Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1882-01-06
LAURi BRID0VAN


uEAF.NUrr rurfL Vas rarorr
In the annual report Of tho rert ls lnsiita.
ton for the Blind for The past yea. The his-
tory Of the wonderful case of Lam Bndg-
man Is told again, a. follossi
"An account Of this Institution you'd Be
incomplete IL Il failed 10 mention t1s remark.
able success achieved Ia the cJ ication %
Laura Bridgman. Cases of cor binud los
(or Lack Of sight, hearing, aud pecch are
80 extremely rare that able vritots aud phi
losophors had discussed the possibility of
teaching beings 90 deprived Of the senses
necessary for communion with q cir fellows
any systematic language for such atarcourse.
But no such person seems 10 ha come 10
the knowledge OF these teachers "A philoso-
pliers, and il was considered an OF N question
whether such education were pos ible, when
DR.. Howe, having found In a litt village in
the mountains pretty and lively girl about
6 years old who was totally blini and deaf
and who had only very indistiuet sense Of
smell, resolved to try the experiment Of es-
tablishng means Of communicu On between
the human soul thus buried in darkness and
silence and the world outside
Laura Bridgman was born At Hanover
N. H., Dec. 2l, 1929. She was a bright,
pretty infant, but very delicate, and subject
TO fits until she was Is months old, when her
age she was bright intelligent, and healthy
child. She was then suddenly Irostrate1 by
fever, which ragged violently for seven
weeks and deprived her emit sely Of the
senses of sight and hearing, and blunted
those of taste and SMELL For i've months
she lay in a darkened room, and two years
had passed before her health was fully re-
stored. Though thus deprived Of most Of
the usual means Of communi cation with
Otb oh xuau int cd in aIp
her, and showed desire to learn. She soon
began to make a language Of her ewD, and
had sign TO indicate her recogn ton of each
member of the family. Her power Of imita-
ton led her TO repeat what Others did, and by
means of this faculty she had earned to sew
little and to knit. When DR.. Howe first
saw her, he describes her as he wing "a we'll
formed fgurei strongly marx I'd, nervous
sanguine temperament large and beauti-
fully shaped head, and the whole system in
healthy action Her parents were willing to
allow the trial of DR.. Howe's plan of teach
ing their unfortunate child, and on the 4th
of October, 1887 she was brought to the in
sttution.
"The first lessons were given by taking
small articles of common use, such as O key,
pen, &c, having labels pasted upon them
with their names in raised letters, and allow
ing her TO feel of these very carefully, over
the word thus printed with the article itself
and when shown the name apart from the
object, would at once bring the object which
| the name called for. In order to teach her
the value OF the individual letters of which
these names were composed, short monosyl-
labic words were first selected, such as pin
and PEN and by repeatedly examining these,
she came to perceive that they consisted of
| three separate signs or characters and that
fha mi oil of
die sign of the other. The Ia k of teaching
these early lessons was very slow one; but
Laura began by being a willing and patient
imitator, even before she had any conception
of the meaning or object of these lessons;
and when, by degrees, some idea Of their
Specification dawned upon her, her delight
was so unmistakably manifested, and her
zeal and interest became so great, that the
| slow process became pleasant work. After
learning to associate the printed names upon
the labels with the articles, tie letters were
| given her on detached pieces Of paper and
| she was taught to arrange them 80 as to spell
the words which she had already learned up
| on the labels She vas next supplied with a
set of metal types with the letters of the al
phabet cast upon their ends and a board
containing square holes, into which the types
could be set, so that only the letters upon
the ends could be felt above the surface;
and with these she soon learned to spell the
words which she knew, as she had with the
paper slips. After several weeks of this
practice she was taught to make the different
letters by the position of her fingers, and
thus dispense with the more cumbrous aid of
board and types. About three months were
spent in thus teaching her the names OF
| some common objects and the means of eX-
pressing them by setting up type or by the
manual alphabet. She was s. eager to learn
the name of every object With which she
| came in contact that much tine was spent in
teaching her these Next came words ex-
| pressing positive qualities; then the use of
| prepositons and she easily R'quired the use
Of some active verbs, such as to walk, to
run, to sew, &c, although the distinctions of
mood and tense came later. The process of
| teaching was necessarily so slow that not
withstanding the unusual quiokness of appre-
hension and eagerness to learn, she had at
| tanned only about the same command of lam
| guage as that possessed by ordinary children
| at 3 years of age when she had been under
| instruction 2G months and was 10 years old.
| But as she now possessed the means for the
requirement of all knowledge, and she be-
came capable of expressing her own thoughts,
feelings and impressions, the process of
teaching her and watching the development
| of her moral and intellectual nature became
more and more interesting. Her sense OF
| touch became more acute, and there was
| some improvement in the senses of taste and
| smell. Laura seems to have possessed an in
nate love of neatness and modesty which,
even in early childhood, eyented her from
| ever transgressing the rules of propriety.
She had a bright and sunny disposition,
which delighted in fun and merriment; an
affectionste and sympathetic nature, and
| ready confidence in others; and her consci-
entiousness and love of truth were early de-
veloped. When she had acq lired a sufficient
command Of language TO converse freely by
means of the manual alphabet, her circle Of
friends and soquaintanoes began to enlarge,
and the development Of her character was
greatly aided by coming in contact with va
riety of persons. A few years later she took
great interest in assisting in the education of
Oliver Oaswell, who was similarly afflicted
with herself. By the special teaching adapt
ed 10 her condition, Laura has acquired
good education, and is very skillful in many
of the employments Of women, such as sew
ing, (both by hand and by machine knit
ting, crocheting, and some fancy work, and
she is also capable of performing many
| household duties. She is very intelligent,
and fond of reading and of social intercourse;
and, Notwithstanding the isolation which her
lack of sight, hearing, and speech necessarily
involves, her life is an indus .rious and hap
py one"
1t is proposed to make education a neces-
sary qualification for future pedestrian
matches so that he who runs may read.
A young lady artist married a young gen.
tleman artist The uncle Of the bride made
a call upon them and found them sitting in
opposite corners of their joint studio in the
| IL, av,1 uaNriT,f that