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Show Miss keller's Spiritual Liberator Sketch of Mrs. John Albert Macy, Better Known as Anne SulllvaVi, Who Made the World Famed Blind Girl What She Is Mark Twain onco named Napoleon nnd Helen Keller as tho two most Interesting In-teresting characters of the nineteenth century. I think ho should hhvo Included In-cluded tho remarkablo woman who lius made Helen Keller what sho is, said n certain Phlladelphlan after attending at-tending Tuesdays lecturo by this southerner, sou-therner, who is deaf, dumb nnd blind and her teacher and inseparable companion com-panion for 28 years, Mrs. John Albert Macy, best known to, tho world as Miss Anno Sullivan. We concur in this opinion. Without any lessening of our wonder and admiration ad-miration for the part pln,ycd by Miss Keller In her own marvelous development, develop-ment, we feel that equal If not greater credit belongs to tho woman who has reaped from a seomlngly hopeless task a result so supernatural as to be re-l ally miraculous. For it is a miracle to mnko tho dumb speak; yet distinct, articulation is but ono of tho unusual accomplishments acquired by Helen Keller, with tho nsslstanco of Miss Sulllvnn, of whom tho poet Whlttler onco said to Miss Keller, Sho Is thy spiritual liberator. Our belief that Mark Twain erred In not extending his superlative to In-cludo In-cludo this woman whoso modesty hns largo'y stood In (ho way of n Just approximation ap-proximation of hor unparalleled achievement Is based not only upon the facts In tho case ns widely known, but also upon other nnd llttlo known facts for which wo have tho highest authority. All tho world knows how tho uncommonly un-commonly bright 10 month old baby girl, the Joy of a roso bowerfid homo it: TiiBcumbia, Alabama, was robbed of tho threo major senses by hn attack at-tack of what tho doctors then called ncuto congestion of tho stomach nnd brain; how this curly hatred toddler, who had begun to talk at 9 months and on tho day she was a year old had walked half way across her room in pursuit of a sunbeam, was suddenly cast into absolute darkness and stillness still-ness b a strange fever, which vanished van-ished with the swiftness that had marked its attack. It Is not generally known, however, that this mysterious storm which wrecked her dawning day left her merely a young animal, and even less, for young n.nlmals aro aided by instinct. in-stinct. At 2ycars Helen Keller was a prowless, rudderless llttlo hulk adrift on a sea ot blackness so unable un-able to control oven the most elementary elemen-tary of bodily functions that In n household loss lighted by love, she might havo been neglected or mistreated mis-treated ns hn Insufferablo affliction. Her form was the only human thing about her, waB tho description onco given us by a man Intimately concerned con-cerned with her life up to tho tlmo of his death a fow years ago. No ono who did not seo tho child ht that tlmo can begin to understand what Anno Sullivan has done for Helen Hel-en and for humanity, continued this notable Now Yorker. Llko all thoso Intimately In-timately acquainted with tho magnitude magni-tude of tho teacher's task, ho ranked her 0,8 a marvel equal, If not superior to tho transformed girl from whom sho novor has boen separated sinco March 3, 1887 when sho trembling ap-, proached her now mupll only to bo hurled back into Captain Keller's arms by a wild and aimless chnrget from tho untamed child of 7. At that tlmo flvo years of toleranco born of lovo and Inflnlto patience had humanized Helen. Still sho was a restless, uncontrollable, groping bolng and had not hor rr.othor read Woken s' American Notes, of tho famous Laura Ilridgmnn, who, though deaf nnd blind, was educated, It Is lll'ly sho would hnvo remained Biich and thnt Mlis Sullivan's grent gift to humanity would havo boen lost or long delayed. Tho young teacher, who herself had been almost totally blind from early Infancy until sho was grown, when sho recovered hor sight, was distressed at tho prospect. Holon's first At of tor-rlblo tor-rlblo temper, which resulted l" a bat-tlo bat-tlo royal, led her to wrlto to n friend: I supposo I shall havo many such battles bat-tles with tho llttlo womnn beforo sho learns tho only two essential things I can teach hor obedlenco nnd lovo. So, on Miss Sullivan's part It was not merely h matter of applslng cor-tnln cor-tnln rules and precepts. Indeed, except ex-cept for Dr. Samuol Howo's teaching of Liaura Brldgman, thoro was no precedent, pre-cedent, and tho conditions and personalities person-alities Involved In the two caBos differed dif-fered so radically that this undertaking undertak-ing was In all essentials unique To preporo herself for her now task, this ouiig womnn of 21, whoso education had been hindered by tho blindness already mentioned had onlj seven months yet sho was impelled by a mysterious forco which sho could not understand In hor llrst confession confes-sion ot this, written to a friend after sho had been with Helen for only a few weeks, sho said: Something within mo tolls mo that I shall succeed beyond my dreams. Were It not for somo circumstances thnt mako such an Idea highly m-probnble, m-probnble, oven absurd, I should think Helen's education would surpass in interest and wonder Doctor Howo's achievement. I know that sho