As
I Told Him, I Imitated The Motions With My Fingers On The Palm Of
Her Hand.
She gave one of those peculiar screams which Laura
Bridgman does, at times, when she is excited, and her white face
glowed with pleasure and strong emotion.
Her teacher told me I had put myself into communication with her;
but my heart ached to think I could do no more.
In a few moments we left her. She told her teacher to tell me to
give her love to Laura Bridgman, and sat down again upon her little
bench, in the solitude of her perpetual silence and blindness.
When I had been over the institution, and seen the admirable work of
the inmates, and was about leaving, I had to pass near this lovely
child again. When I was within three or four feet of her, she put
out her hand and took hold of me. It seemed as if she knew me from
the rest of the party, after I had thus by chance spoken to her
imprisoned soul. No one will wonder that I could not keep the tears
out of my eyes.
I visited another collection of children, who might have been still
more unfortunate than these but for the wise charity of the people
of Manchester. The Swinton Union School is a large, noble building,
in the outskirts of Manchester. The school is a fine looking place,
surrounded by nice gardens and grounds. It can contain one thousand
children; there were then in it six hundred and fifty. They have a
fine, large, well-ventilated school room. They have a large place to
wash themselves, with a sufficient number of separate, fixed basins,
arranged to admit and let off water, a towel and piece of soap for
each child; and they are obliged to wash their faces and hands three
times a day. There are great tanks where they are all bathed twice a
week.
They have a fine infant school for the little ones, most admirably
managed. The large girls are taught to wash, and iron, and do
housework. The boys are, some of them, taught the tailor's trade,
and some the shoemaker's, and others the baker's. It was a pretty
sight to see the little fellows sitting on their legs, making their
own jackets and trousers, and laughing together, and looking as
happy as boys can look; and just so with the little shoemakers. They
work only four hours, and then another set take their place. The
room was large and airy, and perfectly comfortable. I saw the
clothes they had made, all nicely pressed and put away in their
storerooms, ready for wear. So with the shoes; they mended their old
shoes and their old clothes themselves.
I saw those of the children who were not at work, at play; for the
school hours were past. I saw their happy faces, their clean, tidy
clothes, and their long rows of nice, clean beds, for I went into
every part of the house, and a beautiful sight it all was.
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