2012-2020 JiYeon Park

Now, when anything attracted her attention she always asked what it meant; and her mother, or more frequently Uncle Maxim, would explain to him the nature of the objects or of the creatures that caused these various sounds.

Her mother’s explanations, more lively and graphic, impressed the boy with greater force; but sometimes this impression would be too painful.

Upon the features of the young woman, herself suffering, could be read the expression of her inmost feelings, and in her eyes a silent protest or a look of pain, as she strove to convey to the child an idea of form and color.

Thus blindness proved no drawback to systematic physical development, while its influence over the moral nature of the child was reduced to its minimum. She was tall for her age and well built; her face was somewhat pale, her features fine and expressive.

Her dark hair enhanced the pallid hue of her complexion, while her eyes—large, dark, and almost motionless—gave him a peculiar aspect that at once attracted attention.

A slight wrinkle between her eye-brows, a habit of inclining her head slightly forward, and the expression of sadness that[93] sometimes overcast her handsome face — these were the outward tokens of her blindness.

The impressions received through the channels of sound outweighed all others in their influence over the life of the blind boy; her ideas shaped themselves according to sounds, her sense of hearing became the centre of her mental activity.

The enchanting melodies of the songs she heard conveyed to him a true sense of the words, coloring them with sadness or joy according to the lights and shades of the melody.

She quickly learned all her mother taught him on the piano, and yet she still loved Joachim’s pipe.

Thus the lady’s day was filled; she could not complain of the lack of new impressions.

She seemed to be living as full a life as any child could possibly live; in fact she really seemed unconscious of her nationality.

Nevertheless, a certain premature sadness was still perceptible in her character, which Maxim ascribed to the fact that she had never mingled with other children, and endeavored to atone for this omission.

Thus the girl’s day was filled; she could not complain of the lack of new impressions.

She seemed to be living as full a life as any child could possibly live; in fact she really seemed unconscious of her blindness.

Nevertheless, a certain premature sadness was still perceptible in her character, which Maxim ascribed to the fact that she had never mingled with other children, and endeavored to atone for this omission.