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AMERICAN  ASYLUM, HARTFORD, CONN. 
                   THE


     DEAF  AND  DUMB:

                    OR ,

         A COLLECTION OF ARTICLES

                RELATING TO THE

CONDITION OF  DEAF  MUTES;


       THEIR EDUCATION,

                  AND  THE

           PRINCIPAL  ASYLUMS

         DEVOTED TO  THEIR INSTRUCTION.




        BY  EDWIN JOHN  MANN,
          Late  Pupil of the Hartford Asylum.
               BOSTON
PUBLISHED BY D.  K.

                  1836.
HITCHCOCK:
v.: *v 
   wv
WW*;
Entered, According to Act of Congress, in the Year Eighteen Hundred and Thirty-

Six, by Edwin J. Mann, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of Massachusetts. 
THIS BOOK
IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED,
on,  W^jUstt  W^axottntt,
m&v ,y -   ss*
AS A  TOKEN OF RESPECT FOR HIS
i?m 13e, n© ©hah^©im a
PRIVATE  VIRTUES,
<g<S> SCSI'S 52/51^ 
 
PREFACE.
  The  following pages have been compiled during the many
hours of retirement  and solitude which have  fallen to my lot
in the course of a few  years past.   Whatever has occurred in
my reading, having  any reference to the peculiar situation of
the Deaf and Dumb, I  have perused with a degree of interest,
which can scarcely be conceived by him who has not known, by
his own sad experience,  what it is to be condemned to cease-
less silence, and, while surrounded by those to whom knowledge
obtains  a ready entrance through the ear, to feel that, in this
respect, he is " cut  off  from the cheerful ways of men, — and
wisdom at  one entrance quite  shut out."  To collect and ar-
range these materials has  been my solace during many hours
which others have devoted to the pleasures of social intercourse;
and they are now, with diffidence, presented  to  the public, in
the hope that  their  perusal may be a source of rational enter-
tainment to those friends who have so kindly patronized my
design,  and to others who may look with indulgence upon this
humble  effort in the field of literature.
  In the story of a  Mute  there  can be little to awaken inter-
est in the general reader.   I was born in Portsmouth, New-
Hampshire, in the year 1812.   Nothing occurred to blight the
fond hopes of my widowed  mother,  until I was two years old, 
Viii                      PREFACE.

when I was attacked by a fever which continued some weeks,
and from which I at length recovered, but with the loss of my
hearing,  which has  never been restored.  At that time, there
was, in this  country, no gleam of hope for the unfortunate
mute, — no Asylum had yet been reared, inviting him to partici-
pate in the rich blessings of an education, restoring him, in no
inconsiderable degree, to intercourse with his fellow-men.  Soon
after this period, however, the system of instruction  perfected
by  the  labors of  j.'Epee  and Sicard, and  which had  been
practised for many years in Europe, was introduced into this
country.
  At the age of twelve I was sent to the institution at Hartford,
where I remained five years.   I  need not say that there  I  re-
ceived the kindest treatment, and that I now look back to those
years with mingled  emotions of gratitude and delight.  The
kindness and unwearied attention of the Rev. Mr. Gallaudet,
who was then  the Principal of the Institution, have left upon
his pupils an impression which time can  never efface.  To the
teachers  and pupils  also,  I  was bound by the strongest ties of
affection, — ties  ever dear,  but  doubly so to the lonely mute,
who first learns, in their society and by their aid, to communicate
all his thoughts and  feelings.  To the years spent in that Insti-
tution, and to  the instruction there received, I am  indebted,
under  Providence, for the  means  of  knowledge which I now
possess, and for the intellectual resources which have  alleviated
the loneliness of those years which have passed since I left the
walls of that Asylum, and the friends in whose society I had first
learned to taste of rational happiness.
                                    EDWIN J. MANN.
   Boston,  August, 1836. 
          PUBLISHER'S ADVERTISEMENT.

  Some months since there were put into my hands four manu-
script volumes which were collected and prepared by Mr. Edwin
J. Mann on the subject of the Deaf and Dumb.  Having known
Mr. Mann for several years I was induced  to put the book to
press, believing that it would be an acceptable collection of facts
that would interest the  public.  The proceeds of this book are
appropriated wholly to the benefit of  the compiler:—That  he
may be successful in his undertaking is  the wish of the
                                             Publisher. 
 
CONTENTS.
 Education of Deaf Mutes,.............   13
 The Abbe de l'Epee...............44
 The American Asylum,..............67
 Exhibition  of Deaf  Mutes before the Legislature of New-
   Hampshire, ..................54
 The Manual Alphabet...............CO
 Lines, on a Deaf, Dumb, and Blind Girl sitting for her Portrait,   71
 Trial for the Robbery of a Mute,...........72
 Lines, on the Marriage of the Deaf and Dumb,......76
 On Teaching the Deaf and Dumb to Articulate,   ...      77
 The Deaf and Dumb,...............90
 The Deaf, Dumb and Blind Girl,...........91
 A View of the Condition of Deaf Mutes,........103
 Ode,....................181
Indian Language of Signs,.............182
Interesting Experience,..............191
Explanation of the Alphabet for the Deaf and Dumb,   .        198
Home Farewell,.................201
A Sabbath in the American Asylum,..........202
Answers of the Deaf and Dumb at the Exeter Institution,  .  ,  205
New-York Asylum,...............212
Lines on the Beautiful Deaf and Dumb Child of Lady Mary,  216
The Duty and Advantages of affording Instruction to the Deaf
  and Dumb,..................217 
Xil                      CONTENTS.

An Account of the Institution in Paris for the Education of the
  Deaf and Dumb,...............232
The Deaf and Blind Girl,.............241
Education of the Deaf and Dumb in Europe,......243
Extrart  from  an Address written by  Mr. Clerk, and read  at a
  Public Examination of the Pupils  of the American Asylum,  250
The Uneducated Deaf and Dumb Child,........254
Disadvantages attending Deprivation of Sight and Hearing,  .  255
The Deaf and Dumb; or, The Orphan Protected,.....263
Dedication of the American Asylum,.........272
The Deaf Girl,.................275
Lines, on viewing the Beautiful Edifice dedicated as the Amer-
  ican Asylum,.................283
Institution for the Deaf and Dumb in Philadelphia,   ....  285
A Visit to the American Asylum,...........286
The Blind Man's Lay,..............290
Mr. Braidwood's Academy  in Edinburgh,........293
Phebe P. Hammond,...............295
The Deaf and Dumb at Prayer,...........307
Marriage of a Deaf and Dumb Person,.........307
The Deaf and Blind Girl,.............309
Extract of a Letter from Rev. Dr. Poor to the  Principal of the
  American Asylum,...............3H
Lines on the Deaf and Dumb,............312 
DEAF   MUTES.
        EDUCATION' OF THE DEAF AND DUMB.
             [From the American Annals of Education,]
   The instruction of deaf mutes has now become so
general, that it has almost ceased to excite the amaze-
ment which  was at  first  felt,  on seeing those who
were deemed beyond the pale of intellectual beings,
addressing themselves  to  others, in intelligible lan-
guage,  and  often in signs and  gestures far  more
expressive than  words.   The prejudice which  an
unfortunate  name,  and extravagant  ideas of  the
necessity  of  language to thought, have produced, is
vanishing before the  demonstrative  evidence given,
even in our country, that they  possess minds not less
susceptible of cultivation than  those  of  other men,
and  often  far above the ordinary level.   The greater
number of the deaf mutes become  so by the  diseases
incident to the children of poverty and ignorance;
and must  therefore be indebted to public benevolence
for all the instruction they receive.
              2 
14
DEAF  MUTES.
   The number of individuals  in the United States
 who are entirely deprived of hearing, and consequently
 of speech, is  stated in  the  census of 1830, at 6106,
 of whom 5363 were whites.  Of  these, 1652 were
 under 14;  1905,  from 14 to 25;  and  1806, above
 25 years of age.
  Of the whole number,  about  lOOO  are in New-
 England, — about 1800 in the Middle States,— about
 1100 in the States south  of  the Potomac, on the At-
 lantic, and the remaining 1300 in the States west of
 the Alleghany range.  About one third of the whole
number would obviously comprise all who can derive
 any benefit from instruction.   To provide for these,
 we have six  institutions: 1. The oldest and most
 northern,  which has furnished teachers to  most of
 the others, is  the  American  Asylum at Hartford,
 Connecticut.   2.  The New-York Institution of New-
 York.   3. The  Institution at  Canajoharie, in  the
 State of New-York.  4.   The Pennsylvania Institu-
 tion  at  Philadelphia.   5.  The Ohio  Institution, at
Columbus.   6.  The Kentucky Asylum, at Danville.
  The American Asylum was nobly  endowed by
Congress.   It  is thus  well provided  with buildings
and  workshops;  and is  enabled to receive  pupils
below the,  cost of their board and instruction.   It
contains 130 pupils, a  large part  of whom are indi-
gent, and are  provided for by legislative grants, from
every State except Rhode-Island.   Maine and New-
Hampshire sustain 15 to 20 deaf mutes, each, at this
institution ; Vermont, from 25 to  30 ; Massachusetts,
50 ; and Connecticut, 20 to 30. 
EDUCATION  OF THE DEAF AND DUMB.      15
  The  New-York  Institution  has  124 pupils, and
that at Canajoharie, 34.  The  State  of New-York
supports 90  pupils at  the Institution  in New-York,
and 24 at Canajoharie.
  We regret to state  that the Institution in New-
York was suffering for want of funds;  there were
men,  however, of benevolent hearts—of the spirit
of Perkins — and a generous Legislature, who came
forward and furnished the aid which these children of
misfortune  stood so much in need.
  The Pennsylvania  Institution has 80 pupils.   Of
these the State of Pennsylvania provides for 50, and
Maryland for 20.  New-Jersey supports 12 to 15 pupils,
divided between the  Pennsylvania and  New-York
Institutions.
   The  Ohio Institution has 25 pupils;  and that of
Kentucky,  probably  an equal number.   A  few of
them are sustained by the public funds.   We believe
no States, except those we have named, have made
any provision for the  education of this  unfortunate
portion of  the  community; nor can we hope that
they will  gain attention,  until the importance oi
general  education  is  more deeply felt in the  same
State.
   In the  northern institutions, eolored pupils  are
received as well as white; but  of the 743 mutes of
this class, a very small number are y«t  under  in-
struction.
   It is remarkable  that, from  some  strange apathy
or prejudice in the friends  of the deaf mute,  or from 
 16                DEAF  MUTES.

 the neglect  of the more  enlightened around  them,
 the appropriations have almost always exceeded the
 amount demanded by applicants ; and a portion  of the
 fund appropriated by Massachusetts, has been devoted
 to the instruction of the blind for  want  of subjects
 presented for instruction.   It has been necessary in
 most of the  States blessed with institutions, to make
 special efforts to search out, and bring to  the  proper
 officer, the children thus growing up, almost like the
 beasts that perish.  In the midst of moral and  intel-
 lectual light, they stand shrouded in utter darkness  ;
 and. yet, there is often  no kind hand stretched  forth,
 even to point  their parents to  the means of illumi-.
 nation.
   In a former volume,  we have described  the  course
 of instruction adopted  in these institutions.  It  is the
 Asylum  system,  founded on the French  system, as
 practised during the visit of Mr. Gallaudet,  (the first
 Principal of the American Asylum) at Paris.   The
 plan of Sicard, who, at that time, presided  over the in-
 stitution at Paris, was  encumbered  with  forms  and
 metaphysics, from which it was happily freed at Hart-
 ford, and its spirits preserved in the  more simple and
enlarged method of nature.   It is, in effect,  to  teach
 the deaf  mute  the  tongue of her mother,  as nearly
 as possible, in the same manner that she communi-
 cates  it  to her children who are blessed with hearing.
 It is to teach the signification of words by means of
 external  objects, and  the  visible,  natural  signs or
expressions,  or of thought and feeling ; to teach their
combinations by  incessant and varied practice  ; and 
        EDUCATION  0T THE  DEAF AND  DUMB.     17

%hen, and not till then, to combine examples into
rules, and practice  by means of principles.   On this
plan, the  deaf mute  makes progress in  the  use  of
language, which  surprises all who notice  it, and like
their companions in misfortune — the blind — acquire
in months, a knowledge of  the  meaning  and combi-
nation of words, which the  absurd methods of many
schools do not communicate in years, if at all.
   We have said that this is done by means of exter-
nal objects,  and the visible, natural signs of expres<-
sions of thought  and feeling.   In regard to the first,
the process  of pointing  to the various objects around
us, Or  their pictures, and  in  repeating  the  names,
and requiring the pupils to repeat them, is too obvious
to  need description.  The visible and natural  ex-
pressions of thought and feeling, are so much exclu-
ded by our sedate habits,  and our  fear of  ' apish
tricks,' and ' theatrical  manner,' that we almost deny
their use, even  to  our orators.  But who has ever
witnessed  unrestrained feelings—whether  in  the
burst of eloquence, or the outbreakings of passion, or
the overflowings of  sentiments — that has not read
more in the fixed  attitude, and the impassioned ges-
ture, and the illuminated or darkened countenance,
and the glancing eye, than he  could read in the mere
words which were uttered ? Who would not rather
encounter volleys of reproach from the tongue, than
that withering look of scorn, or that appaling frown
of rebuke,  which  is inspired  by some  of our great
minds ?
            2* 
18
DEAF  MUTES.
  The diffusion of this only universal language,
some of whose most abstract signs, such as ' truths,'
and 'falsehood,' are individually the same, among
the deaf mutes of France and Italy, and the Indians
of the Missouri.   In a visit to  the great  Reclusoris,
or public  poor-house of  Naples, we found ourselves
perfectly  at home with its deaf and dumb pupils, by
means of signs acquired  in the United  States,  while
they were compelled to  act as my interpreters, with
the speaking beings around us.   We have found this
language equally familiar to the  Spaniard, and  the
Italian, and the French, — to the Chinese, and  the
Sandwich Islander, and the  North American Indian.
And we  may  add, we have felt  its  influence more
than that of any attempt we ever heard, to encumber,
with articulate sounds, ' thoughts that breathe,' only
when they glance  with the lightning,  from eye to
eye.  We may  be  considered enthusiasts — and so
will he who talks of  the  power  of music to  those
who  never  heard or  practised it.   Temperance
societies  have been  formed in the Asylum at Hartford
and  New-York,  which  have  their  meetings,  and
speeches by gestures,  and seem to exert a happy in-
fluence on those in  the way of temptation.
   There is another  mode  of communication irksome
indeed to the  deaf  mute, when  compared with the
striking  rapidity of  the  language  of  gesture  and
expression, but still involving an  algebraic precision,
and  a compressed  form  of abstract  terms  which
belongs only to words.  It is by an alphabet  of the 
       EDUCATION OF  THE DEAF AND DUMB.      19

fingers,  known  indeed to many, but which is  in-
serted  in the  work,  in  the belief  that  it would
be new  and interesting to a large number of our
readers, and useful to more.   A slight experiment
will show the vast superiority of this single-handed
or Spanish alphabet, to the double-handed signs of
letters, with which we were accustomed to transmit
the mysteries  of our childish  days,  that  were  too
sacred, or two dangerous for utterance.  In this mode
of communication, it is obvious that each word must
be spelled.  A slight movement  of the hand indicates
the close  of the  word; and only a  practised hand,
and a quick eye, are necessary  to communicate  the
substance of an oral  conversation, while it is going
on.  We have  known  this done in  society; and  a
mute was enabled to write down immediately  the
principal remarks made.   We   present  it,  however,
not merely as an object of curiosity.  It is of essen-
tial service in the communications of a sick chamber,
where the voice might disturb;  or with  a deaf friend.
We have witnessed its convenience, in the intercourse
of a lady with her domestics or children, on house-
hold  affairs not interesting  to  a social circle.   We
believe these  tangible signs  would  help  to engage
a child's attention to  the  less  obvious  forms of the
written alphabet, and  to assist his memory in spelling ;
and we have known it employed in spelling classes.
It is proper to  add,  that  our  Institutions generally
provided instruction for  their pupils in some branch
of industry  ; and that  they prove good workmen, and
useful members of society. 
20
DEAF  MUTES,
                   DEAF MUTES.

              [From the Encyclopaedia Americana.]

