THE NEXT IMPORTANT EVENT IN MY LIFE WAS MY VISIT TO BOSTON, IN MAY, 1888. AS IF IT WERE YESTERDAY I REMEMBER THE PREPARATIONS, THE DEPARTURE WITH MY TEACHER AND MY MOTHER, THE JOURNEY., AND FINALLY THE ARRIVAL IN BOSTON. HOW DIFFERENT THIS JOURNEY WAS FROM THE ONE I HAD MADE TO BALTIMORE TWO YEARS BEFORE! I WAS NO LONGER A RESTLESS, EXCITABLE LITTLE CREATURE, REQUIRING THE ATTENTION OF EVERYBODY ON THE TRAIN TO KEEP ME AMUSED. I SAT QUIETLY BESIDE MISS SULLIVAN, TAKING IN WITH EAGER INTEREST ALL THAT SHE TOLD ME ABOUT WHAT SHE SAW OUT OF THE CAR WINDOW: THE BEAUTIFUL TENNESSEE RIVER, THE GREAT COTTON-FIELDS, THE HILLS AND WOODS, AND THE CROWDS OF LAUGHING NEGROES AT THE STATIONS, WHO WAVED TO THE PEOPLE ON THE TRAIN AND BROUGHT DELICIOUS CANDY AND POPCORN BALLS THROUGH THE CAR. ON THE SEAT OPPOSITE ME SAT MY BIG RAG DOLL, NANCY, IN A NEW GINGHAM DRESS AND A BERUFFLED SUNBONNET, LOOKING AT ME OUT OF TWO BEAD EYES. SOMETIMES, WHEN I WAS NOT ABSORBED IN MISS SULLIVAN'S DESCRIPTIONS, I REMEMBERED NANCY'S EXISTENCE AND TOOK HER UP IN MY ARMS, BUT I GENERALLY CALMED MY CONSCIENCE BY MAKING MYSELF BELIEVE THAT SHE WAS ASLEEP.
AS I SHALL NOT HAVE OCCASION TO REFER TO NANCY AGAIN, I WISH TO TELL HERE A SAD EXPERIENCE SHE HAD SOON AFTER OUR ARRIVAL IN BOSTON. SHE WAS COVERED WITH DIRT--THE REMAINS OF MUD PIES I HAD COMPELLED HER TO EAT, ALTHOUGH SHE HAD NEVER SHOWN ANY SPECIAL LIKING FOR THEM. THE LAUNDRESS AT THE PERKINS INSTITUTION SECRETLY CARRIED HER OFF TO GIVE HER A BATH. THIS WAS TOO MUCH FOR POOR NANCY. WHEN I NEXT SAW HER SHE WAS A FORMLESS
PERSIMMON TREES, THE ODOUR OF WHICH PERVADED EVERY NOOK AND CORNER OF THE WOOD--AN ILLUSIVE, FRAGRANT SOMETHING THAT MADE THE HEART GLAD. IN PLACES THE WILD MUSCADINE AND SCUPPERNONG VINES STRETCHED FROM TREE TO TREE, MAKING ARBOURS WHICH WERE ALWAYS FULL OF BUTTERFLIES AND BUZZING INSECTS. IT WAS DELIGHTFUL TO LOSE OURSELVES IN THE GREEN HOLLOWS OF THAT TANGLED WOOD IN THE LATE AFTERNOON, AND TO SMELL THE COOL, DELICIOUS ODOURS THAT CAME UP FROM THE EARTH AT THE CLOSE OF DAY.
OUR COTTAGE WAS A SORT OF ROUGH CAMP, BEAUTIFULLY SITUATED ON THE TOP OF THE MOUNTAIN AMONG OAKS AND PINES. THE SMALL ROOMS WERE ARRANGED ON EACH SIDE OF A LONG OPEN HALL. ROUND THE HOUSE WAS A WIDE PLAZZA, WHERE THE MOUNTAIN WINDS BLEW, SWEET WITH ALL WOOD-SCENTS. WE LIVED ON THE PIAZZA MOST OF THE TIME--THERE WE WORKED, ATE AND PLAYED. AT THE BACK DOOR THERE WAS A GREAT BUTTERNUT TREE,ROUND WHICH THE STEPS HAD BEEN BUILT, AND IN FRONT OF THE TREES STOOD SO CLOSE THAT I COULD TOUCH THEM AND FEEL THE WIND SHAKE THEIR BRANCHES, OR THE LEAVES TWIRL DOWNWARD IN THE AUTUMN BLAST.
