The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1895-09-07

sentences. and before l ever arranged
sentences in the frame used to make
them into objects. / would find the
slips OF paper which represented Doll is
on the bed and place them on the OBJ
jects thus making a sentence"
On the first of May of that year she
was able to read her first book, and
since then books have been her loving
companions. And so this marvellous
child went on. from day to day, increas-
ing her store of knowledge, never weary
ing of study, and never uttering a COM
plant, although she fully realized that
she was not like other children To
illustrate her industry I quote again,
this time from letter which she has
just sent me. and in which she says:
But l must stop now, for it is time for
my lessons. The days are never lorg
enough. There is so much to do and to
learn and to be-"
After awhile Helen went to Boston,
and there she made many dear friends,
among them DR.. Holmes and Mr.. Whit
tier, and. best of all, Mr.. Phillips Brooks
whose correspondence with her was
published not long ago in st. Nicholas.
1t was through him that she first learn
ed to know Of divine being, and he
taught her as he only could, somewhat
OF the mystery of life and death. Now
Helen is in New York, learning, or rath-
or, perfecting herself, in articulation, for
she was taught to speak some time ago.
Her voice is not yet quite natural, but
one can easily understand every word
she utters, and most wonderful of all,
che comprehends every word said to her
simply by placing her fingers on the
speakers lips. In meeting her it is al
most impossible to believe that she does
not hear and see, so quickly does her
face respond to anything said to her.
She feels what is being done all about
her, and she often reads ones thoughts
before they find utterance.
Absolutely unconscious..of self, with a
perfectly healthy mind and body, she
comes to us like soul fresh from the
hands of God. Never having heard of
toll, she leads happy life. Her great
est pleasure is in meeting people; next
to that she most enjoys flowers and
trees. She has been taught to write.
which she does beautifully, using paper
with raised lines. She likewise uses
three different type writing machines
with great facility, French is also one
OF her many accomplishments. One day,
sitting in our library, she said, apropos
OF nothing What quantity Of books
there are here" Her teacher explained
this by saying she thought Helen smelt
the leather and ink But the child will
never acknowledge that she does so.
Two or three friends, hitherto unknown
to Helen. had come to meet her. Among
them were Mr.. Howells and mark
Twain" l said, Helen, you enjoy
meeting strangers, know" when she
instantly replied, Yes; but there are no
strangers here!" Who could have said
a more graceful thing?
Helen's instinct is to love everybody
| She is very affectionate and demonstra-
tive, and she says: my life is full of
happiness. Every day brings me some
new JOY. some fresh token of love from
distant friends, until in the fullness of
my glad heart cry, Love is everything,
and God is love-" A little incident
which touched US all with its pathos
was when little child who was playing
about the room seated himself next her,
| and she, reaching out her hand and
placing it on his hair, said: Golden;
how pretty it is!"
She is undoubtedly, in her way, the
greatest wonder of her age, and one feels
that there is no limit to the possibilities
in her progress in knowledge. Miss
Sullivan is her devoted friend, and is as
remarkable in her way as is the pupil
herself. Such patience and such devo-
ton are most uncommon. She never
leaves Helen. She reads to her long
books like Ivanhoe spelling out on Ter
! fingers every word. She takes her to
plays, and while the actors are reading
their lines, Miss Sullivan is busy spelling
to Helen every word she hears; che has
taught her poetry this way. Someone
in the room remarked, How terrible it
would be if anything happened to sepa-
rate Miss Sullivan and Helenw where
upon the child. who of course could not
have heard what was said, put her arms
about Miss Sullivan's neck and kissed
her. knowing instinctively the drift of
the conversation. Science finds it diff
cult to account for Helen's proficiency
and knowledge Of every thing, which she
neither sees nor feels nor hears, and the
greatest skeptic is forced to believe that
there is some Divine power which con-
trolls her. Verify the age of miracles is
not passed. Eleanor Y. Hutton in
Harper's Bazaar.