   Deafness.  The sensation which we call hearing
is produced by the vibrations of the air, striking on
the tympanum or  drum of the ear,  and communi-
cated to the auditory nerve,  by means of a series of
small bones connected in a very remarkable manner.
When the  tympanum becomes insensible to these
impulses, a person is termed deaf;  although the vi-
bration may still  be  communicated,  in  some cases,
through the bones of the head, by  means  of  a stick
placed between the teeth, or, as the Code of Justinian
states to have been practiced in the case of dying
persons, by speaking with the mouth close to the top
of the head.   The Eustachian tube extends from the
tympanum into the mouth ; and sometimes  sounds
are better distinguished by opening  the mouth, when
the external opening, only, is obstructed.   Hence the
habit of " listening with the mouth open."   Deafness
occurs in every degree, from  that which merely  im-
pairs the accuracy of  the  ear  in distinguishing faint
or similar sounds, to that state in this organ than in
any other;  and sound is felt in  almost every part of
the body as a mere vibration.
   Articulation  and Dumbness.   Articulation is ac-
quired by imitating the sounds which we  hear uttered
by means of the  ear, until the  imitation is precise.
Deafness, therefore, in every degree,  affects the dis- 
DEAF  MUTES.                 21
tinctness of articulation, and, if it is so great that the
subject can no longer distinguish between articulate
sounds,  he is incapable of acquiring  speech,  in  the
ordinary manner, and becomes dumb  in consequence
of his deafness.   A case has  occurred  within  the
knowledge of the writer,  in which entire deafness,
taking place at the age of  18, so  affected the articula-
tion, that the individual was no longer intelligible,
even to  his friends.  This result will  not be prevent-
ed by any degree of hearing less than we have men-
tioned ;  for most deaf and  dumb persons can  hear
some  sounds ; and some  can distinguish the high
from the low, who perceive no difference  in articula-
tions.   Only  a few  mutes are  found who owe  this
defect to feebleness of mind, or to any imperfections
in the organs of  speech.   These remarks show  the
fallacy of the idea, that the want of speech is  owing
to the want of mental capacity — a prejudice which
has been cherished  by the usual name of deaf and
dumb, which we hope, for this reason, as well as for
euphony,  will  be changed for that  of deaf mute,
which may  be   employed both as a noun,  and an
adjective.
   Number.   The number of deaf mutes  varies ma-
terially  in  different countries,  and  situations, and
classes of men.    In the United  States, partial exami-
nation leads to the belief that there is one deaf mute
for every 2000   inhabitants.  In some countries of
Europe, there is one  for every  1500 or  1700;  in
others, one for  every  1000; and, in  some locations, 
22                DEAF  MUTES.

the proportion is three  or  four times as great as this.
The proportion has been found greatest in some districts
or portions of cities remarkable for the dampness and
impurity of the air.  The greater number of these
unfortunate persons is found among the poorer classes;
and hence it has been supposed,  that the defect is
frequently caused by  the want of necessary supplies
and attentions during infancy or disease.
   Origin.  A large number of deaf mutes are born
deaf; but it appears from the reports of the American
Asylum, that more  than half the pupils at that insti-
tution  lost  their hearing by accidents  or diseases,
chiefly fevers and diseases of children.
   Causes and  Cure.   The immediate causes of ordi-
nary dumbness are known to be various.  In some few
cases, it is owing to an imperfection or injury of some
part of the organs of speech, and, of course, is irreme-
diable.   In other cases, it seems  to arise from ob-
structions  by means  of  instruments  or  injections,
especially, of late,  by  doctors Itard and Deleau, of
Paris, who throw  injections  into the Eustaeian pas-
sage, by means of a flexible tube passed through the
nostrils.   Doctor Deleau is reported by a committee
of  the French institute,  to  have relieved or  cured
several deaf persons, by injections of  air, long con-
tinued ; but he does not estimate the probable  num-
ber of cures in deaf mutes at  more than one in ten.
Perforation of the  tympanum is sometimes useful in
rendering it more easy  to remove  obstructions which
may be  discovered; and for this purpose, it is deemed 
DEAF  MUTES.
23
important to perform it by  means  of circular discs,
closing with a spring, which remove a portion of  the
membrane, and leave a permanent opening.   In other
cases,  and in the usual  mode,  this operation  often
produces great  suffering,  and has not been generally
useful.   In 81 cases of perforation  at Groningen, in
Holland, only three were permanently relieved,  and
these in  a very  partial degree.  In the greater pro-
portion of deaf mutes, no  defect is visible, and no ap-
plications appear to be useful.  In a number of ana-
tomical examinations of deceased deaf mutes, at Paris,
the ear was found  perfect  in all its parts.   The in-
ference has therefore been  made,  that the disease
consists of a paralysis of  the auditory nerve—a con-
clusion which seems to be sustained by the fact, that,
in some  cases,  a cure has  been effected  by actual
cautery on the back of the  head, and that galvanism
has  sometimes  given temporary relief.  According
to the estimates we have mentioned, the number of
deaf mutes in the United States is about 6000,  and
in Europe not less than  140,000 ; all of whom, by
their deafness (which we see is usually beyond the
reach of remedies,) are shut out from the intercourse of
society  and the ordinary means of acquiring knowl-
edge.  The situation and character of such a large
class of  unfortunate  persons are subjects of deep in-
terest.
   Communications.   Natural Language.   The ne-
 cessity of  communication, and the want of words,
 oblige the deaf mute to  observe and imitate the ac- 
24
DEAF  MUTES.
 tions and expressions which accompany various states
 of mind and of feeling, to  indicate objects by.  their
 appearance and use,  and persons by some  peculiar
 mark, and to describe their  actions by direct imita-
 tion.  In this way, he and his friends are led to  form
 a dialect of that universal language of attitude,  ges-
 ture and expression, by which  the painter and the
 sculptor convey  to us  every event of history, and
 every feeling of the soul which becomes a substitute
 for words in the hands of the pantomimic  actor, and
 which adds force and clearness to the finest effusions
 of the orator, in other words, the natural signs, lan~
 guage
   Description of the Language.   The terms of this
 language are of two kinds :  the descriptive, and the
 characteristic or indicative  signs.   Descriptive signs
 involve an account,  (more or less  complete) of the
 appearance, qualities and uses of an  object,  or the
 circumstances of an event, for the purpose of descrip-
 tion or explanation, and  must, from their nature, be
 varied, like a painting, only by the point of view from
 which the objects  arc described, or the capacity and
 accuracy of the person that  describes.   The  indica-
 tive signs, on the  contrary,  which are employed in
 Common conversation, are usually mere abbreviations
 of these, involving  a single  striking feature  of the
person or object, or event; as an elephant is indicated
by its trunk, a flower by its fragrance, or a town by
a collection of roofs.   The signs of persons are usu-
ally conventional, and derived from some feature  or 
                   DEAF MUTES.                 25

mark, or habit, but often from an accident or circum-
stance in dress,  &c,  which struck the deaf mute on
first seeing the person, and is still referred to when it
no longer exists.   It is obvious that, in this class  of
signs, there is great  room  for dialects according  to
the situation,  capacity and  habits of observation  of
the  individual,  and that much may be  done  for its
improvement, by a proper selection.
   Extent of  the  Sign  Language.   The sign  lan-
guage, like every  other, varies in its  extent with the
intelligence,  the wants, and the circle  of ideas  of
those who use it.   When  employed  by an insulated
deaf  mute, it  will usually exhibit only the objects of
the first  necessity, and  the most common impulse,
like the language  of a savage tribe.   When his ideas
expand, from  age  or  observation, he will find  new
modes of expressing them; and when his education
is begun, an  intelligent deaf mute will often express
ideas in this language, for which it is difficult to  find
expressions in words.   When a number of deaf mutes
are brought together in a single institution, selections
and combinations of their various dialects  are formed ;
the best  are  gradually adopted by  all ;  and  a  new
and more complete form  of the language is the  result,
as in  nations collected by civilization.  This process,
carried on for half a century, in the institution  of
Paris, and some others in Europe, under the observa-
tion  and  direction of intelligent men possessed  of
hearing, has produced a language capable of express-
ing all the ideas  we convey  by articulate sounds,
              3 
26                 DEAF MUTES.
 with clearness, though not always with equal brevity,
 and which those who value it least admit  to  surpass
 speech in the force with which it communicates the
 feelings and state of mind.
   Like painting, (as Condilac observes,) it  has the
 immense advantage of presenting a group of ideas at
 once, which lose much of their force and beauty, by
 being detailed in the successive  words and artificial
 arrangements of written  language.   The eye, the
 hand, the whole body, speaks simultaneously  on one
 subject; the representation changes  every moment,
 and these  peculiarities,  with the  elliptical  form of
 expression which is adopted in conversation,  give  a
 rapidity to communication  by  the  sign  language
 which, on common subjects, among those familiar
 with it, surpasses that of  speech.  If we remark the
 new shades of meaning given to the  same words by
 the  varying  attitude  and  general  expression of the
 speaker, and the accuracy with which a nice observer
 will discover, in these  signs, the thoughts, and feel-
 ings and intentions, even of one  who wishes  to con-
ceal  them,  we shall find reason to believe  that they
are capable of conveying the most delicate shades of
 thought.
   Generic and abstract terms, as their objects  do not
 exist in nature, have no corresponding terms of equal
 clearness in the sign language ; and the abbreviated
 manner in which we express relations by conjunctions
 prepositions,  relatives and inflections, can only be
 imitated by  adopting   similar conventional  signs 
DEAF  MUTES.
27
which do not easily fall in with the idiom of the
language.   In  these respects,  therefore,  the sign
language wants the  algebraic brevity  and accuracy
which are found in artificial languages,  and which
render these so invaluable,  as  mediums of thought,
and  instruments of philosophical investigations ; at
the same time, it is capable of describing what  is
conveyed by these forms, with an accuracy at least
as great as that of words, by circumlocution and ex-
ample.   It is worthy of remark, that the order of ex-
pression, in  the sign language, is that which we term
inverted — the subject before the quality, the object
before the action, and  generally, the thing modified
before the modifier.
   This  language,  in its elements,  is to  be found
among all nations, and has ever been the medium of
communication between voyagers and the natives of
newly discovered countries.  It is employed by many
savage tribes to supply  the paucity  of expression  in
their language, or to  communicate with other tribes,
as in the Sandwich Islands, and  in North  America.
Among the  Indians  of  the western. territory of  the
United States, Major Long found it an organized lan-
guage, employed between tribes who spoke differ-
ent  articulate  languages.   The  accounts  received
from himself, as well as his work,  show that it cor-
responds, almost precisely,  with  that in use in the
school of Paris ;  and a  Sandwich Islander, who visit-
ed the American Asylum for deaf mutes, gave a nar-
rative  of his life  in the sign-language, which  was 
28                 DEAF MUTES.
 perfectly understood by the pupils.   If testimony be
 wanting that it still retains its universal character, in
 its cultivated form, the writer of this article,  who
 acquired it in this form, can  state,  that he has em-
 ployed it, or seen it employed with success, in com-
 municating with  an  American  Indian,  a Sandwich
 Islander, a Chinese, and the deaf and dumb in various
 parts of the United  States, in  England, Scotland,
 France,  Germany,  Switzerland, and Italy.   The
 more lively nations of Europe, belonging to the Cel-
 tic race, the French and Italians, &c, make great use
 of this language, in connection with words, and some-
 times even without them.    The  more  phlegmatic
 people of the Teutonic race, in  England and Germa-
 ny, are so little disposed to it, and so much less able
 to acquire it, and understand it, that they regard it as a
 species of affectation and buffoonery in their southern
 neighbors ;  and to this circumstance, it is  probably
 owing that it has been so extensively rejected  among
 these nations as an auxiliary in  the education of the
 deaf mute.
   History  of the Art  of Instruction.  Mention is
 made of deaf mutes  in the writings of Pliny; and
 they were declare;!, by the Code of Justinian, incapa-
 ble of civil acts.  No  attempts appear to have been
 made to give them instruction, until the latter  part of
 the 15th century, when we were merely told by Ag-
ricola, professor of philosophy at Heidelberg in Ger-
many, of a  deaf mute who had been instructed.  In
the middle  of the 16th century, Pascha, a clergyman
of Brandenburg,  instructed a daughter who  was  a 
                    DEAF MUTES.                29

 deaf mute, by means of pictures.  But the first effort
 for this interesting object, of which we have a distinct
 account, was made by Pedro de Ponce, a Benedictine
 monk, of the Spanish kingdom of Leon, who instruct-
 ed four deaf  mutes,  of noble families, to write and
 speak, in 1570.   In 1620, John Bonet, another Span-
 iard, published the first book  known on  this subject
 containing  an account of the  method  which he
 adopted  in a similar course of instruction, and accom-
 panied by a  mutual alphabet,  from which  that  now
 in use at Paris was  derived.   In  1639,  the  instruc-
 tion  of  deaf mutes was attempted, with  apparent
 success,  by doctors Holdea and Wallis, both of whom
 published accounts of their methods.  At about the
 same time, Van Helmont, in  Holland, published an
 ingenious treatise on the manner of forming articulate
 sounds, the principles of which, he says,  he had ap-
 plied with success to the instruction  of a deaf mute.
 In 1691, John Conrad Amman, a Swiss physician in
 Leydon,  published  a similar  work ;  but  he  and his
 predecessors  appear to have  devised and executed
 their plans without any knowledge of those who had
 previously attempted the same  thing.  In  1704, the
 methods published in Spain.  England and Holland,
 were first applied in Germany, by Kerger, apparently
 with much ingenuity and success, and some improve-
 ments.   He was soon followed by a number of labor-
 ers in the same  field,  of whom Arnoldi appears to
 have  been the most distinguished.   In  1743,  the
practicability of instructing deaf mutes was publicly
              3* 
30
DEAF MUTES.
demonstrated in France, by Pereina, a Spaniard,fbefore
the academies of sciences, who  gave their testimony
to its success.   About the same time, this branch of
instruction was attempted in France, by several others,
among whom Deschamps, Ernaud, and  Nanin  were
best known.  In  1755, Heinicke  in Germany, De-
l'Epee in France, both of  whom were led to feel an
interest in deaf  mutes thrown  accidentally  in their
way, formed each an independent system of instruc-
tion, established the first institutions for the education
of deaf mutes, at Paris andLeipsic, and may be justly
regarded as the founders of the two great schools, into
which the instructers  of the  deaf mutes have  since
been divided.   In  1764, Thomas Braid wood of Ed-
inburg, devised a system of instruction, in which, as
in that of Keiuicke, articulation was  the chief object.
Both these persons, for a long time, refused to com-
municate their inventions, except for a compensation,
and under seal of secrecy j and their  principles have
scarcely  extended beyond the  countries in  which
they originated.   De I'Epee devoted  his fortune and
his life to the instruction of his pupils, and  the  gra-
tuitous communication of the art  to all  who would
learn it, and inconsequence of his efforts and instruc-
tions, schools were  founded by Silvestri at Rome,
Stork at Vienna, Guygot at Groningen, and Ulrich in
Switzerland, which still exists in the  hands of their
disciples.
   The system of De I'Epee was materially improved
by Sicard, his pupil and successor in  the  institution 
DEAF  MUTES.
31
of Paris, who is admitted to have surpassed his  mas-
ter, and  to  rank with him as one of the greatest
benefactors of the deaf mute.  Towards the close of
the last century, Assarotti of Genoa,  established, by
his  own benevolent efforts, an institution which ranks
among the first in Europe,  and  formed a system of
instruction, based, indeed, upon that in Sicard's works,
but involving important improvements, which entitle
him to be considered the founder of the Italian school.
  European Institutions.  From the last report of
the Paris institution, with some  additional accounts,
it appears that  there  are now eighty-one establish-
ments for deaf mutes in  Europe, of which Spain has
one, Italy six,  Switzerland four, Baden  four,  Wur-
temburg three,  Bavaria one, Prussia eight, the rest of
Germany ten,  Denmark two, Sweden one, Russia
one,  Holland four,  Great  Britain  ten, and France
twenty-six.  Sixty-two of these have been established
within the last thirty years.   A few in Great Britain
and in Germany and Switzerland,  are conducted ou
the system  of  Heinicke and Braidwood.  The rest,
including several in Great Britain, adopt  the funda-
mental principles of De I'Epee and Sicard.
    American Institutions.   The first  instruction of
deaf mutes in America, was given  in  Virginia,  by  a
descendent  of Braidwood, who adopted the system of
concealment, like his ancestor.   A small school  was
formed,  but we have not learned the results, and
believe it has ceased to exist.   The  first institution
for this purpose,  and which  now ranks among the 
 32                 DEAF MUTES.

 most distinguished of the kind, is the American Asy-
 lum, projected in  1815, and  establised in 1817, in
 Hartford, Connecticut, by the efforts of the Rev. T. H
 Gallaudet, aided by Mr.  Laurent Clerc, a distinguished
 pupil of Sicard, and sustained by the contributions of
 gentlemen in  that city.  The course of instruction
 is based on the system  of Sicard, but with important
 improvements  by Mr.  Gallaudet.  Asylums  for  the
 deaf mute were subsequently founded in Philadelphia
 at Canajoharie, in the State of New-York, in Ohio,
 and in Kentucky, all of which obtained their system
 of instruction from the  American Asylum ;  and this
 institution is thus  entitled  to the praise  of having
 given birth to an American  school of instructers, and
 to an American system of education for the deaf mute,
 whose results have excited  surprise in Europe,  and
 have even been declared to be  utterly improbable,
 from their superiority to those usually produced.   An
 asylum was established in the city of New-York, at
 about  the same  time  with the American Asylum.
 which has not  derived its system  from  any  existing
 institution.   The  Legislatures of Maryland and most
 of the States north of this, have  granted annual sup-
 plies for the education of  their indigent  deaf mutes,
 at some one of these  institutions ; other States have
proposed to  establish asylums,   and, by a bill now
before the Congress of the United States,  a  tract of
land is granted to every such institution.   If the deaf
mutesin the United States be estimated at one for every
2000, or 1000  for  every  2,000,000 of  inhabitants 
DEAF  MUTES.
33
 the annual increase for one  generation, supposing it
 to be thirty years, will be thirty-three for 2,000,000;
 and if the course  of  instruction  occupy four or five
 years, 150 deaf mutes for every  2,000,000, ought to
 be continually under  instruction.   According to this
 calculation,  the five existing  institutions are sufficient
 for  the  existing  8,000,000  of inhabitants  north of
 Tennessee and Virginia, and  it only remains to estab-
 lish two or three others, or at central points,  for the
 Southern  States.
   System of Instruction.   The objects to be accom-
 plished in the education of a  deaf mute, are  to teach
 him an entire language, and to give him all that mass
 of moral,  religious and ordinary  knowledge  that is
 necessary for him,  as a social  and immortal being, for
 which, in  other children,  twelve or fifteen  years  of
 constant intercourse with  society, and  much  study,
 are necessary;  all this is to be done in six, and often
 even in three years.  It is obvious that, to accomplish
 this, some  method, more rapid in its results than the
 ordinary one, must be adopted.   The earlier instruct-
 ers of the deaf mute, usually  had only one, or  a very
 few pupils, and have given us hints, for instruction,
 rather than a system.   The first  account which we
 have of the reduction of this art of regular and per-
 manent form, is in the works ofHeinicke andDe I'Epee.
 Heinicke, like many  of his predecessors,  considered
the want of speech as the great  misfortune  of the
deaf mute, and made it the great object of instruction
to  teach him to articulate, in order to aid the progress 
34                 DEAF  MUTES.