MANY VISITORS CAME TO FERN QUARRY. IN THE EVENING, BY THE CAMPFIRE, THE MEN PLAYED CARDS AND WHILED AWAY THE HOURS IN TALK AND SPORT. THEY TOLD STORIES OF THEIR WONDERFUL FEATS WITH FOWL, FISH AND QUADRUPED--HOW MANY WILD DUCKS AND TURKEYS THEY HAD SHOT, WHAT "SAVAGE TROUT" THEY HAD CAUGHT, AND HOW THEY HAD BAGGED THE CRAFTIEST FOXES, OUTWITTED THE MOST CLEVER POSSUMS AND OVERTAKEN THE FLEETEST DEER, UNTIL I THOUGHT THAT SURELY THE LION, THE TIGER, THE BEAR AND THE REST OF THE WILD TRIBE WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO STAND BEFORE THESE WILY HUNTERS. "TOMORROW TO THE CHASE!" WAS THEIR GOOD-NIGHT SHOUT AS THE CIRCLE OF MERRY FRIENDS BROKE UP FOR THE NIGHT. THE MEN SLEPT IN THE HALL OUTSIDE OUR DOOR, AND I COULD FEEL THE DEEP BREATHING OF THE DOGS AND THE HUNTERS AS THEY LAY ON THEIR IMPROVISED BEDS.
AT DAWN I WAS AWAKENED BY THE SMELL OF COFFEE, THE RATTLING OF GUNS, AND THE HEAVY FOOTSTEPS OF THE MEN AS THEY STRODE ABOUT, PROMISING THEMSELVES THE GREATEST LUCK OF THE SEASON. I COULD ALSO FEEL THE STAMPING OF THE HORSES, WHICH THEY HAD RIDDEN OUT FROM TOWN AND HITCHED UNDER THE
RAMBLE. THE MORNING HAD BEEN FINE, BUT IT WAS GROWING WARM AND SULTRY WHEN AT LAST WE TURNED OUR FACES HOMEWARD. TWO OR THREE TIMES WE STOPPED TO REST UNDER A TREE BY THE WAYSIDE. OUR LAST HALT WAS UNDER A WILD CHERRY TREE A SHORT DISTANCE FROM THE HOUSE. THE SHADE WAS GRATEFUL, AND THE TREE WAS SO EASY TO CLIMB THAT WITH MY TEACHER'S ASSISTANCE I WAS ABLE TO SCRAMBLE TO A SEAT IN THE BRANCHES. IT WAS SO COOL UP IN THE TREE THAT MISS SULLIVAN PROPOSED THAT WE HAVE OUR LUNCHEON THERE. I PROMISED TO KEEP STILL WHILE SHE WENT TO THE HOUSE TO FETCH IT.
SUDDENLY A CHANGE PASSED OVER THE TREE. ALL THE SUN'S WARMTH LEFT THE AIR. I KNEW THE SKY WAS BLACK, BECAUSE AII THE HEAT, WHICH MEANT LIGHT TO ME, HAD DIED OUT OF THE ATMOSPHERE. A STRANGE ODOUR CAME UP FROM THE EARTH. I KNEW IT, IT WAS THE ODOUR THAT ALWAYS PRECEDES A THUNDERSTORM, AND A NAMELESS FEAR CLUTCHED AT MY HEART. I FELT ABSOLUTELY ALONE, CUT OFF FROM MY FRIENDS AND THE FIRM EARTH. THE IMMENSE, THE UNKNOWN, ENFOLDED ME. I REMAINED STILL AND EXPECTANT; A CHILLING TERROR CREPT OVER ME. I LONGED FOR MY TEACHER'S RETURN; BUT ABOVE ALL THINGS I WANTED TO GET DOWN FROM THAT TREE.
THERE WAS A MOMENT OF SINISTER SILENCE, THEN A MULTITUDINOUS STIRRING OF THE LEAVES. A SHIVER RAN THROUGH THE TREE, AND THE WIND SENT FORTH A BLAST THAT WOULD HAVE KNOCKED ME OFF HAD I NOT CLUNG TO THE BRANCH WITH MIGHT AND MAIN. THE TREE SWAYED AND STRAINED. THE SMALL TWIGS SNAPPED AND FELL ABOUT ME IN SHOWERS. A WILD IMPULSE TO JUMP SEIZED ME, BUT TERROR HELD ME FAST. I CROUCHED DOWN IN THE FORK OF THE TREE. THE BRANCHES LASHED ABOUT ME. I FELT THE INTERMITTENT JARRING THAT CAME NOW AND THEN, AS IF SOMETHING HEAVY HAD FALLEN AND THE SHOCK HAD TRAVELED UP TILL IT REACHED THE LIMB I SAT ON. IT WORKED MY SUSPENSE UP TO THE HIGHEST POINT, AND JUST AS I WAS THINKING THE TREE AND I SHOULD FALL TOGETHER, MY TEACHER SEIZED MY HAND AND HELPED ME DOWN. I CLUNG TO HER, TREMBLING WITH JOY TO FEEL THE EARTH UNDER MY FEET ONCE MORE. I HAD LEARNED A NEW LESSON--THAT NATURE "WAGES OPEN WAR AGAINST HER CHILDREN, AND UNDER SOFTEST TOUCH HIDES TREACHEROUS CLAWS."
