Evening star., 1919-04-27

Q
fectly naturaHin fact, the public
would not think there was anything
the matter with me. once addressed
meeting without any of the audience
knowing that | was wearing artificial
hands. When you are At and we'll and
aole to run about. you. will find there
Is still plenty in life worth living for
When first became like this l could
not see anything that was likely -
interest me on this earth. l was in
c4ined, to. think L was the most un-
fortunate person on earth-ln short.
of"Quittins this life. At that time u
never dreamed Of the possibilities Of
pair of artificial hands, and l can
assure you that l nov surprise eY-
.erybody; but the one l surprise most
is myself.
Readily Handles Cigarettes.
Less than six months ago I
smoked a cigarette by having one
placed in a. holder. which 1 held in
my mouth from start to finish. Now
l take my cigarette out at will, and
II you are smoker you will under
stand what this means. l can take off
my hat, carry walking stick,
attache case and feed myself with
spoon and fork. 1 have specially
made cigarette case, similar in ap-
fits in my waistcoat pocket. can
take this from my pocket and help
myself to a cigarette. 1 have not
yet accomplished the feat Of striking
a. match, but this is overcome by
having having what we call on this side
spills. These are strips of paper
about ten inches or q foot In length,
by which / light my cigarette when
at home. There are hundred and
one little things can do. such as
using my handkerchief. This in
cludes taking the handkerchief from
my pocket.
You will. no doubt, have given
up the idea Of ever doing anything
in the way Of correspondence your
self. Well, want to tell you how
you can use typewriter by adopting
the same methods that I do. I have
keyboard have a metal case with
holes esimmediately above each key; in
appearance this resembles four steps.
In the middle of each step. as 1T were,
there is narrow steel rib to let
me know when l am central At
striker. which resembles a small ham
mer. My speed is not what you would
call record. 1t takes me, roughly.
about half an hour for one sheet of
foolscap, double spacing, but. of
course, this will improve by pra ctice.
Need Not Use Walking Stick.
'If you will take my advice I
should sho IKE to give you a little tip
Do not entertain the idea of a walk
Ing stick for that purpose; these are
discouraged over here even for those
with hands. You will find you will
have to depend entirely on the two
You are ftted with your '; artificial cII
hands you will find you will get
about better than your other blind
frtenda Adopt ,soldierlike appear
ance when walking; this necessarily
means swinging Of the arms. and
nto ~ snythnsy hha yoa yfFy 9are5s dg bump %ap
hand warns you. Walk In the center
of the pavement: rather than on the
curb; thus you will avoid lamp posts
You viii find bicycles and unattended
..hanaoaTf9Ws n a q nutesnce at. times-1
whisper 10 som metinsess sufactent when
.knockingn into these snares. but in
fre4dented areas obstacles, II
pushed over. will sometimes have the
effect OF making the owners more
careful
) Your, chances of physical exercise
are naturally greatly impaired, but
you will find plenty Of exercise in
swedish drill to keep you ft Swim
ming - also practicable, and roller
skating. I fnd dancing good recrea-
tion and I can ride by having the
reins passed through my artificial
hands and strapped to the wrist
When playing dominoes use my
nose to feel, although thisha a tend-
ency to give one the appearance of
q chronic sufferer from Indigestion. or
slave to the bottle.
j Since have been Hike this have
travelled quite a lot up and down the
country and have had many amusing
experiences, and I take considerable
satisfaction in the fact that l am able
to deceive 80 per cent Of the people 1
meet.
II have good attendant who thor
oughly understands me and when out
walking he; never. takes my arm, but
Is quite close at my side. We keep
up constant conversation and I am
warned. when approaching a curb, by
the word cup" or down" as the case
may be. ~, ~ am.
Description Of st.. Dunstan's.
You will, no doubt. have heard
quite lot about st. Dunstan's and
the methods adopted to teach US fell
lows who are blind. but 1t needs a visit