of his own mind, as  well  as to enable him to  com-
municate with others in this  manner.   We are told
by the successor of Heinicke in the  Leipsic school,
that the following are, and were, the  views and prin-
ciples of Heinicke and his disciples :  " that we think
in articulate  words,  and  cannot think in written
words ;" that " written words can never lead  to the
development of ideas in  children born  deaf;" and
that  no freedom in thought, or in the use of language,
can be produced without articulation, either by signs
or by  written language.   If  it  were credible that
sounds were more allied to abstract ideas than objects
of sight are  ; if we could  forget that we often have
ideas for  which  we cannot  easily find  words,  the
facts we have stated concerning the language of signs
and the capacity of several hundred pupils, educated
merely by signs in the French and  American insti-
tutions, to read and  write, and converse, and  reason,
prove the entire fallacy of these views ;  and the argu-
ment ab ignorantia  cannot be adduced at this day,
on that subject, without disgrace.   Those  who follow
this  system admit the use of the  sign language in the
early stages of instruction, but seek to banish it as
early as possible, considering  it as a rude language,
incapable of  improvement,  and which  retards the
expansion of the  pupil's mind,  and renders  it less
necessary for  him  to  attend to written  language.
They adopt the  methods  of the early instructers, in
waiting  for occasions  to teach  words  and  explain
phrases.  They  rely  upon repeating  the  word  or 
DEAF  MUTES.
35
phrase in the appropriate circumstances, and in ques-
tions and answers, as the means of making it under-
stood, rather than on direct explanations or examples,
presented  by the signs of language.   Too many of
this school forget  one  of the  fundamental maxims
of Heinicke, " first, ideas ■—• then words," and occupy
the pupil for a long time with mere  mechanical artic-
ulation.   In  one  school,  months are  passed in the
mere study of names attached  to pictures,  without
the least attempt to excite or enlighten the mind  by
means of  signs; and usually  a year is passed,  at a
period of life when most of the mental faculties  are
ripe for  development, in the mere exercise of memory,
(in learning names of objects, and qualities and actions)
which only requires the power of an infant, and would
be aided, instead of retarded, by the expansion of the
mind, as  the  experience of the  other  schools fully
proves.    Religious  instruction is  rarely attempted
in this school before the second year, or until  it can
be given in words, from the belief  that it cannot be
given correctly by signs ; and in the school of Leipsic,
it is even deferred to the third  year.   The attention
of De I'Epee, and other instructers of the same views,
was called  especially  to the intellectual and moral
wants of the  deaf mutes; and they deemed it most
important, first to develop his  powers, and  cultivate
his feelings ;  and, next, to give him such a knowledge
of written language as is indispensable to the acqui-
sition of knowledge, and the  communication of his
wants.   They found the only  medium of conveying 
36
DEAF  MUTES.
 truth,  or  explaining terms,  in the sign  language
 which we have described.  They employed it in its
 natural state, to explain the first simple terms.  They
 discovered that it was capable of extension, and they
 preserved and cultivated it, as we have mentioned, as
 a language  intelligible  to the pupil, by which they
 could always refer to any objects of thought or feeling,
 physical, intellectual, or  moral, and thus  form origi-
 nal explanations   of new words, and avoid the error
 which might arise from the imperfection of previous
 explanations.  Words  they  considered as arbitrary
 signs ; and De I'Epee maintained that the  instruction
 of the deaf mute, like  that of a  foreigner, ought to
 consist in a course of  translation and  re-translation
 from  the known to the  unknown  language.   To aid
 in this process, he added a series of methodical and
 conventional signs, founded on analogy, for the parti-
 cles and inflections  of  language.   These  were used
 chiefly in instruction, in  order  to render the transla-
 tion complete, as well as to indicate the  character and
 meaning of the connectives.  He does  not appear to
 have   practised fully upon  his  own principles,  but
 occupied himself too exclusively with the intellectua;!
 improvement  of  his  pupils, and with single  words,
and seems to have despaired of enabling them  to use
language, in its connection,  except  in a mechanical
manner.  Sicard  endeavored to complete the plan of
his master, by the improvement of the signs employed  ;
and to him and his pupils  we  owe, more than to any
others, the perfection which this language has attained. 
                    DEAF  MUTES.                 37

 He also endeavored to  avoid the error  of De I'Epee,
 by explaining the theory of grammar, and the formu-
 las of the various species of prepositions, and, in this
 way, was led into a course of metaphysical and  phi-
 losophical lessons, which later instructers have found
 too extensive and too little  practical.  According  to
 the system  adopted under his direction, the first year
 was occupied with a vocabulary of names of adjectives.
 and  of verbs,  in  three simple  tenses,  with simple
 religious and other  narratives in the  sign  language.
 It was only in the  second  year,  that words  were
 shown in their connection, in short phrases; the pro-
 noun, prepositions, and the full inflection of the verbs
 were  taught, and religious instruction given in the
 written language   In the third and fourth years, the
 organs, senses, and operations of the  mind,  and the
 theory of sentencesw ere explained.  Original descrip-
 tions  and  definitions  required; and in  the fourth
 year books  were put into the  hands of the pupils.
 Throughout the course, public  lectures were given,
 in which written accounts of  Bible History and re-
 ligious truths were explained in the sign language ;
 but no  devotional exercises in this language  were
 ever  connected with  them,  or  practised  by the
 pupils.
   American System.   This system has been  materi-
ally  modified in the school  of Paris itself, and in
several  others  on  the  continent of  Europe,  which
adopt  the same principles.
   As  the American system of instruction, devised by
            4 
38
DEAF  MUTES.
Mr.  Gallaudet without  any  knowledge of  others,
except that of Pan's,  on which it is founded, com-
prises  most   of  these improvements,  with  some
oihers of great importance, peculiar to itself, we can-
not do better, within the  limits allowed us,  than to
describe this as we have found  it,  in his own state-
ments, and in the American Asylum.  Mr. Gallaudet
has combined the fundamental principle of Heinicke,
" first ideas, then  words,"  with that  of De  I'Epee,
that " the natural language of signs must be elevated
to as high degree of excellence as  possible, in order
to serve as the medium for  giving  the  ideas clearly
and explaining  them accurately."  He has added
another of no small importance, that, as words describe
 rather the impression, or state of  mind produced by
external objects, than  those essential qualities which
are beyond our  reach, the process of learning them
would be facilitated by  leading the pupils  to reflect
 on their own sensations and  ideas; and he states, as
 the result of his experience, that, among deaf mutes
 of equal capacities, "  those who can be led to mark
 or describe, with the greatest precision, the operations
 of their own mind, uniformly  make  the most rapid
 progress in the  acquisition of written  language,  and
 of religious truth."   A leading object, therefore, in
 connection with the first lessons,  in  which  sensible
 ideas are presented and named, is  to  establish  a free
 communication with  the pupil, in the sign language
 in reference to his feelings and thoughts, as  excited
 by the objects which  he sees, or  the  events of his 
                   DEAF MUTES.                 39

own life.  He  easily comprehends those of others,
and is thus led to learn the names of the simple emo-
tions and acts of the mind.   Hence  he is brought
to think of an  invisible  agent, which we term  the
soul, as the feeling and  percipient being;  and, by a
natural transition, is led,  by the use of signs alone, to
the Great Spirit,  as the  first cause ; to his character
as our Creator and  Benefactor; and to  a knowledge
of his law and our future  destiny.  In this manner,
the deaf mutes in the  American  Asylum (and,  we
presume, in others derived from it) are made acquaint-
ed with the simple truths of religion and morality in
one year; a period in which, most European institu-
tions, they are scarcely advanced beyond the knowl-
edge of sounds, and  the names of sensible  objects,
qualities and actions, or the most common phrases.
By communicating this instruction  in the natural
sign language, pupils, whose inferior capacity or  ad-
vanced age would not allow them to  acquire enough
of written language  to receive religious truth through
this medium, have been  early prepared to enjoy its
blessings and hopes, and feel its sanctions as a restraint
upon their  conduct, which renders  their govern-
ment more easy, while it aids them in the formation
of correct habits.   Another plan, which is not known
to have been  ever  employed before its introduction
by Mr. Gallaudet, in 1817, was to conduct the daily
and weekly devotional exercises by  signs ;  and  the
deaf mutes have been  thus taught to address  the
Father of their spirits in  their ewn natural language, 
 40                 DEAF MUTES.

 and have been admitted to the new privilege of social
 worship.   In applying the first principles to the course
 of instruction in language, an important improvement
 has been made, by combining words into phrases as
 early as possible ; and thus teaching  the pupil how to
 use them.  The idea of each  phrase is first explained
 by the  sign language, and then translated into words,
 and then re-translated by the  pupil into his  own lan-
 guage.   The process is carried oh for more  difficult
 words,  and the phrases are  lengthened until they
 become narratives.   The acquisition  and use of the
 connectives are aided by the methodical signs of De
 I'Epee and Sicard.  The pupil is called upon, at inter-
 vals, to  express his own  ideas in  writing,  and to
 explain  by signs  what is  written  by  others.   An
 important additional improvement! s "to  employ the
 pupil as early as possible in the study of books writ-
 ten in an easy style, explained by signs when neces-
 sary," so as to  lead him, by  his own,  and often by
 his unaided efforts,  to  become acquainted with the
 arrangement of words, and the idioms of written lan-
 guage.   He  is led gradually to infer the  rules of
 grammar from a series of examples,  instead of com-
 mitting them to memory ; and the theory of lansuage
 is reserved for the  later years of instruction, when
 the  pupil is familiar with  its  practical  use.  The
 methods of instruction in the elements of arithmetic,
 geography and history, do not differ materially from
 those usually employed,  except that much aid is de-
rived from explanatory signs ;  and experiments, made 
DEAF  MUTES.                 41
in some of the schools of Europe,  prove that those
may be usefully  employed  to illustrate various ob-
jects to persons possessed of hearing.
   Articulation.   While the instructers of the school
of De I'Epee and Sicard unite in denying that articu-
lation is necessary  to the  deaf mute, as a means of
mental development,  they admit its great  value as a
supplement to intellectual  education, if it  be attain-
able.   But  they differ as to  the practicability and
expediency of attempting to  teach it generally.  Of
its great practical value  in  darkness,  or in cases of
sudden danger, there  can be but one  opinion, and  it
is certainly important that every deaf mute  should be
taught some cry of distress, or perhaps  a few words
for such occasions; for some  do not  know how  to
use their voice even  to this extent.   The power of
articulating, even imperfectly, may also be of great
importance  to  the deaf mute,  where ignorance in
writing is combined with a phlegmatic  inattention to
signs, in those among  whom he is  situated.  But
that it is not indispensable, as an ordinary means of
communication, if proved by the fact that the pupils
of the French  and American schools find no difficulty
in making  themselves intelligible to  those around
them, either by writing or signs, on  all  necessary
subjects.  Articulation is learned and  recollected by
the deaf mute, as a set of movements  and sensations
in the organs of speech.   It is taught by  pointing
out to the  pupil the powers of the vowels and conso-
nants and the portion of the lips,  teeth and tongue,
              4# 
42
DEAF  MUTES.
and by making him  feel with his  hand, or a silver
instrument, all the perceptible movements and vibra-
tions  of  the throat and interior  organs, which are
requisite  for their pronunciation.  He is then required
to imitate this position, and  to force a quantity of
air from the lungs sufficient to produce the sound,
and is taught to read  the  articulations of others,  by
observing the position of the organs and the counte-
nance.   The facility of doing this, will depend much
upon  the pliability  of the  organ of speech,  and the
nature of the language to be learned.   We  observed,
as would  naturally  be supposed,  that the soft and
regular language of  Italy,  in  a  climate where  we
have other evidence of a superior pliancy in  the vocal
powers,  was  acquired with  tolerable  success, by a
short period of daily practice.   But the harsh and
guttural sounds of the northern languages,  and the
irregularity which  is  found in the pronunciation of
 some of them, present  several additional difficulties,
 which are perhaps increased by the frequent diseases
 of the  vocal organs produced  by a  cold climate.
 Those  instructers  who  attempt,  to teach  all their
 pupils these languages, are usually compelled to make
 it a constant and  individual exercise, and  to  make
 and to  demand efforts painful to  the teacher, and
 pupil, and spectator,  with  only a partial success.  Of
 a number of speakers, whom  we have seen and heard
 of in various countries, thus taught, few would have
 been intelligible to a stranger so readily as  by signs;
 and  their  tones were extremely  disagreeable.  On 
DEAF  MUTES.
43
the other hand, we have seen a few deaf mutes  who
are capable of speaking in a manner  perfectly intel-
ligible, and of reading from the lips and countenance,
what was said by others.  They were such, however,
as either retained some  remnant  of hearing,  or had
been  the  subjects of individual  instructions  for  a
series of years.  We presume  the truth lies in that
middle course, now adopted by  the school of Paris,
and by some advocates of articulations, who have had
an opportunity of observing it in all its forms.   They
believe  that,  by that portion of  the pupils of every
institution whose organs are  pliable and  who have
some remnant of sensibility either in the external or
internal ear (those termed demi-sources  in the Paris
school,) the acquisition may be made with a degree
of ease and perfection which renders it a desirable and
important branch of instruction for such portions of
the pupils  in every  institution.   They are  equally
convinced, that  to attempt to teach articulation to
those entirely destitute  of sensibility in the  ear, or
who cannot  exercise  the organs of speech without
difficulty or pain,  is a useless labor, and may produce
disease in the pupil; as more than one instance proves.
On the last  point, some have maintained that the
exercise of the lungs is important  to the pupil, while
others have declared the contrary.   Wo believe here,
also, much will depend on individual organization, and
that the general question will be modified much by the
climate, and the nature of the language to be taught.
Most of the schools for deaf mutes employ a  manual 
44                DEAF MUTES.

alphabet for the more rapid communication of words;
in England, usually made with both hands, and else-
where with one, this alphabet, with writing on paper
and in the air, and the use of natural and conventional
signs, are found adequate means of communication for
those who cannot acquire articulate language.
                  ABBE DE L'EPEE.

             [From the London Entertaining Magazine.]

   The celebrated Abbe de I'Epee, a name  never to
 be pronounced without veneration,  was the  first man
 who formed a system of instruction for the deaf and
 dumb, which he published in 1776.  He experienced
 its success during the space of twenty  years ; during
 which time he had surrounded himself with all the
 deaf and dumb he could assemble.   That respectable
 man employed his fortune in clothing  and maintain-
 ing most of these unhappy beings; and all  Europe
 has witnessed  his talents,  his  constancy  and his
 success.
   At  his death, which happened  in  the month of
 December, 1789, the Abbe Sicard, his pupil,  took his
place,  as instructed and some  benevolent  persons
undertook to maintain  the deaf and dumb.   At the
end of January, 1791, the National Assembly granted 
ABBE DE L'EPEE.
45
to that  establishment the site of the  Celestius, and
founded a hospital for  twenty-four children, with  a
pension of 350 francs for each child.   Soon after, the
number of children  gratuitously admitted was  aug-
mented to a hundred and twenty,  and their  pension
increased  to 500  francs.
   During  the time of  their living in the  institution,
which is five years, the pupils of both sexes are clothed
and  maintained; they are  taught  reading, writing,
arithmetic, and drawing.
   Any parent who can afford to pay a pension of 500
francs for  his child,  may  send  him to this establish-
ment.
   To satisfy the public  curiosity, the institution is
open to visiters  once a  week, from  eleven to one
o'clock, every month, except from the 19th of August
to the 22d of October.
   It  is impossible to  be present at one of  the public
lessons given by the  Abbe Sicard to this unfortunate
class, without being  penetrated  with the  liveliest
emotions  of  compassion,  anxiety, and respect; com-
passion  and anxiety  for the  immediate objects of the
institution, and respect for its  classical, humane, and
scientific director.   Such  have been the labors of the
immortal Abbe de I'Epee, and  of his successor, the
Afcbe Sicard, that  they  have  initiated a very  con-
siderable number of these afflicted members of society
into  the arcana of  mental  communication, without
the aid of speech, and  by certain signs can carry on
a conversation with  them upon any subject.  They 
46
DEAF  MUTES.
have gone farther — they have taught several the use
and application of grammar, and brought them to com-
prehend  perfectly, by the mere effects of mechanical
operation, the  signification of the whole  language.
They have even taught some to read and pronounce
aloud any sentence written for  them, but, as may be
expected, the pronunciation, not being imitation, and
being wholly unheard by the person who utters,  is
incorrect.  This sort of pronunciation is  the effect of
a compelled  mechanical  exertion of  the  organs of
speech, produced  by the Abbe's placing  his lips and
mouth in certain positions,  and  appearing to the
scholar to make certain motions, who, in  endeavoring
to imitate such motions,  necessarily brings forth a
sound, more or less like that required.  The degl%e
of force which it is  necessary  the scholar should
apply, to pronounce distinctly any word, is regulated
by the Abbe's pressing his arm gently, moderately, or
strongly!  The  whole art  is  curious,  and highly
interesting.
  A most interesting account of a public exhibition,
we  copy from a  recent traveller.   At this meeting,
the Abbe Sicard  had an  opportunity of showing  to
the auditors,  the  first  mode of communication  with
the deaf and dumb.  A boy  about thirteen years of
age, whom the Abbe had not even  seen, had just
been sent to the institution.   A sheet of  paper was
brought, on which were  printed many  of the  most
common objects, such  as a horse, a carriage, a bird,
a tree, &c.  Upon the Abbe's pointing to  any one of 
   THE  AMERICAN ASYLUM  AT HARTFORD,  CONN.    47

them, the boy immediately seemed delighted to show,
by signs, attentively observed by the  Abbe, formed
the basis of their future communications.
  These exercises are  extremely  well attended,
chiefly by persons of respectable appearance.   At one
of these lectures, the Abbe Sicard stated a very curious
occurrence.   After  having observed that our blind
Sanderson, on being asked to describe the sound of a
trumpet, compared it to the color red, he stated,  that
a deaf and  dumb  pupil, having been desired to define
his idea of red, immediately answered, that it resem-
bled the sound of a trumpet.
   THE AMERICAN ASYLUM, AT HARTFORD, CONN.

