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THREE DAYS TO SEE (page 8)
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The evening of my second day of sight I should spend at a theatre or at the
movies. Even now I often attend theatrical performances of all sorts, but the
action of the play must be spelled into my hand by a companion. But how I
should like to see with my own eyes the fascinating figure of Hamlet, or the
gusty Falstaff amid colorful Elizabethan trappings! How I should like to follow
each movement of the graceful Hamlet, each strut of the hearty Falstaff! And
since I could see only one play, I should be confronted by a many-horned
dilemma, for there are scores of plays I should want to see. You who have eyes
can see any you like. How many of you, I wonder, when you gaze at a play, a
movie, or any spectacle, realize and give thanks for the miracle of sight which
enables you to enjoy its color, grace, and movement?
I cannot enjoy the beauty of rhythmic movement except in a sphere restricted to
the touch of my hands. I can vision only dimly the grace of a Pavlowa, although
I know something of the delight of rhythm, for often I can sense the beat of
music as it vibrates through the floor. I can well imagine that cadenced motion
must be one of the most pleasing sights in the world. I have been able to
gather something of this by tracing with my fingers the lines in sculptured
marble; if this static grace can be so lovely, how much more acute must be the
thrill of seeing grace in motion.
One of my dearest memories is of the time when Joseph Jefferson allowed me to
touch his face and hands as he went through some of the gestures and speeches
of his beloved Rip Van Winkle. I was able to catch thus a meagre glimpse of the
world of drama, and I shall never forget the delight of that moment. But, oh,
how much I must miss, and how much pleasure you seeing ones can derive from
watching and hearing the interplay of speech and movement in the unfolding of a
dramatic performance! If I could see only one play, I should know how to
picture in my mind the action of a hundred plays which I have read or had
transferred to me through the medium of the manual alphabet.
So, through the evening of my second imaginary day of sight, the great figures
of dramatic literature would crowd sleep from my eyes.
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