His mother, finding it
almost impossible to teach him to walk, devoted herself faithfully to
improving his mind, so that at fourteen years of age he read well and
enjoyed books, and was mentally clear, observant, and docile. His speech
was almost incomprehensible,--stuttering, thick, and nasal. He stood,
swaying in every direction, though not apt to fall, with bent knees,
rounded shoulders, every muscle in the extremities rigid, the mouth
half-open, the head projected forward, and, upon attempting to move,
the toes turned in, the legs almost twined around one another, and,
unless supported, he would stumble and twist about, scarcely able to get
forward at all. With a guiding hand he did a little better. His first
lessons were in "setting-up drill," while the feeble, disused muscles
were strengthened by massage, which served at the same time to help his
very irritable and imperfect digestive apparatus, so that it was soon
possible to give him a greater variety and more nourishing kinds of food
than he had before been able to take. He was kept in bed up to three
o'clock in the afternoon, the morning hours occupied with massage and a
half-hour's lesson in erect standing, with slow trunk movements
afterwards.
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