Southwest-sentinel. [volume] (Silver City, N.M.) 1883-189?, 1893-10-17
WITH FINGER TIPS.
HOW HELEN KELLER WAS TAUGHT
THE NAMES OF THINGS.

Something Of the Method Explained by
Her Tireicss Instructress-A Face That
Mirrors n Soul which Knows Naught OF
the Appearance Of Sin.
The most interesting feature Of the ed
Vocational congress was the appearance
of Helen Keller under the kind and skill
ful guidance Of Miss Annie NJ. Sullivan,
her teacher. When a babe, Helen Keller
became blind, deaf and dumb. When
Miss Sullivan. q young woman of unus-
ual beauty Of form and feature, stood
before tho audience beside u girl who,
except for the sad sign Of blindness in
the large eyes, gave promise Of still
greater beauty, her face glistening with
a rapture that painters try to express in
the ecstacy Of angels, hearts seemed to
stand still. 1t was q face that had never
consciously looked on the distortions Of
passion or pain-the mirror of a soul
that could not imagine the outward APP
pearanco Of sin nor remember any Of the
disco-ds Of life.
In her presence IL was hard to appre-
ciate the fact that her world lay within
ours, without sun, music or speech. No
one who saw it will forget the impulsive
luttering Of her young, white hand as
it sought her teachers face OF round,
white throat; the satisfaction when the
contact of her delicate white finger tips
gave her what sight gives us; the flash
of light over her face when, with her
foreinger resting on her teachers lip,
she read the answer to the question she
had asked by the twinkling digital move
ments in her teachers palm. There
were those who wept when she repeated
audibly, with a depth Of feeling sho
alone can feel;
Tell me not in nournful numbers
Life Is but an empty dream.
All were invited to ask questions, yet
not many did so. The occasion seemed
sacred.
GLOW did you teach her the first
wordY' some n ventured at last.
"Her first word was doll" was the
answer. II gave hel the doll, placed
her finger on my lip ana spoke the word.
When she wearied of the dell, 1 took it
from her, and when l returned it again
gave the movement of the lips. The
second word was mug fused tho cup
from which she drank, but became con-
WINGED that she had not a clear idea of
the name, but that it meant to her also
water or drink. So / one day took her
to the pump, and as the water was flow
ing into her cup had her hold her hand
in the stream, and then putting her fin
ger on my lip gave her the word water.
Then l again gave her the word mug.
The idea that everything had a name,
the comprehension of nouns, was a great
revelation to her and came then and all
at once. She was greatly excited. A
nurse, with the baby sister in her arms
was standing near. Helen Immediately
put her hand on its face to know it,
name. ] told her baby and she caught
it at once. Then she stopped down ant
patted the ground to know what it wa.
called. She learned many words tina.
day, and those words she never forgot.
How soon after she learned words
did she frame ~sentencesT"
Immediately"
"Were verbs harder to learn thai
nounss'
"Not at all. began with such word
as sit stand and the like that wer,
easy to illustrate. Propositions troubled
her most"
"How does she get an idea of the alb
stractF'
Il cannot tell. 1t seems to be witt
her, or it comes"
HAS she any Distinguishing ems o
musical vibrationsY'
Eyes, very distinct. She likes music.
SIS her vocabulary larger
every large. She expresses hersel
huently and is choice of words"
"What books does she like bestY'
Every now and then the white finger
futtered to tho teachers face for jus
n delicate touch-a finger look it wa
and now they rested on Miss Sull
vans lip:
"Tell-the people - what - books
you-like-best."
Helen's face was an open book of he
mental processes. She repeated eac
word after Miss Sullivan, but hesitate
] d little on the words "tell' and ''you
the brightness Of her face dimming f
: the instant. AS soon as she compr
= hended tho question, which she did ina,
5 vance of It's completion, the flash Of int
G ligence came, and when she turned t
ward the audience, for she did not see
at any time to Q her location, she sa
a with spirit:
"Oh, l have read so much that it
very hard to say what l like best, but"
waiting amoment--" Little Lord Faun
leroy'"- And then followed rapid
the names of several works, some
d which, it would seem, could hardly
understood by any M who cannot kno
sound and color.
Elbow do you readP"
d "By raised letters and by myteachei
" II noticed when you pronounced (
her you articulated with an exaggerat
motion Of the lips" said n SIS n
re- that necessary"
"Her teaching was begun in that wa
g 1 do not think it Is necessary or best.
le attribute the popularity Of her voice
10 that mechanical action which she us
l think it would have been better a
as just as easy If she had been spoken
le with the usual movement"
ne In reply to the question Of her knoN
o.; edge Of the abstract, General Futon
t, marked that the greatest development
the case of Helen Keller was that of I
n. spiritual Appeal-Ayalancl
Palettes OF Painters.
no Palettes Of famous painters form
a interesting collection in the possessi
TH