I HAD NOW THE KEY TO ALL LANGUAGE, AND I WAS EAGER TO LEARN TO USE IT. CHILDREN WHO HEAR ACQUIRE LANGUAGE WITHOUT ANY PARTICULAR EFFORTS; THE WORDS THAT FALL FROM OTHERS' LIPS THEY CATCH ON THE WING, AS IT WERE, DELIGHTEDLY, WHILE THE LITTLE DEAF CHILD MUST TRAP THEM BY A SLOW AND OFTEN PAINFUL PROCESS. BUT WHATEVER THE PROCESS, THE RESULT IS WONDERFUL. GRADUALLY FROM NAMING AN OBJECT WE ADVANCE STEP BY STEP UNTIL WE HAVE TRAVERSED THE VAST DISTANCE BETWEEN OUR FIRST STAMMERED SYLLABLE AND THE SWEEP OF THOUGHT IN A LINE OF SHAKESPEARE.
AT FIRST, WHEN MY TEACHER TOLD ME ABOUT A NEW THING I ASKED VERY FEW QUESTIONS. MY IDEAS WERE VAGUE, AND MY VOCABULARY WAS INADEQUATE; BUT AS MY KNOWLEDGE OF THINGS GREW, AND I LEARNED MORE AND MORE WORDS, MY FIELD OF INQUIRY BROADENED, AND I WOULD RETURN AGAIN AND AGAIN TO THE SAME SUBJECT, EAGER FOR FURTHER INFORMATION. SOMETIMES A NEW WORD REVIVED AN IMAGE THAT SOME EARLIER EXPERIENCE HAD ENGRAVED ON MY BRAIN.
I REMEMBER THE MORNING THAT I FIRST ASKED THE MEANING OF THE WORD, "LOVE". THIS WAS BEFORE I KNEW MANY WORDS. I HAD FOUND A FEW EARLY VIOLETS IN THE GARDEN AND BROUGHT THEM TO MY TEACHER. SHE TRIED TO KISS ME, BUT AT THAT TIME I DID NOT LIKE TO HAVE ANY ONE KISS ME EXCEPT MY MOTHER. MISS SULLIVAN PUT HER ARM GENTLY ROUND ME AND SPELLED INTO MY HAND, "I LOVE HELEN."
I RECALL MANY INCIDENTS OF THE SUMMER OF 1887 THAT FOLLOWED MY SOUL'S SUDDEN AWAKENING. I DID NOTHING BUT EXPLORE WITH MY HANDS AND LEARN THE NAME OF EVERY OBJECT THAT I TOUCHED; AND THE MORE I HANDLED THINGS AND LEARNED THEIR NAMES AND USES, THE MORE JOYOUS AND CONFIDENT GREW MY SENSE OF KINSHIP WITH THE REST OF THE WORLD.
WHEN THE TIME OF DAISIES AND BUTTERCUPS CAME MISS SULLIVAN TOOK ME BY THE HAND ACROSS THE FIELDS, WHERE MEN WERE PREPARING THE EARTH FOR THE SEED, TO THE BANKS OF THE TENNESSEE RIVER, AND THERE, SITTING ON THE WARM GRASS, I HAD MY FIRST LESSONS IN THE BENEFICENCE OF NATURE. I LEARNED HOW THE SUN AND THE RAIN MAKE TO GROW OUT OF THE GROUND EVERY TREE THAT IS PLEASANT TO THE SIGHT AND GOOD FOR FOOD, HOW BIRDS BUILD THEIR NESTS AND LIVE AND THRIVE FROM LAND TO LAND, HOW THE SQUIRREL, THE DEER, THE LION AND EVERY OTHER CREATURE FINDS FOOD AND SHELTER. AS MY KNOWLEDGE OF THINGS GREW I FELT MORE AND MORE THE DELIGHT OF THE WORLD I WAS IN. LONG BEFORE I LEARNED TO DO A SUM IN ARITHMETIC OR DESCRIBE THE SHAPE OF THE EARTH, MISS SULLIVAN HAD TAUGHT ME TO FIND BEAUTY IN THE FRAGRANT WOODS, IN EVERY BLADE OF GRASS, AND IN THE CURVES AND DIMPLES OF MY BABY SISTER'S HAND. SHE LINKED MY EARLIEST THOUGHTS WITH NATURE, AND MADE ME FEEL THAT "BIRDS AND FLOWERS AND I WERE HAPPY PEERS."
