Journal of a Voyage across the Atlantic Part 6

9th.--Winds strong N.E. breezes, with drizzly rains: dark cloudy weather: heavy northerly swell running.

238 miles. Lat. 50 19'; Long. 33 12'.

10th, _Sunday_.--Light baffling winds, and clear weather, with a heavy northerly swell or sea. Performed Divine service at eleven A.M. This put me in mind of the pilot's song--

"Fear not, but trust in Providence, Wherever you may be."

256 miles. Lat. 50 31'; Long. 26 30'.

11th.--Strong southerly winds, with dark hazy weather, and a heavy sea running. Saw a vessel in distress. Hove-to, and found she was the _John and Mary_ of Dublin, a perfect wreck, and deserted, the sea running over her, and for some minutes out of sight, except the masts.

244 miles. Lat. 50 30'; Long. 20 10'.

12th.--Strong breezes from the west: dark cloudy weather and rain, and heavy sea running.

280 miles. Lat. 50 54'; Long. 12 44'.

13th.--Strong breezes: thick hazy weather, with rain. At six A.M. made the land (Irish). Kinsale Light bearing North: distance, 10 miles. Noon, fine clear weather, with heavy southerly swell. Waterford Harbour Light bearing north: distance, 12 miles. At four P.M. spoke the _Alexander Grant_, from Quebec. Pa.s.sed the _Coningsby_ light-ship and Saltee Islands. Thence Cansore Point, county of Wexford, and Holyhead at eleven.

243 miles.

14th.--At seven A.M. arrived in Liverpool, and made the town echo with our cannon.

180 miles.

APPENDICES.

I.

BIOGRAPHY OF LAURA BRIDGMAN.

She was born in Hanover, New Hampshire, on the 21st December, 1829. She is described as having been a very spritely and pretty infant, with bright blue eyes. She was, however, so puny and feeble until she was a year and a half old, that her parents hardly hoped to rear her. She was subject to severe fits, which seemed to rack her frame almost beyond her power of endurance, and life was held by the feeblest tenure; but when a year and a half old she seemed to rally, the dangerous symptoms subsided, and at twenty months old she was perfectly well. Then her mental powers, hitherto stinted in their growth, rapidly developed themselves; and during the four months of health which she enjoyed she appears (making due allowance for a fond mother's account) to have displayed a considerable degree of intelligence. But suddenly she sickened again: her disease raged with great violence during five weeks, when her eyes and ears were inflamed, suppurated, and their contents were discharged. But, though sight and hearing were gone for ever, the poor child's sufferings were not ended. The fever raged during seven weeks: for five months she was kept in bed in a darkened room. It was a year before she could walk unsupported, and two years before she could sit up all day. It was now observed that her sense of smell was almost entirely destroyed, and consequently that her taste was much blunted.

It was not until four years of age that the poor child's bodily health seemed restored, and she was able to enter upon her apprenticeship of life and the world. But what a situation was hers! The darkness and the silence of the tomb were around her;--no mother's smile called forth her answering smile; no father's voice taught her to imitate his sounds: brothers and sisters were but forms of matter which resisted not her touch, but which differed not from the furniture of the house save in warmth and in the power of locomotion, and not even in these respects from the dog and the cat.

But the immortal spirit which had been implanted within her could not die, nor be maimed, nor mutilated; and, though most of its avenues of communication with the world were cut off, it began to manifest itself through the others. As soon, as she could walk she began to explore the room, and then the house. She became familiar with the form, density, weight, and heat of every article she could lay her hands upon. She followed her mother, and felt her hands and arms as she was occupied about the house; and her disposition to imitate led her to do everything herself. She even learned to sew a little, and knit. The reader need scarcely be told, however, that the opportunities of communicating with her were very, very limited, and that the moral effects of her wretched state soon began to appear. Those who cannot be enlightened by reason can only be controlled by force; and this, coupled with her great privations, must soon have reduced her to a worse condition than that of the beasts that perish, but for timely and unhoped-for aid. At this time I was so fortunate as to hear of the child, and immediately hastened to Hanover to see her. I found her with a well-formed figure, a strongly-marked, nervous-sanguine temperament, a large and beautifully-shaped head, and the whole system in healthy action. The parents were easily induced to consent to her coming to Boston; and on the 4th October, 1837, they brought her to the Inst.i.tution. For a while she was much bewildered; and after waiting about two weeks, until she became acquainted with her new locality and somewhat familiar with the inmates, the attempt was made to give her knowledge of arbitrary signs, by which she could interchange thoughts with others. There was one of two ways to be adopted--either to go on to build up a language of signs on the basis of the natural language which she had already commenced herself, 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 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.

