Wisconsin tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1847-1854, 1847-09-10
Variety.
FIRM Tn. Christian Citizen
laura BRIGHAM AND HER
BARREL OF FLOUR.

whom the story of aura Bridgman is
unknown, we would merely say, that
she is Young girl iii the Institution
for the blind in Boston L. S. A., deaf,
dumb, and blind. Just think of that
condition, a moment Every avenue
10 her mind is cut off except the sense
of feeling. We believe that of smell
ing is impaired so as to be unable to
perceive any relish in the sweet breath
Of flowers. Poor girl had she been
born among the heather, she would
have been left to perish as a worthless
thing, 10 whom life were of no value.
But there were those who saw in her
a candidate for immortal glory, being
that. deaf, dumb, and blind, as she
was, could be made to sing, and hear
the angels sing, in heaven, and see
and taste all the beautitudes enioyd
there by spirits never were pent in
clay ev tabcrnacles as windn--'l~,D 90
'rcfs On earrh. And they went to work
and educated that single sense of
feeling to the incest susceptibilities.
And they made a wooden alphabet,
they did, wooden models of ideas, of
things that had been, are, and shall
be in the world And these she touch
ed mos; thoughtfully, as if listening for
the music Of hew existence; and
wonderful her fingers ends became
clowed with faculties almost mirac-
ulous, and filled her mind with aston
ishing revelations of things present,
past. and to come. Her little white,
whispering, loving, listening, fingers
touched the record of the olden years,
beyond the Flood, till they felt the
branches of the forbidden tree, and
the locks of murdered Abel, and the
surgcs that beat against Noah's helm
less ark, and the cradle of the Hebrew
baby in the bulrushes, and the tremu-
lous base of Sinai, and David's harp,
and the face Of the infant Emanuel IN
the manger, and the nails that fastened
him to the cross, and their deep prints
that unbclicving Thomas felt after the
resurrection; and with his faith, on
shorter evidence, she too had cried in
the volcclcss language of her heart,
Ny Lord and my God ?
How she piled at morning, noon and
night, those fingers wonderful fin
gers 1T seemed that the very fin
ger of God had touched them with
miraculous susceptibilities of fellow
ship with the spirit world and that
around her. She put them upon the
face Of His written word, and felt them
thrill to her heart with the pulsation
of His great thoughts of love to man.
And then she felt for others woe.
Poor child God bless her richly she
reached out her short arms to feel
after some more unhappy than she in
the coalition of this life; some whose
fingers ends had not read such sweet
paragraphs of heaven's mercy as hers
had done; some who had not seen,
heard. and felt, what her dumb, silent,
deaf fingers had brought into her heart,
ofiov, hope, and love. Think of that,
We young eyes and ears that daily
feast upon the beauty and melody OF
this outer world. Within the atmos-
pherc OF her quick sensibilitics she felt
the presence of those whose cup was
full Of affection. She put her fingers
with their throbbing sympathies, upon
the lean. bloodless faces of the tamish-
ING children in ireland, and her sight
less ewes filled with the tears that the
blind may shed for griefs they cannot
see. And then she piled the needle
with those fingers, and quickened their
industry 10y placing them anon upon
the slow sickIy pulse of want, thai
wasted her kind al MONDAY across the
ocean. DAYS and nights, too-tor day
and night were alike to her waketu
sympathicS- and weeks, she wrought
on with her needle. And then the
embroidery of those fingers was sole
To the would II had beer
sold TO England Queen, 10 be worn by
the Young PrinCcSSeS on days OF state
II was sold, and lis purchase price wa:
a barrel of flour, instead of a country
harvest, which 1t WAS we'll worth
And that barrel Of flour was stored
away. without other private mark than
that the recording angel put upon II
among the thousands that trelghteC
the Jamestown on her recent mis-
sion of brothcrly love to ireland
That barrel of flour would that
might he To all the children of want II
Ireland what the barrel of meal was t
the household of her who entertaine'
the prophet OF old. That barrel o
flour would al least that those whom
iisupplles with bread might know wha
fingers wrought for their sustenance
D L