Laura Bridgman : the story of an opened door / by Laura E. Richards; prefatory note by William H. Burnham.

  • Laura E. Richards
Date:
1928
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Laura Bridgman : the story of an opened door / by Laura E. Richards; prefatory note by William H. Burnham. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    stretched, the eager face uplifted; this was Laura’s attitude through all the waking hours. Here is a page from Miss Swift’s journal: January io. In the midst of a conversation on bread-making, she suddenly changed the subject by asking, ‘Why does not God want you in heaven now ? Does he know what you teach me? Does he know what I think? Do you? Try.’ And then she held her forehead towards me, that I might read her thoughts. . . . (cJanuary 13. [Laura] commenced her conver¬ sation by asking, ‘Is salt made?’ She was much interested in an account of it. Her next query was, ‘How is gravy made? What is sauce made of? What is lead in my pencil? What is oil made of, and hair-oil, and rum, and camphor, and cologne? What would I do if I drank them?’ When told that rum would make her sleepy, and she could not walk straight, she said, ‘I was very sick in head last summer, and very sleepy, and walked crooked.’ . . . “January ig. . . . Dr. Jarvis came into the room, and she wished me to ask him if he had ever seen Indians. He told her a story of one which pleased her much. ‘Why were Indians not white like us? Why do they wear blankets? Are they not sorry not to have clothes?’ . . . “January 23. A conversation on ‘noises,’ made necessary by her making so many of late. She attempted to justify herself by saying, ‘Some of my noises are not bad, some are pretty noises. I must