BUT ABOUT THIS TIME I HAD AN EXPERIENCE WHICH TAUGHT ME THAT NATURE IS NOT ALWAYS KIND. ONE DAY MY TEACHER AND I WERE RETURNING FROM A LONG
THE FIRST CHRISTMAS AFTER MISS SULLIVAN CAME TO TUSCUMBIA WAS A GREAT EVENT. EVERYONE IN THE FAMILY PREPARED SURPRISES FOR EVERYBODY ELSE. THE MYSTERY THAT SURROUNDED THE GIFTS WAS MY GREATEST DELIGHT AND AMUSEMENT. MY FRIENDS DID ALL THEY COULD TO EXCITE MY CURIOSITY BY HINTS AND HALF-SPELLED SENTENCES WHICH THEY PRETENDED TO BREAK OFF IN THE NICK OF TIME. MISS SULLIVAN AND I KEPT UP A GAME OF GUESSING WHICH TAUGHT ME MORE ABOUT THE USE OF LANGUAGE THAN ANY SET LESSONS COULD HAVE DONE. EVERY EVENING, SEATED ROUND A GLOWING WOOD FIRE, WE PLAYED OUR GUESSING GAME, WHICH GREW MORE AND MORE EXCITING AS CHRISTMAS APPROACHED.
ON CHRISTMAS EVE THE TUSCUMBIA SCHOOLCHILDREN HAD THEIR TREE, TO WHICH THEY INVITED ME. IN THE CENTRE OF THE SCHOOLROOM STOOD A BEAUTIFUL TREE ABLAZE AND SHIMMERING IN THE SOFT LIGHT, ITS BRANCHES LOADED WITH STRANGE,WONDERFUL FRUIT. IT WAS A MOMENT OF SUPREME HAPPINESS. I DANCED AND CAPERED ROUND THE TREE IN AN ECSTASY. WHEN I LEARNED THAT THERE WAS A GIFT FOR EACH CHILD, I WAS DELIGHTED, AND THE KIND PEOPLE WHO HAD PREPARED THE TREE PERMITTED ME TO HAND THE PRESENT TO THE CHILDREN. IN THE PLEASURE OF DOING THIS, I DID NOT STOP TO LOOK AT MY OWN GIFTS; BUT WHEN I WAS READY FOR THEM, MY IMPATIENCE FOR THE REAL CHRISTMAS TO BEGIN ALMOST GOT BEYOND CONTROL. I KNEW THE GIFTS I ALREADY HAD WERE NOT THOSE OF WHICH FRIENDS HAD THROWN OUT SUCH TANTALIZING HINTS, AND MY TEACHER SAID THE
QUITE PLAINLY. EVEN AFTER MY ILLNESS I REMEMBERED ONE OF THE WORDS I HAD LEARNED IN THESE EARLY MONTHS. IT WAS THE WORD "WATER ", AND I CONTINUED TO MAKE SOME SOUND FOR THAT WORD AFTER ALL OTHER SPEECH WAS LOST. I CEASED MAKING THE SOUND "WAH-WAH" ONLY WHEN I LEARNED TO SPELL THE WORD.
THEY TELL ME I WALKED THE DAY I WAS A YEAR OLD. MY MOTHER HAD JUST TAKEN ME OUT OF THE BATH-TUB AND WAS HOLDING ME IN HER LAP, WHEN I WAS SUDDENLY ATTRACTED BY THE FLICKERING SHADOWS OF LEAVES THAT DANCED IN THE SUNLIGHT ON THE SMOOTH FLOOR. I SLIPPED FROM MY MOTHER'S LAP AND ALMOST RAN TOWARD THEM. THE IMPULSE GONE, I FELT DOWN AND CRIED FOR HER TO TAKE ME UP IN HER ARMS.
