Afterword

A Babe Is Born

Dear Readers, I KNOW that some of you Mothers out there have been wondering WHERE are the Parents of these lost children, as you have been reading these Tales of their Adventures! But you have been too polite to ask or to chastise about their carelessness with the safety of their children. So I will tell you how it came about that the youngsters were left so much to themselves that they went astray!
Some of you have guessed that Maybe there would be a new addition to the Family now that Clarence was staying home and no longer absent for months at a time.... but we must remember that the Victorians were very reluctant to talk about these very Natural events.... and they Certainly never allowed the children to be a witness to something as "embarrassing" as the birth of a child! So the minute that Charlotte felt her "Time" had arrived, the children were given an early supper and sent to bed! Mrs. Butterworth, the Cook and sometimes also the Maid and the Nanny too, was too busy helping Charlotte to notice that Tommy had not returned in time for the supper.
And poor Clarence was of NO use at all! Can you believe it, but in all the years that their Family had been growing, he was NEVER home for the birth of the Children! He was always away at Sea for these events..... so he was under some illusion about the easiness of the process. THIS time, he could not help but be aware of the struggle Charlotte was undergoing to deliver the new child into the world! He found himself becoming more and more anxious as the hours wore on. WHAT if he lost the Mother of his Children? What would he do without his Dear Charlotte? Why did it have to be so difficult? Why was there Nothing he could do to help?
At last he decided that he MUST go and fetch the Village Doctor! So he climbed onto their gentle horse and rode off into the dusk to find the Doctor.....

But when he got to the Village, he found that the Doctor was out visiting another patient.....

so he rode on to the next Village......

And on.... until eventually he caught up with the Doctor!

By the time he found the Doctor it was quite late........

And even later still by the time they returned to the House........

Where they found, much to Clarence's relief, that Nature had taken it's course and Charlotte had delivered a beautiful healthy baby boy!

Mrs. Butterworth had done a wonderful job assisting Charlotte,

and the baby was clean and wrapped in a blanket.....

The Doctor stepped in just to make sure all was as it should be........

And Mrs. Butterworth held the new Baby for Clarence to greet.....

Please remember that he has never met any of his other children when they were this little.... he has NO idea what to say or do..... it is NOT the usual thing for Fathers to involve themselves with the Infants! So he can be forgiven if he just looks on in a bit of shock....... They baby is so tiny and red faced! He does not know what to do.....

But then he thinks........ "We'll call him 'John' after my Father...."

Mrs. Butterworth is completely in charge.

She shoos the Men away so Charlotte and the baby can get some rest.........

Charlotte is too tired to even lift her head from the pillow....

she is SO glad Mrs. Butterworth is here....
She knows everything will be alright now......

It has been a long night, but she is happy.....

And as the morning light creeps into the room, she thinks

"We'll call him 'Joseph' after my Father."

And so a new Baby is Born!
And perhaps his Parents can be forgiven for Assuming that their older children are safely tucked in bed the whole night through!

And now I must tell you, Dear Readers, that this baby is the ONLY doll that I still have from my childhood years! I can still remember the Store where I bought it when I was around eight or nine years old. I had saved up my Birthday money and was determined to spend it on one of the expensive little treasures available in this small department store in my home town. It was a very old fashioned place and there was a toy department on a second floor mezzanine with glass fronted cabinets full of toys just at child eye-level! The little doll came with his own little dresser filled with tiny baby accessories........ all of which are still here.....

The rattle and the funny looking bottle......

The baby blanket...... and a fuzzy hooded bath towel........

Still tucked away in the drawers.....

At some point I clothed him in a Victorian era bonnet and skirt.....
At least they are a gender neutral yellow......

Victorians clothed their boy children in dresses until the age of five or six......
(I do think he is a boy.......)

Here he is in his original underclothes.......
Perhaps not as clean as when new.......

But still very, very cute!

I can't believe I still have him!
Welcome, Little Jo Jo!

Just a Little Afterword!