Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1893-09-15
Helen Keller in Chicago.

The most interesting feature of the edu-
cational congress was the appearance of
Helen Keller, under the kind and skillful /
guidance of Miss Annie NJ. Sullivan her /
teacher. When a babe, Helen Keller be-
came blind, deaf and dumb. When Miss |
Sullivan, young woman of unusual |
beauty of form and feature, stood before |
the audience beside 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 paint
ers try to express in the ecstasy of an
gels, all hearts seemed to stand still. 1t
was a face that had never consciously
looked on the distortions of passion or
pain,-the mirror of a soul that could not
imagine the outward appearance of sin or
remember any of the discords of life. In
her presence il was hard to apprehend the
fact that her world lay within ours, with
out sun, music or speech. No one who
saw it will forget the impulsive flutter-
ing of her young white hand as it sought
her teachers face or round white throat;
the satisfaction when the contact of the
delicate white finger-tips gave her what
| sight gives us; the flash of light over her
face when, with her forefinger resting on
her teachers lip, she read the answer to the
question she had asked by the twinkling
| digital movements in her teachers palm.
| There were those who wept when she re-
peated audibly, with depth of feeling
she alone can feel
Tell me not in mournful numbers
| Life is but an empty dream.
All were invited to ask questions, yet not
many did so; the occasion seemed sacred.
"How did you teach her the first word?'
some one ventured at last.
"Her first word was doll " was the an
swer. 81 gave her the doll, placed her
finger on my lip, and spoke the word.
When she wearied of the doll took it from
her, and when returned it, again gave the
movement of the lips. The second word
was mug ! used the cup from which
she drank, but became convinced 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 flowing into her cup, had her
hold her hand i'm the stream, and then,
putting her finger on my lip, gave her the
word water. Then | again gave her the
word mug The idea that everything had
a name, the comprehension of nouns, was
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 its name
told her baby and she caught it at once.
Then she stopped down and patted the
ground to know what it was called. She
learned many words that day and those
words she never forgot
"How soon after she learned words did
did she frame sentences
| Immediately"
"Were verbs harder to learn than
nouns?"
"Not at all. began with such words
' as sit, stand, and the like, that were
easy to illustrate. Propositions troubled
2 her most
' Chow does she get an idea of the alb
r stract?"
= 81 cannot tell. 1t seems to be with hel
or it comes"
S HAS she any distinguishing sense OF
e musical vibrations?"
Eyes, very distinct. She likes music
SIS her vocabulary large?'
: every large She expresses herself flu
= emily, and is choice of WORDS
"What books does she like best?"
e Every now and then the white finger:
t huttered to the teachers face for just one
delicate touch-a finger look, it was-and
e now they rested on Miss Sullivan's lip.
t " Tell-the-people- what-books-you
S -like-best"
t Helen's face was an open book of hel
mental processes. She repeated each word
after Miss Sullivan, but hesitated a little
t on the words "tell'' and "you," the bright.
r ness of her face dimming for the instant
As soon as she comprehended the question
, which she did in advance of its completion,
l the flash of intelligence came; and when
she turned toward the audience,-for she
S did not seem at any time to lose her loca
S tiOn,-she said with spirit:
, "Oh, l have read so much that it is very
+. hard to say what like best; but waiting
r a moment, "Little Lord Fauntleroy'-and
, then followed rapidly the names of severa
] works, some of which, it would seem
could hardly be understood by anyone who
} cannot know sound and color.
=! Glow do yeu read?"
t "By raised letters and by my teacher.
81 noticed when you pronounced for
4 her you articulated with an exaggerated
n motion of the lips" said one as mo-
:, that necessary"
y "Her teaching was begun that way.
- do not think it is necessary or best. l at
f tribute the popularity of her voice to thai
. mechanical action which she uses. thinl
= it would have been better and just as easy
if she had been spoken to with the usua
d movement. Memphis Appeal Ardlanch
III |