THE STORY OF MY LIFE

I was born on June 27, 1880, in Tuscumbia, a little town of northern Alabama.

The family on my father's side is descended from Caspar Keller, a native of Switzerland, who settled in Maryland. One of my Swiss ancestors was the first teacher of the deaf in Zurich and wrote a book on the subject of their education-rather a singular coincidence; though it is true that there is no king who has not had a slave among his ancestors, and no slave who has not had a king among his.

My grandfather, Caspar Keller's son,“entered”large tracts of land in Alabama and finally settled there. I have been told that once a year he went from Tuscumbia to Philadelphia on horseback to purchase supplies for the plantation, and my aunt has in her possession many of the letters to his family, which give charming and vivid accounts of these trips.

My Grandmother Keller was a daughter of one of Lafayette's aides, Alexander Moore, and granddaughter of Alexander Spotswood, an early Colonial Governor of Virginia. She was also second cousin to Robert E. Lee.

My father, Arthur H. Keller, was a captain in the Confederate Army, and my mother, Kate Adams, was his second wife and many years younger. Her grandfather, Benjamin Adams, married Susanna E. Goodhue, and lived in Newbury, Massachusetts, for many years. Their son, Charles Adams, was born in Newburyport, Massachusetts, and moved to Helena, Arkansas. When the Civil War broke out, he fought on the side of the South and became a brigadier-general. He married Lucy Helen Everett, who belonged to the same family of Everett as Edward Everett and Dr. Edward Everett Hale. After the war was over the family moved to Memphis, Tennessee.

I lived, up to the time of the illness that deprived me of my sight and hearing, in a tiny house consisting of a large square room and a small one, in which the servant slept. It is a custom in the South to build a small house near the homestead as an annex to be used on occasion. Such a house my father built after the Civil War, and when he married my mother they went to live in it. It was completely covered with vines, climbing roses and honeysuckles. From the garden it looked like an arbour.The little porch was hidden from view by a screen of yellow roses and Southern smilax. It was the favourite haunt of humming-birds and bees.

The Keller homestead, where the family lived, was a few steps from our little rose-bower. It was called“Ivy Green”because the house and the surrounding trees and fences were covered with beautiful English ivy. Its old-fashioned garden was the paradise of my childhood.

Even in the days before my teacher came, I used to feel along the square stiff boxwood hedges, and, guided by the sense of smell, would find the first violets and lilies. There, too, after a fit of temper, I went to find comfort and to hide my hot face in the cool leaves and grass.

What joy it was to lose myself in that garden of flowers, to wander happily from spot to spot, until, coming suddenly upon a beautiful vine, I recognized it by its leaves and blossoms, and knew it was the vine which covered the tumble-down summer-house at the farther end of the garden! Here, also, were trailing clematis, drooping jessamine, and some rare sweet flowers called butterfly lilies, because their fragile petals resemble butterflies’wings. But the roses-they were loveliest of all. Never have I found in the greenhouses of the North such heart-satisfying roses as the climbing roses of my southern home. They used to hang in long festoons from our porch, filling the whole air with their fragrance, untainted by any earthy smell; and in the early morning, washed in the dew, they felt so soft, so pure, I could not help wondering if they did not resemble the asphodels of God's garden.

The beginning of my life was simple and much like every other little life. I came, I saw, I conquered, as the first baby in the family always does. There was the usual amount of discussion as to a name for me. The first baby in the family was not to be lightly named, every one was emphatic about that. My father suggested the name of Mildred Campbell, an ancestor whom he highly esteemed, and he declined to take any further part in the discussion. My mother solved the problem by giving it as her wish that I should be called after her mother, whose maiden name was Helen Everett.

But in the excitement of carrying me to church my father lost the name on the way, very naturally, since it was one in which he had declined to have a part. When the minister asked him for it, he just remembered that it had been decided to call me after my grandmother, and he gave her name as Helen Adams.