THESE HAPPY DAYS DID NOT LAST LONG. ONE BRIEF SPRING, MUSICAL WITH THE SONG OF ROBIN AND MOCKING-BIRD, ONE SUMMER RICH IN FRUIT AND ROSES, ONE AUTUMN OF GOLD AND CRIMSON SPED BY AND LEFT THEIR GIFTS AT THE FEET OF AN EAGER, DELIGHTED CHILD. THEN, IN THE DREARY MONTH OF FEBRUARY, CAME THE ILLNESS WHICH CLOSED MY EYES AND EARS AND PLUNGED ME INTO THE UNCONSCIOUSNESS OF A NEW-BORN BABY. THEY CALLED IT ACUTE CONGESTION OF THE STOMACH AND BRAIN. THE DOCTOR THOUGHT I COULD NOT LIVE. EARLY ONE MORNING, HOWEVER, THE FEVER LEFT ME AS SUDDENLY AND MYSTERIOUSLY AS IT HAD COME. THERE WAS GREAT REJOICING IN THE FAMILY THAT MORNING, BUT NO ONE, NOT EVEN THE DOCTOR, KNEW THAT I SHOULD NEVER SEE OR HEAR AGAIN.
I FANCY I STILL HAVE CONFUSED RECOLLECTIONS OF THAT ILLNESS. I ESPECIALLY REMEMBER THE TENDERNESS WITH WHICH MY MOTHER TRIED TO SOOTHE ME IN MY WALING HOURS OF FRET AND PAIN, AND THE AGONY AND BEWILDERMENT WITH WHICH I AWOKE AFTER A TOSSING HALF SLEEP, AND TURNED MY EYES, SO DRY AND HOT, TO THE WALL AWAY FROM THE ONCE-LOVED LIGHT, WHICH CAME TO ME DIM AND YET MORE DIM EACH DAY. BUT, EXCEPT FOR THESE FLEETING MEMORIES, IF, INDEED, THEY BE MEMORIES, IT ALL SEEMS VERY UNREAL, LIKE A NIGHTMARE. GRADUALLY I GOT USED TO THE SILENCE AND DARKNESS THAT SURROUNDED ME AND FORGOT THAT IT HAD EVER BEEN DIFFERENT, UNTIL SHE CAME--MY TEACHER--WHO WAS TO SET MY SPIRIT FREE. BUT DURING THE FIRST NINETEEN MONTHS OF MY LIFE I HAD CAUGHT GLIMPSES OF BROAD, GREEN FIELDS, A LUMINOUS SKY, TREES AND FLOWERS WHICH THE DARKNESS THAT FOLLOWED COULD NOT WHOLLY BLOT OUT. IF WE HAVE ONCE SEEN, "THE DAY IS OURS, AND WHAT THE DAY HAS SHOWN."
GRINDING COFFEE, QUARRELING OVER THE CAKE-BOWL, AND FEEDING THE HENS AND TURKEYS THAT SWARMED ABOUT THE KITCHEN STEPS. MANY OF THEM WERE SO TAME THAT THEY WOULD EAT FROM MY HAND AND LET ME FEEL THEM. ONE BIG GOBBLER SNATCHED A TOMATO FROM ME ONE DAY AND RAN AWAY WITH IT. INSPIRED, PERHAPS, BY MASTER GOBBLER'S SUCCESS, WE CARRIED OFF TO THE WOODPILE A CAKE WHICH THE COOK HAD JUST FROSTED, AND ATE EVERY BIT OF IT. I WAS QUITE ILL AFTERWARD, AND I WONDER IF RETRIBUTION ALSO OVERTOOK THE TURKEY.
THE GUINEA-FOWL LIKES TO HIDE HER NEST IN OUT-OF-THE-WAY PLACES, AND IT WAS ONE OF MY GREATEST DELIGHTS TO HUNT FOR THE EGGS IN THE LONG GRASS. I COULD NOT TELL MARTHA WASHINGTON WHEN I WANTED TO GO EGG-HUNTING, BUT I WOULD DOUBLE MY HANDS AND PUT THEM ON THE GROUND, WHICH MEANT SOMETHING ROUND IN THE GRASS, AND MARTHA ALWAYS UNDERSTOOD. WHEN WE WERE FORTUNATE ENOUGH TO FIND A NEST I NEVER ALLOWED HER TO CARRY THE EGGS HOME, MAKING HER UNDERSTAND BY EMPHATIC SIGNS THAT SHE MIGHT FALL AND BREAK THEM.
THE SHEDS WHERE THE CORN WAS STORED, THE STABLE WHERE THE HORSES WERE KEPT, AND THE YARD WHERE THE COWS WERE MILKED MORNING AND EVENING WERE UNFAILING SOURCES OF INTEREST TO MARTHA AND ME. THE MILKERS WOULD LET ME KEEP MY HANDS ON THE COWS WHILE THEY MILKED, AND I OFTEN GOT WELL SWITCHED BY THE COW FOR MY CURIOSITY.