               [From the American Magazine.]

  The  American  Asylum  for  the education  and
instruction of deaf and dumb  persons,  was founded
by an association of gentlemen in Hartford, Conn., in
IS 15.   Their attention was called to this  important
charity, by a case of deafness in the family of one of
their number.   An interesting child of  the late Dr.
Cogswell  (who had lost  her hearing at the age of
two years, and her speech soon after,) was, under Prov-
idence,  the cause of its establishment.   Her father,
ever ready  to sympathize  with the  afflicted,  and
prompt  to relieve human suffering, embraced in his 
 48                 DEAF  MUTES.

 plans for the education of his own daughter, all  who
 might be similarly unfortunate.  The co-operation of
 the benevolent was easily secured, and measures were
 taken to obtain from  Europe a knowledge of  the
 difficult art,  unknown  in  this  country, of teaching
 written language through  the medium of signs, to the
 deaf and dumb.  For this purpose, the Rev. Thomas
 H.  Gallaudet  visited  England  and  Scotland,  and
 applied  at  the institutions in  those countries  for
 instruction in their system; but  meeting with unex-
 pected difficulties, he repaired to France, and obtained
 at the Royal Institution at Paris those qualifications
 for an instructer of the  deaf and  dumb, which a self-
 ish and mistaken policy had refused  him  in Great
 Britain.   Accompanied  by Mr. Laurent  Clerc, him-
 self deaf and dumb, and for several years a successful
 teacher  under the  Abbe  Sicard, Mr.  Gallaudet re-
 turned to this country in August, 1816.   The  asylum
 had, in May preceding, been incorporated by the State
 Legislature.  Some months  were  spent  by Messrs.
 Gallaudet and Clerc in obtaining funds for the benefit
 of the institution, and in the spring of  1817, the Asy-
 lum was opened for the reception  of those for whom
 it was designed, and the course of instruction com-
 menced with seven pupils.
  As the knowledge of  the institution  extended, and
 the facilities for obtaining its advantages were multi-
 plied, the number of  pupils increased  from  seven to
one hundred and forty, Avhich, for several  years past,
has not been much above the average  number : and 
    THE AMERICAN  ASYLUM AT HARTFORD, CONN.  49

since its commencement  in  1817, instruction  has
been imparted to  four hundred and  seventy-seven
deaf and dumb persons, including its present inmates.
   In 1819, Congress granted the institution  a town-
ship of land in Alabama, the  proceeds of which have
been invested  as a permanent  fund.  The principal
building was erected in 1820, and the pupils removed
to it in  the spring  of the  following year.  It is  one
hundred and  thirty feet long,  fifty feet wide, and.
including the basement, four  stories high.  Other
buildings have been  subsequently erected, as  the
increasing number  of pupils  made  it necessary ;  the
principal of which  is a  dining-hall and work-shops
for the male pupils. Attached  to the  institution are
eight or ten acres of land,  which afford  ample room
for exercise and the  cultivation  of vegetables  and
fruits for the pupils.
   The system of instruction adopted at this institu-
tion is substantially the same as that of  the  French
school at Paris.  It  has, however, been materially im-
proved and modified by Mr. Gallaudet and  his asso-
ciates.   This system, and indeed every other rational
system of teaching  the deaf and dumb, is based upon
the natural  language  of signs.  By this  we mean
those gestures which a deaf and dumb  person  will
naturally use to express  his ideas,  and make known
his wants previous  to instruction.   These gestures or
signs are rather pictorial, that is, an exact  outline of
the  object delineated by the hands in  the  air; or
descriptive, giving an idea  of an object by presenting 
50
DEAF  MUTES.
some of its prominent  and striking  features ; or con-
ventional, such as may have been agreed upon  by a
deaf and dumb person and his associates.  As there
are very  few  objects which can be expressed with
sufficient clearness by  the  delineation of its  outline
alone, a descriptive  sign is usually connected with it.
Thus, in making the  sign for  a book,  the outline is
first  delineated by the  forefinger  of both hands.  To
this  is added the  descriptive  signs of opening the
book, placing it before the eyes, and moving the  lips
as in reading.  It may therefore simplify the classifi-
cation of natural  signs if the  first two divisions be
united;  and  it will be  sufficiently  accurate to say
that all   the signs used  by the deaf and dumb are
either descriptive or conventional.
   By far the greater part of these signs belong to the
former class; as it  includes the signs for  most com-
mon objects, actions, and emotions.  A  deaf  and
dumb child  constructs his language upon the same
principle as the child  who can hear;  that of imita-
tion.  The latter hears the word milk articulated in
connection with his favorite food;  he associates the
sound with the  thing, and hunger  prompts him to
imitate   the articulation.   The deaf child, who has
been accustomed to drink milk and  has  seen  others
drink it, will imitate  the action.   Hunger prompts
him to put his hand to his mouth, as though  it were
a cup ;  to move his lips, and throw back his head as
in drinking.  And this is his sign for milk.  But as
he grows older, and becomes  acquainted  with othet 
   THE AMERICAN ASYYLUM AT  HARTFORD,  CONN.  51

liquids, he finds the need of a more  distinctive sign.
He is permitted to accompany his mother to the pas-
ture,  and  is  greatly  delighted  at  witnessing the
process of milking.   He at once imitates the process,
and adopts this as his distinctive  sign for milk.  In
the same way he imitates other actions, makes known
other wants, and  describes other objects around him,
until he has a  language  commensurate with the oc-
casions which require the expression  of his  thoughts.
We have now an  explanation of the manner in which
descriptive signs are invented by the deaf and dumb ;
and it is not a little surprising that these signs are so
nearly alike, that intelligent deaf and dumb persons,
previous to any instruction, will at the first interview,
converse together freely on all common subjects : and
the professors of  the institution find no difficulty in
obtaining from them, on their arrival, an  account of
their former occupations,  their family,  friends, and
the more remarkable incidents of their lives.   Were
it not for this  common medium of  communication,
the labor of teaching written language  to  the deaf
and dumb would  be much more arduous, if not im-
practicable.
  It has already been remarked that  some of the signs
of an uneducated deaf and dumb person are conven-
tional.  But it should be distinctly  stated, that few
if any  of these conventional signs are purely arbitrary.
On the contrary,  they are based upon a resemblance,
real  or imaginary, to the  thing signified, and may
thus be said to have their foundation in nature.  As 
52
DEAF  MUTES.
 the knowledge of a deaf and dumb person increases,
 and his acquaintance with persons and things extends,
 he  will find it necessary often to refer to such persons
 or objects as cannot be concisely  described and clear-
 ly designated ;. he will, therefore, when the object is
 present, or after he has given an extended description
 of it, fix upon a short sign  which he  will afterwards
 use as the sign for that object.   One  of his brothers,
 perhaps, has  a scar upon his face.   Whenever he has
 occasion to speak of that brother  to other members of
 the family, he will draw with his finger the form of
 the scar upon his own face.  This  is agreed upon as-
 that brother's sign or  name.  In  like  manner he will
 adopt in connection with his associates, short signs
 for other persons and  things, by  means  of which he
 will readily express the artificial divisions  of time,
 distance, measure, &c, and refer to different individ-
 uals of his acquaintance when absent.   Many of these
 conventional signs  will differ in  different deaf and
 dumb persons, and of course will not at first be under-
 stood ;  but in a very little time after they come to the
 Asylum, they  adopt  the conventional signs of the
 institution, and thus have a uniform language.  '
  In the school-room, the  instructer  makes use of
 natural signs to communicate  ideas to his pupils ; of
 systematic signs ta enable them to translate their own
 into written language; of the  manual alphabet,  or
 signs of the hand corresponding to  the letters  of the
alphabet; and  of written  symbols to express  the
grammatical relations  of words.  A more  particular 
    THE  AMERICAN  ASYLUM AT HARTFORD, CONN.  53

account of the mode of instruction would be incon-
sistent with the limits assigned to this article.   Indeed,
it can hardly be necessary to enlarge on this topic, as
visiters  can at all  times have access to two of  the
classes, and on Wednesday afternoon to all the classes,
when  they  are permitted to witness the process of
imparting instruction  by signs, and to make such
inquiries as will enable them to understand the sub-
ject.
   The pupils usually remain at the Asylum four or
five years, in  which time an  intelligent child will
acquire  a knowledge  of the common operations  of
arithmetic, of geography, grammar, history, biography,
and of written language, so as to enable  him to  un-
derstand the Scriptures, and books written in a famil-
iar style.   He will of course be able to converse with
others by writing, and to  manage his own affairs as
a farmer  or  mechanic.  There are workshops  con-
nected  with the institution, in which the boys have
the opportunity of  learning a  trade, and   many of
them, by devoting four hours each day to this object,
become skillful  workmen, and when they leave the
Asylum, find no difficulty in  supporting themselves.
The  annual  charge to each  pupil  is one  hundred
dollars.
   The department of instruction is under the control
of the Principal of  the  institution, who has also a
general  oversight  of the  other departments.   The
pupils are  distributed  into  eight or nine classes, the
immediate care of which  is committed  to the same
            5* 
54
deaf  Mutes.
number of assistant instructers.   When out of school',
the pupils are under the care of a steward and matron'.
   Five or six similar  institutions have  been estab-
lished in different parts of the country, all  of which
have obtained their system of instruction,  and some
of their teachers, from  the American Asylum.
            EXHIBITION OF DEAF MUTES

   BEFORE THE LEGISLATURE OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE.

  Mr. Gallaudet, the principal of the Hartford Asy-
lum for the education of the Deaf and Dumb, gratified
the members of the Legislature and  other citizens
present, with an examination of one  of his  pupils.
Mr. G. stated that  his object  was to show the man-
lier of  imparting  instruction  to their  pupils—of
gaining access to their  minds.  Young Loring was
17 years old on the day of the examination.   He had
been  seven years  in the  Asylum,   When  he went
there  he was unable to write or to connect  words.
The pupils are first taught an alphabet whereby they
spell  words on  their fingers.   Several words were
proposed by the  audience, spelt by the instructer, and
immediately written by the pupil.   After the alpha-
bet is  attained,  the  pupils are taught the  names of
common objects.  Several articles were here presented
to the view  of  the pupil, who readily  wrote their 
           EXHIBITION  OF DEAF MUTES.          SS

names on his writing board.  Such objects as could
not be presented to the eye  of the pupil are either
presented in pictures or  described to the mind/  Mr.
G. described the Elephant  and the Ocean,  the State
of New-Hampshire,  and the State of Vermont,  and
Loring wrote them on his board.  Vermont was curi-
ously described by representing a boy with his  hair
erect.  It seems that the first pupil who  entered the
Asylum from Vermont,  had refractory hair,  and the
pupils considered it as a suitable hieroglyphic for the
State.  Words relating to the moral faculties were
given by the audience, such as Imagination, Patience,
Anger, Love, and having been communicated to the
pupil by signs, (not by spelling) were written down.
   After a considerable vocabulary is acquired by the
pupil, he  is taught  to  connect words in sentences.
Short sentences were proposed to Loring, such as — a
judge should be just; a lawyer should be honest; a
legislator should be  wise ; a preacher should be pure.
They were written down  with  much precision, ex-
cepting that the last sentence was written — a clergy-
man should  be chaste.   Longer sentences  were
proposed to test his  acquaintance with the different
parts of speech, moods  and tenses.   By signs, at the
proposal of gentlemen  present, he was requested  to
write these sentences : — I should have been happy to
have seen him, if I had met him;  the king has  been
supposed to be wiser than his brother.  In this sen-
tence he  first  wrote had  for has, but  immediately
corrected it on a motion of his instmcter.  So in this 
57
DEAF MUTES-.
 sentence: We  will remember  this to-morrow — he
 used shall for will, but corrected it on his own recol-
 lection.  He was requested to write: We should
 revere  the memory of Washington, because he is the
 father of our country ; he wrote it verbatim, except-
 ing that he used the word venerate instead of revere.
   Mr. G. then proceeded to show  that not only ideas
 might be communicated to the Deaf and Dumb, but
 that  they might understand the  meaning of  the
 words used.
   Words were given which he was desired to connect
 with others in sentences.  The first was " Lexington
 Ms." he added—"is celebrated as the place where
 the  first battle was fought in the American Revolu-
 tion."  The second word was revolution.  He wrote
 " an  extraordinary revolution happened in  France,
 after the execution of Louis XVI."  He was asked
 the meaning  of the word extraordinary, and answered
 " uncommon, unexampled."   He was desired to write
 a sentence in which the word should be  introduced,
 and wrote —Wallace possessed extraordinary strength
 and courage.   He was asked who was Wallace ?
  A.  He  was a Scott, who  lived in the  thirteenth
 century and  was eminent for his intrepidity, mag-
nanimity and patriotism.
  Q.    What was the fate of  Wallace ?
  A.  He was betrayed by one of his friends  into
the hands of Edward 1., made a prisoner and sent to
London, where he was hung and quartered.
  Q.   What was Oliver Cromwell ? 
EXHIBITION OF Deaf  mutes.          57
  A.   He was King Protector of England.
  Q.   What do you mean by King Protector ?
  A.   King Protector is the same with King in every
respect except the title.
  Q.   What was the character of Lady Jane Grey I
  A.   She was uncommonly beautiful, intelligent,
teamed, and virtuous.
  Q.   What is your idea of eternity.
  A.   Eternity is existing from no beginning nor to
an end.
  Q.   Who is  eternal ?
  A.   God only.
  Q.   What is accountability t
  A.   Accountability is,  that a  being must give an
account of his conduct to God.
  Q.   What is the character of God ?
  A.   God is perfectly  good, holy and just, and i&
infinitely powerful and wise.
  Q.   What is that which is the most conducive to
the happiness of men?
  A.   Benevolence is that which conduces  best to
the happiness of men.
  Q.   What is benevolence ?
  A.   It is that love that one feels towards all men.
  Q.   What is taste ?
  A.   Taste is that delicate faculty by  which  one
perceives the beauties or defects of anything either
in nature or art.
  Q.   What is the character of Thomas Brown of
Henniker, who has been  two and a half years in the
Asylum, and what proficiency has he made ? 
58
DEAF  MUTES.
  A.  Brown is a very well behaved and docile youth.
He has made rapid improvement in  his studies, and
has a strong thirst for knowledge.
  Q.  What do you mean by thirst as you now have
used it?
  A.  It means a strong desire.
  Q.  Who are the prominent candidates  for the
next Presidency of the United States ?
  A.  Gen. Jackson, Mr.  Adams, and Mr. Crawford.
  Q.  Which do you prefer ?
  A.  I do not  wish to tell you which candidate I
prefer.
   Q.  Who will probably be successful ?
  A.  Gen. Jackson will probably be successful.
   Q.  What reason have you to suppose that Jackson
will  be successful, or that Mr. Clay  is not a promi-
nent candidate ?
  A.   The votes for Gen. Jackson are fast increasing.
I don't know why Mr. Clay is not a prominent  can-
didate for the next Vice Presidency.
   Q.  What is the character and proficiency of Wil-
liam Carpenter,  of Littleton, who is now at the Hart-
ford Asylum ?
   A.  Carpenter is a pleasant and obliging boy.   He
makes respectable progress in his studies and is quick
to learn.
   Q.  What ideas of God and futurity had you pre-
vious to your entering the Asylum ?
  A.  I had not any idea of either before I came to
the Asylum. 
           EXHIBITION OF DEAF MUTES.          59

  Q.   What idea had you  of the  relation between
parent and child before you went to the Asylum ?
  A.  1 had scarcely any.
  Q.   What is an idea ?
  A.  It is a likeness which we form in the mind of
anything.that we have seen.
  Q.  ' What idea have you of the  sense of hearing ?
  A.  None.
  Q.   What idea have you of sound?
.  A.  None.
  Q.   How do  know  there is any  such thing as
noise ?
  A.   Others have told me so, and I feel the jar.
   Q.   What is the product of seven times seven ?
  A.   Forty-nine.
   Q.   How  do you know when it  is Sunday ?
  A.  After six successive days have passed we know
that Sunday comes.
  Many  Other questions  were asked and  answered
with equal  precision and  readiness.
  Several articles manufactured by the pupils at the
Asylum were exhibited —such as boxes, penknives,
shoes, &c. all executed with remarkable neatness and
taste.
  The assembly was numerous and  respectable, at-
tentive and delighted.   The members of the Legisla-
ture had an  opportunity of ascertaining by actual
observation whether the deaf and dumb are capable
of improvement: they  availed  themselves  of the
opportunity and are satisfied.  The cause of the deaf
and dumb, and of the Hartford Asylum  has  been 
60                DEAF MUTES.

thereofore  eloquently advocated  in our Capitol, but
never so powerfully, so impressively and so effectually
as by the amiable and interesting Loring.
              THE MANUAL ALPHABET.

