Page 292 - The Story of My Lif

We had a beautiful time in Huntsville. Everybody there was delighted with
Helen, and showered her with gifts and kisses. The first evening she learned the
names of all the people in the hotel, about twenty, I think. The next morning we

were astonished to find that she remembered all of them, and recognized every
one she had met the night before. She taught the young people the alphabet, and
several of them learned to talk with her. One of the girls taught her to dance the
polka, and a little boy showed her his rabbits and spelled their names for her. She
was delighted, and showed her pleasure by hugging and kissing the little fellow,
which embarrassed him very much.

We had Helen’s picture taken with a fuzzy, red-eyed little poodle, who got
himself into my lady’s good graces by tricks and cunning devices known only to
dogs with an instinct for getting what they want.

She has talked incessantly since her return about what she did in Huntsville, and

we notice a very decided improvement in her ability to use language. Curiously
enough, a drive we took to the top of Monte Sano, a beautiful mountain not far
from Huntsville, seems to have impressed her more than anything else, except
the wonderful poodle. She remembers all that I told her about it, and in telling
her mother REPEATED THE VERY WORDS AND PHRASES I HAD

USED IN DESCRIBING IT TO HER. In conclusion she asked her mother if she
should like to see “very high mountain and beautiful cloudcaps.” I hadn’t used
this expression. I said, “The clouds touch the mountain softly, like beautiful
flowers.” You see, I had to use words and images with which she was familiar
through the sense of touch. But it hardly seems possible that any mere words
should convey to one who has never seen a mountain the faintest idea of its
grandeur; and I don’t see how any one is ever to know what impression she did
receive, or the cause of her pleasure in what was told her about it. All that we do
know certainly is that she has a good memory and imagination and the faculty of
association.