I am told that while I was still in long dresses I showed many signs of an eager,self-asserting disposition. Everything that I saw other people do I insisted upon imitating. At six months I could pipe out“How d'ye,”and one day I attracted every one's attention by saying“Tea, tea, tea”quite plainly. Even after my illness I remembered one of the words I had learned in these early months. It was the word“water”, and I continued to make some sound for that word after all other speech was lost. I ceased making the sound“wah-wah”only when I learned to spell the word.

They tell me I walked the day I was a year old. My mother had just taken me out of the bath-tub and was holding me in her lap, when I was suddenly attracted by the flickering shadows of leaves that danced in the sunlight on the smooth floor. I slipped from my mother's lap and almost ran toward them. The impulse gone, I fell down and cried for her to take me up in her arms.

These happy days did not last long. One brief spring, musical with the song of robin and mocking-bird, one summer rich in fruit and roses, one autumn of gold and crimson sped by and left their gifts at the feet of an eager, delighted child. Then, in the dreary month of February, came the illness which closed my eyes and ears and plunged me into the unconsciousness of a new- born baby. They called it acute congestion of the stomach and brain. The doctor thought I could not live. Early one morning, however, the fever left me as suddenly and mysteriously as it had come. There was great rejoicing in the family that morning, but no one, not even the doctor, knew that I should never see or hear again.

I fancy I still have confused recollections of that illness. I especially remember the tenderness with which my mother tried to soothe me in my waking hours of fret and pain, and the agony and bewilderment with which I awoke after a tossing half sleep, and turned my eyes, so dry and hot, to the wall, away from the once-loved light, which came to me dim and yet more dim each day. But, except for these fleeting memories, if, indeed, they be memories, it all seems very unreal, like a nightmare. Gradually I got used to the silence and darkness that surrounded me and forgot that it had ever been different, until she came- my teacher- who was to set my spirit free. But during the first nineteen months of my life I had caught glimpses of broad, green fields, a luminous sky, trees and flowers which the darkness that followed could not wholly blot out. If we have once seen,“the day is ours, and what the day has shown.”

第一篇 我生活的故事

1880年6月27日，我出生在亞拉巴馬州北部的一個(gè)小鎮(zhèn)塔斯坎比亞。

我的祖先是瑞士人，移民到美國后定居在馬里蘭州。我的瑞士祖先中竟然有一位是蘇黎世最早的聾啞人教育專家，他曾寫過一本關(guān)于如何教育聾啞人的書。誰能料到，他的后人中竟然會(huì)有一個(gè)像我這樣又盲又聾又啞的殘疾人，這不能不說是一個(gè)神奇的偶然。每當(dāng)想到這里，我就不得不相信所謂“國王的祖先也可能是奴隸，而奴隸的祖先中也可能誕生國王”的正確性，命運(yùn)真是無法預(yù)知啊！

我的祖父，也就是卡斯帕·凱勒的兒子，到了亞拉巴馬州這片廣袤的土地之后，就定居下來。我曾聽說，那時(shí)候由于塔斯坎比亞地處偏僻，祖父每年都要特地騎馬，從塔斯坎比亞鎮(zhèn)跑到760英里遠(yuǎn)的費(fèi)城，去購買家里和農(nóng)場要用的各種東西。每次祖父前往費(fèi)城的途中，總會(huì)寫信給家里報(bào)平安，信中對(duì)西部沿途的景觀，以及旅途中所遭遇的人、事、物都有清楚而生動(dòng)的描述。姑媽至今還保留了許多祖父的家信，這些信就好像是一本歷險(xiǎn)小說，令人百讀不厭。