   In giving a representation of the manual alphabet,
 respectively in use in England and on the  continent
 which we think may be of practical use to some, and
 not without interest to many in this  country—it
 seems desirable to explain what they are, to state the
 purposes to which they are applicable, and to give an
 account of their origin, so far as it can be ascertained.
 For the means of doing this, we are  considerably
 indebted to the memoir of the Abbe de I'Epee,  in the
 4 Biographical Contemporains/' and to an  article  on
 the subject  in a recent  number of the Magasin Pit-
 tore sque.
   The  pretensions  of  the manual  alphabets  have
 been much  misunderstood and  frequently overstated.
 If we had not met with grave  and eloquent essays,
 which give  to dactyeology, (a name derived from the
Greek, meaning finger-talking,) the power of conduct-
 ing the dumb to  the gradual attainment of speech,
 we should think it scarcely requisite  to  state that it
is merely a substitute for, or rather a mode of writing • 
THE  MANUAL  ALPHABET.
61
with no  other  advantage over the use  of  pen, ink,
and paper, that we are aware of,  than this: that the
apparatus is always at hand,  always ready for use.
By the means of the manual alphabet all the words
and  phrases of conversation can be expressed.   To
learn it,  requires less than half an hour ; and the prac-
tice of a few days makes the use of it easy and expe-
ditious.   With the  engravings before  him, no per-
son  can  find difficulty.
   In the one-hand alphabet, the letters J and Z are
figured in the air; J  with the little finger, and Z
with the index.   In the  other, the letter H is formed
by dashing the palm of the  right hand across that of
the left.   The other characters do not appear to need
explanation.   It  is  very unnecessary  to mark  the
points otherwise than by a proper pause  in the manu-
al action.  But it is requisite that the words should
be separated, either by a very slight pause, by a hor-
izontal motion of the hand from left to right, or by  a
sort of fillip with  the finger and thumb  of the right
hand.
   On comparing  the two alphabets, we find  that  the
object of both  is  to represent, as nearly as  possible,
the usual  forms  of  the  letters — the double-handed
alphabet imitating the capitals, the other the  small
letters.   The single exhibits an anxiety not to require
the help of the left hand ; and the other is unwilling
to dispense with its assistance.  The single tortures
the fingers in order to screw them into some fancied
resemblance to the  written character; and we  see
              6 
62
DEAF  MUTES.
that, after a lame attempt to form X with  one hand,
it  admits  another,  formed  with two, as a variety.
The other often chooses to do with two hands  what
one would do better;  so to match  with the X in the
single alphabet, there  is Q. in this.  A very good let-
ter is formed  with one hand, but a  variety is intro-
duced as if to show that it  could be done with two.
C  and J remain the  only letters which  two hands
could not  be made to represent; and the former is
the same in both alphabets.   The highly  anomalous
and awkward variety  of  Z, seems to have been de-
vised for no other reason than to obtain a resemblance
to  the written  form.   We are disposed  to  consider
that,  taking either one or both  hands  throughout
forms much more convenient and easy might be de-
vised for, if the object of resemblance were altogether
relinquished.   But taking them  as they stand, the
characters made with  two hands are much more dis-
tinct, and more easy to form and decypher than the
other.  There is also this advantage in the two-handed
alphabet, that it presents the only  conceivable mode
of communicating with the deaf in the dark ; for the
characters being formed by one hand upon the other,
it is only necessary with  the right hand to form the
letters upon the left  of the  person addressed.   Mr.
Watson, Principal of  the  Kent Road Asylum,  Eng-
land, says, that the  pupils  in  that institution, who
have sufficient knowledge of language to use the man-
ual alphabet  at all,  can,  in this manner,  converse
with great facility by  night. 
THE ONE-TTAND ALPHABET.
ft

v\;-^
^ \
 
 
THE TWO-HANDED ALPHABET.
 
 
             THE MANUAL ALPHABET.           67

  Although the two-handed alphabet is much the best
known in England, our information concerning the
other is far more distinct.   The latter certainly came
from Spain, where also the art of instructing the deaf
and dumb seems to have  originated.  The subjects
are, indeed, so much connected, that it would be use-
less to attempt to keep the consideration of them
separate.   It  is a vulgar mistake to assign a French
origin  to those useful  arts.  The  Abbe de  I'Epee
could well afford to spare the honor of the original
discovery, if the assertion of an eloquent writer be true,
that ' He is not the first  discoverer  of any art who
first says the thing ;  but he who says it so long, and
so loud, and so  clearly that he  compels  mankind to
hear him.'  Of the manual  alphabets the Abbe cer-
tainly was not  the inventor ; and the impression that
he was such, may perhaps have  arisen from the cir-
cumstance that his tomb-stone, in the  cemetery of
Pere la Chaise, at  Paris, bears the figure of an open
hand.
   If it were  not also ascertained that the art of in-
structing the deaf and dumb originated in Spain, our
knowledge that manual alphabets were first  known
in that country might have led to the supposition that
they  were originally designed for the  purposes of
secret  communication.  But our better information
allows us to assign to the  invention a benevolent and
useful object;  as it is known that this mode of com-
munication entered into the system by  which the
dumb were taught to speak. 
68
DEAF  MUTES.
  Father Ponce, a benedictine monk, of the monas-
tery of Ona in Spain, who died in  1584,  appears to
have been the first who exercised the art of instruct-
ing this unfortunate   class of beings; but  we are
unacquainted  with his method.  Don Juan Paolo
Bonnet, in 1620, published a book in which he devel-
oped the principles by which he had been  guided in
the education of the constable of Castile,  who  had
become deaf at four years  of  age,  but who, under
Bonnet's instruction, learned to speak his native lan-
guage with much distinctness.   Bonnet was emula-
ted— it is not clear  we should say imitated — by
Digby,  Wallis, and Burnett, in  England ;  Ramirez
of Cortono ;  Petro  de Castro of Mantua ; Conrad Am-
man, a  Swiss physician, practising in Holland; Van
Helmont, and many others.
  It appears strange  that,  notwithstanding this, the
possibility of instructing the deaf and dumb seems to
have been so little suspected  in France,  that Don
Antopio Pareires, who settled in Paris about the year
1735, was encouraged by  the general ignorance to
claim the honor of the discovery for himself.  He
made a great mystery  of the means he employed; but
his claim was allowed by the  Academy of Sciences.
Some years  after, another professor of the art, one
Ernaud, set up a rival claim, published a  book, and
solicited and obtained from the Academy  the same
honor which had been granted to Pareires.   It seems
that under all the systems  of instruction previous to
that of De I'Epee the  pupils were considered to have 
THE  MANUAL  ALPHABET.
69
attained perfection when they had  been brought to
pronounce, with more or less facility, and often with
much pain and difficulty, a certain number of phrases ;
and in obtaining this result, the finger alphabet  was
much employed by the teachers of the Spanish school.
   The one-hand alphabet seems to be particularly
distinguished as the manual alphabet  of the Spaniards,
It is said to have been introduced  into France by
Pareires; and the Abbe de I'Epee is stated to have
borrowed it from him, having only before known the
two-handed alphabet.   But another  account,  which
as the  most authentic, we shall give,  declares  that
the Abbe obtained a knowledge of the alphabet from
a Spanish book.
   On  one of the days which the  Abbe was in the
habit of employing in  the  instruction of his pupils, a
stranger came and offered to his acceptance a Spanish
book, with the assurance that a knowledge of its con-
tents would be of much service to him in his laudable
undertaking.  Being ignorant of the Spanish language,
the Abbe at first declined the offered  present; but hav-
ing opened  it at hazard,  he perceived the manual
alphabet of the  Spaniards; and then turning  to the
title page, he read the words — Arte para ensemar
a hablar los mudos.   ' I had no difficulty,' says the
Abbe,  'in divining that this signified the art of teach-
ing  the dumb  to speak; and from that moment  I
determined to learn the language, that I might be of
service to my pupils.'
   From the schools of the Abbe the  use of this alpha- 
70
Deaf mutes.
bet extended  to nearly all  the  institutions for the
instruction of the deaf and dumb on the  Continent,
and in the United States.  The use of it is very lim-
ited in England.
  Among themselves, the instructed deaf and  dumb
use almost exclusively the  language of signs, and
have recourse  to the manual alphabet only for the
expression of proper names, or of such technical words
as have not yet been characterized by a specific sign.
But  in communicating with  those who are unac-
quainted with their system of signs,  they habitually
use the alphabet.   In conversing thus with them, it is
not always necessary to  form entire  phrases.   The
principal words suffice  to fix the attention ; a natural
gesture completes the thought.   Yet  it must be ad-
mitted, that, in the endeavor to catch  ideas which
are only partially expressed, they  are often exposed
to very curious- and sometimes  to very provoking
mistakes.
  As all the deaf and dumb  who  have  received the
usual instruction are acquainted  with the use of the
manual alphabet, it seems almost incumbent on those
who have any intercourse with such, or with  others
who  cannot   benefit  by vocal communication,  to
acquire this useful  and simple art. 
LINES.
71
   ON SEEING A DEAF, DUMB, AND BLIND GIRL
          SITTING FOR HER PORTRAIT,

             BV MRS. L. H. S1GOURNEY.

Heaven guide thee, Artist, — though thy skill
   May wake the enthusiast's passion-tear,
And catch expression's faintest thrill, —
   What power shall prompt thy pencil here ?
She hath no eye. — God quench'd its beam, —
   No ear, — though thunder's trump be blown
No speech, — her spirit's voiceless stream
   Flows dark, unfathomed and unknown.
 Yet she hath joys, — though none may know
   Their germ, their impulse, or their power,
And oft her kindling features glow
   In meditation's lonely hour.

So when unfolding blossoms breathe
   Their fragrance 'neafh a vernal  sky,
Or feeling weaves its wild-flower wreath
   As some remembered friend draws nigh,

Then doth the heart its love reveal
   Though lip and eye are soal'd the while,
And then do wildering graces steal
   To  paint their language on her smile.

 For still the undying soul may teach,
   Without a glance, a tone, a sigh, —
 And well canst thou its mirror'd speech
   Interpret to the wandering eye.

 What  though her lock'd and guarded mind
   Doth foil  Philosophy divine,—
 And bafHed Reason fail to find
   A clue to that untravelled shrine, —

 Yet may thine art, with victor sway,
   Win laurels from this desert-wild,
 And to a future age portray
   Mysterious Nature's hermit child. 
72
DEAF MUTES,
       TRIAL FOR THE ROBBERY OF A MUTE
              [From the N. V. Com. Advertiser.]

  Yesterday, at  the  Court of sessions, a large stout
negro, named William Lisbon, was placed at the bar
on the charge of highway robbery, in  attacking  and
forcibly stealing, on  the  night  of the  second inst,
from a deaf and dumb man named Mestapher Chase,
his hat, coat, and shoes, and between seven and eight
dollars in money.  The complainant is a resident of
Concord, Mass. and has been to Troy, in this State, to
visit a brother, whence he was returning home,  and
arrived in this city on  the afternoon  of the second
inst.   The circumstances attending the robbery, as
related by Chase, in writing,  were, that he asked the
prisoner, between ten and twelve o'clock at  night in
Orange street, where he could find a lodging,  when
the prisoner struck him in  the side, knocked  him
down, and choked him till he lost his senses.  When
he recovered he found himself robbed.   He  was cer-
tain that it was the prisoner that robbed him ; it  was
bright star-light at the time.   Sometime after, he  saw
two watchmen, to  whom he communicated by signs
the robbery, and the watchmen  accompanied him to
several houses in the vicinity, and finally found the
prisoner in bed.  He at once pointed out the prisoner
as the robber, and he was taken in custody and lodged
in the watch-house.  By a neglect  in the watch- 
       TRIAL  FOB THE ROBBERY OF A MUTE.     73

house, the names of the watchmen who arrested the
prisoner  were  not placed on the watch returns,  and
the complainant's testimony was wholly unsustained,
except by that of Justice Hopson,  who testified that
when the prisoners were brought up from the watch-
house, Chase  pointed out the  robber from  twenty
others.   This trial being of a novel character, we are
induced  to give a portion of  the testimony as it was
reduced  to writing by direction of the Court.
   Q.  Where is  your home ?
   A.   Concord, Mass.
   Q.  Can you speak ?
   A.   No, (and shakes his head.)
   Q.  Was you robbed by day or night?
   A.   Night.
   Q.  About  what time of night ?
   A.   Between ten and twelve.
   Q.   In what part of the city.'
   A.   I believe in Orange St.
   Q.   Was it near  a lamp, so  that you  could see
him ?
   A.   It was star-light.
   Q.   Did you come to New-York alone ?
   A.   Yes ; I  have been to see  my brother, and am
going home.
   Q.   What did  the prisoner, who is now upon trial,
do to you?
   A.   I know him by his whiskers and coat.  I went
to see where I could get a lodging, and he struck me
and chocked me, till I lost my senses.
           7 
74
DEAF MUTES.
Q	Who arrested the prisoner ?
A.	Two watchmen.
Q.	How did the watchmen know that .yon was
robbed ?	
A.	I can't tell certain.
Q	Was it the same night ?
A.	Yes.
Q.	Did you know the prisoner as soon as you
next saw him ?	
A.	I showed him to the watch.
Q.	Was the moon shining ?
A.	I can't say.
Q.	On what day of the week was you robbed:
A.	A week ago last Monday.
Q.	Can you be mistaken as to the prisoner being
the man who robbed you ? •
  A.  I am sure.
  Q.   In what manner  did  you ask  the  prisoner
where to get a bed ?
  A.  By a sign,  (and placed his hand  to his head,
in a reclining position.)
  Q.   How soon  after you asked him where to get
a bed, did he knock you down ?
  A.  In less than a minute.
  Q.   Are you sure  you had the money, ( $7.50,)
when yon spoke to him ?
  A.  Yes.
  Q.   Where was your  property found, or have you
found it ?
  A.  It is not found. 
TRIAL FOR THE ROBBERY OF  A MUTE.     75
  Q.   When did you next see the  prisoner  after he
robbed you ?
  A.   The watch took him that night.
  Q.   Did you see the prisoner before he was brought
to the  watch-house ?
  A.   The watch and me found him  in bed.
  Q.   How did you know where to look for him ?
  A.   We did not know.
  Q.   Who told you where to find him,.
  A.   We went into other places.
  Q.   What will become of you after death, if you
swear  to a lie ?
  .1.   My soul will be lost to Heaven.
  Q.   Are you able  to call for assistance, if you are
attacked ?
  A.   No ; they (the watch) happened along.
  Q.   If you were about to die, would you say surely
and swear to it,  that the  prisoner is the man  who
robbed you ?
  .4.   I would swear as soon then  as I would now.
   Q.   Are you willing to meet your God as to the
truth  of your last answer, and all the facts stated by
you about the prisoner?  Answer solemnly.
  A.   I am.
  The case was submitted without argument; and
the jury, without leaving their seats, rendered a  ver-
dict of guilty. 
74
DEAF MUTES.
Q	Who arrested the prisoner ?
A.	Two watchmen.
Q.	How did the watchmen know that you was
robbed ?	
A.	I can't tell certain.
Q-	Was it the same night ?
A.	Yes.
Q-	Did you know the prisoner as soon as you
next saw him ?	
A.	I showed him to the watch.
Q.	Was the moon shining ?
A.	I can't say.
Q-	On what day of the week was you robbed ?
A.	A week ago last Monday.
Q-	Can you be mistaken as to the prisoner being
the man who robbed you ? ■
  A.  I am sure.
  Q.   In  what manner  did  you ask the  prisoner
where to get a bed ?
  A.  By  a sign, (and placed  his hand to his head,
in a reclining position.)
  Q.   How soon  after you asked him  where to get
a bed, did  he knock you down  ?
  .4.  In less than a minute.
  Q.   Are you sure  you had the money, ( $7.50,)
when you spoke to him ?
  A.  Yes.
  Q.   Where was your property found, or have you
found it ?
  A.  It is not found. 
       TRIAL FOR THE ROBBERY  OF  A MUTE.     75

  Q.   When did you next see the prisoner after he
robbed you ?
  A.  The watch took him that night.
  Q.   Did you see the prisoner before he was brought
to the watch-house ?
  A.  The watch and me found him in bed.
  Q.   How did you know where to  look for him ?
  A.  We did not know.
  Q.   Who told you where to find him,.
  A.  We went  into other places.
  Q.   What will become of you after death, if you
swear to a lie ?
  A.  My soul will be lost to  Heaven .
  Q.   Are you able to call for assistance, if you are
attacked ?
  A.  No ; they (the watch)  happened along.
  Q.   If you were about to die, would you say surely
and swear to it,  that  the prisoner  is the  man  who
robbed you ?
  A.  I would swear as soon  then as I would now.
  Q.   Are you willing to meet your God as to the
truth of your last answer, and all the facts stated by
you about the prisoner ?  Answer solemnly.
  A.   I am.
  The case was submitted without argument; and
the jury, without leaving their seats, rendered a ver-
dict of guilty. 
76                     DEAT  MUTES-.
LINES ON THE MARRIAGE OF THE DEAF AND DUMK

 No word! — No soundl — and yet a solemn rite
 Proceedeth 'mid the festive lighted hail.
 Hearts are in treaty, — and the soul doth take
 That oath, which unabsolv'd, must stand, till death,
 With icy seal, doth close the scroti of life.

    No word! — No sound!— and still yon holy man,
 With strong and graceful gesture,, hath imposed
 The irrevocable vow,—and, with meek prayer,
 Hath sent it to be registered in Heaven.
 — Methinks this silence heavily doth  brood
 Upon the spirit.—Say, thou flower-crowned bride,—
 What means the sigh that from thy rnby lip
 Doth 'scape, — as if to seek some element
 That angels breathe r

     Mute! — Mute! — 'tis passing strange!
  Like necromancy all. — And yet  'tis well:—.
  For the deep trust with  which a maiden casts
  Her all of earth,— perchance her all  of Heaven,—
  Into a mortal  hand — the confidence
  With which she turns in every thought to him,
  Her more than brother, and her next  to God,
  Hath never yet been meted oat in words,
  Or weigh'd with language.

