BABY SHOW.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 5290, 9 March 1878, Page 2 (Supplement)

BABY SHOW.

■ A grand baby show, took place the other day at Midget Hall, New York, and seems to have been a great success. There were babies of all nationalities—American, Irish, Scotch, German, Russian, Swedish, Danish, Dutch, and it was even asserted that Turksh babies were to be found in the collection. The rooms were “fairly smothered under the Stripes and Stairs,” and ornamented with appropriate mottoes, such as “ What is a homo without a baby?” “The hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that, moves the world,” &c. It was left to the visitors to decide as to the mothers and babies who were entitled to prizes. Every baby being numbered, the visitor, assuring himself or herself of the number, filled out the following coupon attached to each ticket : “ Handsomest mother. Prettiest baby. Einest triplets. Prettiest twins. 1 Greatest Novelty. Prettiesttwo-year-old. Prettiest three-year-old. Prettiest four-year-old. Prettiest five-year-old.” A special committee decided on other qualities. The coupon, after being filled out by each visitor, was dropped into a ballotbox. Some of the babies exhibited were really wonderful infants. One boy of eleven months could stiiiid On his head, tumble about like ah acrobat, mew like a cat, bark like a dog, and perform other marvels. The favorite word among the babies was “ gow-zow,” which was supposed to be expressive of satisfaction at the amount of sustenance imbibed. Some babies uttered the word “mow" frequently, which it was thought was intended to convey a desire to have the nose wiped with a pockethandkerchief; but it was discovered that the word was a request for another turn at the bottle. ’’ Among the curiosities exhibited were a double-jointed baby and a mammoth baby. This latter infant, aged five months, “ rolled in fifty pounds,” and bis only rival was a “ redcheeked forty-pounder of eight months.” The exhibition was considered peculiarly gratifying, as showing that the theory of a degeneration of the American race is entirely founded on error, some of the finest babies (including the mammoth) having been born under the star-spangled banner.