LAURA BRIDGEMAN. ^5 



for her own sake, and not as an experiment for the philosopher. Sounds which 

 she produces for persons — and she has a sound for every individual in whom 

 she takes a pecuHar interest — are not subject to the same vehemence; indeed, 

 they are not at all disagreeable. The question whether Laura has distinct 

 sounds for those persons only whom she loves, but none for those she dislikes, 

 is simply answered by the fact that never a being has been more exclusively 

 surrounded by attentive solicitude than Laui*a. 



How these sounds for persons, or names, originate is very difficult to say. 1 

 was unable to discover any agreement between the sound — for instance, its 

 strength or softness — and the character which Laura may ascribe to the indi- 

 vidual, or with the peculiar influence which a person may have exercised over 

 her.* This apparent want of agreement cannot be wholly ascribed to a want 

 on her part of an appreciation of the difference of character. Laura knows the 

 character of those who surround her very well indeed. She quickly perceives 

 whether a friend speaks to her with accustomed kindness, indifferently, or per- 

 haps impatiently. For, as we readily perceive the temper of a person by his 

 gentle intonation or hurried utterance, so is Laura perfectly able to feel any 

 difference in the manner of imprinting words in her listening hand. Once she 

 said in my presence to a friend of hers, " You are very sleepy ; why don't you 

 go to bed.'"' and when asked how she knew it, she replied: "You speak so 

 sleepy." The fact was, that the person really was tired, and printed her con- 

 verse slowly in Laura's hand, as our utterance becomes symphenomenally heavy 

 when we feel drowsy. One day Laura expressed a desire to visit me ; and 

 when asked whether she liked to see me, she answered: "Yes, he speaks so 

 funny" — imitating my slow and often incorrect spelling. I was then learning 

 her finger alphabet, and used to spell as slowly and painfully as the urchin per- 

 forms his first lessons in the primer. Now it is obvious that if Laura perceives 

 single peculiarities, she likewise conceives the aggregate, especially as she is 

 gifted with very keen perceptional powers. We have, indeed, her own sayings, 

 which prove how well she appreciates those around her. But the reasons why 

 there seems to be no natural agreement between her sounds and the persons 

 designated, may be twofold. Laura has no ears to guide the modulations ox 

 her own voice, or, in fact, to evoke the proper sounds 5 and, which is perhaps the 

 most important, Laura perceives that which to us is sound, as a common vibra- 



and titnoss would stand in the dictionary of that tribe as the noun, or verb, as the case might have 

 been, for fear or fearing, love or loving, &c. There are many perfectly articulate sounds used in our 

 language, which, nevertheless, have neither a destinct word-meaning, nor are interjections; for 

 instance, the sounds which are added to some stanzas in singing, as la-le-ra-la, foU-de-doU, or Sterne's 

 liUi-bullero. 



In the above case a human being was forced by his own organization to form an articulate bisyUable 

 of a mere sound of embarrassment; while a Newfoundland dog, with a most definite idea, cannot rise 

 to articulation. What an elemental diiference! 



* I must refer the reader to the letter of Miss Wight, which I received when these sheets were 

 passing through the press, and which will be found at the end. It will be seen that Laura actually 

 does connect some of these sounds at least with the character of the persons whom they designate. 

 Art. IL— 4 