                          So, ye  voieeless pair,
  Pass on in hope. — For ye may build  as firm
  Your silent altar in each other's hearts,
  And catch the sunshine through the clouds of time,
  As cheerly as though the pomp of speech
  Did herald forth the deed. —And when ye dwell
  Where flowers fade not, and death no treasur'd tie;
  Hath power to sever more; — ye need not mourn.
  The ear sequestrate and the tuneless tongue;
  For there the eternal dialect of love
  Is the free breath of every happy soul. 
ARTICULATION.
77
                [From the Christian Observer.]
 ON TEACHING THE DEAF AND  DUMB TO ARTICULATE.
   Having observed several valuable articles in your
 widely circulated miscellany, on the subject of educa-
 ting the  unfortunate deaf and  dumb ; in particular,
 one in your volume for 1818, p. 514, "On the Expe-
 diency of teaching the Dsaf aud Dumb to articulate ; "
 and another by a nameless correspondent, in reply to
 that article, in  the same volume, p. 787, permit me
 to offer a few observations on  the  subject.  It may,
 perhaps, be too late to reply specifically to any paper
 of so old a date; but as the  subjeGt is highly impor-
 tant, and your readers have  lately had their attention
 recalled to it by a proposal for educating the deaf and
 dumb throughout the kingdom, by means of national
 aud  other schools, I trust  a few remarks  upon the
 general question may not  be uninteresting;  and as
 your correspondent for December, 1818, has urged the
 usual arguments on his side of the controversy, I shall
 take  leave to notice his leading principles.
  The subject claims the attention of every thinking
 mind;  and I am happy to  find that so much exertion
 has been  manifested throughout Great Britain, as
will in a few years be the means of educating all the
deaf and dumb, in common with other children, at a
trifling  expense.   So long as the deaf and dumb are
taught utterance, the system of delusion, which  has
been supported and upheld by the crafty, and imposed
on the credulous at the Deaf and  Dumb Asylums,
             7* 
78                BEAF MUTES.

will continue.   To teach the deaf and dumb to speak
is as unnatural as to teach a parrot.  If it were impos-
sible for the dumb to reason without learning to speak,
I would cordially agree  with  the advocates for the
propriety of teaching them utterance ;  but the all-
wise Providence never intended them to  speak, any
more than that the blind should see, without  his all-
sufficient power  If to  give the dumb their mother-
tongue would  alone remove ignorance, how is it that
some men who can speak are so ignorant as to attempt
to prove, that, by teaching  the deaf and  dumb to
speak, they  immediately  become rational beings;
when.it is evident that  speech alone  can never teach
them a language,  and  without a  language the deaf
and dumb must forever  remain little better than the
 brute creation ?  Does it not then  clearly prove, that
to teach them a language  is the first, and  ever  will
be the only means by which they can become rational
beings ?  This may  lead  to  an inquiry:  How are
they to be  taught a language?  Not by speech, but
by their own natural  language of signs,  which they
nan exercise so plainly as to enable  those around them
to understand all  their wants, all their affections, and
all their feelings.   Signs  were the first  natural lan-
guage of us all, and signs must ever continue  to be
the language  of  the deaf.  Give  them a language
explanatory of their own  signs, and  of such  as may
be made to them, " they  are no longer alone in the
 social circle;  they  are  enlivened  by  (written  or
 manual signs) conversation, instructed by the page of 
ARTICULATION.                 7g
 history, enlightened and comforted by the records of
 eternal truth, and are  in  every view  elevated to the
 rank of their fellow-beings.  All this I maintain is
 accomplished  by the  plain,  rational, and practical
 method of teaching them the language of the country
 where they happen to be situated ;" but not by giv-
 ing them  what is of no use  to them, a mother-tongue.
 I am at a  loss to undestand what your correspondent
 meant when he said " that we came to the possession
 of our mother-tongue solely by the reiteration of those
 names (words or phrases) being made intelligible to
 us, through the medium of the organ  of hearing."
 Did he mean to signify that, the moment  we  heard
 the first sound  of the human  voice, we  knew the
 meaning of the  word uttered,  and that solely by the
 reiteration of words or phrases we knew the signifi-
 cation of each ?  If this is really what he means (and
 I am at a  loss to interpret his  meaning in  any  other
 manner,) our eyes are useless.   Now, as this sort of
 argument  may serve to amuse ninety-nine  out of one
 hundred who have never given the subject the least
 consideration., although they have subscribed their
 money to  institutions  they knew nothing about, I
 shall endeavor to show the  fallacy of such an  argu-
 ment, and that  the  deaf and dumb are not taught
 anything but speech alone.  So long as the deaf pos-
 sess their  sight, which is  superior to all  the  other
senses, they can comprehend  everything when they
know a language; which  brings  me again to the
grand question,  How  are they to be  taught a Ian- 
80
DEAF MUTES.
 guage ?   Not like children who can hear, speak, and
 see, but like children who are  deaf and  dumb, but
 possess the  sense of sight.  It  is somewhat  extraor-
 dinary that  men who can hear and see, should for one
 moment suppose that the former sense is more  useful
 and beneficial than the latter.   I have read  of such
 fallacious writers; but  who were  they?   The very
 persons interested  in  the support of the  asylums for
 teaching the dumb to speak.   It  is by  this sort of
 magic alone that the asylums have been supported in
 this country, which has not only  been the cause of
 great torture and pain to  the learners, but produced
 in them a disagreeable distortion cf features, which,
 together  with their  unpleasant discordant  sounds,
 render their society  extremely painful  to  all  who
 hear them.
   Let us then examine closely  into the situation of
 both the fortunate and unfortunate.   Children who
 can hear and see, learn a language  by means of both
 senses ; and after  they have learned to talk, and can
 do so pretty well, they are sent  to school, where they
 have  another language to learn, — that is,  to read
 and write.  The poor unfortunate  deaf children who
 can see, do  not require  to be taught  a  spoken lan-
 guage ; for,  having their sight from as early a period
 as other children,  they will understand  and reason
 upon  the  different objects and  occurrences around
them,  as  well  as  others can;  all  they  want is to
understand the names of the different objects, and
their component parts, and the words and  phrases 
ARTICULATION.                81
expressive of their own wants  and inclinations, and
to be able to comprehend those  of others, by means of
a language, by signs, written or manual.  Providence
has provided them with a language which is natural
to them, and that is  the language  of signs.   Teach
them whatever language  you  please  besides, signs
will ever  remain their  natural language, and  every
other will be no more than a translation.  When we
first heard the sound of mamma and papa,  did  we
understand that  the words signified mother and fa-
ther.; or that the  words referred to any visible be-
ings ?   Certainly not.  If the mother and father had
not been  pointed out  to our eyes  at the times such
words were spoken, we might as well have under-
stood them to mean a stick  or a  stone.  When the
word God was mentioned to  us, what idea could we
form of such an  Almighty, Powerful Being ?  Nay,
what do we know now, if we have any idea oiHiml
Are not  the deaf and dumb as capable, while they
have written and printed language, of comprehending
all his attributes as we are ?   We  cannot  see him,
any more than they, face to face.   Is it then because
we can speak, that we  know him  better thart they ?
Away, then, with the mercenary  traffic of  teaching
the deaf  and dumb to articulate, and let  not  the
beneficent, in any country, be deceived and defrauded
by peurile conjurers, who have nothing but their own
interest at  heart.   Your  correspondent in  August,
1818, has assigned  such good  reasons for not  teach-
ing the deaf and dumb to  speak,  that they remain 
83
DEAF MUTES.
unanswered and unanswerable by your nameless cor-
respondent in December following.
  The Quarterly  Review for March, 1822, reviewed
a little work which I wrote on " The Art of instruct-
ing the infant Deaf and  Dumb ; " but when I wrote
that work I had not all the documents upon the sub-
ject which I now possess,  and  which clearly prove
that the system of educating  the deaf and dumb has
been made a lucrative trade of, at the expense  of the
beneficent; and,  what  is still  worse, the asylums
have been the cause of hundreds dying without  any
education.  I have even been told that the author of
the article in the Quarterly Review must be a preju-
diced man, and an interested man, or one  who had a
private pique against the superintendents at asylums."
I shall leave the public to judge on this subject from
the following observations from  that paper,  which
merit particular attention.
   M It is impossible to believe that the mere capacity
of uttering articulate sounds has any tendency in
itself to promote the cultivation of the mental facul-
ties of the deaf and dumb.   The ideas of others can
be communicated to them widely by the eye,  and
theiF endeavors to make themselves intelligible should
naturally be directed towards that organ.  Even by
its warmest advocates, the utterance  of the deaf and
dumb is recommended principally, if not solely,  as a
desirable  medium to enable them  to  convey their
ideas to the minds of those who hear ; but the use of
signs and written characters, which they acquire with
singular ease  and despatch, is a method of communi- 
ARTICULATION.
83
cation  more  satisfactory to themselves, and  much
more agreeable to those who associate with them.
  " That the deaf and dumb, who have never been
taught to utter articulate sounds, may acquire  a per-
fect command of a system of written and natural signs,
is certain.   The progress made  by Mr. ArroWsmith
places the fact beyond the reach  of Cavil;  and the
quickness  and intelligence  displayed  by the  pupils
who accompanied the  Abbe  Sicard to England in
1815, must remove the doubts of the most skeptical."
These pupils, it  should be  remarked,  had been edu-
cated at an establishment where the acquisition of
utterance had been long laid aside as useless.
  " On this branch of instruction, the sentiments and
practice of the late Abbe de I'Epee were completely
at variance with the system now pursued  by those
engaged in the tuition of the deaf and dumb.  True
it is. that in the early part of his undertaking he was
induced to employ considerable pains in endeavoring
to teach them utterance ; and his success in this de-
partment was not inferior to that of any of his mod-
ern  imitators.  Experience, however, soon convinced
him that the object gained by enabling them to utter
articulate sounds, was by no means an equivalent for
the  difficult and disagreeable nature of the  task :  he
therefore relinquished entirely this part of his plan, as
adapted merely to amuse or astonish the ignorant.
  " We feel no hesitation in  declaring that our sen-
timents upon this point perfectly coincide with those
of the Abbe.  We consider the pains taken in  teach-
ing  the deaf and  dumb the utterance  of  articulate 
 84                 DEAF MUTES.

 sounds, an absolute misapplication of the labor and pa-
 tience of the instructer, and an unnecessary waste of
 the time and attention of the pupil.   It is, therefore,
 with no ordinary degree of surprise, we have learnt that
 the Abbe Sicard (after long  and successfully follow-
 ing the footsteps of his benevolent predecessor) has
 been persuaded to  recommence  a  process which he
 had discarded as useless.  We are  utterly at a loss for
 the  motives which prevailed upon him to  add this
 foolish  branch to the system already pursued with so
 much advantage in the establishmen tover which he
 presides.   He may, perhaps, have been influenced by
 his visit to this island, in 1815.  We know, at least.
 that utterance is in high  favor with the  English
 school for the instruction of the  deaf and dumb ; and
 that the change to which we  allude did not take
 place in the French  institution, previously to the
 Abbe's return  to his charge, in the year above men-
 tioned.   But,  whatever motives may  have produced
 an alteration, of which we cannot approve, we would
 earnestly request  him to  re-consider, to ascertain
 whether,  within the  time which has elapsed  since
 this branch of instruction has been resumed, the pro-
 gress of his pupils,  in the acquisition of general  in-
 formation, has equalled their improvement within a
 period of equal length, before this addition was made.
 If this inquiry be impartially conducted, we  shall be
greatly mistaken if the result be not a conviction that
he has been misled by the sophistry  of the  English
school. 
XHTICULATION.
85
  "We are fully aware,  that  on this  tender ground
we are at issue with  the whole corps, both  foreign
and domestic, of those who are at present engaged in
educating the deaf and dumb.*  If the question  to
be decided were the best  and most efficient mode of
instructing  the  deaf and dumb to utter articulate
sounds, we would readily submit to the opinions  of
men more conversant than ourselves with the practi-
cal detail of tuition.  But the  point at  issue is, not
the manner in which the  deaf and  dumb may  be
best taught to articulate, but whether they should  be
taught to articulate at all, to the discussion of which,
we  consider ourselves fully  as competent  as the
most experienced  of those who are actually  engaged
in it.
  " There are many individuals who hear and speak,
whose tones are so harsh and  dissonant, that in our
communications with them, we should scarce lament
the necessity of  confining  ourselves to the use  of
signs and  written characters;  and there is not one
among the deaf and dumb, who, by  any  degree  of
care and length of practice, acquires a  melody and

   •The Quarterly Review is here  mistaken.  At the  American
Asylum at Hartford, for instance, the conductors are strongly opposed to
teaching articulation.  Their sentiments on the subject may be seen in
the Christian Observer for 1820, p. 64.  We believ.ealso, that  the
Quarterly Review is misinformed respecting the alledged change in
the late Abbe Sicard's sentiments or practice.   Long after his return to
Paris, he not only did not attempt to teach the deaf and dumb to utter
sounds, but continued as averse to the practice as ever ; and we have no
reason to think he ever altered his opinions.
                 8 
 86                 DEAF MUTES.

 intonation of voice which can render his enunciation
 even tolerable.  Their utterance is found by experi-
 ence to be so disagreeable, that  it is seldom or never
 used out of the precincts  of the  establishment in
 which it is  taught;  added to this, that the contor-
 tions of countenance, with which it is accompanied,
 are of the most unpleasant kind ; in many cases they
 completely  mould  the features to a peculiar cast;
 and the unnatural contour of the face thus produced
 cannot fail to augment the  pain already excited by
 the jarring and monotonous sound of the voice.   For
 the truth of this, we  appeal, with confidence, to the
 friends of the pupils educated by the  late Mr. Braid-
wood.  After years of trial and  torture, they return
to their families with an acquisition not very agree-
 able to their  acquaintance, and confessedly useless to
 themselves.
   " But the application of the labor of the instructer
 and of the time  of the pupil, to a useless  purpose, is
 far from  being the worst consequence which results
 from  this practice.   It is attended with the  much
more serious effect of prolonging the deception, which,
to a great extent, has already imposed upon the pub-
lic ;  namely, that the art of instructing the deaf and
dumb is to be acquired only by  an  initiation into the
mysteries under the direction of those  who have been
long  and  intimately  conversant  with  its details.
 Whatever foundation may exist for  such an opinion
 with reference to utterance, we  are firmly convinced
 that to teach the deaf and dumb the use and applica- 
ARTICULATION.
87
tion  of written characters, and manual signs,  is a
simple and easy process, which may be commenced
under the eye of  every intelligent  mother who can
write, and which may be completed under the super-
intendence of any ordinary school-master, who will
patiently devote a small share of his attention to the
undertaking.  We may even  assert,   without  the
least  fear of overstating  the facility,  that  there is
scarcely a nurser-ymaid, who can read, who may not,
in a few hours, be instructed how to teach them, by
the aid  of a few alphabetical  counters, the written
characters which represent every visible object.
   " To those who are still incredulous, and feel an
interest in the subject, we earnestly recommend the
account  which  Mr.  Arrowsmith  gives of  the  plan
adopted in educating his brother. And to render their
conviction more certain, let them try the plan which
he details.   There are few neighborhoods, in which,
unfortunately, a subject may not be found for such a
purpose.  Let him be  regularly sent  to any village
school with other children ;  let him be treated in all
respects  like them, and we venture to  predict that it
 will be even impossible to prevent him from acquir-
 ing the knowledge of a medium, which may enable
 him to converse with his youthful associates.  The
 mind is fully as active and vigorous in the one, as in
 the other:  and the curiosity of a deaf and dumb child
 being strongly excited by the objects  which attract
 his attention, he can hardly fail to devise some means
 of obtaining from his companions the information he
 wishes to procure. 
88
DEAF  MUTES.
   " This subject, highly interesting to every member
of society, prefers peculiar claims to the attention of
those who are professionally engaged  in  educating
the young.  With little additional trouble, they may
derive considerable emolument  from adding the deaf
and dumb to the pupils whom they  already instruct.
If parents were once  convinced that they  possess at
their own doors, establishments in which these unfor-
tunate children may receive all the advantages of reg-
ular instruction, even with more facility than they can
be taught at the most celebrated seminaries opened
exclusively for the reception of the deaf and dumb, it
would relieve  their minds from the intense  anxiety
and regret  which must be excited by the necessity
of sending them, during their most  helpless infancy
to places far removed from personal inspection.
   " The expensive  character of these establishments
places  them beyond the reach of a  large portion  of
those who are destiute of learning.   We believe our
calculation to  be  rather under than above the real
amount, if we state the average annual  charge for
each pupil at one hundred pounds.   If  it should be
estimated at only one half of that sum, it would prac-
tically be found as effectual a bar to the general ed-
ucation of the  deaf and dumb children as an annual
expenditure of five times  that  amount.    If, there-
fore, measures be not taken to  educate  those chil-
dren at our ordinary  schools,  a  deficiency of pecu-
niary means will forever deprive them of the benefits
arising from systematic instruction. 
ARTICULATION.
89
   " But, although the adoption  of  a  system which
involves an enormous waste of time  and money, may
be overlooked in private seminaries, it is not entitled
to similar forbearance at establishments supported by
public contribution.  We have a right, nay, we  feel
it a duty, to remonstrate against  the  continuance of
a  system  which necessarily absorbs  funds amply
sufficient for the instruction of the whole body of the
deaf and dumb, in educating a small portion of these
unfortunate objects;  and which, by  extending  and
perpetuating  the  delusion  already  prevalent,  that
their  instruction requires the  application  of some
mysterious science, is -productive of  the still more
mischievous  effect of  consigning  those  who  are
unsuccessful  in  applying  for  admittance  into the
asylums to the  misery of hopeless  ignorance.  The
sums now lavished upon two hundred pupils at  this
establishment,  would  amply  provide  for the  in-
struction of  twenty times the  number  in ordinary
schools."
   "If your  correspondent for December, 1818, can
express the paradox which  he  has  asserted,  that,
" happy for the deaf and dumb, words or names may
be seen and felt, as well as heard," and can  refute
the observations, I here  challenge him to do so, for  I
am not to be  frightened out of my name.
                            J. P.  Arrowsmith."
           8* 
90                     DEAF  MUTE9;
      THE DEAF AND DUMB.

Who is that little blooming boy.'
Why do no books his mind'employ ?
Why does he breathe no sound of joy ?
            Oh, he is deaf and dumbt

And who that maid, so passing fair,
Of beauteous form, but pensive air?
Alas! her mournful looks declare,
        She too is deaf and dumb!

Would that my language could relate
Their wo-fraught pangs, and cheerless stater
 And how I pity the sad fate
   Of those who are  deaf and dumb-!

 Their infant years were never blest
 With a soft lullaby to rest:
 No prattlings e'er their love expressed,
         For they were deaf and dumb!

 Where healthy, youthful sports abound,
 And  others play with merry sound,
 They walk alone, or gaze around,
         As they are deaf and dumb!