THE MAKING READY FOR CHRISTMAS WAS ALWAYS A DELIGHT TO ME. OF COURSE I DID NOT KNOW WHAT IT WAS ALL ABOUT, BUT I ENJOYED THE PLEASANT ODOURS THAT FILLED THE HOUSE AND THE TIDBITS THAT WERE GIVEN TO MARTHA WASHINGTON AND ME TO KEEP US QUIET. WE WERE SADLY IN THE WAY, BUT THAT DID NOT INTERFERE WITH OUR PLEASURE IN THE LEAST. THEY ALLOWED US TO GRIND THE SPICES, PICK OVER THE RAISINS AND LICK THE STIRRING SPOONS. I HUNG MY STOCKING BECAUSE THE OTHERS DID; I CANNOT REMEMBER, HOWEVER, THAT THE CEREMONY INTERESTED ME ESPECIALLY, NOR DID MY CURIOSITY CAUSE ME TO WAKE BEFORE DAYLIGHT TO LOOK FOR MY GIFTS.
MATHA WASHINGTON HAD AS GREAT A LOVE OF MISCHIEF AS I. TWO LITTLE CHILDREN WERE SEATED ON THE VERANDA STEPS ONE HOT JULY AFTERNOON. ONE
IT IS WITH A KIND OF FEAR THAT I BEGIN TO WRITE THE HISTORY OF MY LIFE. I HAVE, AS IT WERE , A SUPERSTITIOUS HESITATION IN LIFTING THE VEIL THAT CLINGS ABOUT MY CHILDHOOD LIKE A GOLDEN MIST. THE TASK OF WRITING AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY IS A DIFFICULT ONE. WHEN I TRY TO CLASSIFY MY EARLIEST IMPRESSIONS, I FIND THAT FACT AND FANCY LOOK ALIKE ACROSS THE YEARS THAT LINK THE PAST WITH THE PRESENT. THE WOMAN PAINTS THE CHILD'S EXPERIENCES IN HER OWN FANTASY. A FEW IMPRESSIONS STAND OUT VIVIDLY FROM THE FIRST YEARS OF MY LIFE; BUT "THE SHADOWS OF THE PRISON-HOUSE ARE ON THE REST." BESIDES, MANY OF THE JOYS AND SORROWS OF CHILDHOOD HAVE LOST THEIR POIGNANCY; AND MANY INCIDENTS OF VITAL IMPORTANCE IN MY EARLY EDUCATION HAVE BEEN FORGOTTEN IN THE EXCITEMENT OF GREAT DISCOVERIES. IN ORDER, THEREFORE, NOT TO BE TEDIOUS I SHALL TRY TO PRESENT IN A SERIES OF SKETCHES ONLY THE EPISODES THAT SEEM TO ME TO BE THE MOST INTERESTING AND IMPORTANT.
I WAS BORN ON JUNE 27, 1880, IN TUSCUMBIA, A LITTLE TOWN OF NORTHERN ALABAMA.
THE FAMILY ON MY FATHER'S SIDE IS DESCENDED FROM CASPAR KELLER, A NATIVE OF SWITZERLAND, WHO SETTLED IN MARYLAND. ONE OF MY SWISS ANCESTORS WAS THE FIRST TEACHER OF THE DEAF IN ZURICH AND WROTE A BOOK ON THE SUBJECT OF THEIR EDUCATION--RATHER A SINGULAR COINCIDENCE; THOUGH IT IS TRUE THAT THERE IS NO KING WHO HAS NOT HAD A SLAVE AMONG HIS ANCESTORS, AND NO SLAVE WHO HAS NOT HAD A KING AMONG HIS.
IN ALABAMA TO RECEIVE THE BENEFIT OF THEM?
WHEN I WAS ABOUT SIX YEARS OLD, MY FATHER HEARD OF AN EMINENT OCULIST IN BALTIMORE, WHO HAD BEEN SUCCESSFUL IN MANY CASES THAT HAD SEEMED HOPELESS. MY PARENTS AT ONCE DETERMINED TO TAKE ME TO BALTIMORE TO SEE IF ANYTHING COULD BE DONE FOR MY EYES.
THE JOURNEY, WHICH I REMEMBER WELL WAS VERY PLEASANT. I MADE FRIENDS WITH MANY PEOPLE ON THE TRAIN. ONE LADY GAVE ME A BOX OF SHELLS. MY FATHER MADE HOLES IN THESE SO THAT I COULD STRING THEM, AND FOR A LONG TIME THEY KEPT ME HAPPY AND CONTENTED. THE CONDUCTOR, TOO, WAS KIND. OFTEN WHEN HE WENT HIS ROUNDS I CLUNG TO HIS COAT TAILS WHILE HE COLLECTED AND PUNCHED THE TICKETS. HIS PUNCH, WITH WHICH HE LET ME PLAY, WAS A DELIGHTFUL TOY. CURLED UP IN A CORNER OF THE SEAT I AMUSED MYSELF FOR HOURS MAKING FUNNY LITTLE HOLES IN BITS OF CARDBOARD.
