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

Creator: Samuel Gridley Howe (author)
Date: 1843
Source: Perkins School for the Blind

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"My dear, my mother,

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I want to see you very much I send much love to you I send ten kisses to my sister Mary. My one pair of stockings are done. Can Mary walk with her feet? Do stockings fit her? I want you to write a letter to me some time. Miss Swift teaches me. I want you to come to South Boston with my sister to stay few days and c the exercising the calisthenics. Oliver can talk with his fingers very faster about words. I will write a letter to you again. Miss J. and Dr. send love to you. Miss Davis is married, Mrs. Davis. She has gone to live with her husband in Dudley. Is Mary well? Is my aunt well? I send love to her. I will write letter to you soon some time. Why did you not write letter to me? I go to meeting every Sunday. I am gentle in Church with Miss Rogers. I am happy there.

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Good bye

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LAURA BRIDGMAN.

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She has commenced the study of geography, during the past year, and made fair progress. Having first acquired an idea of the points of the compass, and taken some preliminary lessons by bounding her schoolroom, the chambers, entries, &c., and then going out into the premises, bounding the house and yard, she was put to a map. But it will be more interesting to give some extracts from her teacher's journal, showing how she has is her time of study, though no words can describe adequately the eagerness of her manner, and the pleasurable expression of her countenance when she gets a new idea, and turns to hug her teacher, in her glee.

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Feb. 2d. She asked me if she was good yesterday; I told her yes, she had been good all the week; she said, "did I do any little thing wrong? " Continued the conversation on trades, and taught her the word furniture. When I was telling her what work milliners did, she said, "do milliners make stockings, -- milliners make stockings that have flowers on them? " At the geography our she asked me to teach her "above,"; -- meaning the chambers; she bounded, to-day, all the rooms on the second story, and remembered all of yesterday's lesson, without going to the rooms.

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In Writing, gave her a lesson on the board; she does not succeed so well on that as Oliver. At twelve began to tell her about seeds, and told her I would talk to her about what her father did, (he is a farmer.) She said, "how do you know what my father does? does your father do so? " No! my father is Dr. "Why is not my father Dr.? -- he gave me medicine once; was he a Dr?" Did not succeed to-day in getting her much interested in seeds. P. M. She worked very industriously.

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Feb. 3d. Gave Laura examples in the region, in hundreds and thousands, which she performed very well, and numerated correctly until she had the number 8,500, which she wrote 80 50; she hesitated, and said, "I think it is wrong," and enumerated; but it took her a long time to find how to alter it, -- when she at length succeeded, she said, "I was very sad not to know." Laura asked what cups and plates and saucers were; taught her the word crockery, -- "what are rings?" -- taught her jewelry, -- "what are knives and forks? " &c. Next she got her work box, for me to tell of what it was made; told her about the pearl with which it is inlaid, and the name of the wood, -- rose; she asked, of what the doors were made; told her pine; she asked, "why are pine apples -- pine? " -- she wanted to know who made the brass hinges. She talked about her locket, and wanted to know what color it was under the glass; told her it was black, -- "how can folks see through black?" In Geography, she bounds any of the rooms now, after a moment's thought, and seems to understand all about it; she bounded the house, with a little help; talked with her about the Point -- but she did not quite understand it. In Writing, she does very well when practising her letters, but when she has her journal, she is very careless; she wrote to-day an account of the different trades. In the afternoon she went to the schoolroom an hour, while a number of gentlemen were there; she amused herself by asking what the denominations were after millions; at last she set down a row of types the whole length of her board, and enumerating it found it was eighty quintillions, -- she asked, "what people live eighty quintillions of miles off? " and said, "I think it would take ladies a year to go so very far.

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Feb. 17th. Laura succeeded in doing five or six questions this morning. One was to find the age of a man, in which I gave her the time he had lived in several places. She said, "he lived in many places, I am not sure, why -- why?" She asked a great many questions about the party to which I went last evening, as how the ladies knew when to come, &s.; taught her the word invitation; she asked, "why did I not go?" told her she was a little girl, -- she said, "Doctor says I am tall;" but she was quite reconciled to it when I told her that the other blind girls did not go. She talked of her walk yesterday; she was much amused by walking on the snow that was crusted over, but not quite enough to bear; when she broke through, she would scream with delight, and pull me after her. She was quite puzzled to find the reason, and I told her if she would remember to ask me, I would tell her this morning.

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