Library Collections: Document: Full Text


Eighth Annual Report Of The Trustees Of The Perkins Institution And Massachusetts Asylum For The Blind

Creator: Samuel Gridley Howe (author)
Date: 1840
Publisher: Eastburn's Press, Boston
Source: Perkins School for the Blind

Previous Page   Next Page   All Pages 


Page 3:

34  

When she can puzzle her teacher she is pleased and often purposely spells a word wrong with a playful look; and if she catch her teacher in a mistake, she bursts into an ecstacy of laughter.

35  

When her teacher had been at work giving her an idea of the words carpenter, chair maker, painter, &c., in a generic sense, and told her that blacksmith made nails, she instantly held up her fingers and asked if blacksmith made them, though she knew well he did not.

36  

With little girls of her own age she is full of frolic and fun, and no one enjoys a game at romps more than Laura.

37  

She has the same fondness for a dress, for ribbons, and for finery as other girls of her age, and as a proof that it arises from the same amiable desire of pleasing others, it may be remarked that whenever she has a new bonnet or any new article of dress, she is particularly desirous to go to meeting, or to go out with it. If people do not notice it, she directs their attention by placing their hand upon it.

38  

Generally she indicates her preference for such visitors as are the best dressed.

39  

She is so much in company with blind persons that she thinks blindness common, and when first meeting a person she asks if they are blind, or she feels of their eyes.

40  

She evidently knows that the blind differ from seeing persons, for when she shows blind persons any thing she always puts their fingers on it.

41  

She seems to have a perception of character, and to have no esteem for those who have little intellect. The following anecdote is significant of her perception of character, and shews that from her friends she requires something more than good-natured indulgence.

42  

A new scholar entered school -- a little girl about Laura's age. She was very helpless, and Laura took great pride and great pains in showing her the way about the house, assisting her to dress and undress, and doing for her many things which she could not do herself.

43  

In a few weeks it began to be apparent even to Laura, that the child was not only helpless but naturally very stupid, being almost an idiot. Then Laura gave her up in despair and avoided her, and has ever since had an aversion to being with her, passing her by as if in contempt. By a natural association of ideas she attributes to this child all those countless deeds which Mr. Nobody does in every house -- if a chair is broken, or any thing is misplaced and no one knows who did it, Laura attributes it at once to this child.

44  

It has been observed before that she is familiar with the processes of addition and subtraction in small numbers. Subtracting one number from another puzzled her for a time, but by help of objects she accomplished it. She can count and conceive objects to about one hundred in number -- to express an indefinitely great number, or more than she can count she says, hundred. If she thought a friend was to be absent many years she would say -- will come hundred Sundays -- meaning weeks. She is pretty accurate in measuring time, and seems to have an intuitive tendency to do it. Unaided by the changes of night and day, by the light, or the sound of any timepiece, she nevertheless divides time accurately.

45  

With the days of the week, and the week itself as a whole she is perfectly familiar; for instance, if asked her what day will it be in fifteen days more, she readily names the day of the week. The day she divides by the commencement and end of school, by the recesses, and by the arrival of meal-times.

46  

She goes to bed punctually at seven o'clock, and of her own accord. For some time after she came under our charge she had some one to put her to bed every night; but soon it was thought best to send her alone, and that she might not wait for any one, she was left alone one evening and she sat until quite late, a person watching her: and at last she seemed to form her resolution suddenly -- she jumped up and groped her way up to bed. From that time to this she has never required to be told to go to bed, but at the arrival of the hour for retiring, she goes by herself.

47  

Those persons who hold that the capacity of perceiving and measuring the lapse of time is an innate and distinct faculty of the mind, may deem it an important fact that Laura evidently can measure time so accurately as to distinguish between a half and whole note of music.

48  

Seated at the pianoforte she will strike the notes in a measure like the following, quite correctly.

49  

Now it will be perceived that she must have clear perception of lapse of time in order to strike the two eighths at the right instant, for in the first measure they occur at the second beat, in the second measure at the third beat.

50  

There is no doubt that practice will enable her to subdivide time still more may minutely. Possibly some attach an undue degree of importance to this power of measuring time, considered in a metaphysical point of view, for any one may make the same experiment upon himself, and by stopping his ears and closing his eyes, will find he can measure time, or the duration of his sensation, and know which of two periods is longest; nevertheless we shall continue carefully to note the phenomena in the case of Laura for the benefit of whom they may concern.

Previous Page   Next Page

Pages:  1  2  3  4  5    All Pages