5
Learning New Lessons
The sun shone out gloriously on Sabbath morning. It was one of those balmy Indian summer days that give one a delightful sense of rest and calm content. The gorgeous autumn leaves had begun to loosen their hold on the tall trees, and the slightest breeze was sufficient to send them fluttering tremulously to the earth. Carrie, who, with others, had gone out on the lawn to enjoy the fresh morning air, began darting about to catch these falling leaves, when one of the older girls, noticing her movements, reproved her gently and pointed in a solemn manner to the sky. Carrie looked puzzled, not understanding that the girl was trying to tell her that the Sabbath was God’s day and should be kept holy. After a little persuasion, however, she was induced to give up her pursuit and allow the little crimson and yellow leaves to flutter unmolested to the ground.
Presently all the girls, now neatly dressed in their Sunday attire, were summoned to their study room, where an hour was spent by those who could read understandingly in studying a portion of the New Testament. The more advanced pupils had Bibles and question books for this purpose. Others studied their lessons from a book of simple Bible stories prepared for the deaf and dumb by an eminent instructor of the deaf in the State of New York, while those just started in their education simply studied the one-hand alphabet.
Almost immediately after the close of this hour of study, all the pupils repaired to the chapel, not to listen to, but to see a sermon delivered by the superintendent. The sermon ended, quiet walks or pleasant conversation filled up the remaining time till dinner.
At three o’clock p.m. they were gathered a second time in the chapel, and another sermon or lecture was delivered by Mr. Atwood, one of the teachers.
None of the pupils were absent from either morning or afternoon service, attendance upon these services being compulsory, except in case of sickness.
The afternoon passed quietly, no one being allowed to play or to indulge in weekday pursuits. The supper, at six o’clock, was the same as Thursday’s bill of fare.
At seven p.m. the pupils assembled again in their study room for another hour’s study. Slowly the hour hand traveled over the dial from the Roman figure VII toward the figure VIII. When that figure was at length reached, all were dismissed, and immediately they departed for the court of “Gentle Slumber,” the queen of Slumberland, in the clime of Dreams.
The next morning, after breakfast had been eaten and the beds made, Carrie proceeded as usual to the sewing room. She had just taken her accustomed seat when a woman with a stern, determined demeanor entered the room, and, going to the seamstress, addressed a few words to her. In answer, the seamstress singled out a number of small girls, among them Carrie herself, and directed them to follow this woman. They obeyed. Proceeding downstairs and along a long, dark corridor, they came to a large room at the end of this corridor. Into this room the girls were conducted by the woman. Here they beheld, on long, linen-covered tables, great piles of pillowcases, sheets, towels, etc. To their dismay they soon learned that they were expected to iron all these articles. The woman proceeded to assign each girl to a place at the long tables, and then she pointed authoritatively at a large clothes basket—in which were a number of sheets already sprinkled and folded ready to be ironed—as the signal for them to begin work. Somewhat reluctantly Carrie did as the other girls were doing, secured a hot flatiron from the glowing stove at one side of the room, and set about accomplishing her imposed task. It proved a rather unpleasant task to her. It was required that not a wrinkle should remain in the articles, and that they should be folded with the utmost precision. This, to a novice in the art, was trying. The coming of the hour for chapel service released these girls for a while from this work, but as soon as school closed they were obliged to resume and continue it until every sheet, pillowcase, and towel had been neatly ironed and folded. They, by diligent effort, succeeded in accomplishing this before the hour when the girls engaged in sewing would be free, and they therefore gained a little more time for recreation that evening.
This being Monday, the supper consisted of a couple of warm biscuits for each person, bread, butter, molasses, and tea. This was, without variation, the bill of fare for supper both on Fridays and Mondays.
Tuesday morning about fifteen of the older and more experienced girls were sent to the ironing room, and, under the watchful eye of the woman in charge of this department of labor—who was quick to discover and reprove any carelessly done work—they used the flatiron sedulously, smoothing the linen of the officers and teachers.
Today Carrie and the other members of the lowest class had a new pantomime lesson, differing somewhat from all of their preceding lessons. Mr. Hale ventured to begin the task of teaching them words that represented actions. For this purpose he selected a few simple words. He took a crayon from the box and wrote the word walk on the large slate. Having pointed to this word, he walked across the floor and back to the slate. Then, to impress the meaning of this action more surely upon the minds of the pupils, he repeated it. Then stopping, he made a motion which suggested the idea that his arms and hands were walking on air. This was the sign for “walk.” He next wrote the word run, and, as in duty bound, dropped, for the moment, his usual dignity and ran swiftly across the floor, much to the amusement of those who saw him. He supplemented this action by making his arms and hands perform the motion of swift locomotion, which was the sign for “run.” After this he wrote the word cry, and placing the back of one hand over his eyes, imitated closely the actions of a small boy when crying. Then he made, with his forefinger, a motion suggestive of tears trickling down the cheeks. This was the sign for “cry.” Next he wrote the word love, and pressed one open hand upon the other passionately against his left side, just over the heart. This was the sign for “love.” The word hate was next written, and, with a look of disgust on his face, he made a motion as if to repel someone or something. This was the sign for “hate.” The lesson was now considered sufficiently long for one day.
The day passed quietly with the usual round of duties. Tuesday’s supper always consisted of precisely the same bill of fare as that of Saturday. The next day, which was Wednesday, another company of fifteen girls took their turn at the ironing tables to smooth out and do up the shirts of the boys, and so successive companies of girls were to be thus employed one day in each week, from Monday morning to Friday evening—no ironing was to be done on Saturday. In Carrie’s schoolroom from day to day, the pantomime lessons representing objects, qualities, and actions were continued.
Carrie’s teacher—Mr. Brown—by taking lessons in the deaf and dumb language from an experienced deaf-mute teacher after school hours, and by the aid given him in the schoolroom, soon acquired a fair knowledge of the deaf and dumb language and the method of teaching. He then was able to pursue his work in the schoolroom unaided. But he still continued to take lessons in the silent language every day after school hours. As time went on, repeatedly occurring events and incidents served to call into action and stimulate the once latent powers of some of the pupils’ minds, which the daily pantomime lessons had awakened. They did not need much encouragement from the teacher to induce them to press on and make new investigations and new discoveries. They did so almost wholly of their own accord, often plying the teacher with eager questions. Others, with intellects dull of apprehension or indifferent to improvement, had to be constantly urged and helped forward in order to be able to obtain any knowledge of language. As the weeks went by and lengthened into months, Carrie became accustomed to the daily routine and discipline of the institution, and being quick of observation and tractable she improved rapidly.