The last of the trio of senses whose development compensates in large
measure for the want of eyesight, is that of smell. Through this sense,
the child comes very close to the heart of Nature. Of course, the ear is
charmed by the song of birds, the hum of insects, the murmur of wind in
the trees, or the sound of mighty waters. Through the finger-tips, he
learns the shape and size of each flower and shrub and tree, traces the
delicate pattern of ferns, notes wonderful rock formations, and finds
the first blade of tender grass coaxed to the surface by the warmth of
the Spring sunshine. But all this does not bring him the keen pleasure
he experiences when he inhales the fragrance of the rose, the perfume of
flowers with the dew still upon them, the smell of the freshly turned
earth, the newly cut grass, or the blossom laden trees. In the case of
Helen Keller, the olfactory nerves have been cultivated to a very high
degree, and through this sense she is often able to recognize her
friends. A little blind boy once told me that each member of his family
had a distinct odor, by which he could tell things worn by them, or
books they had handled. Laura Bridgeman is said to have selected the
laundry of the pupils in her school by this unusual process. I
frequently astonish my friends by telling them when I pass a drug store
or hospital, a grocery, a confectioner's, or drygoods store, a paint
shop, a florist's stand, or a livery stable. I do not think the blind
have a keener sense of taste than any other class of people, although
this claim is often made, even by the blind themselves.
We have, then, the senses of hearing, touch and smell, each playing its
part in the development of the blind child, and each playing it so well
that the lack of eyesight is not keenly felt in early childhood. Not
until it is old enough to understand the thoughtless remarks of
well-meaning people, to catch the pitying tone, to feel the
compassionate touch, does it realize that this lack of eyesight is to
prove an almost insurmountable barrier to its future success.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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