i ot recall what happened during the first months after my illness. i only know that i sat in my mothers lap or g to her dress as she went about her household duties. my hands felt every objed observed every motion, and in this way i learo know many things. soon i felt the need of some unication with others and began to make crude signs. a shake of the head meant "no" and a nod, "yes," a pull meant "e" and a push, "go." was it bread that i wahen i would imitate the acts of cutting the slices and buttering them. if i wanted my mother to make ice-cream for dinner i made the sign for w the freezer and shivered, indig cold. my mother, moreover, succeeded in making me uand a good deal. i always knew when she wished me t her something, and i would run upstairs or anywhere else she indicated. indeed, i owe to her loving wisdom all that was bright and good in my long night.
i uood a good deal of what was going on about me. at five i learo fold and put away the clothes when they were brought in from the laundry, and i distinguished my own from the rest. i knew by the way my mother and aunt dressed when they were going out, and i invariably begged to go with them. i was always sent for when there was pany, and when the guests took their leave, i waved my hand to them, i think with a vague remembrance of the meaning of the gesture. one day some gentlemen called on my mother, and i felt the shutting of the front door and other sounds that indicated their arrival. on a sudden thought i ran upstairs before any one could stop me, to put on my idea of a pany dress. standing before the mirror, as i had seen others do, i anointed mine head with oil and covered my face thickly with powder.
then i pinned a veil over my head so that it covered my fad fell in folds down to my shoulders, and tied an enormous bustle round my small waist, so that it dangled behind, almost meeting the hem of my skirt. thus attired i went down to help eain the pany.
i do not remember when i first realized that i was different from other people; but i k before my teacher came to me. i had noticed that my mother and my friends did not use signs as i did when they wanted anything done, but talked with their mouths. sometimes i stood between two persons who were versing and touched their lips. i could not uand, and was vexed. i moved my lips aiculated frantically without result. this made me so angry at times that i kicked and screamed until i was exhausted.
i think i knew w
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