The Big Sandy news. [volume] (Louisa, Ky.) 1885-1929, 1916-05-26

teach ignorance to think or insen
sibility to feel-HeIen Keller.
Ali things are possible TO the indi-
| vidual whose desire is supported by
consistent and persistent effort, think.
Helen Keller. OF all the women in The
world the most wonderful. in herself
50 convincing a proof Of this belief that
it is hardly TO be denied. she did not
say IL as 1t has been set forth here, nef
expression being rather:
| You can do anything you want 10
IL you try long enough and hard
enough
And hardly anyone will deny thar
her way Of expressing il is the pettss
way
And this woman. whose education IS
a marvel because OF the dlihcuitg en-
countered by herself in acquiring II
and by others in impafting 1t TO her,
has apt words for every idea that Is
presented to her. Her mind reacts 10
every suggestion with a readiness not
TO be surpassed.
But lest anyone not know who Hal
en- Keller is and why she is so Won
derful, she is woman deaf and blnd
from her cradle, who has not JonIy
learned to use the methods OF COM
munications for mutes but has learned
actually TO speak fact which she
demonstrated last night TO a highly
representative Huntington audience
which, as President wdodley OF Mar
shall College said in introducing Miss
Keller and her teacher, Mrs. Macy.
honored itself and the city by its pres
ence.
Mrs. Macy spoke first, telling the
story OF Miss Keller's education MIR
WoOdley had described Mrs Macy as
the greatest teacher in the world, and.
though she modestly gave credit to the
pupil 10 make her own achievement
seem less remarkable, the product
which she presented seemed 10 justify
the praise.
She explained that Helen Keller was
not blind and deaf from birth. but was
left so by an illness at the age OF nine
teen months. When she came into her
life Helen was healthy. well grown
child OF six. animate, interested. cur
ious and. most OF all hungry. She was
able even then to go alone about the
home Of her parents and TO detect. by
feeling. strange presences or unusual
conditions.
From the time that she spelled the
first word. doll" into the pupils hand
and made her understand the connec-
ton between the word and the object,
they progressed slowly, al the rate OF
a word day. until the little girl sud
denly discovered that every object had
a name and found means for express
inO and ora ffft-fru
riosity. For twenty-six years, now. Mrs
Macy has been her pupils constant
friend and helper. She has spelled in
TO her hand much of her vast store OF
knowledge. although Miss Keller has
read much herself in books and maya
zines printed for the blind.
Most marvellous Of the achievements
of this blind and deaf woman, who has
taken her A B. at Radcliffe. is articu-
latiOn. She learned to talk by holding
her fingers on moving lips and tongues
until she became able to copy their po-
sition. She talks strangely, tbs true.
but tbs true, also, that she is not dumb
And though, in her little sermon on
Happiness, II vas hard to follow her
closely. she WIS truly interesting, and
when the audience was permitted to
ask her questions. she answered them
in such quick and friendly way as to
make everyone forget the strangeness
OF her speech and the unusualness Of
it all, and see in her a bright, lovable
and friendly woman
She was frequently applauded and
her expression made it certain that
she in some manner knew it, And her
appreciation was pleasing to behold. |
She felt it through her feet. she said.
and her face was aglow with a light
which made evident thestruth of her
statement that there is no darkness
which the light of mental vision can
not pierce Huntingdon Herald.