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SPEECH.

It was three years from the time when Helen began to communicate by means of the manual alphabet, that she received her first lesson in the more natural and universal medium of human intercourse -- oral language. She had become very proficient in the use of the manual alphabet, which was her only means of intercourse with the outside world; through it she had acquired a vocabulary which enabled her to converse freely, read intelligently, and write with comparative ease and correctness. Nevertheless, the impulse to utter audible sounds was strong within her, and the constant efforts which I made to repress this instinctive tendency, which I feared in time would become unpleasant, were of no avail. I made no effort to teach her to speak, because I regarded her inability to watch the lips of others as an insurmountable obstacle in the way of her acquiring oral language. But she gradually became conscious that her way of communicating with others was different from that used by those around her, and one day her thoughts found expression in the following questions: "How do the blind girls know what to say with their mouths? Why do you not teach me to talk like them? Do deaf children ever learn to speak?" I explained to her that some deaf children were taught to speak, but that they could see their teachers' mouths, and that that was a very great assistance to them. But she interrupted me to say she was very sure she could feel my mouth very well. Soon after this conversation a lady came to see her, and told her about the deaf and blind Norwegian child, Ragnhild Kaata, who had been taught to speak, and understand what her teacher said to her by touching his lips with her fingers. Helen's joy over this good news can be better imagined than described. She at once resolved to learn to speak, and from that day to this she has never wavered in that resolution. She began immediately to make sounds which she called speaking, and I saw the necessity of correct instruction, since her heart was set upon learning to talk, and feeling my own utter incompetence to teach her, never having given the subject of articulation a moment's study or thought, I went with my pupil, for advice and assistance, to Miss Sarah Fuller. Miss Fuller was delighted with Helen's earnestness and enthusiasm, and at once commenced to teach her. In a few lessons she learned nearly all of the English sounds, and in less than a month she was able to articulate a great many words distinctly. She was not content from the first to be drilled in single sounds; but was impatient to pronounce words and sentences. The length of the word, or the difficulty of the arrangement of the elements, never seemed to discourage her. But, with all her eagerness and intelligence, learning to speak taxed her powers to the utmost. There is, however, always a certain exhilaration in fighting against difficulties and in surmounting obstacles; struggle, however arduous and painful, has an element of inspiration.

There is a satisfaction of seeing from day to day, or perhaps from hour to hour, the evidence of growing mastery and the possibility of final success. And Helen's success has been more complete and inspiring than any of her friends dreamed or expected, and the child's own delight in being able to utter her thoughts in living and distinct speech, is shared by all who witness her pleasure when told by strangers that they understand her.

I have been asked a great many times whether I think Helen will ever speak naturally; that is, as other people speak. I am hardly prepared to decide that question, or even give an opinion regarding it. I believe that I have hardly begun yet to know what is possible. I have not given the subject all the time and study and thought which it requires, and which I intend to give in the near future. Teachers of the deaf often express surprise that Helen's speech is as good as it is, when she has not received any regular instruction in speech since the first few lessons given her by Miss Fuller. I can only say in reply, "This is due to habitual imitation and practice! practice! practice!" Nature has determined how the child shall learn to speak, and all we can do is to aid him in the simplest, easiest way possible, by encouraging him to observe and imitate the slightest vibrations resulting from articulation.

In conclusion, it may interest you to know to what stage Helen has attained in her education at the present time. During the past year she has made considerable progress in the study of Arithmetic; but Latin, History, Literature, and Geography are her favorite studies, and I venture to assert that very few boys and girls of her age have a more extensive knowledge of these subjects than my pupil. In these studies she is greatly assisted by her vivid imagination, which translates words into images, and sentences into pictures. The following passage from her diary indicates, more clearly and forcibly than any words of mine could do, Helen's attitude toward her studies, and shows that she is eager and as enthusiastic in her pursuit of knowledge now as she was six years ago: --