Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1889-01-30
BLIND, DEAF AND DUMB.
An Infant Laura Bridgman-LittleH Helen
Keller's Wonderful Gifts.

keuer's Wonderful Gifts.
From the Portland, Me-. Advertiser.
The feature of the annual report e Superin-
tendent Anagnos of the Perkins Institute for
the Blind, at Boston. is the brochure ON little
Helen Keller, the infant Laura Bridgman, by
Miss Sullivan, who taught the little blind and
deaf mute to understand the world about her.
Miss Sullivan tells many interesting anecdotes
and incorporates letters and compositions of
the little girl into the story
When little Helen. for instance, visited Welles-
ley college, she examined the statuary care
fully and afterward initiated the various at
tltudes which had attracted her attention
This she did with great exactness copying from
the statue of the dancing girl, for instance the
position OF feet hands. arms, head-indeed. of
the whole body. Last June she was introduced
to young Greek student. whose long name
consisting of % letters. WAS spelled to her only
once. In repeating it, she made but one mis-
take. This was corrected, and about three
months later she asked where Mr.. Francois
D-e-m-e-t-r-i-o-s K-a-l-o-p-o-t-h-a-k-e-s wac
Helen certainly derives great pleasure from
the exercise of her senses. On entering a
greenhouse her countenance becomes radiant
and she will tell the name of the flowers with
which she is familiar by the sense of smell
alone. Her recollections of the sensations of
smell are very vivid. She enjoys in anticipa-
ton the scent of rose or violet; and if prom
ised bouquet of these flowers a peculiarly
happy expression will light up her face indi-
eating that In imagination she perceives their
fragrance and that it is pleasant to her.
SURROUNDED BY DARKNESS AND STIFFNESS,
she has been forced to depend largely upon
the muscular sense as a means Of ascertaining
the mental condition of those about her. She
has learned to connect certain movements of
the body with anger, others with joy. and
others still with sorrow. One day. while she
was walking out with her mother and Mr.
Anagnos. boy threw torpedo which startled
Mrs; Keller. Helen felt the change in her
mothers movements instantly and asked:
What are we afraid of?'' She is very fond of
children younger than herself, and baby
invariably calls forth all the motherly instincts
of her nature. She will handle the infant as
tenderly as the most careful nurse could desire
Her own writings indicate clearly what Won
derful work has been her education. This is
the way in which she describes her visit to the
President last spring:
I'VE went to see Mr. Cleveland. He lives in n
very large and beautiful white house and there
are lovely flowers and many trees. and much
fresh and green grass around. and broad
smooth paths TO walk On. Teacher told me
about the beautiful river that is very near the
gardens. The Potomac river is clear and it is
very beautiful when the sun shines upon it,
Mr.. Cleveland was very glad to see me-.
She began the study of geography during the
points OF the compass and of boundaries. She
VIII bound room, house. a garden. without
difficulty. and she has worked little with the
maps. She had learned, at different times. the
names OF few of the states in connection with
other subjects; and she now learned at a single
lesson the names of all the states of the Union.
and their correct spelling.
AND Is ONLY EIGHT YEARS OLD,
Early in July she went to Brewster, where
she spent the remainder of the summer. This
visit at the seaside was a novel experience to
her. When first taken into the water she ran
fearlessly forward, dancing along with the
same happy freedom she manifests on land,
and delighted with the splashing Of the water
around her. Unfortunately striking her foot
against a stone. she stumbled and fell forward
and the salt water filed her mouth The
shock of the fall, by which she was instantly
submerged, the coldness of the water-and
especially the seeming violence with which the
salt waves rushed into her mouth-terrified
her, and seemed to arouse in her q feeling of
Indignation. As soon she had sufficiently
recovered to use her fingers. she asked excited
ly: Who put salt in water?" For several DAYS
afterward she manifested great timidity about
bathing, but by degrees she regained her
former fearlessness. She would wade in until
the water was up to her ears; and at first she
would be frightened when Il wave caught her
and swept her back, but she soon came to think
this the greatest fun of all. She also learned to
hoat In short. she thoroughly enjoyed her
| stay at the seashore.
The following extracts from Helen's diary
illustrate what she has learned about familiar
animals:
Jan. Is, 1sSS.-Rats are small animals. They
are made OF flesh, and blood and bone. They
have four feet and tail. They have one head
and two ears and two eyes and one nose They
have one mouth and sharp teeth. They gnaw
holes in wood with their teeth. They do
walk softly. Rats killed little pigeons. Cats do
catch rats and eat them.
March s, 1SSS.-We had fish for breakfast
| Fish live in the deep water. There are MANY
hundreds OF fish swimming about in the water.
Men catch hsh with poles and hooks and lines.
They put little tiny fish on the hook and
throw II In the water, and fish does bite the
fishs mouth and hurt him much. / am very
| sad for the poor fish. Fish did not know that
very sharp hook was in tiny fish. Men must
not kill poor fish. Men do pull fish out and
| take them home, and cooks do clean them very
nice and fry them, and then they are very good
to eat for breakfast"
The story of the progress made by this little
human being is like romance 1t is sraught
with interesting and instructive incidents and
opens to all intelligent persons new sources OF
thought and wonder. As will be seen by the
extracts from her diaries, and by her letters.
| she has gained an uncommon facility and
| copiousness Of expression. She takes great
delight in reading TO herself. Indeed, 1t Is an
| indescribable pleasure to watch her beaminp
and eyer-changing countenance as the sen.
fences fall from her fingers. Little stories,
written In simple style, offer. of course, pecu-
liar attractions TO her; but no matter what the
nature OF an embossed book is, she viii occupy
herself with it for hours, apparently feastine
| on its contents. =
| -->D>
John @. Racine, French veteran who served
under Napoleon at Waterloo, died near vii.
mington, Del, Monday, aged ninety-three