Without hesitation I drew the patent nursing-bottle from my
pocket and told the mother to allow the infant to have a
sufficient quantity of milk it contained to sustain the child's
life until she could procure other alms or other aid. With a cry
of joy the mother took the nursing-bottle and pressed it to the
poor baby's lips, and it was with great pleasure I saw the rosy
colour return to the child's cheeks. The sadness of despair that
had shadowed the mother's face also fled, and I could see that
already she was looking on life with a more optimistic view.
I verily believe the child could have absorbed the entire
contents of the bottle, but I had impressed upon the mother that
she was to give the child only sufficient to sustain life, not to
suffice it until it was grown to manhood or womanhood, and when
the bottle was half-emptied the mother returned it to me. How
much time all this occupied I do not know, but the child took the
milk with extreme slowness. I may say that it took the milk drop
by drop. A great deal of time must have elapsed.
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