Page 320 - The Story of My Lif

in the ground, and she is very dirty, and she is cold. Florence was very lovely

like Sadie, and Mrs. H.

kissed her and hugged her much. Florence is very sad in big hole.

Doctor gave her medicine to make her well, but poor Florence did not get well.
When she was very sick she tossed and moaned in bed. Mrs. H. will go to see
her soon.”

Notwithstanding the activity of Helen’s mind, she is a very natural child. She is
fond of fun and frolic, and loves dearly to be with other children. She is never
fretful or irritable, and I have never seen her impatient with her playmates
because they failed to understand her. She will play for hours together with
children who cannot understand a single word she spells, and it is pathetic to
watch the eager gestures and excited pantomime through which her ideas and

emotions find expression.

Occasionally some little boy or girl will try to learn the manual alphabet. Then it
is beautiful to observe with what patience, sweetness, and perseverance Helen

endeavours to bring the unruly fingers of her little friend into proper position.

One day, while Helen was wearing a little jacket of which she was very proud,
her mother said: “There is a poor little girl who has no cloak to keep her warm.
Will you give her yours?” Helen began to pull off the jacket, saying, “I must

give it to a poor little strange girl.”

She is very fond of children younger than herself, and a baby invariably calls
forth all the motherly instincts of her nature.

She will handle the baby as tenderly as the most careful nurse could desire. It is
pleasant, too, to note her thoughtfulness for little children, and her readiness to
yield to their whims.