Well, I think the expression pre-dates "chicks" or any reference to Babe Ruth. "Babes" is compared to "children." Another edition of this catechism is entitled "Milk for Babes, rendred [sic] now a little more Easy & Proper for Children of the Smallest Capacity." Therefore, I take "Babes" to mean little ones but I'm not able to define it more precisely at the moment. I am just remembering my youth in Boston and how "Boston Babes" had a different meaning for me in days gone by.

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Andrew Myers
Husband of Jessica, Father of Jackson, Katie and Samuel
Member, Presbyterian Reformed Church of Northern Virginia
Warrenton, VA USA
Editor, The Matthew Poole Project

"On land, at sea, at home, abroad, / I smoke my pipe and worship God." -- J.S. Bach