The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1886-12-09
BLIND BOYS AND GIRLS.
The Wonderful Things They Are laugh
Mt nm UnstttutiOu I'm Sf,uth Roston.

BLIND BOYS AND GIRLS.
The Wonderful Things They Are raugh,
at an Institution I'm South Boston.
I am sure not all the boys and girls
who read this article have ever stopped
to shink how it would seem to be blind.
To never see tho bright blue sky, or the
running brooks, not to know how the
planet little singing-bird looks, not
even to know. the shape of the house he
lives in, to be constantly in total dark.
ncss--can you imagine itp
None Of us, perhaps, realize how
many poor children there are who can
not see, unless he has been, as 1 have,
to gre t nst tuition. like the Perkins
Institution for the Blind in South Bos-
ton, and seen there the great number Of
boys and girls who are being taught 10
see through the ends of the r fingers
that is funny express on, .sn't FTP Yet
that is just what they do. Most people
suppose that blind people arc born with
a marvelously delicate sense of touch.
That is a mistake. Probably they, as
babies, have no more delicate touch
than you had. 1t is only rs one fa' ulty
is ed Gated far beyond others that II
exccls them. Bandage up your eyes, my
boy, and keep them so for two weeks,
depending on your sense of touch to
gu de you everywhere. You would be
amused to see how many mistakes you
would make. and how much you would
improve in that one sense N that short
time. And yet you would have tho adj
vantage over the boy who never saw, In
that yod know the shape OF familiar OBJ
iects.
"What!' l exclaimed, on my visit ia
the schooi for the blind, "those boys are
not blind!"
Totally so," replied the teacher.
What do you suppose they were do.
ingp Throwing stones little ones that
they picked up on the walk-at each
other!
won't they get hurt?" I exclaimed.
II seemed impossible that they could
pick up and throw stones at random,
with any safety.
"Oh, no." said the teacher. ''They
run no more risk than ordinary children
playing the same way. They know
where each other child is, and how far
it W ii do to throw"
But l was more surprised when went
indoors and saw what they could do.
Perhaps some of you have seen books
or papers for the blind, with their raised
letters, or heard them read, rapidly and
well, from their books. But have seen
o young girl sit down and thread O
sewing-macbine--a girl into whose brain
the faintest ray of light can not pierce.
But her VIII to fingers moved rapidly
and delicately from one po mt to another
until the complicated machinery was
mastered and the machin ne threaded.
These children, some of them nearly
grown when they enter the school, have
to begin to learn by cultivating The
touch. This is done at the Perkins
Institution by adopting the kindergar-
ten system. Reading by touch is far
easier after the fingers have been train
ed in tracing embroidered patterns on
sewing-cards, weaving the delicate
paper and modelling in clay. You would
marvel to see the tiny baskets, chairs
and houses woven in colored straws or
papar-strips. Every corner is fitted per-
fectly. every color contrasted exactly
with its neighbor. The only difference
between the work of these blind children
and those who can see is-shall say It,
their work is far more
correct in details. There are no loose
ends or careless leavings in it.
Monday. in the Perkins Institution, is
''sewing-day," whom they cmbroider
white cards with worstei, in marked
patterns-or, rather, pricked patterns.
Their fingers follow the holes, and they
patiently carry tho needles which they
have threaded with bright-colored
worstcd. in and out of these holes. Az
terward, by tracing the worsted lines,
they say they ''sce just how it looks. ="
Tuesday is their ''cushion-day." In a
pleasant room. gay with plants and sun
shine. they gather round horseshoe
table. On it are red and gray cushions,
with lot of doll hair-pins in one cor
ner. Sometimes they use sticks and
sonnet mes tablets of wood with these
cushions. With the sticks they make
tents. houses, ladders, chairs, BIRD
houses, or any thing they please. fasten-
IHk uOWu tuc otiCho WItu Vuc utiE-piuS.
With the tablets they make patchwork
Of red and white squares. The tablets
have little holes dr. lied in them, SO they
may be fastened down with pins. and
little notches on the side distingu sh the
red from the white.
Wednesdays work is tho weaving Of
eolored papers. This is very important
work, rs IL is the foundation of their af-
ter work of cane-scating and basket
weaving, by which many Of them earn
their living. But they are very enthus-
iastic over It; and the choosing of q
new paper mat and tho color OF the
strands they will weave it in, is one oi
just as much interest to them as to
seeing-children. On Thursday they
have cubes. The little boxes
containing eight tiny cubes do
not look so very attractive. But just
wait and see what can be done with
them, and tho fun they have. Some
times they form professions with them.
Then they mako houses aud chairs and
all sorts of things. One girl made q
school, with desks wide apart $50 the
scholars couldn't whisper. and another
illustrated the story of ''The Three
Bears" making the house, the beds
and the chairs.
Friday is ''clay day. in all kinder.
gartens, and is the delight of the week
at Perkins Institution. And their touch
is SO delicate and SO accurate that you
would be surprised TO see that these
clay pitchers, coal-hods, and other
things are as true to life as those VIII oh
your bright eyed little brother or sister
makes in his or her kindergarten. On