Anomalies and Curiosities of Medicine [261]
peculiar sensibility to vibration she could distinguish the difference between a whole and a half note in music, and she struck the notes on the piano quite correctly. During the first years of her education she could not smell at all, but later she could locate the kitchen by this sense. Taste had developed to such an extent that at this time she could distinguish the different degrees of acidity. The sense of touch, however, was exceedingly delicate and acute. As to her moral habits, cleanliness was the most marked. The slightest dirt or rent in her clothes caused her much embarrassment and shame, and her sense of order, neatness, and propriety was remarkable. She seemed quite at home and enjoyed the society of her own sex, but was uncomfortable and distant in the society of males. She quickly comprehended the intellectual capacity of those with whom she was associated, and soon showed an affiliation for the more intelligent of her friends. She was quite jealous of any extra attention shown to her fellow scholars, possibly arising from the fact that she had always been a favorite. She cried only from grief, and partially ameliorated bodily pain by jumping and by other excessive muscular movements. Like most mutes, she articulated a number of noises,--50 or more, all monosyllabic; she laughed heartily, and was quite noisy in her play. At this time it was thought that she had been heard to utter the words doctor, pin, ship, and others. She attached great importance to orientation, and seemed quite ill at ease in finding her way about when not absolutely sure of directions. She was always timid in the presence of animals, and by no persuasion could she be induced to caress a domestic animal. In common with most maidens, at sixteen she became more sedate, reserved and thoughtful; at twenty she had finished her education. In 1878 she was seen by G. Stanley Hall, who found that she located the approach and departure of people through sensation in her feet, and seemed to have substituted the cutaneous sense of vibration for that of hearing. At this time she could distinguish the odors of various fragrant flowers and had greater susceptibility to taste, particularly to sweet and salty substances. She had written a journal for ten years, and had also composed three autobiographic sketches, was the authoress of several poems, and some remarkably clever letters. She died at the Perkins Institute, May 24, 1889, after a life of sixty years, burdened with infirmities such as few ever endure, and which, by her superior development of the remnants of the original senses left her, she had overcome in a degree nothing less than marvelous. According to a well-known observer, in speaking of her mental development, although she was eccentric she was not defective. She necessarily lacked certain data of thought, but even this feet was not very marked, and was almost counterbalanced by her exceptional power of using what remained.
In the present day there is a girl as remarkable as Laura Bridgman, and who bids fair to attain even greater fame by her superior development. This girl, Helen Keller, is both deaf and blind; she has been seen in all the principal cities of the United States, has been examined by thousands of persons, and is famous for her victories over infirmities. On account of her wonderful power of comprehension special efforts have been made to educate Helen Keller, and for this reason her mind is far more finely developed than in most girls of her age. It is true that she has the advantage over Laura Bridgman in having the senses of taste and smell, both of which she has developed to a most marvelous degree of acuteness. It is said that by odor alone she is always conscious of the presence of another person, no matter how noiseless his entrance into the room in which she may be. She cannot be persuaded to take food which she dislikes, and is never deceived in the taste. It is, however, by the means of what might be called "touch-sight" that the most miraculous of her feats are performed. By placing her hands on the face of
In the present day there is a girl as remarkable as Laura Bridgman, and who bids fair to attain even greater fame by her superior development. This girl, Helen Keller, is both deaf and blind; she has been seen in all the principal cities of the United States, has been examined by thousands of persons, and is famous for her victories over infirmities. On account of her wonderful power of comprehension special efforts have been made to educate Helen Keller, and for this reason her mind is far more finely developed than in most girls of her age. It is true that she has the advantage over Laura Bridgman in having the senses of taste and smell, both of which she has developed to a most marvelous degree of acuteness. It is said that by odor alone she is always conscious of the presence of another person, no matter how noiseless his entrance into the room in which she may be. She cannot be persuaded to take food which she dislikes, and is never deceived in the taste. It is, however, by the means of what might be called "touch-sight" that the most miraculous of her feats are performed. By placing her hands on the face of