has remarkablo powers and I bollovo thnt I shall bo ablo to dovolop and mold them. I cannot toll how I know theso things. I lmd n0 Idea a short tlmo ago how to go to work; 1 was feeling about in tho dark; but somehow I know now, and I know that I know. I cannot explain it ;but when difficulties diffi-culties arise, I am not perplexed or doubtful. I know how to meet them; I seem to dlvlno Helen's peculiar needs. It Is wonderful. However dlvlno tho Impulse, tho goal toward which It pointed was to be reached only through a remarkablo remark-ablo exercise of human quaTtles that aro mainly tho frultngo of willing and working. In this lies tho superior mngnltmlo of tho Incentive furnished by Miss Sullivan's career as compared to Miss Keller's. Tho Inter's phenomenal pro gross must bo attributed chiefly to nn exceptional circumtnnco rightly gung-cd gung-cd by ono who sas, To Havo another Helen Keller thoro must bo nnother Miss Sulllvnn. Tlin fnrmnr'u miri-noo is the result asldo from n sympathy - In somo mensuro as Innato ns to bo, beyond cultivation of bucIi generally general-ly cultlvnblo human attributes as Intelligence, wisdom nnd Bngaclty, coupled with persovoranco and unbending un-bending will. That a largo measuro of maternal solicitude and enthusiasm was needed from the start must bo obvious to any ono acquainted with tho barest facts ot that barren beginning. It required, somothlng moro than mere determination determin-ation to brook the crisis of tho flrst family breakfast after tho new teacher's teach-er's arrival, when Helen's outburst of passion at being denied hor own way was so terrible at to drive from tho room every ono except Miss Sullivan, who after locking tho doors, undertook under-took a two hour slego which reduced had to a state of exhaustion, but gavo tho poor little prisoner her llrst gleam of tho law of obedlenco. It took a moasuro of common sense prophetic of tho present day Mo'ntcs-sorl Mo'ntcs-sorl brand to flguro out a policy so wiso as tho ono thus expressed by Miss Sullivan two months later: I am beginning to suspect all elaborate elab-orate and special Bystems of education. educa-tion. They seem to mo to bo built up on tho supposition that every child Is n kind of idiot, who must bo taught to think. Whereas, if tho child is left to himself, ho will think moro nnd better, If less lowly. Let him go and como freely, let him touch real things and combine his Impressions for himself, him-self, lnstcnd of sitting indoors at n llttlo round tablo whllo a teacher suggests sug-gests that ho build a etono wall with his wooden blocks or mako a rainbow out of strips ot colored paper. Such teaching fills thovnlnd with artificial associations that must bo got rid of beforo tho child can dovolop Independent Indepen-dent ideas out of actual experiences. Sho was bolng taught whllo teaching, teach-ing, as always Is tho caso. Also sho was bolng so hnrasBed and handicapped handicap-ped by tho child's inequalities; her progress with Helen was bo punctuated punctua-ted by tho defeats nnd failures thnt 'If sho had dono nothing moro than stick to her poBt that flrst year Bho would bo worthy of praise. Hut when ono considers how willingly wil-lingly sho sacrificed every form of personal freedom commonly hold dear in order to seo if thoro might be a wny out for thoso doprived of jflight and hearing, una nn nvcnuo of escapo for othors shackled by such deficiencies as nro born ot tho pitiful, lack, and how her ceaseless efforts havo been rownrded not only by such n concreto result as tho Holen Keller Kell-er of this day but tho discovery ot a way to surmount hitherto insurmountable insur-mountable barriers, sho hecamo n mnrvel as well ns a hero. It Is indeod a fnr cry from tho deaf, dumb and blind llttlo girl of 7, who was llttlo moro than nn nntmnl,v ' to tho oxqulsltoly rounded personalj ity of tho charming woman ot 33 an ago of dlvlno significance who has mastered all branches of loarnlng, spoaks threo and reads flvo languages, (Continued on pass four) .Continued from pago three) T Miss Keller's Spiritual Liberator plays both tho piano and violin, has read moro widely thhn tho avorago collego bred woman and written two successful books, corresponded with the choicest minds of her time, lectured lec-tured In various parts of tho land! and, In addition to her activity Hong progressive linos of social reform, holds thp degree of bachelor of arts from one of tho foremost women's colleges In tho country. In tho presence of UiIb transformation, transforma-tion, It seems childish to quibble over tho possibilities of such hn occurrence 1 1 ns the casting away of tho scales from I r the eyes of the blind Bartlmeau, who I , sat begging without tho walls of Jer- I Icho! ' As a matter of fact, wo fool that I Helen Keller is an answer to all or I thoso so blind as to wonder why men 1 rnd women should greatly concern I themselves, with tho deficient, tho I ! dwarfed, tho deprived, whether thru I physical or social ailments. J And wo feel that tho woman who W mado possible every stop of this mi- raculous achievement, without Mhom I tho great lesson and encouragement I ' of Helen Keller's life would havo 1 been lost to tho world, "Is no less n 1 marvel than her charge nnd no less I nn answer to thnt other blind ques- 1 tlon. What's tho use. Philadelphia I North American. I |