 Not all the melodies of spring-
 To them can soothing pleasure bring;
 Vainly the sweetest  birds may sing
            To the sad deaf and dumb1

 And if their parents  should be poor,
 Then, (though they might obtain a cure,)
 All their sad woes they must endure,
          And die both deaf and dumb!

  Must they, ye good, whose hearts  can sigh
  For human grief, thus must they die ?
  No; to the succor you will fly
          Of the poor deaf and dumb! 
THE DEAF, DUMB,  AND BLIND GIRL.        91
Children, whose bosoms joyful beat
Around the social hearth to meet,
Who can your much-loved parents greet,
       Pity the deaf and dumb!

Parents, who purest transport know,
Hasten your gratitude to show,
And aid, with liberal hands, bestow
     Upon the deaf and dumb!

You, who can list to pious lays,
And in the church unite to raise
The fervent hymn of heart-felt praise,
       Assist the deaf and dumb!

From Heaven may great success descend,
And constant fruits their toils attend,
Who labor anxious to befriend
   The hapless deaf and dumb!

And while we thus deplore their lot,
May that great God be ne'er forgot
To whom we owe that we are not
     Like them both deaf and dumb!
          THE DEAF, DUMB,  AND BLIND GIRL.
                  [From the Juvenile Miscellany.]

   It is interesting, as  shewing the  wonderful  power
of nature, to supply the want of senses and faculties
by the superior acuteness  of others.   Deprived  of
sight, speech, and hearing, this little  child  is  never-
theless capable of  making herself  useful in employ-
ments which would seem to require the  full  posses-
sion of those powers. 
92
DEAF  MUTES.
  In the city of Hartford, Connecticut, among other
interesting institutions, is an  Asylum for the educa-
tion of the deaf and dumb.   The  building  is large
and commodious,  and finely situated  upon  a com-
manding eminence.  The present number of pupils
is 120, who, indifferent classes, and under the super-
intendence of several  teachers, are engaged in the
pursuits of knowledge.  They are cheerful and hap-
py, and enjoy  their intercourse  with  each other,
which is carried on by the language of signs, and the
aid of the manual alphabet.   It is peculiarly affecting
to see this silent assembly offering their morning and
evening prayers.   Many visiters have been moved to
tears, by this voiceless communion of  young hearts
with  their Maker.
   Among the  inmates of this  mansion is one  who
particularly excites the attention of strangers.  She
is entirely deaf, dumb and blind.  Her name is Julia
Brace;  and she is a native of the immediate neigh-
borhood of the Asylum.   She is the only instance of
so great a misfortune, of which any record is extant,
except  one  European boy,  by  the name of James
Mitchell,  concerning whom the celebrated philoso-
pher, Dugald Stewart,  published an interesting me-
moir, many years since  in the  Edinburgh  Review.
He was so irritable  that few experiments  could be
tried  for his benefit;  but Julia Brace has been mild
and docile from her childhood.  She was the daugh-
ter of exceedingly  poor  parents, who had  several
younger children,  to whom  she was in the habit of 
       THE DEAr, DUMB,  AND BLIND GIRL.        93

 showing such offices of kindness, as her own afflicted
 state admitted.  Notwithstanding her blindness, she
 early evinced  a close observation with regard to
 articles of dress, preferring, among those which  were
 presented her as gifts, such as were of the finest tex-
 ture.  When the weather  became cold, she would
 occasionally kneel on the  floor of their humble dwell-
 ing, to feel whether the other children of  the family
 were furnished with  shoes  or  stockings, while she
 was without, and would express  uneasiness at the
 contrast.
   Seated on her little  block,  weaving  strips of thin
 bark, with pieces of leather,  and thread, which her
 father, in his process of making shoes,  rejected, she
 amused herself by constructing  for her cat,  bonnets
 and Vandykes, not wholly discordant with the  prin-
 ciples of taste.   Notwithstanding  her peculiar help-
 lessness, she  was  occasionally left with the care of
 the young children, while her mother went out to the
 occupation of washing.   It  was on  such occasions
 that little  Julia evinced  not only  a maternal solici-
 tude, but a skill in domestic  legislation which could
 not have been rationally expected.  On one occasion
 she discovered  that  her sister had  broken a piece of
crockery, and imitating what she supposed would be
the discipline of  their mother,  gave  the offender a
blow.  But placing  her hand upon the eyes of the
little girl, and ascertaining that she wept, she imme-
diately took her  into  her arms, and, with the most
persevering tenderness, soothed her into good-humor 
94                 DEAF MUTES.

and confidence.   Her parents were at length relieved
from the burden of her maintenance, by some char-
itable individuals who paid the expenses of her board
with an elderly matron who  kept a  school for small
children.  Here her sagacity was continually on the
stretch to comprehend the  nature of their  employ-
ments, and,  as far as possible, to imitate them.   Ob-
serving that a great part  of their time was occupied
with books, she  often held  one before  her sightless
eyes with long patience.   She would  also spread a
newspaper for her  favorite  kitten,  and  putting her
finger on its mouth, and perceiving that it did not
move like those  of the scholars when reading, would
shake the little  animal, to express  displeasure at its
indolence  and  obstinacy.    These circumstances,
though trifling in  themselves, reveal a mind active
amid all the obstacles which nature had interposed.
But her principal solace was in the  employments of
needle-work and knitting, which she had learned at
an early age to practice.   She would thus sit absorbed
for  hours, until it became necessary to urge her to
that exercise which is requisite to health.  Counter-
panes, beautifully made  by  her  of small  pieces of
calico, were repeatedly disposed of, to aid in the pur-
chase of her wardrobe.   And  small portions of her
work were sent by her  benefactors as presents  into
various parts of the Union to show  of what neatness
of execution a blind girl was capable.
  It was occasionally the practice of gentlemen, who
from pity or curiosity visited her, to  make trial of her 
        THE DEAF, DUMB, AND BLIND GIRL.      95

sagacity by giving her their watches, and employing
her to restore them to the right owner.
  They would change their position with  regard to
her, and each strive to take the watch which did not
belong to him, — but though  he might  at the same
time hold  two  or three, neither stratagem or persua-
sion would induce her to yield either of them, except
to the person  from  whom  she  had  received  it.
There  seemed to be a principle in the tenacity to
which  she adhered to  this system, of  giving every
one his own, which  may  probably be resolved into
that moral honesty, which  has  ever formed a con-
spicuous part of her character.  Though nurtured in
extreme  poverty,  and  after her removal  from the
paternal roof, in the constant habit of being in contact
with articles of dress or food, which strongly tempted
her desires, she has never been known to appropriate
to herself, without  permission, the  most trifling ob-
ject.  In  a well educated  child  this would be no
remarkable virtue;  but in one who has  had the
benefit of no moral training to teach her to respect
the rights of property and  whose  perfect  blindness
must often  render it  difficult even to define them,
the incorruptible firmness  of this innate principle is
laudable.   There is also connected with it a delica-
cy of feeling, or scrupulousness  of conscience, which
renders it  necessary, in presenting her any gift, to as-
sure her repeatedly by a sign she understands, that it
is for her, ere she will consent to accept it.
  Continuing to become an object of increased atten- 
96
DEAF  MUTES.
 tion, and her remote  situation not being convenient
 for the access of strangers,  application was made for
 admission into the Asylum, and permission accorded
 by the Directors in the summer of 1825.  After her
 reception into  the peaceful  refuge, some attempts
 were made by a benevolent instructer to  teach her
 the alphabet, by means of letters  both raised  above,
 and indented beneath a smooth surface.   But it was
 in vain that she punctually  repaired to the  school
 room, and daily devoted hour after  hour to copying
 their forms with pins upon a cushion.  However ac-
 curate  her delineations  sometimes  were,  they con-
 veyed no idea to the mind sitting  in darkness.  It
 was therefore deemed wiser to confine her attention
 to those  few attainments  which were  within her
 sphere, than  to  open a warfare with nature in those
 avenues which she had so decidedly sealed.
  It has been observed of persons who are deprived
 of a  particular  sense, that additional quickness or
 vigor, seem bestowed on those which remain.  Thus,
 blind persons are often distinguished by peculiar ex-
 quisiteness of touch, and the deaf and dumb, who
 gain all their knowledge through the eye, concentrate,
 as it were, their  whole souls in that channel of  obser-
 vation.  With  her, whose eye, ear, and  tongue are
alike  dead, the capabilities both of touch and smell are
exceedingly heightened ;  especially the latter, which
seems almost  to have acquired the properties of a new
sense, and to  transcend even the sagacity of a spaniel.
Yet, keeping in  view  all the aid which these limited 
         THE  DEAF,  DUMB, AND  BLIND GIRL.       97

 faculties have the power of imparting some of the
 discoveries and exercises of her  intellect are still, in a
 measure, unaccountable.
   As the abodes which from her earliest  recollection
 she had inhabited were circumscribed and  humble,
 it was supposed that at her first reception  into the
 Asylum  she would testify surprise at the comparative
 spaciousness of  the mansion.   But  she  immediately
 busied herself in  quietly exploring the size of the
 apartments, and the height of the staircases;  she
 even  knelt and smelled to the thresholds; and now,
 as if by  the union of a mysterious  geometry with a
 powerful memory, never  makes a false  step upon a
 flight of stairs, or enters a wrong  door, or mistakes
 her seat at the table.
   Among her various excellencies, neatness and love
 of order  are conspicuous.   Her  simple  wardrobe is
 systematically arranged,  and   it is  impossible  to
 displace  a single article in  her drawers  without
 her perceiving  and  restoring it.   When  the  large
 baskets of clean linen are  weekly brought from the
 laundress,  she selects her  own garments  without
 hesitation,  however widely they may be dispersed
 among  the  mass.  If  any part of  her  dress re-
 quires  mending,  she  is  prompt and skillful in re-
 pairing it ;  and her  perseverance in this  branch of
 economy  greatly  diminishes the  expense  of  her
 clothing.
   Since her residence  at  the Asylum, the  donations
of charitable visitants have been considerable in their
            9 
98                 pE-AF MUTES.

amount.   These are deposited in a box  with an in«
scription, and she has been made to understand that
the contents are devoted to her benefit. -  This box
she frequently  poises  in  her hand  and  expresses
pleasure when it testifies an increase of  weight; for
she has long  since  ascertained that  money was  the
medium for the supply of her wants, and attaches to
it a proportionable value.
  Though her habits are peculiarly regular and con-
sistent, yet occasionally some  action occurs which is
difficult to explain.   One  morning, during the past
summer, while  employed with her needle,  she  found
herself incommoded by the warmth of the sun.   She
arose,  opened the  window,  closed  the blind, aud
again resumed  her  work.  The  movement, though
perfectly  simple  in a young  child, who had seen it
performed by others, must in her case have required
a more complex  train of reasoning.   How did  she
know  that the heat which she felt was caused by the
sun, or that by interposing an opaque body she  might
exclude his ray ?
   At the tea table with the whole family, on sending
her  cup  to be replenished,  one was  accidentally
returned to her  which  had  been  used by another
person.  This she perceived at the moment of taking
it into her hand, and pushed it from her, with some
slight appearance of disgust,  as if her  sense of pro-
priety had not been  regarded.   There  ivas not the
slightest difference  in  the cups,  and in  this instance
she seemed endowed  with a degree of penetration 
        THE DEAF, DUMB, AND BLIND GIRL.      99

not possessed  by  those in  the  full enjoyment of
sight.
  Persons  most  intimately  acquainted  with  her
habits, assert that she constantly regards the  occur-
rence of  the  Sabbath, and composes herself to un-
usual quietness, as  if for meditation.  Her needle-
work, from which  she will not consent to be debarred
on other days, she  never attempts to resort to ; and
this wholly without influence  from those around her.
Who  can have impressed upon her  benighted mind
the sacredness of  that day ? and by what art does
she,  who is  ignorant of all numerical  calculation,
compute  without error the period of  its rotation ?   A
philosopher who should  make this mysterious being
his study, might find much to astonish him, and per-
haps something to  throw light upon  the structure of
the human mind.
  Before her entrance at the Asylum it was one  of
her sources of satisfaction to be  permitted to  lay her
hand upon the persons who visited her, and scrutinize
with some minuteness their  features, or the nature of
their apparel.  It seemed to constitute one mode  of
intercourse with her fellow-beings, which was sooth-
ing to her lonely heart,  and sometimes give rise  to
degrees of admiration  or dislike, not always to be
accounted for by those whose judgment rested on the
combined evidence of all their senses.  But since her
removal to this institution, where the visits of stran-
gers are so numerous as to cease to be a novelty, she
has discontinued this species of  attention, and is not 
 100                DEAF MUTES.

 pleased with  any long interruption to her established
 system of industry.
   Julia  Brace leads a life of perfect contentment;
 and is, in this respect, both an example  and reproof
 to  those  who for  trifling inconvenience indulge in
 repining, though surrounded by all the gifts of nature
 and of fortune.   The genial influence of spring wakes
 her lone heart to gladness,—and she gathers the first
 flowers,  and even the young blades of grass, and in-
 hales  then-  freshness  with  a  delight bordering on
 transport.   Sometimes,  when  apparently  in deep
 thought, she is observed  to burst into laughter, as if
 her associations of ideas were favorable  not only to
 cheerfulness,  but  to  mirth.   The  society  of  her
 female companions at the Asylum is  soothing to  her
 feelings ; and their habitual kind offices,  the guiding
 of their arm in her walks, or the affectionate pressure
 of their hand, awaken in  her demonstrations of grati-
 tude and friendship-   Not long since, one of the  pu-
 pils was  sick, —but it was not supposed   that,  amid
 the multitude who surrounded her, the blind girl was
 conscious of the  absence of a  single  individual.   A
 physician, was called, and the superintendent  of  the
 female department, who had acquired great  penetra-
 tion into the idioms of Julia's  character,  and  her
 modes of communication, made her  understand  his
 profession by pressing a finger upon her  pulse.   She
immediately rose, and taking his hand, led him with
the urgent solicitude of friendship to the  bed-side of
the invalid,  and placing his hand upon her pulse, dis- 
         THE DEAF, DUMB, AND BLIND GIRL.     101

 played an affecting  confidence in his power of heal-
 ing.   As she has herself never been sick, since  early
 childhood, it is the more surprising that she should so
 readily comprehend the efficacy and  benevolence of
 the medical  profession.   It would be easy to relate
 other remarkable circumstances respecting her, but it
 is not  desirable that this article should be so  far ex-
 tended as to fatigue the  reader.
   Should any of you my young friends, for whose
 sake this memoir is written, visit at any future  time
 the Asylum  in Hartford, and  be induced  to  inquire
 for the deaf, dumb, and  blind girl, you would proba-
 bly find her seated with her knitting or needle-work, in
 a dress, neat,  and in its plainness  comfortable to the
 countenance, but her eyes forever closed. Her complex-
 ion is fair ; her smile gentle and sweet, though of rare
 occurrence, and her person somewhat bent, when sit-
 ting, fromher habits of fixed attention to  her work.
 Many strangers have waited for a long time  to see
 her thread her needle, which is quite a mysterious pro-
 cess, and never accomplished without  the aid of the
 tongue.  You will  perceive  nothing striking or at-
 tractive in her exterior,  though her life of patience,
 industry, and  contentment, has traced correspondent
lines upon her features and deportment.
  My dear children, it would  be difficult for  you to
gain a  correct idea  of a person perfectly blind,  deaf
and  dumb,  even  after   repeatedly beholding  her.
Cover your  eyes for a short  time, and shut out this
           9* 
 102               DEAF MUTES.

world of beauty.   Close  your ears, and you  exclude
this world of sound.   Refrain from speaking, and you
cease to hold communion with  the  world of intelli-
gence.  Yet, were it  in your power to continue thus
for hours, even for days,  you still have  within your
mind a treasury of knowledge to which she can never
resort.   You  cannot picture to  yourself the utter
desolation  of  one whose limited acquirements  are
made at the expense of such toil, and with the hazard
of such  continual  error.   Never, therefore, forget ta
be grateful  for the talents  with  which  you are en-
dowed.   For every new  idea which you add to the
mental storehouse, praise Him, who gives you  un-
veiled senses to taste the luxury of knowledge.
   When the smile of your parents  and  companions
make your heart glad, or when you look at the bright
flowers and fair skies of summer, think, with com-
passion, of her who must never see the faces of her
fellow-creatures, or the beauty  of the  earth and sky.
When  you hear  the  melody of music,  or the kind
voice of your  teachers,  strive  to  value  and improve
your privileges;  and while you  pour forth  all the
emotions of your soul in the varieties of language,
forget not a prayer of pity for her who dwells in per-
petual  silence, — a prayer of  gratitude to Him, who
has made you to differ from her. 
A VIEW  OF THE  CONDITION OF DEAF  MUTES.  103
    A VIEW OF THE CONDITION OT DEAF MUTES.
              [From the Nortli American Review.]
  Lamentable as  the natural condition of the deaf
and dumb  evidently is,  we have no satisfactory evi-
dence,  that, so lately as the commencement of the
sixteenth century, the idea had ever occurred to any
individual in any country,  that this condition might
be ameliorated by education.  To impart instruction
to a person affected by constitutional deafness, seemed
an undertaking so palpably impossible, that its  prac-
ticability  was never even  proposed as a  problem,
much less was it  made a subject of examination and
discussion.  The  speaking  world  had all  acquired
language through  the medium of sound, and knowl-
edge through the medium of language.  The belief
was  therefore universally prevalent, that  language
could only be acquired  through  the ear,  and was,
consequently,  in  the nature of things  beyond the
reach of the deaf and dumb.   This pernicious preju-
dice had its origin in the highest antiquity.  It has
the express sanction of Aristotle, who, at a stroke  of
the pen, condemns the deaf  and dumb to  total and
irremediable ignorance.
  Prejudices still more  severe than this, of a kind,
too, to bring down upon the heads of their unfortu-
nate objects,  evils, which  nature, unindulgent  as
in their sad case she evidently is, would have spared 
 104               BEAT MUTES.

