The Toledo chronicle. [volume] (Toledo, Tama County, Iowa) 1873-1924, 1876-02-03
The Case Of Lanra Bridsenap.

In . village IN the mountains Of New
Hampshire the late Dr.. Samuel G, Hope
found the subject Of thi. sketch, then si1
years old, blind, deaf. dumb, and nearly
destitute q the sense Ct taste. scarlet
fevef having deprived her Of these gifts.
She was thus excluded from all the beau
ties Of God in nature, and seemed little
better thsn 5 piece Of marble chiseled in
human form, and thai soul containing .
Eickerirg spark Of an immortal soul
Her father was O weli-fodc FARMER, and
her mother q womx- q much intelligence,
who glsdiy Consented 10 place her little
daughter in care Of Dr.. Howe. Accord
inEly, she was brought 10 Boston and 9
process of instruction Immediately eom.
menced. She was first taught to Use hef
hands and to acquire . command Of her
muscles and limbs, and afterwards, hy
means Of s pen and pin. TO disiia guish
two articles By arbitrary signs. Then
from monosyilables she learned ali the
letters Of the alphabet and how TO arrange
them 10 represent objects. She soon sc
CURED 8 knowledge OF numerals. punci-
uzfion, etc, sad then sae gained the
PoSe, OF expressing thought the names
oi things, etc. The next process taught
her was 10 recognize the same signs in
embossed types. She WORKED with grea,
ea-ernes. thus rewGrding the vatchfui
care Of her devoted teacher. Miss
BTid-emsn Is now in her fory-sixth rear.
and between her home ami the Perkins.
Institution she has passed her time thus
far She is tall, slight, graceful in form
and IaOiion, wesrs green bands scro;s her
eyes, is very drnOnstrsuye. and her fscs
81 times radiates with emotion. She
dresses with grea! eare-more to please
her friends than herscl:-aad takes pride
in showing her gold watch and other
feminine or-Damentatioas. She i. quite
eZPoT II cTocbe.in- and plain nestle
vo-k, and takes much delight IN assisting
oae-of tie teachers in the sewing depart
meBt i few DAYS ago se wss at work
with perhaps a dozen Of the pupils, turn
ing The hens Of napkins and threading
needles with her fingers ard tech, She
exhibited some OF her hsHning with IS
much pride = 4 soldier hearing 5 trophy
from s battlefield. i lady OF the
occasion referred to made s pur-
chase from her Of & crochet mat. and.
with clear articulation, Miss B-idgenan
repeated the word "money" twice. She
can utter iBtelligibly The name Of q teach
e. and such words ss bsby, etc. She
forms words with : lezd-pencil by The aid
% q French EEitng-bosri. This lister
article has grooYei lines about an eighth
of az inch deep 81 i1ch or 50 apart, run
ming tTaDsTe-sely across the pas.ebosrd.
She taxes her pa er and presses il into the
grooves. thus masking depressiODs which
can BE felt By The pencil point and when
slightly pressed leaves Z letter marx. In
furnishing her autograph she writes above
her name . scripture text On being
askei if she realized the meaning Of The
quotation: The Lord is my Shepherd"
she replied, Fully On learning that
her questigner had been 4 Sabbath-school
teacher for eighteen years she clasp@d her
hands with delight and an attempt. in q
raPrurous manner, 70 speak, giving forth
& lurid-like sound. Miss Briigemaa.
after the dcah Of her father, was self
ishly deprived Of the little property he
left fQ- herself and her mother, and she
continued TO earn a little money BY the
use OF her needle. She, however, pos
sesses the interest Of . bequest Of s. 90
from tie Lo-ing fund. Yesterday this
lady was feeling acutsly the death of the
noble man who brought ont her i'm
prisoned spirit from chaos. She is lir-
ing monument Of his devotion, patience,
hope, waiting, watching, and giving Of
eyes to the blind AMI language to the
dumb lips. The Emperor of Prussia sent
DR.. Howe a gold medal for his marvel.
Gus achievement il educating Laura
Bridgeman. The attention OF the Euro
pear world was first drawn to Miss
Bridgeman's most extraordinary case
through Charles Dickens Notes - in
which a very full account was given and
= deserved eulogium passed upon DR..
Howe.-Bostga Trartl<r.