MY AUNT MADE ME A BIG DOLL OUT OF TOWELS. IT WAS THE MOST COMICAL SHAPELESS THING, THIS IMPROVISED DOLL, WITH NO NOSE, MOUTH, EARS OR EYES--NOTHING THAT EVEN THE IMAGINATION OF A CHILD COULD CONVERT INTO A FACE. CURIOUSLY ENOUGH, THE ABSENCE OF EYES STRUCK ME MORE THAN ALL THE OTHER DEFECTS PUT TOGETHER. I POINTED THIS OUT TO EVERYBODY WITH PROVOKING PERSISTENCY, BUT NO ONE SEEMED EQUAL TO THE TASK OF PROVIDING THE DOLL WITH EYES. A BRIGHT IDEA, HOWEVER, SHOT INTO MY MIND, AND THE PROBLEM WAS SOLVED. I TUMBLED OFF THE SEAT AND SEARCHED UNDER IT UNTIL I FOUND MY AUNT'S CAPE, WHICH WAS TRIMMED WITH LARGE BEADS. I PULLED TWO BEADS OFF AND INDICATED TO HER THAT I WANTED HER TO SEW THEM ON MY DOLL. SHE RAISED MY HAND TO HER EYES IN A QUESTIONING WAY, AND I NODDED ENERGETICALLY. THE BEADS WERE SEWED IN THE RIGHT PLACE AND I COULD NOT CONTAIN MYSELF FOR JOY; BUT IMMEDIATELY I LOST ALL INTEREST IN THE DOLL. DURING THE WHOLE TRIP I DID NOT HAVE ONE FIT OF TEMPER, THERE WERE SO MANY THINGS TO KEEP MY MIND AND FINGERS BUSY.
WHEN WE ARRIVED IN BALTIMORE, DR. CHISHOLM RECEIVED US KINDLY; BUT HE COULD DO NOTHING. HE SAID, HOWEVER, THAT I COULD BE EDUCATED, AND ADVISED MY FATHER TO CONSULT DR. ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELL OF WASHINGTON,
TREES,WHERE THEY STOOD ALL NIGHT, NEIGHING LOUDLY, IMPATIENT TO BE OFF. AT LAST THE MEN MOUNTED, AND, AS THEY SAY IN THE OLD SONGS, AWAY WENT THE STEEDS WITH BRIDLES RINGING AND WHIPS CRACKING AND HOUNDS RACING AHEAD, AND AWAY WENT THE CHAMPION HUNTERS "WITH HARK AND WHOOP AND WILD HALLOO!"
LATER IN THE MORNING WE MADE PREPARATIONS FOR A BARBECUE. A FIRE WAS KINDLED AT THE BOTTOM OF A DEEP HOLE IN THE GROUND, BIG STICKS WERE LAID CROSSWISE AT THE TOP, AND MEAT WAS HUNG FROM THEM AND TURNED ON SPITS. AROUND THE FIRE SQUATTED NEGROES, DRIVING AWAY THE FLIES WITH LONG BRANCHES. THE SAVOURY ODOUR OF THE MEAT MADE ME HUNGRY LONG BEFORE THE TABLES WERE SET.
WHEN THE BUSTLE AND EXCITEMENT OF PREPARATION WAS AT ITS HEIGHT, THE HUNTING PARTY MADE ITS APPEARANCE, STRUGGLING IN BY TWOS AND THREES, THE MEN HOT AND WEARY, THE HORSES COVERED WITH FOAM, AND THE JADED HOUNDS PANTING AND DEJECTED--AND NOT A SINGLE KILL! EVERY MAN DECLARED THAT HE HAD SEEN AT LEAST ONE DEER, AND THAT THE ANIMAL HAD COME VERY CLOSE; BUT HOWEVER HOTLY THE DOGS MIGHT PURSUE THE GAME, HOWEVER WELL THE GUNS MIGHT BE AIMED, AT THE SNAP OF THE TRIGGER THERE WAS NOT A DEER IN SIGHT. THEY HAD BEEN AS FORTUNATE AS THE LITTLE BOY WHO SAID HE CAME VERY NEAR SEEING A RABBIT--HE SAW HIS TRACKS. THE PARTY SOON FORGOT ITS DISAPPOINTMENT, HOWEVER, AND WE SAT DOWN, NOT TO VENISON, BUT TO A TAMER FEAST OF VEAL AND ROAST PIG.
