocks who continually drew sustenance from Nature’s fount; babies who could inst about talk and seemed rather proud of it; babies who pulled their little sister’s hair and laughed 'with delight; babies Tvbo seemcd annoyed with all the fuss and sometimes got past crymp- point; babies who slept serenely through it all, and will_ have to be told about it some day; babies fair and babies dark; all of them bonny babies and none of them likely to upset a whole house by falling suddenly ill. All the babies were lovely, and the most hardened misanthrope could not have looked upon their innocent beauty without a softening of his heart. THEIR LITTLE WORRIES. Tho babies had something to put up with. Behind each mother was a halfcircle of chairs, and here intimate mends of tho family gathered to discuss matters from the inner angle and perhaps pass remarks about other babies. There were numerous details regarding baby’s dress to be explained, and _ though mother might relieve the tension by a congenial chat, babv bad to keep a cheerful face to the” footlights and gather in the votes. Once a particularly playful child snatched i ,j ntry mrmb er from his mother’s shoulder, and there was some confusion until the ticket was smoothed out again and replaced. There was also the mother who had evidently decided that baby shows were similar institutions to photographic studios and had com© prepared with a set smile and a straight-ahead gaze, but after about naif an hour her starobod-out expression faded away and she began to take an interest in her neighbours and her neighbours’ babies. Fathers did not bother the proceedings a great deal. If there were manv of them in the hall they certainly kept well in the background and let the vote take its course. Most fathers are so absolutely sure that their own child is the best in tbo country thnfc they consider praise of other people’s children as rank envy, patent to everyone. VIEW OF AN EXPERT. “ Now if Dr Trnbv King were here, what would he say of this baby show?” was the question put to a leading Plunket nurse. 1 Well.” said the nurse, “ I think they re just beautiful, don’t you? They’re all healthy and strong. What you look for in babies is colour and linnness. Well, you 3 vo got those qualities hero to-day. Christchurch should be proud of the exhibition—it really would be hard, to beat. There’s not a baby hero yon. can take execution to. And the twins, my word I Aren’t thev lovely?” They were indeed. TJF. the winners. Tho prize-winning babies were:— ~ Class 1. Baby girl, under six months— Pool (58, Hawkesbury Avenue, St Albans), and Florence Patterson (10, Matson’s Street, Sydeahanj), equal. Class L—Baby boy, six months old or under Leslie YT. Blain (385, Gloucester Street), 1; B. G. Clothier (Mona Til la, Kaiapoi), 2. Class 2. —Baby girl or boy, six months up to one year—Baby Piper (Tuahiwi), 1; Bona Pyno (333, Colombo Street), 2. Class 3, —Baby girl or boy, over one year up to two years—Allan Palmer (135, Ferry Boad), 1; Bona M. Elliott (no address), 2. Class 4. —Baby girl or boy over two years up to three years—Gertrude James (263, Worcester Street), 1; Elva Eagleton (l£2 i Montreal Street), 2. Class s.—Twins, six months or under—Jack and Frank Fielding (16, Halkett Street), 1; June and ‘John MThail (90, Simeon Street, Spreydon), 2. Class 6.—Twins, over six months, np to three years—Andrew and Clement Patterson (Sumner), 1; Olga and Ivan Bayliss (63, Perry Boadb 2. Best baby in the show.—Baby Piper (Toahiwi.) Tbo ecrutmeers were Messrs J. F. Peake, A. L. Pratt, J. F. Collins, C. Tbrop, J. G. L. Yemen and F. O. Raphael. , There wore 3000 votes polled, and tho scrutiny of them occupied from 6 p.m. to one o’clock this morning.