我祖母是拉斐特一位官員亞歷山大·摩爾的女兒，又是弗吉尼亞早期殖民政府總督亞歷山大·斯波特伍德的孫女，她還是羅伯特·李的堂姐。

我父親亞瑟·凱勒曾是南北戰(zhàn)爭時(shí)的南軍上尉，我的母親凱蒂·亞當(dāng)斯是他的第二位妻子，母親比父親要小好幾歲。母親的祖父本杰明·亞當(dāng)斯娶了蘇珊娜·古德休，住在馬薩諸塞東北部的紐伯里波特，他們生了兒子查理·亞當(dāng)斯，然后又遷到了阿肯色州的赫勒拿。南北戰(zhàn)爭爆發(fā)后，查理·亞當(dāng)斯代表南方參戰(zhàn)，后來升為準(zhǔn)將。他和露希·海倫·艾弗雷特結(jié)了婚，她與愛德華·艾弗雷特和愛德華·艾弗雷特·黑爾博士屬于同一個(gè)艾弗雷特家族。戰(zhàn)爭結(jié)束后，他們搬到了田納西的孟菲斯。

在我還沒有失去視覺、聽覺以前，我們住的屋子很小，總共只有兩間，一間正方形的大房子和一間仆人住的小房子。當(dāng)時(shí)，按照南方的習(xí)慣，人們往往會(huì)在自己家旁邊再加蓋一間屋子，以備不時(shí)之需。南北戰(zhàn)爭之后，父親也蓋了一所這樣的小屋子，他同母親結(jié)婚之后，就住進(jìn)了這個(gè)小屋。這屋子雖小，但是爬滿了葡萄、爬藤薔薇和金銀花，從園子里望去，像是一座用樹枝搭成的涼亭。這里的花兒成了蜂鳥和蜜蜂的樂園。

我家的老宅子離我們的薔薇涼亭沒有幾步遠(yuǎn)。由于我們家被茂密的樹木、綠藤所包圍，所以鄰居們都稱我們家為“綠色家園”。這個(gè)舊庭院是我童年時(shí)代的天堂。

在我的家庭老師莎莉文小姐來之前，我經(jīng)常獨(dú)自一人摸著圍成方形的黃楊木樹籬，慢慢地走到庭園里，憑著嗅覺尋找剛剛開放的紫羅蘭和百合花，深深地聞著那清新的花香。有時(shí)我心情不好，也會(huì)獨(dú)自來這里尋找安慰，我總是把炙熱的臉埋在清涼的樹葉和草叢之中，讓煩躁不安的心情平靜下來。

置身于這個(gè)綠色花園里，真是令人心曠神怡。我高興地從這里漫步到那里，直到忽然間來到美麗的葡萄藤下。我靠撫觸它的葉子和花來認(rèn)識(shí)它，并且知道這是纏繞在花園另一端的搖搖欲墜的小涼亭上的葡萄藤。這里有在地上蔓延的卷須藤和低垂的茉莉，還有一種十分罕見的蝴蝶荷花，因?yàn)樗侨菀椎袈涞幕ò旰芟窈某岚颍悦泻桑@種花能發(fā)出一陣陣香甜的氣味。但花園里最美麗的還是薔薇花。我在北方的花房很少見到這種令人心醉的薔薇。它到處攀爬，長長的綠枝倒掛在陽臺(tái)上，散發(fā)出芳香，沒有一點(diǎn)兒塵土的氣息。每當(dāng)清晨朝露未干時(shí)，它摸上去是那么的柔軟高潔，令人陶醉不已。我總是禁不住想，即使是上帝御花園里的曝光蘭，也不過如此吧！

就像其他新生命一樣，我的生命剛開始也是簡單而平常的，我來到人世，觀察這個(gè)世界，再到開始人生的旅途，和任何新生兒沒有什么區(qū)別。為了給我起個(gè)好名字，大家都絞盡腦汁，費(fèi)盡了口舌，因?yàn)樽鳛榧依锏牡谝粋€(gè)孩子，起名字可是一件大事，家里的每個(gè)人都認(rèn)為自己起的名字是最有意義的。父親希望以他最尊敬的祖先的名字“米爾德里德·坎貝兒”給我起名，并拒絕聽取任何不同意見；母親則想用她母親婚前的名字“海倫·艾弗雷特”給我起名。經(jīng)過再三討論，最后依照母親的希望，決定給我用外祖母的名字。

