LAURA BRIDGMAN. 249 Mr. Dickens spoke of the difference between her treat- ment of himself and of his wife. Her sense of feminine propriety, if I may use the expression, was, so far as her teachers could discern, inborn. No child ever evinced more regard to appearances. She was never seen with her dress in disorder, or in an unbecoming attitude ; and if by chance she discovered a little tear or dirt upon her dress or person, she showed an acute sense of shame, and would hurry away to remove it. Her demeanor towards men was all reserve and distance, but to women she would be quickly affectionate, cling closely to them, kiss and caress them with unusual frequency and fondness. When a strange lady was presented to her she soon became familiar, examined her dress with her fingers, and permitted her caresses. But with men it was entirely different, and she repelled every kind of familiarity. No matter how much she was attached to a male teacher, she would not sit upon his knees, nor let him clasp her about the waist. Her sense of ownership seemed also to be innate. She was fond of acquiring property, and respected the right of ownership in others. She was never known to steal, and was noted throughout her childhood for speaking the truth. Nor Was she less prone to imitation than other children. She was known to sit for half an hour holding a book before her and moving her lips, as she had observed people do when reading. One day she pretended that her doll was sick, as Dr. Howe relates, and went through all the motions of tending it and administering medicine. She carefully put it to bed, placed a bottle of hot water at its feet, laughing all the time most heartily. "When I came home," adds the doctor, "she insisted upon my going to see it and feeling its pulse, and when I told her to put a blister to its back, she seemed to enjoy it amazingly and almost screamed with delight."
