The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1911-10-08
Blind Girl Who Keeps a
Lighthouse
BY ADA PATTERSON

In the town. Leonia, in New Jersey.
brief way from the white palisades
that line the Hudson. "A blind girl Is
keeping a lighthouse
Out OF that lighthouse shines a Ions;
ray OF public spirit. From ii, TOO,
rays forth the long beam OF develop
ment of talent Flashes from IL a
bright line OF humor. Steadily, con
stantiy pours from 1t the soft light OF
content And steady as the heart OF
light from which all these rad!ate is
the stream OF her unselfshness.
At seventeen. the age when girls
are titterinS over their nrst beau. this
girl is blind. She has been blind fol
eight years. Yet ask any one In tn,
town about ":''th Hardy. ana he win
tell you that no one in Leonia hat.
visions quite as clear as hers.
Last week she was led upon thu,
stage OF the Town Hall, ana turning
large. soft eyes II was hard to b..
iieVc were siEntiess, upon the audience
she sang an aria in English, then an
utner from Il German opera. sang it,
why do you suppose? 10 raise FUND )
Tor her own musical education? For
her support; For her own jaunt 10
europe TO attend the coronation? No
To heIp ieon'as sister town, South
l.nSlcwood. to secure a scent fare TO
EdSewater. which would mean n lu-cen,
fare to New York.
Edith Hardy never sits at home ana
Inopes about ner troubles as do some
other leonians. and. inueed. many pco-
pie the world over. She Is much too
busy. She is hard At WORK tuter-
ins pupils in music at the Institute for
the Blind In New York. where she was
educated. Then she must write "a dozen
or more letters on the typewriter every
Gay 70. keep In practice la TINS useful
art For few hours u day she per-
mlts herself to be a bookworm, de-
vouring the Brailo point books, out
or. witch she has derived fund OF
information not possessed by many wo-
men OF seven and twenty.
She has n happy disposition and even
Inc aiiictoi! oil her inuurable sightlcss-
ness is Sildcd by sense OF humor. II
believe blindness is blessing" she
laughs. 1t keeps us sightluss folk
from seeing so much that IT would
do us no good to
Ana there are so many persons to
be helped and chcered. so many persons
whose blindness is of different> sort
than hers because i. Is the sight turned
inward: There are her pupils at the ia
stitute. who in the midst OF their feel
ing Tor the Keys on the piano let
their hands fall with "A hopeless, crash
ing sound on the Keyboard ana burst
INTO sobs of despair. The seventeen
year-old teacher is quite used TO this
sort OF discord in her music lessons.
I'll
" bind. that great class who in tho
hrst two years OF their blindness con
template suicide and must be led out
or that path of thought. She is so
busy thinking of them. and of tho
blue" persons with sight who are
really more blind than she that she
never has moment to think of her.
self.
So this young girl TO whom the world
Is forever dark. mas become a dis
penser of light She has burst the
prison of self. Blind. she keeps a
lighthouse for those who see.
Her eyes We're brilliant. There was
concert. She listened with preoc-
cupied smile to the compliments paid
her voice and answered in the same
prcoccupied way the questions about
her personal plans. She would go on
with her music? "Oh. yes" She would
study music all her life, and teach it.
she hoped.
But sho turned abruptly from that
topic to the one of tho evening, much
closer, it seemed, to her heart
The funds raised that evening would
be used to pay the, lawyer to max,
an appeal to tho Public Utilities Com
mission TO have the street car fare re-
that was done? The clerks and other
salaried men could save so much II
the. fare was reduced. Their wives
could AFFORD to go to town oftener to
shop and their children TO go to tho
city for matinees. oh. II would be
splendid!
The long ray OF public spirit and the
mingled in q beautiful glow. The
blind lighthouse keeper keeps her wick
trimmed and burning.