071 'LE TROUSSEAU DE BEBE'
by Leon Delachaux (19th C.)

She has her big sister's awesome eyes on her...."If you watch me, I can't do it"! Enthroned regally on the intricately carved, high-backed chair, - and being ever-so grown up, our little model in her beautiful new white dress, is sewing very slowly. The two have both been invited out to tea this afternoon and are dressed in their best. Could it be to go with the cocher (coachman) in the cabriolet to the other side of Paris? The journey might take them past the new Eiffel Tower which has become the latest wonder of the world. For the eldest to be seen riding in her new hat would be the ultimate thing. Back to painting though.

In her hands, the baby doll is a much-loved posession of her young tormentor and goes everywhere with her. The doll seems to wait patiently for a new set of clothes while. progress is being monitored. The small hands move the needle step by step in case she has forgotten what mother taught her. "Oh! This is so difficult I shall never, never learn"!

Pink ribbons frame the face of this little golden-haired poupee who will eventually receive her new attire. If she could talk she would only exclaim: "There is no hurry as long as my new trousseau its as pretty as yours."

In between bouts of difficulty forcing the needle and cotton into the correct place, other distractions have had their toll. The flowers strewn across the room indicate that they have suffered the little hands nearby. The older sister seems unaware of such diversions and helps concentrate her little sister's mind on the major task before her.

Perhaps there is another hour or so to go before the grandfather clock in the salon strikes its deadline. Clearing up will be later, as accurate timing of parents' investigations have been mastered in long ago. The ability to show innocence and act oneself out of a predicament has run a little thin with mother, so now it is essential to prove the value of teaching, by aiming for a worthy result in the dolls new dress.

"Can you try that cross-stitch just once again. It'll only take a second and then we can start on the hemline?"

"This new trousseau de bebe will have all Paris talking. So please do try to finish it this after-noon!"