For four years this country produced "The Mentor," a monthly which was so excellent and timely that it ought to have been kept up. However, it was supported but poorly and was stopped for that reason. America, then, has no organ of communication among workers for the blind. The superintendents and teachers engaged in this work first met in convention in 1853. The Association of American instructors of the blind was formed in 1871, and has met biennially ever since, usually as the guest of one or another of the institutions. The proceedings of each convention have been published.

The principles underlying the scheme for educating the blind being to make them as little as possible a class apart from the rest of the community, it has not been deemed wise to attempt to establish a national college for the higher education of those capable of taking it, but efforts are making towards enabling the brighter and worthier pupils to attend one of the colleges for the seeing, at the expense of the states or the schools from which they come. The school instruction of the blind is comparatively an easy matter. The work is less of a science than the more difficult task of instructing the deaf and dumb. But if we consider the results, it must be admitted that it is far easier to fit the intelligent deaf to be self-supporting than it is to fit the blind to be so. The world of practical affairs is the world of light; and if the blind succeed in that world it is certainly to their credit. And yet we expect them to succeed in it; and having given them the best preparation we can devise, we find that many do succeed, some brilliantly. Just what proportion "succeed" is not known; for in the vast areas of our large states the majority go out and are lost to view. Many - especially the girls-go home to become helpful in the family, and these live on there as centers of light and culture, and so what was once deemed a calamity, may become to the family a blessing in disguise.

In 1878 an exhaustive census of the graduates from all over the country was compiled. It revealed the following

encouraging facts: 16 becanie superintendents of other institutions; 214 became teachers or were otherwise employed in institutions; 34 became ministers of the gospel; 84 authors, publishers or lecturers; 310 were engaged as teachers of music or were vocalists outside of institutions; 69 had been organists in churches; 125 piano triners; 937 had been engaged as teachers, employees, and workers in handicraft; 277 were storekeepers, etc.; 45 became owners and managers of real estate; 760 (mostly women) were employed at housework at home or in families, or at sewing with machines, or by hand, and 78 were in homes of employment. Fur ther, according to the 10th census of the United States (1880) when there were 48,928 blind in the land, but 2,560 were found in almshouses." What proportion of these ever attended our schools, will never be known, but it must be remembered that blindness is an affliction of old age.

According to statistics printed in the report for 1879 of the New York institution, "More than 1,200 persons have been instructed, and have gone out from the institutions for the blind in this state [New York], only 21 of whom were found to be in almshouses on the 30th of October, 1879. Such facts give great force to a statement made by the board of state commissioners of public charities upon this subject. They say: "As observation shows that educated blind persons seldom become a public charge, it would seem important, not only in its social bearings, but as a question of political economy, to bring as many of the blind as practicable under proper educational training." 3

THE DEAF-BLIND

"Obstacles are things to be overcome" is the motto given by Dr. Howe to the Perkins institution for the blind. When this remarkable man learned in 1837 that up in the mountains of New Hampshire there was a little girl not only

'Proceedings fifth bien, conv. of the American association of instructors of the blind, p. 21.

'Compendium 10th census, 2, 1702.

Pp. 32-33.

blind but also deaf and dumb, he eagerly sought out the child and obtained the parents' consent to take her to South Boston to be educated. He had already formed a theory as to how he would reach a mind thus doubly shut in, and with the finding of Laura Bridgman came the wished-for opportunity to test this theory.

It should be noted that Laura Bridgman saw and heard until she was two years old. She had been rather a delicate child, however, having enjoyed only about four months of robust health, when she sickened, her disease raging with great violence during five weeks, "when her eyes and ears were inflamed, suppurated and their contents were discharged." Her sufferings continued for months, and it was not "until four years of age that the poor child's bodily health seemed restored." She was intelligently active, following her mother about the house, seeming anxious to feel of everything, and thus to learn about it; and she deve!oped signs for her father and her mother, and for some things.