ONE SUMMER I HAD MY PONY AT FERN QUARRY. I CALLED HIM BLACK BEAUTY, AS I HAD JUST READ THE BOOK, AND HE RESEMBLED HIS NAMESAKE IN EVERY WAY, FROM HIS GLOSSY BLACK COAT TO THE WHITE STAR ON HIS FOREHEAD. I SPENT MANY OF MY HAPPIEST HOURS ON HIS BACK. OCCASIONALLY, WHEN IT WAS QUITE SAFE, MY TEACHER WOULD LET GO THE LEADING-REIN, AND THE PONY SAUNTERED ON OR STOPPED AT HIS SWEET WILL TO EAT GRASS OR NIBBLE THE LEAVES OF THE TREES THAT GREW BESIDE THE NARROW TRAIL.
ON MORNINGS WHEN I DID NOT CARE FOR THE RIDE, MY TEACHER AND I WOULD START AFTER BREAKFAST FOR A RAMBLE IN THE WOODS, AND ALLOW OURSELVES TO
HEAP OF COTTON, WHICH I SHOULD NOT HAVE RECOGNIZED AT ALL EXCEPT FOR THE TWO BEAD EYES WHICH LOOKED OUT AT ME REPROACHFULLY.
WHEN THE TRAIN AT LAST PULLED INTO THE STATION AT BOSTON IT WAS AS IF A BEAUTIFUL FAIRY TALE HAD COME TRUE. THE "ONCE UPON A TIME" WAS NOW; THE "FAR-AWAY COUNTRY" WAS HERE.
WE HAD SCARCELY ARRIVED AT THE PERKINS INSTITUTION FOR THE BLIND WHEN I BEGAN TO MAKE FRIENDS WITH THE LITTLE BLIND CHILDREN. IT DELIGHTED ME INEXPRESSIBLY TO FIND THAT THEY KNEW THE MANUAL ALPHABET. WHAT JOY TO TALK WITH OTHER CHILDREN IN MY OWN LANGUAGE! UNTIL THEN I HAD BEEN LIKE A FOREIGNER SPEAKING THROUGH AN INTERPRETER. IN THE SCHOOL WHERE LAURA BRIDGMAN WAS TAUGHT I WAS IN MY OWN COUNTRY. IT TOOK ME SOME TIME TO APPRECIATE THE FACT THAT MY NEW FRIENDS WERE BLIND. I KNEW I COULD NOT SEE; BUT IT DID NOT SEEM POSSIBLE THAT ALL THE EAGER, LOVING CHILDREN WHO GATHERED ROUND ME AND JOINED HEARTILY IN MY FROLICS WERE ALSO BLIND. I REMEMBER THE SURPRISE AND THE PAIN I FELT AS I NOTICED THAT THEY PLACED THEIR HANDS OVER MINE WHEN I TALKED TO THEM AND THAT THEY READ BOOKS WITH THEIR FINGERS. ALTHOUGH I HAD BEEN TOLD THIS BEFORE, AND ALTHOUGH I UNDERSTOOD MY OWN DEPRIVATIONS, YET I HAD THOUGHT VAGUELY THAT SINCE THEY COULD HEAR, THEY MUST HAVE A SORT OF "SECOND SIGHT", AND I WAS NOT PREPARED TO FIND ONE CHILD AND ANOTHER AND YET ANOTHER DEPRIVED OF THE SAME PRECIOUS GIFT. BUT THEY WERE SO HAPPY AND CONTENTED THAT I LOST ALL SENSE OF PAIN IN THE PLEASURE OF THEIR COMPANIONSHIP.
ONE DAY SPENT WITH THE BLIND CHILDREN MADE ME FEEL THOROUGHLY AT HOME IN MY NEW ENVIRONMENT, AND I LOOKED EAGERLY FROM ONE PLEASANT EXPERIENCE TO ANOTHER AS THE DAYS FLEW SWIFTLY BY. I COULD NOT QUITE CONVINCE MYSELF THAT THERE WAS MUCH WORLD LEFT, FOR I REGARDED BOSTON AS THE BEGINNING AND THE END OF CREATION.
WHILE WE WERE IN BOSTON WE VISITED BUNKER HILL, AND THERE I HAD MY FIRST LESSON IN HISTORY. THE STORY OF THE BRAVE MEN WHO HAD FOUGHT ON THE SPOT WHERE WE STOOD EXCITED ME GREATLY. I CLIMBED THE MONUMENT, COUNTING THE STEPS, AND WONDERING AS I WENT HIGHER AND YET HIGHER IF THE SOLDIERS HAD CLIMBED THIS GREAT STAIRWAY AND SHOT AT THE ENEMY ON THE GROUND BELOW.
