Cheraw gazette and Pee Dee farmer. [volume] (Cheraw S.C.) 1838-1839, 1839-07-05

| ton ; if right, then she pats herself upon The
head, and looks pleased. She sometimes
purposely spells word with the left hand,
looks roguish for moment, and laughs, and
then with the right hand strikes the left, as
if to correct it.
During the year she had attained great
dexterity in the use of the manual alphabet
of the deaf mutes and she spells out the
words and sentences which she knows so
fast and so aptly, that only those accustomed
to this language, can follow with the eye,
The rapid motions Of her fingers.
But wonderful as is the rapidity with
which she writes her thoughts upon the air,
still more 80 is the easy and accuracy with
which she reads the words thus written by
another, grasping their hands in hers, aud
following every movement oftheir fingers
as letter after letter conveys their meaning
to her mind. 1t is in this way that she con-
verses with her blind playmates, and moth
ing can more forcibly show tho power OF
mind in forcing matter to its purpose. than
a meeting between them. For, ifgreat tal-
ent and skill are necessary for two panto~
mines to pain, their thoughts and feelings by
the movements of the body and the ex.
preston OF the countenance, how much
greater the difficulty when darkness shrouds
them both, and the one can hear no SOUND
When Laura is walking through a pas.
sage way, with her hands spread before her,
she knows instantly every one she meets,
and passes them with a sign of recognition,
but If she be a girl other own age and es.
pecially one Of her favourltes, there is in
SANITY bright smile Of recogntion--an
INTERVENING of arms, grasping of hands
and a swift ,elegraphing upon the tiny 6ng.
ers, whose rapid evolutions convey the
thoughts and feelings from the outposts OF
one mind to those Of the other. There
are questions and answers-exchanges Of
10y and sorrow-these are kisslngs and par.
tings-just as between little children with
all their senses.
One such interview is better refutatIon
Of the doctrines, TINT mind is the result Of
sensation, than folios Of learned argument.
If those philosophers who consider man as
only the most perfect animal, and attribute
his superiority to his senses, be correct,
then dog or monkey should have mental
power quadruple thatof poor Laura Bridge
man, who has but one sense.
We would not be understood to say that
this girl has the same amount of knowledge
that others of her age have,--yery far from
i; she is years of age, and yet her know
ledge of language is not create, than com.
mon child Of 3 years. There has been no
difficulty in communicating knowledge of
facts-positiye qualities ofbodies-numbers,
&c. but the svords Of them, which other
children learn by nearing, as they learn
to talk, must all be communicated 10 Laura
by circuitous and tedious method. In
all the knowledge which is required by the
perceptive faculties, she is of course back.
ward because, previous to her coming her
perceptive qualities were probably less ex'
ercised in one week, than those of common
children are in one hour. But what may be
termed her moral nature-her sense OF
propriety, &c. is equally well developed as
those of other cbil1ren.-Protestant Vin.
dicator.