2

She was eight years old when brought to the Perkins institution. Dr. Howe writes: "There was one of two ways to be adopted: either to go on and build up a language of signs on the basis of the natural language, which she had already herself commenced, or to teach her the purely arbitrary language in common use; that is, to give her a sign for every individual thing, or to give her a knowledge of letters, by the combination of which she might express her idea of the existence, and the mode and condition of existence, of anything. The former would have been easy, but very ineffectual; the latter seemed very difficult, but, if accomplished, very effectual; I determined, therefore, to try the latter." After the child had become adjusted to the change of homes, Dr. Howe began teaching her by means of common articles with which she was familiar

3

spoons, forks,

1 From reports of Dr. Howe on Laura Bridgman, appendix C, 48th annual report, Perkins institution for the blind, p. 160.

Same source and page.

3 Same source, pp. 162–3.

keys, etc., on which labels with their names printed in raised letters had been pasted. Similar detached labels were given her to feel. Her touch was acute enough, hence she was able to match labels, placing that for book on the book, etc. She did this easily and willingly because she received approbation for so doing; but the idea that the printed word stood for the name of the object had not entered her brain. Then other detached labels were cut up into their component letters. These her memory soon enabled her to build into wholes or the words she had felt. Such exercises continued for many weeks to be only a meaningless play to the poor child. The success had been “about as great as teaching a very knowing dog," when suddenly the idea flashed upon her that "Here was a way by which she herself could make up a sign for anything that was in her own mind, and show it to another mind, and at once her countenance lighted up with a human expression; it was no longer a dog or parrot, -it was an immortal spirit, eagerly seizing upon a new link of union with other spirits! I could almost fix upon the moment when this truth dawned upon her mind, and spread its light to her countenance; I saw that the great obstacle was overcome, and that henceforward nothing but patient and persevering, plain and straightforward efforts were to be used."·

Next, she was given metal type each bearing some embossed letter, and a frame with holes to receive them. With this appliance Laura readily wrote the name of any object she knew and by writing them fixed in mind an extensive vocabulary of common names. Then the less cumbrous manual alphabet was taught her. Here was a means by which she could both write and read; she could spell to her teacher and read what her teacher spelled into her hand.

Dr. Howe's reports teem with interesting psychologic material. At the end of the year he writes: "She is nine years of age, and yet her knowledge of language is not

1 Same source, p. 164.

greater than a common child of three years. There has been no difficulty in communicating knowledge of facts, positive qualities of bodies, numbers, etc.; but the words expressive of them, which other children learn by hearing, as they learn to talk, must all be communicated to Laura by a circuitous and tedious method. In all the knowledge which is acquired by the perceptive faculties, she is of course backward; because, previous to her coming here, her perceptive faculties were probably less exercised in one week than those of common children are in one hour."

I

And so her instruction went on. Through it all the child showed, an eagerness to learn and to put herself in touch with the world that was a powerful aid to the teacher. In a few years, when Oliver Caswell, also deaf, dumb, and blind, came to the institution, Laura naturally took great interest in teaching him, and thereby profitted much herself. As she approached womanhood her education was already good. Laura had learned to sew, to knit, and to do fancy work, and so employed her time when not reading or conversing with her many friends. She often visited her home but her true home was the institution. There she lived to her 60th year and there she died, the first case of any one so afflicted made capable of leading an industrious and happy life, and as the first case, historically the most remarkable.

Popular interest in Laura Bridgman, both in this country and abroad, was naturally very great. The printed reports of her progress which were eagerly awaited were as eagerly absorbed. Distinguished foreigners coming to Boston visited her. Charles Dickens wrote in his American notes a sympathetic account of his impressions of her. Naturally enough in succeeding cases of the deaf-blind that from time to time came under instruction in one school or another, much less interest was shown. The way to give liberty to the imprisoned mind had been made plain.

In the year 1887, however, something like the old interest

1 Same source, p. 167.