The first experiments were made by taking articles in common use, such as knives, forks, spoons, keys, &c., and pasting upon them labels with their names printed in raised letters. These she felt very carefully, and soon, of course, distinguished that the crooked lines _spoon_ differed as much from the crooked lines _key_ as the spoon differed from the key in form. Then small detached labels, with the same words printed upon them, were put into her hands, and she soon observed that they were similar to the ones pasted on the articles. She showed her perception of this similarity by laying the label _key_ upon the key, and the label _spoon_ upon the spoon. She was encouraged here by the natural sign of approbation--patting on the head. The same process was then repeated with all the articles she could handle, and she very easily learned to place the proper labels upon them. It was evident, however, that the only intellectual exercise was that of imitation and memory. She recollected that the label _book_ was placed upon a book; and she repeated the process first from imitation, next from memory, with only the motive of love of approbation, but apparently without the intellectual perception of any relation between the things. After a while, instead of labels, the individual letters were given to her on detached bits of paper: they were arranged, side by side so as to spell _book, key_, &c.; then they were mixed up in a heap, and a sign was made for her to arrange them herself, so as to express the words _book, key_, &c., and she did so. Hitherto the process had been mechanical, and the success about as great as teaching a very knowing dog a variety of tricks. The poor child had sat in mute amazement, and patiently imitated everything her teacher did; but now the truth began to flash upon her--her intellect began to work. She perceived that here was a way by which she could herself make up a sign of 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. I saw that the great obstacle was overcome, and that henceforward nothing but plain and straightforward efforts were to be used. The next step was to procure a set of metal types, with the different letters of the alphabet cast upon their ends: also a board in which were square holes, into which holes she could set the types, so that the letters on their ends could alone be felt above the surface.

She was exercised for several weeks in this way; and then the important step was taken of teaching her how to represent the different letters by the position of her fingers, instead of the c.u.mbrous apparatus of the board and types. This was the period, about three months after she had commenced, that the first report of her case was made, in which it is stated "that she has just learned the manual alphabet as used by the deaf mutes; and it is a subject of delight and wonder to see how rapidly, correctly, and eagerly she goes on her with labours." At the end of the year a second report of her case was made, from which the following is an extract:--"It has been ascertained, beyond the possibility of doubt, that she cannot see a ray of light--cannot hear the least sound--and never exercises her sense of smell, if she have any. Of beautiful sights, and sweet sounds, and pleasant odours she has no conception: nevertheless, she seems as happy and as playful as a bird or a lamb; and the employment of her intellectual faculties, or the acquirement of a new idea, gives her a vivid pleasure, which is plainly marked in her expressive features."

She chooses for her friends and companions those children who are intelligent, and can talk best with her; and she evidently dislikes to be with those who are deficient in intellect, unless, indeed, she can make them serve her purposes, which she is evidently inclined to do. She takes advantage of them, and makes them wait upon her in a manner which she knows she could not exact from others; and in various ways she shows her Saxon blood.

Such are a few fragments from the simple, but most interesting and instructive, history of Laura Bridgman. The name of her great benefactor and friend who writes it is Dr. Howe. There are not many persons, I hope and believe, who, after reading these pa.s.sages, can ever hear that name with indifference.

II.

MEMORANDA.

Indian corn--58 lbs. to the bushel: price, 49 c.

Columbus discovered America in 1492.

Mr. Rathbourn projected the City of the Falls, and built Buffalo; and was confined afterwards seven years for forgery.

Sir C. Metcalfe, Governor of Canada.

Lord Falkland, " " Nova Scotia.

Sir W. Colebrooke, " " New Brunswick.

Sir John Harvey, " " Newfoundland.

Captain Fitzroy, " " Prince Edward Isld.

_Lat.i.tude_ is North and South: _Longitude_ East and West.

A _Geographical Mile_ is one-seventh more than a statute mile.

A _Knot_ is a geographical mile.

Price of Negroes, 8 dollars to 1200 dollars.

Females, 4 dollars to 600 dollars.

Negroes--Mulattoes--Quadroon--Creole--European--Georgian (Asia).