The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1905-02-19
THEM

babies summer home at Barlow Miss Clark
read to the babies tin her fingers ached.'
Miss Clark took long white thick book
opened il and ran her fingers nimbly over
the pagos to find a story adapted to the
intellect of the woman. Then she read in
a sweet voice some fable, to the words Of
which the woman only half listened for
listening to the sweetness Of the voice.
Afterward she opened the drawers OF
her desk and showed her work. the letters
she wrote in carrying on the correspondence
of the establishment the cards with raised
letters. She talked meanwhile OF the
children
Il have most Of the care Of them she
said 1T is good for the little blind children
TO be cared for by the blind We under
stand them II is impossible TO under
stand the blind urlcss yon are blind your
self
Il dress and undress them. l batho
them. Tonight is their bath night.
am teaching them to bathc themselves.
Little Cornelius already dresses himself
very we'll indeed, | never think OF them
as blind
She was quiet little while
1T isn't such Il very terrible thing To be
blind she said then.gand yet IL Is terrible,
too never 10 sec the light
Two electric lights had been turned
on in the room The woman motioner
to the president to know If the blind girl
distinguished those lights Mrs, Fregear
shook her head in the negative. Her lips
moved in the words Total lis blind"
Anyway continued the blind girl,
there il no use crying over spilled milk.
II you are blind you are blind, and that's
all there is to 10.
Il am trying to teach the children 20 be
happy in their blindness. | am rot un-
happy. And have been blind for lwcnty-
five years saw for FIVE years, just long
enough to realize how good 1t i to see
Now too. the more | go about among
people the more | realize how much thets
is to see. That makes me mis-; my sight
II is a thing you never get used to, BLIND
ness but one must no ratient
She stopped suddenly. flush rose 10
her face. The sightless eyes flashed then
closed
The woman got up abruptly.
She wanted to get out where people
could see where they went about without
quivering hands, where, though Il was
pitch dark, midnight, yet they had vide
open eyes that could see.
The president smiled at her under
standingly. She undertook to comfort her:
SHOW her your pretty watch, she told
the blind girl. as If the woman were a
child to. be comforted by playthngs.
The girl took cut her watch. opened II
and handed 10 TO the woman. There were
little rubies raised telling the time.
"The clock there tells me the time. too,
she added. by striking every five minutes
If want it to. 1t is a very kindly littls
clock to have"
The woman took her hand, then went
out of the room, leaving the blind girl
sitting in the dark surrounded by light
The president and the woman fingered
while in the sitting room. talking Of the
blind.
That girl gives her services to the chill
dren," she said, 'She will accept no pay.
She is invaluable. and as remarkable IN
many ways as Helen Keller. Tho children
are devoted TO her. Particularly Corne-
Illus. / don't know what we should do
without her in this home.
At that moment there were footsteps
on the stairs. The woman went TO the
door TO look
The children crept down single file. their
little quverng hands wandering along
the banisters, their eyes searching the
light, the taller girl first. Then came the
others. Then followed last OF all the blind
girl leading Cornelius by the hand.
They descended the last step, they
rounded the corner with the quiet, almost
noiseless step of the blind. and began de-
scending the steps TO the basement and
the supper room, this time the little blind
teacher first
The blind leading the blind" said Mrs.
Fregear