The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-03-16
HELEN KELLER AND sTATUARY.
The Blind Girls Evident Enjoyment
On Recent visit to the Boston
Art Museum.
From the Congregationalist.

From the Congregationalist.
had the good fortune to witness the
unique scene in the Boston art museum.
Two or three weeks ago, when Helen KEEL
ler the beautiful deaf and blind girl, was
taken to see, the statuary. Helen Kel-
Ter is now II years old, She has a beautiful
FORM and her face is Expressive to a most
unusual degree She gives one an impress
sion of fresh, happy girlhood. There is a
sight deformrty of the eyes, buu every
other feature is perfect. and her mouth is
especially expressive and winsome. With
smiling, parted lips. she seems to be filled
with happy expectancy of what the
future may bring.
For some time Helen attended a private
school in Cambridge but she is now study
ing with a tutor and fitting for Radcliffe.
Her careful training in Greek showed dur
ing her visit to the museum. She appear
ed thoroughly familiar with all the old
Greek mythologies, and 1t seems that
she has just been reading the Had.
letter suggesting the visit was sent her
by her friend, Miss Cobb formerly a
teacher of the blind, and Helen accepted
the invitation, saying that she had always
wanted to see the silver bowed god and
the white-armed goddesses."
AT the museum the first statue shown
her was that of Apollo. A stepladder was
brought and she mounted until she could
reach the face. She put both hands on the
forehead, touching it lightly with the tips
of her fingers. From the center of the
forehead she deftly followed the curves
outward, then down the cheeks until her
hands met at the chin; then both eyes
were touched; then the nose, and lastly
the mouth, her hands moving in unison.
Next the arms and other parts of the
statue were examined. This was the order
pursued each time. Every new curve was
a surprise and a pleasure to her. She was
as eager as a child at each fresh dis
covery, and when anything pleased her es-
pecially, would give quick gasp of pleas
ure and clasp her hands, bending forward
her whole figure. Helen's comment on
Apollo was ''It is grand beyond descrip-
ton" OF another god she said, HE has
an exalted look" and Of Dedusa, Her ex-
preston is painful"
The dizziness and quickness with which
she could examine statue were wonder
full but what impressed the onlooker as
even more remarkable was that she seem
ed to read the artists thought through
her sensitive fingers as readily as a see
ing person could take it in by glance.
She was shown a bas-relief of mother
bidding farewell to her child. In this the
arms of the mother were missing. Her first
question was, Where are the mothers
arms? She should embrace her child"
And as she was not at first understood,
she repeated the word embrace" at the
same time placing her arms around Miss
Cobb. OF the mother, she remarked: she
has sorrowful eyes, wide open; her lips
seem to CULVER; she lifts up her forehead
a little
Helen Keller's vocabulary is quaint and
bookish, quite different from that of an or
binary school girl. She talks as If she
were translating. She enunciates slowly
and with an earnest effort to be under
stood, but in order to catch every word
she says one must give close attention.
There is a slight thickness of speech.
When she desired explanation about any
of the statues she reached for the hand
of Miss Cobb, who spelled into her finger
what she wanted to know.
Her quickness of perception astonished
everybody. Upon being shown a bas-re-
lief of some dancing girls she Immediately
asked: where are the choristers?" SEEM
ing 10 detect their absence simply by touch
even sooner than it would be noted by a
seeing person. The adjoining bas-relief
represented singers, there being four or
five figures. The lips of one were closed,
and as soon as her fingers touched it she
announced, lone is silent" A little fur
Their on was a statue of Neptune, and on
feeling the empty hand her instant ques-
ton was: where is the trident"'
She is not without a sense of humor.
She said of Euripides, laughingly: He
is not so handsome as Pericles." The lat
ter she had previously described as having
"a fine, strong face, full of spirit and
thought" and Sappho was the "Sappho
she had always loved to think of, sweet,
smiling Sappho." Julius Caesar looked
Gust like what he was" She was espe-
cIally pleased with Michael Angeles group
of mother and child, and, after having
examined each of its figures separately
she placed one hand on the mothers face
and the other on that of the child, and re-
NAMED in that position for brief minute,
as if touched with the gentle picture of
motherhood. Then she said, softly: 1T is
very sweet and lovely"
There was an absorbed and expectant
silence in the big rooms as the blind girl
passed with rapt face from statue to stat
ne. The little group of students followed
her and watched her with an almost |
GREATNESS interest as she stood on the
top of the step ladder, cropping and smil-
ing. They were eager to catch every word |
she might say. With eyes as sightless
as the vacant orbs of stone about her |
vet with a wonderful intelligence disclos- |
ed in every motion, she presented a pic |
ture of extraordinary interest, and one |
which will never be forgotten by those |
who saw it.