The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1897-11-03
VICTORY OF LOVE.
A Blind Girl Rescues Blind Boy
From the Almshouse.

A Blind Girl Rescues Blind Boy
From the Almshouse.
William T. Ellis tells an affecting
story in St Nicholas under the title Of
"Helen Keller and Tommy Stringer." )"
The following Is the story:
A little child lived in black silence.
There never was midnight 50 dense as
the darkness that enveloped his mind.
Sight and hearing were gone utterly
and forever. The child knew Also
luteIy nothing, except that sometimes
from somewhere something put food
into his mouth and moved him about
when necessary. His world was limit
ed by as much of his little crib as he
could feel with his hands, and by the
touch of this something that cared for
his wants.
The merest babe knows the sunlight
and its mothers voice and face. Five
years had passed over th..z little boy as
he lay on his hospital cot, but he knew
less than a month-Old infant-l less, in
deed, than the least of the beasts of the
field he was completely shut up in a
living tomb OF tlesb, with no comnnni-
cation between himself and the great
world about him.
Since the terrible sickness that had
come to him in infancy, little Tommy
Stringer had lain thus among strsn-
gers. His mother was dead his father
could not help him. From his BIRTH
place in Washington, Pa, the helpless
sufferer had been removed TO a hospital
in Allegheny. But no institution
wanted this troublesome charge, Who
would require the constant attention of
teacher. SO the almshouse set med
the only haven for Tommy. There at
least he could find shelter
But it was not TO be so. Light was
ahead the glorious light of knowl-
edge. One who had been similarly
shut In by the walls of triple affiic-
ton was TO lead Tommy Stringer out
into the bright light that she herself
enjoyed. 1t was during the summer of
1890 that the news of Tommy's sad
plight came to Helen Keller. The sem
sitive soul of this IO-year-old girl was
deeply affected. She, if no one else,
would save the poor boy.
Theneeforth Tommy became the bur
den of Helen's thought and conversa-
ton. She talked about him to her
friends; she wrote letter upon letter
asking aid for him. At this time oc-
CURED pathetic incident that was the
means of turning toward the little
blind boy the kindly interest and gen.
erous gifts that accomplished his
rescue.
The pet and playmate of Helen when
she was at home was beautiful New
foundland dog. Through a foolish
blunder the animal was shot by a pO
liceman. When the news came to
Helen she had no word of reproach,
but simply said, with beautiful charity,
''I am sure they never could have done
it if they had only known what dear,
god dog LiOness was.u
The story of her love was published
widely, and from far and near-even
from across the ocean-came to Helen
offers of money or another dog. The
little girl had only one answer to all
these kind expressions she was CRATE
full, but she did not care for another
dog to take the place of Lioness. New
ertheless, the gift would be accepted, if
the donor so desired, on behalf of a lit
tie deaf, dumb and blind boy, for
whom she was trying to raise money
enough to bring him to Boston to be
educated.
In every direction Helen sent this
message, always in a specially written
personal letter, ti,at was marked by The
sweet simplicity and remarkable abil-
ity of the author. For long time these
letters averaged eight a day, and a
marvelously versatile and eloquent lit
tie p.eader Helen showed herself. She
also wrote for newspapers articles ad-
dressed to children, as well as general
appeals-never any two precisely alike.
Helen instituted for herself rigorous
course of self-denial (absence from soda
water and other prized luxurIes), that
she might save for her one great object.
The result of all this effort was the Sc
curing of sufficient funds to insure
Tommy at least two years of education
at the Kiniergarten for the blind, at
Jamaica Plains, Mass.