Omaha daily bee., 1896-07-26
SUMMER CHILDREN.

anxious to hear the afflicted girl, who is
declared by her teachers to be the bright
est of any of her age, not excepting those
in possession of the full five senses. She
introduced by Miss Sarah Fuller, prin-
cipal of the Horace Mann school, Boston,
where she received the greater part OF her
education. Without a trace of embarrass-
ment she began her little speech. To many
of her hearers the articulation was some
what indistinct, and for the benefit of those
familiar with the signs of the deaf and
dumb DR.. Alexander Graham Bell trans
lated her words by the manual alphabet.
She said:
IF you knew all the JOY feel in being
able to speak to you today, | think you
would have some idea OF the value OF
speech to the deaf. and you would under
stand why / want every deaf child in all
this great world to have an opportunity to
learn to speak l know that much has
been said and written on this subject, and
that there is a wide difference of opinion
among teachers of the deaf in regard to
oral instruction. 1t seems very strange to
me that there should be this difference o.
opinion; l cannot understand how anyone
! interested in our education can fail TO ap-
I preciste the satisfaction we feel in being
able to express our thoughts in living words.
I Why, / use speech constantly. and cannot
| begin to tell how much pleasure II gives me.
"Of course / know that il is not always
easy for strangers TO understand me, but 1t
| VIII DE Dy anu Dys ana IN tDe meantime i
| have the unspeakable happiness OF knowing
that my family and friends rejoice in my
ability to speak. My little sister and baby
! brother love to have me tell them stories in
| the long summer evenings when | am at
home and my mother and teacher often ask
me to read TO them from my favorite books.
/ also discuss the political situation with my
dear father, and we decide the most perpleX-
| ing questions quite as satisfactorily to our
selves as If ! could see and hear. So you
see what a blessing speech is TO me. II
! brings me into closer and tenderer relation
ship with those ] love, and makes 1t possi-
Bile for me to enjoy the sweet companionship
OF great many persons from whom should
be entirely cut OF If could not talk.
81 can remember the time before / learned
| to speak and how used to struggle to eX-
press my thoughts by means OF the manual
alphabet-how my thoughts used to beat
against my finger tips like little birds striv-
| ing to gain their freedom, until one day
Miss Fuller opened wide the prison door and
let them escape. ] wonder, If she remembers
how eagerly and gladly they spread their
wings and fed away. OF course IL was not
easy at first TO fly The speech wings were
weak and broken, and had lost all the grace
and beauty that had been theirs; indeed
nothing was left save the impulse to fly, but
| that was something,
"one can never consent 10 creep when
| one feels an impulse to soar. But, never
! could never use my speech wings as God
! intended ! should use them, there were so
many difficulties in the way, so many dis
! couragements but ! kept on trying, know
ing that patience and perseverance would
| win in the end. And while worked built
the most beautiful air castles, and dreamed
dreams, the pleassntest OF which was Of
| the time when ] should talk like other peo-
pie and the thought OF the pleasure il would
give my mother 10 hear my voice once more
| sweetened every effort ana made every fail
ure an incentive TO try harder next time
so want TO say 10 those who are try
ing to learn TO speak and those who are
teaching them: Be OF good cheer Do not
think Of today's failures, but OF the sue
cess that may come tomorrow. You have
set yourselves a dificult task, but you will
succeed II you persevere. and you will hnd
a JOY In overcoming obstscles-R delight in
climbing rugged paths which you would per
haps never know II you did not sometimes
slip backward; II the road was always
smooth and pleasant Remember, no effort
that We make to attain something beauti-
full Is ever lost Some time, somewhere.
somehow, We shall hnd that which We seek.