The Ketchum keystone. [volume] (Ketchum, Idaho) 1885-1899, 1886-12-18

What n Mothers Love and
Patience Accomplished.
A Philadelphia lady, while in
Paris last summer, noticed sitting
opposite at the table a little boy
about nine years old who attracted
her attention by constantly look
ing at her. When the boy saw
what seemed to be a look of en-
couragement he bowed and smiled.
When the lady and the boy met in
the halls he would bow and evi-
IDENTIFY try to say "Good morning"
or Good evening" But he made
only a faint sound. This seemed
so strange that the lady asked a
servant why the child never made
any noise, for, although he played,
he never shouted as did the other
children. The answer was: "He
was born dumb"
This statement excited the lady's
interest, and one day she took oc-
casion to speak to the mother. One
of the first things the mother said
was: "You know my boy cannot
hear?" Then she told of her life's
work. She is a native of New York
state, about forty-four years of age,
and her husband is United States
naval officer. The first five years
of their married life was spent in
Washington, ID. c. Her oldest
child when born is what is gener-
ally called deaf and dumb" This
mother said children are born deaf
but never dumb, that all babies
make noise when they cry. She
also said that if mothers whose
children who were born without
the sense of hearing would teach
the little ones to distinguish for
themselves the sounds that are
pleasant from those that are disa-
greeable, by the position of the
mouth and throat, there would be
fewer dumb persons in the world,
perhaps none. This mother dis
covered when her boy was five
years old that he was not develop
ing the power of speech and some
unusual efforts must be made to
encourage him. She gave up all
society to devote herself to him.
She inquired into all the methods
then known for educating the
dumb, and tried them. She has
had seven children, only two of
whom are living, the oldest boy
now twenty, and the other nine
years old, and they are both deaf.
Sixteen of the past twenty years
she has spent in hospitals, asylums,
institutions and medical schools.
She has mastered and tried each
new method as it has been devel-
oped. She has not only learned all
that could help her to teach and
educate her children, but has also
acquired a perfect knowledge of the
human body. Nerves, bone, mus
Gle, all have been studied by her.
She met with much opposition, not
only from outside critics, but from
members of her own husbands
family, who looked upon her af-
ilicted children as "a visitation of
Providence" Her answer was that
she was not conscious of having
committed a sin which deserved so
great punishment, and she did
not intend to sit down and accept
it until she had made a desperate
effort to at least tighten the burden
of her children's aflliction. And
now, after sixteen years, the oldest
boy can talk so we'll that scarcely
any one is aware of his aflliction,
and the youngest one is steadily
improving. but he does not know
that he is different from others, and
thinks that to understand every
one must look at the talker. This
is lip-reading. AT the table or
anywhere that his mother wishes
him to know anything, and does
not want to attract attention by
having him turn his head to look
at her, she can talk to him by plac-
ing the palm of her hand against
the palm of his hand. BY touch
ing different places she can tell him
what she wishes him to know.
Each joint or mount of the fingers
and hand represents letter of the
alphabet. He reads in this way
with marvellous rapidity, and can
answer with equal quickness. She
can also talk to him by placing her
hand on his shoulders, where diff
ferent parts are understood to rep
resent different letters. lie has
been taught to write style which
looks very much like Arabic, and
no matter what the sentence, or,
more difficult still, the proper
name, he can read it better than the
average child of his age can read a
strange name. Each stroke, each
shade of this strange writing indi-
Gates a position of the mouth,
throat or tongue. The child is as
bright and clever as most children,
and much more affcctionate than