I Took It, And Then Told The Teacher How Dr.
Howe And Others Communicated With Laura Bridgman By Moving Their
Fingers, And Making Certain Impressions On The Palm Of Her Hand.
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. In the
kitchen some girls were making up the bread, and most excellent
bread it was, and a good, large, thick slice there was for every
one. I saw the dining hall, and all that belonged to that part of
the concern, and all was just what it ought to be.
Now, you must know that these are, all, the children of paupers -
children who have no earthly parents, children that the public must
take care of, or they would live or die in the streets. All the
different parishes have erected this building, and put in the best
teachers, and furnished it as I have related to you, and there
placed these poor children, who were growing up in vice and misery.
Here they are taught habits of order, industry, and obedience, and
learn a way of supporting themselves honestly, and are kept till
they are old enough to be put apprentice to some good person who
will treat them well. So, instead of six hundred and fifty ignorant,
reckless vagrants, the community receives that number of well-
instructed, well-brought-up individuals, who can support themselves
decently and respectably.
An English country home, where education, high breeding, easy
circumstances, old trees, room enough, and a merry family circle,
make life beautiful - this had always been one of my dreams of
earthly happiness. All this was realized at Mrs. C - 's, at Chobham,
where I stopped for a visit on my way to London.
Every day my kind friends devised some little plan for my amusement,
beyond the constant pleasure of the every-day life. One day they
took me to Windsor, which, you know, is one of the queen's country
palaces. We approached it through the famous avenue of elms in the
park. The effect of the castle, seen through that long, long vista,
is very fine. The English elm, though not so graceful as ours, is
more grand and stately, and better for architectural effects. There
were many deer in the park, which added much to its beauty. At last
we were at the castle; it is a fine building, but would be far more
picturesque in ruins than in its present perfect state. We went
first into the chapel; this is exquisitely beautiful. The Gothic
clusters of pillars springing up from the floor rise unbroken to the
roof, and spread out like palm trees. The emblazoned coats of arms
of the knights of the garter hanging all around on the pillars of
the chapel, the beautiful carved ornaments like lace-work, and many
other rare and lovely objects, make the royal chapel very
magnificent. There was a horrible old woman who went screeching
about the room, showing the pictures, &c. She was particularly
apropos in calling us, when she found we were Americans, into a
corner of the chapel to show us the tomb of Lord Harcourt, who is
there represented receiving the sword of some unfortunate American
general, and shrieked out with her cracked voice, "I thought this
might interest you."
After feasting my eyes long enough upon the chapel, I went into the
castle, and joined one of those batches of human beings which are
driven through the state apartments by the guide.
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