"AN OLD LADY SHOWS HER MEDALS"

New Zealand Listener, Volume 3, Issue 58, 2 August 1940, Page 37

"AN OLD LADY SHOWS HER MEDALS"

LITTLE old lady wearing darkcoloured glasses, and with a spray of red roses pinned to her coat, seated behind a pink birthday cake. .. Birthday parties are always exciting, sentimental gatherings. Your mind goes back on all sorts of tea parties, from Alice in Wonderland-to your own progressive birthday celebrations. But this tea party was different. It was a large gathering-nearly a hundred in all-seated along the two T tables; their heads slightly.turned to the top guest table, where sat the little old lady behind her pink birthday cake. Why was it different? It came to you with a kind of shock. Because nearly all those guests were blind-or near blind -and the little old lady herself lived in a deeper darkness than all-for she was both blind and deaf. Last year they said to her, "Next year, our Centennial year, you will be eighty, and if you are spared to us, we will give you a grand birthday party." Well, she was spared to enjoy itand to live out one of the most memorable days in her life; one that will cast a glory on the deepening twilight of her time. To Do Her Honour Miss Esther Biddle, despite her affliction, was richer that day than any other woman in the land. All the members of the Blind Social Club had gathered to do her honour. But even a greater distinction awaited her. The Governor-General and his Lady, the Prime Minister’s wife, and other notable people came along to have tea with her and tender their good wishes on the attainment of her 80th birthday. The party progressed with laughter and speeches. How cheerful was this little company of the blind. A few wore coloured caps; uncertain hands reached for cakes or fruit. One woman, totally blind, peeled an apple expertly. They chatted and they laughed together. . . At the top table, the guest of honour, with the Governor-General seated to her left, and the interpreter spelling a description of the proceedings on to her right hand. She nodded and smiled, following the progress of her party, and when she rose to cut the birthday cake, a spot of excited pink on either cheek, it was the Governor’s own hand that guided her. A great and unforgettable day for Esther Biddle... What Her Friends Said How to interview an old lady who could neither see nor hear? What strange, remote world did she live in-shut out from us by both sound and sight? I sought and found three women who were her ears and her eyes. For over forty years they have been her faithful and devoted friends. From them I learnt of Esther Biddle. There was affection and tenderness in their voices as they spoke, for to them this quiet old lady has always given more than she received. She has helped and inspired them all. ' "She is so very grateful," said one, "for any small thing that is done for (Continued on next page)

AN OLD LADY

(Continued from previous page) her. Her memory, too, is uncanny. She can remember incidents and places long back that have completely passed from our minds, "She never complains," said another. "In fact, she blesses her affliction, Only a little time back she remarked that she was lucky not to be able to hear any scandal-or witness any unpleasant sights. She is most independent. She likes to help about the house, dusting, washing up-and even doing her own little washing. Most of her days, though, are devoted to Braille-reading and her large correspondence." Blind Since Sixteen Miss Biddle was struck down with blindness when she was sixteen, and a few weeks later her hearing went. What inward courage was required of that young girl to go forward with her life? She had that courage, though, and she never faltered. When Braille was introduced into New Zealand, Miss Biddle became a student, painfully and zealously working out the intricate symbols. She showed remarkable aptitude, and progressed to such a degree that she earned the title which she still holds of "Queen of Braille."

Though Miss Biddle’s hearing is completely gone, she is most sensitive to vibrations, If she hears clapping or any noise occasioned by excitement, she becomes immediately infected with the mood. Another Finds Consolation As we spoke together, a young girl stole up and stood shyly listening on the edge of the group. Someone introduced her to me-a little blind girl of seventeen called Clarice Brown. This child, too, driven by an inner loneliness, has found her life work. She discovered she could play the piano by ear. So she gathered a little group of children about her, trained them in singing and elocution, and now her Sunbeam Songsters are a popular session over the air. The Blind Social Club is the happy tefuge of these people. They come here every day to rest in the lounge and drink a cup of tea-or to work at their bead and rug making. A blind woman laughed nearby. "See how lucky we are," she said. "We cannot see our friend’s frock, therefore we cannot feel envious-and as we can’t see our neighbour’s husband-we can’t lose our hearts to him!" This gay, gallant company of the blind. ..