但是后來帶我去教堂受洗時(shí)，由于緊張和興奮，再加上有別的想法，父親在前往教堂的途中竟把這個(gè)名字給忘了。當(dāng)牧師問這嬰兒叫什么名字時(shí)，他只記得我用了外祖母的名字，于是說出了“海倫·亞當(dāng)斯”這個(gè)名字。

家人告訴我，說我還是嬰兒時(shí)，就顯露出了不服輸?shù)男愿瘢瑢?duì)任何事物都充滿了好奇心，我的個(gè)性非常倔強(qiáng)，總是非常固執(zhí)地模仿大人的一舉一動(dòng)。所以，當(dāng)我只有6個(gè)月大時(shí)，就已經(jīng)能發(fā)出“你好！”有一天，我還因?yàn)榍宄卣f出了“茶！茶！茶！”而吸引了每個(gè)人的注意力。即使是在我生病之后，我依然清晰地記得我在這最初的幾個(gè)月學(xué)會(huì)的單詞之一——“水”。雖然我忘掉了其他的發(fā)音，但是對(duì)于“水”這個(gè)字卻仍然記得。也正是在學(xué)會(huì)了拼讀這個(gè)單詞之后，我脫離了只能“哇哇”發(fā)音的階段。

家人還告訴我，我剛滿周歲就會(huì)走路了。那次，母親剛把我從浴盆中抱出來，放在膝蓋上，突然我發(fā)現(xiàn)樹影在光滑的地板上一閃一閃的，于是我就從母親的膝蓋上溜下來，搖搖擺擺地去踩那些影子。當(dāng)這股沖勁消失之后，我立即跌倒在地，哭著求母親抱我起來。

但是好景不長。春天，百鳥歡鳴，歌聲盈耳；夏天，到處是果子和薔薇花；當(dāng)草黃葉紅時(shí)，深秋已經(jīng)來臨。三個(gè)美好的季節(jié)就這樣匆匆而過，在一個(gè)活蹦亂跳、咿呀學(xué)語的孩子身上留下了美好的記憶。在第二年那個(gè)可怕的2月，我突然生病了，失去了視力和聽力，成為一個(gè)懵懂無知的新生嬰兒。醫(yī)生診斷，我得了急性胃充血和腦充血，說我救不過來了。但在一個(gè)清晨，奇跡卻出現(xiàn)了，我忽然發(fā)高燒，但高燒又突然退了，全家人對(duì)于這種奇跡驚喜異常。但是，我的家人（甚至連醫(yī)生）也都沒有料到我再也看不見、聽不到了。

我至今還依稀記得那場大病，尤其是母親在我高燒不退、痛苦難熬的時(shí)候，在我身邊溫柔地?fù)嵛课遥屛以诳謶种杏赂业囟蛇^難關(guān)。我還記得高燒退去之后，我從半睡中被吵醒，睜開了雙眼，可是眼睛卻干燥灼熱、疼痛怕光，所以不得不避開我以前所喜愛的陽光。后來，我的視力一天不如一天，對(duì)陽光的感覺也漸漸模糊不清了。

那段記憶就像是一場噩夢，仿佛一切都那么的不真實(shí)。我逐漸習(xí)慣了周圍的寂靜和黑暗，幾乎忘記了這以前的世界。直到她——莎莉文小姐——我的家庭老師到來。是她減輕了我心中的負(fù)擔(dān)，重新帶給我精神的自由。

雖然我只擁有過19個(gè)月的光明和聲音，但我卻仍然能夠清晰地記得那寬廣而翠綠的田野、燦爛的天空、青翠的草木、爭奇斗艷的鮮花，所有這些都一點(diǎn)一滴地銘刻在我心上，永駐在我心中。