 them, have extensively prevailed at different times,
 and in different places; nor are we permitted to say,
 that they are even yet entirely dissipated.  Among
 some nations of antiquity, the deaf and dumb were
 regarded  as persons  laboring  under  the  curse  of
 Heaven.   By the Romans, they were  considered, if
 not as affected by positive idiocy,  as  at least, defi-
 cient in intellect; and were,  consequently, by  the
 code of Justinian,  abridged  of  their civil  rights.
 The Abbe de I'Epee  asserts that,  in some barbarous
 countries, the deaf and dumb are even  now regarded
 as monsters, and put to death at three  years old or
 later, probably as soon as  the fact of their calamity
 can be satisfactorily ascertained.   The benevolent
 Abbe further tells us,  that very respectable ecclesi-
 astics of his own time  openly condemned his under-
 taking ; and that, too,  on theological grounds.  Pa-
 rents, he remarks  again, hold  themselves  disgraced
 by  the fact  of  having  a deaf and dumb  child, and
 therefore conceal it  with care from  the eyes of the
 world, and confine it in some obscure retreat.  Con-
 dillac denies to the  deaf and  dumb the faculty  of
 memory, and as a necessary  consequence, the power
 of reasoning.  Even among ourselves, how often do
 we  Observe  a species of contempt  for this  unhappy
 portion of our brethren, or an  absolute aversion  to-
 wards them, which neither philosophy  will warrant,
nor enlightened benevolence approve.
  It is certainly remarkable that the deaf and dumb
should have been  almost universally  regarded   in 
      A VIEW OF THE CONDITION OF DEAF MUTES.   105

 every age, as beings placed, in respect to mental en-
 dowments,  somewhere  between man and the  brute
 creation.   Deafness, in itself, implies no deficiency of
 intellect.   A man  of  education  may  become  deaf;
 still, his powers  of mind  will lose  nothing of their
 vigor or activity.  Blindness, in like manner, may
 supervene, without impairing,  in the slightest degree,
 the mental  faculties.   The  nerves which subserve
 these senses,  and the  mechanical  apparatus  with
 which  they are  connected, constitute  only  certain
 means of communication between the external world
 and the intelligence within.   They form no part  of
 the intelligence  itself.  Let  them  be  destroyed  or
 paralized,  and the communication is indeed cut off,
 or rendered imperfect;  but the soul, the recipient  of
 information through the channel  of the  sense im-
 paired,  suffers in  consequence  a  merely negative
 loss, —  a loss which consists in the failure, from that
 time forward,  on the part of the sense impaired,  to
 continue its usual observation  upon external  things,
 and to convey  their results to the mind.  To be deaf
 from birth,  therefore, is not necessarily to belong  to
 a class of beings  of an inferior order of intellect, but
 only to  be  deficient in  that species of information,
 which it is the province of the ear to collect without
 effort.   It  is  to  be ignorant,  not   weak, stupid,  or
 savage.   It  is indeed  to be ignorant in a very high
and even fearful  degree, — to  be ignorant of history
in its  widest sense ;  of science, and  of morality, save
in its  first instinctive glimmerings ;  to be ignorant  of 
106
DEAF  MUTES.
language, the great store-house of knowledge ; and,
above all, to be ignorant of religion, — to be, literally
and strictly, without God in the world.   We are not
apt to attribute ignorance to natural inferiority of in-
tellect,  even when the cause is  palpable, — at least
we too often associate these two accidents together.
Thus have the deaf and dumb been judged deficient
in intellect, because they were found to be so in that
amount of information, which, in their circumstances,
could only have been acquired by a  miracle.
   Still more surprising is  the circumstance, that the
education  of  these  ignorant minds should  so long
have  been  regarded as a self-evident impossibility.
To account for  this we must  refer  to  another  pro-
pensity of our nature, which is to believe that things
cannot easily exist otherwise than as we have known
them.   That order of events to which we have been
long accustomed, or which, within our individual ob-
servation,  has  been invariably the  same, seems at
length to become  the necessary  order,  and assumes
the character and  importance of a law,  a departure
from which would excite  in us no  less surprise than
to behold the sun  rising in the west.  Through the
ear We have ourselves  acquired  our mother-tongue.
Through the ear  we have learned the use of those
visible characters,  representing sounds,  by means of
which, speech is depicted to  the eye.   Thus, through
the ear, we have become possessed of all our means
of accumulating knowledge, or of communicating
with our fellow-men.  And thus we conclude,  that 
     A VIEW CF THE CONDITION OF DEAF MUTES.   107

the ear must  always be the  channel through which
the  mind is to acquire that species of knowledge
which this organ has been the means of conveying
to us.   But we conclude  hastily.
  Let us suppose society in its infancy - possessed of
no language whatever.   The eye and the ear equally
present themselves, as instruments, through which a
communication  may  be  established between man
and man.   In the first instance, the eye  offers the
only means of intelligible  intercourse.  It is through
the medium of signs addressed in this organ, that the
value of other signs, more convenient in use, but in-
finitely more arbitrary,  having  sound as their basis,
and addressing the intelligence  through  the eye, is
gradually determined.   This, which must necessarily
take place  in the circumstances  supposed, is what
does actually  occur in  the history  of every infant,
who learns his mother-tongue,  as is commonly sup-
posed, entirely  through the ear.  It is what  must
take place in the case of a voyager, unexpectedly
cast upon an unknown coast, and compelled to hold
intercourse with a people speaking  an unknown lan-
guage.   For him, articulate  sounds assume their real
character; they appear as  the mere  conventional
representatives of ideas:  and whether he desire to
make known his wants, to recount the history of his
misfortunes, to  awaken compassion, to implore the
relief and protection, or to deprecate cruelty, he finds
himself compelled to abandon signs which  are merely
arbitrary, and to resort to those which are the sug- 
108
DEAF  MUTES.
 gestion of nature, — to become, for the time being,
 dumb, and with  whatever art he may possess, to ad-
 dress the understandings of those whom he desires to
 to influence, through  the eye alone.
    Ideas,  then,  may obviously associate  themselves
 directly with visible signs, without regard to spoken
 language, — without regard, in short, to articulate
 and audible sounds.   Hence it  follows, that those
 who are naturally destitute of  the  sense of hearing,
 are not to be  considered as incapable of intellectual
 culture.  The  degree  to  which their improvement
 may be carried is a farther question, and for the pur-
 pose of solving it, it is of high importance, to an ki-
 structer of the  deaf and dumb, to determine the in-
 tellectual  and  moral condition,  previously  to the
 instruction, of those to whom his labors are devoted.
 This,  indeed,  seems absolutely necessary,  that he
 may acquaint himself with the magnitude of his task,
 and ascertain the point at which his labors  are to
 commence. - The  natural  history  of the deaf  and
 dumb  has, accordingly, occupied the  attention, to
 a greater or less degree, of every  instmcter.   The
 conclusions to which  the  investigations of different
 men have  led  them, have,  nevertheless, exhibited
 nothing like uniformity, and,  in  many  instances,
 nothing like justice towards  the  unhappy objects
 upon which they were exercised.  So severe indeed
 are the  judgments emanating from men who rank
among the  most  able, intelligent  and humane  of
those who  have devoted their lives to  this subject 
     A VIEW OF THE CONDITION OF DEAF MUTES.    109

so humiliating a picture  do they present us in their
delineations of a being possessing certainly a soul, if
not a language, and so little do we find in our own
observations to justify their opinions and statements,
that we are led  with astonishment to set them in
contrast  with the  ordinary acuteness displayed by
their authors, and to inquire if it be possible that
such sentiments can  proceed from  such men.  The
Abbe de I'Epee,  whose name is  synonymous with
benevolence, ranks uneducated deaf and dumb per-
sons with the brutes that perish.  The Abbe Sicard,
his  illustrious successor, declares  ' that a  deaf  and
dumb person is a perfect cypher in society, a living
automaton, a statue, such  as Condillac and Bonnet
have represented him.   He possesses  not even that
sure instinct by  which  the  animal  creation  are
guided.  He is alone in nature, with no possible ex-
ercise of his intellectual faculties, which remain with-
out action,  without life.  As to morals, he does  not
even suspect their existence.  The moral world has
no being for hjm,  and  virtues and vices are without
reality.'
   It would be an unprofitable labor, in this  place, to
cite the numerous conflicting  opinions, which  the
history of the art  abundantly supplies.  We quote a
few by way of specimen.  The learned and estimable
instructer,  Mr. T. Guyot of Groningen,  assures us
;' that the deaf and dumb are by nature cut off from
the exercise of reason ;  that they are in every respect
1 like infants, and, if left to  themselves, will be so al-
            io 
110
DEAF  MUTES.
ways: only  that they possess greater strength, and
that their passions,  unrestrained by rule or law, are
more violent;  assimilating  them  rather  to beasts
than man."  M. Eschke, of  Berlin, says, ' The deaf
and dumb  live only for  themselves;  they acknowl-
edge no social bond ;  they have no notion of virtue,
Whatever  they may do, we can  impute their  con-
duct  to  them  neither for good nor for evil.'   M.
Caesar, of Leipsic, remarks, that the ' deaf and dumb
indeed possess the human form, but this is almost all
which they have in common with other men.   The
perpetual sport of impressions made  upon them by
external things, and of the passions which rise up in
their  own souls, they comprehend  neither  law nor
duty, neither  justice nor  injustice,  neither  good
nor evil;  virtue and vice are to them as if they were
not.'
   Unfortunate as the condition  of a deaf and dumb
person without education obviously is, it is hard to
suppose him so utterly degraded in the scale of being
as these  extracts would  warrant us  in  believing,
We should hardly know  how to estimate the opin-
ions so confidently, in  many instances so dogmat-
ically expressed,  did  we not  bear in mind that the
world is not yet free from the disposition first to the-
orize, and afterwards  to  compel facts  into an accord-
ance, however unwarranted, with a priori views,
Nor  can we forget that most of these instructers
have brought to their task the  prejudices which we
have already enumerated as  once  universal,  and not 
     A VIEW OF THE CONDITION OF DEAF MUTES.   HI

yet extinct.   Nor can we overlook the tendency, in-
herent  in  human  nature, to magnify the achieve-
ments of personal exertion,  especially when a trivial
coloring may impart to those  achievements the char-
acter of the  marvellous;  when  the  world is suffi-
ciently disposed  to receive any statement, however
extravagant;  and when  the known  incompetency
of the multitude to call such  statement in question,
renders the careful choice  of expression a  matter  of
little consequence.  It is gratifying  to observe  that
all have  not  yielded to  this  natural  and seducing
tendency, nor suffered themselves to  be blinded by
prejudice or deluded by speculative inquiry.  M. Be-
bian, an accomplished colleague of Sicard, has given
us his opinion in the following  words :  ' Deaf and
dumb  persons  differ only  from  other men in the
privation of  a single sense.   They judge, they rea-
son, they reflect.   And if education exhibits them to
us in  the full exercise of intelligence, it  is because
the instmcter has received them  at the hands of na-
ture,  endowed  with all  the intellectual  faculties.'
M. Piroux,  the accomplished teacher, now at the
head of the institution at Nancy,  in  France, and for-
merly  of the  Royal Institution, expresses  himself
thus : ' Let us guard against  believing that the  sole
privation  of  speech deprives the  deaf and dumb of
every prerogative of moral life.  Judgment and rea-
son, memory and  imagination,  are faculties which
spring up and form themselves by a natural impulse.
The distinction of good and evil, and the moral sen- 
 112                DEAF MUTES

 timents, are a necessary consequence of the social re-
 lations.'  Peter Desloges, a  deaf  and  dumb  person,
 who lost his hearing at the age of seven years, hav-
 ing previously learned to read, asserts, with something
 perhaps of  hyperbole, of the uninstructed deaf  and
 dumb of his acquaintance, that ' there passes no event
 at Paris, in  France, or in the four quarters of the globe,
 which does not afford matter of ordinary  conversation
 among them.'   Baron Degerando, whose conclusions
 are the result equally of philosophic inquiry,  of per-
 sonal observation, and  of extensive intercourse and
 correspondence with practical men,  uses the  follow-
 ing language.   ' The deaf and dumb,  coming into
 the world with  the intellectual faculties common to
 all men, though deprived of a sense and an organ, are
 capable of attention, of reflection, of imagination, of
 judgment, and of memory.''   Of the writers who have
 so  greatly  exaggerated a calamity,  already suffi-
 ciently deplorable,  he observes, ' It  is worthy of re-
 mark that no one among them has cited  a single fact
 in support of his  opinion.'  He  supposes many of
 these writers have been influenced by  the  notions of
 the Abbe Sicard, which he cannot contemplate with-
 out extreme surprise ; but which he attributes to  the
exalted idea which the  worthy Abbe had  formed of
his own success, —an idea which rendered him de-
sirous of making the contrast between the educated
and the ignorant dumb as wide as possible.
   We  shall  see,  however, that the views  of  Sicard
underwent a remarkable change.   In the  advertise- 
      A VIEW OF THE CONDITION OF  DEAF MUTES.  113

ment to his Thiorie des Signes, he says, ' It will be
observed that  I have somewhat exaggerated the sad
condition of the deaf and dumb  in their primitive
state, when I assert that virtue and vice are to them
without reality.   I was conducted to these assertions
by the fact that I had not yet possessed the means of
interrogating them upon the  ideas  which they had
before their education ;  or that they were not suffi-
ciently instructed  to understand,  and  reply  to my
questions.   I have  always taught that the law of na-
ture  is engraved, by the creating hand, upon the soul
of man ;  that this  law is anterior to all sensible im-
pressions, which our organs receive ;  that it is nothing
else  than the light divine,  which  teaches man his
duties ; which awards him the meeds of approbation
and happiness when he is faithful, and punishes him
when he transgresses its dictates.'
  Regarding, therefore,  the deaf and dumb as beings
possessed of an intelligence not wholly inactive ; be-
ings, not entirely  shut out from communication with
their fellows,-  not  entirely without  interest in  that
which is passing before  them ; not wholly unaccus-
tomed to reason and to reflect; and not absolutely
without ideas appertaining to the  intellectual  and
moral world : it becomes important to examine, how
great a degree of development their mental powers
are  capable of attaining,  and how far the circle of
their ideas naturally extends.   This inquiry has re-
lation, of course, only to  those dumb  persons who
have been  deaf from birth.   In every case in  which
           *10 
114                DEAF MUTES.
deafness has  supervened at a later period, the facul-
ties  of  the  mind  may have received  considerable
cultivation before  that event.  Even language may
have been preserved, as in the case of Desloges, after
the power of utterance is gone.   Cases  of this kind
are evidently widely different from that of an  in-
dividual,  who, never  having heard a sound, has of
course never  attempted to articulate, and for whom
language,  whether written or spoken, has ever been a
sealed book.
   It is not to be supposed that the intellectual fac-
ulties of the deaf' and  dumb will as frequently be
called into exercise as those of other  persons ;  it is
not,  indeed, possible that  they should be.   The de-
velopment of those faculties will therefore  be much
less rapid  ; on account, at once, of this want of exer-
cise,  and  of the greater  labor  requisite to conduct
mental  operations  by the direct intuition  of ideas,
than by means of the  signs which artificial languages
afford to represent  them.  It is a consequence, also,
of their calamity, that they are cut off from all  that
species  of traditional  knowledge,  which   naturally
flows from generation to generation;  which is  im-
parted almost unconsciously, and  treasured in  the
memory almost  without effort.   The  experience of
the human race in each succeeding age is constantly
adding  something  to the floating wealth  of mind;
but of all this the  unfortunate deaf and dumb know,
and can know nothing ; nothing, at least, in compari-
son with the world which is  to be known.  In fact, 
     A VIEW OF THE CONDITION OF DEAF MUTES.   115

it is, in  their case, strictly true, as is remarked by M.
Bebian, that ' the world, so to speak, commences with
them.   Still the very calamity which shuts them out
even from the pale of the knowledge which is open
to infancy, and familiar to the child of half  a dozen
years, is not without its favorable influence upon the
originality  of their conceptions, and the activity  of
their intellect.   Their attainments, however humble,
are at least the fruit of their own labor; and their
opinions, however at times  erroneous, are still the
result of their o wn independent reasoning upon such
data as  are within their  reach.   Their  ingenuity is
continually awake, to supply the  deficiency  of their
information, and to break down, or at least to awaken,
the barrier  between  themselves  and the speaking
world/
  A strong  inducement with the deaf and dumb  to
become  close observers, is found in the nature of their
language.   This  beautiful  language is their own
creation, and is a visible testimony to  the activity of
their intellect.   It is a language  of action, full of
force, full of animation, full of figurative expression,
oftentimes full of grace.   In the  province of panto-
mime they are themselves  the masters, and  those
who hold intercourse with them, must be content to
receive the instrument.at their hands.   The elements
of this language, the words, so to speak,  which com-
pose it, consisting, within  the domain of sense, strict-
ly of imitations, whether of objects or of  actions, and
beyond  that limit, first of those universally intelligi- 
116
DEAF  MUTES.
ble signs by which the  mind  involuntarily betrays
its emotions, and secondly of metaphoric expressions,
founded  upon the analogies which exist between ob-
jects and actions in the physical world and  intellec-
tual and moral notions, require an accurate  eye, and
a constant exercise of ingenuity on the part  of its in-
ventor.
  A language, the work  of  a single  individual, and
that one laboring under the painful privation  to which
the deaf and dumb are subject,  must necessarily suf-
fer in comparison with those, which, in the lapse of
ages, have been approaching perfection, and on which
a multitude of minds  have  left the traces  of their
labors.   Still, imperfect as it is, it has its advantages;
it employs no expletives  merely to fill a place; its
signs are not rendered  uncertain  by being  made to
represent a multiplicity of ideas ; it is unencumbered
by the forms of artificial grammar, with their excep-
tions  and anomalies;  and,  above all,  resting  upon
analogy  and  description  as its basis,  it interprets
itself.  If, therefore,  it is less  the language of phi-
losophy,  it is more that of nature.   Its  copiousness is
found to vary with different individuals, and  with
different ages.   Those deaf and dumb persons, on
whom particular attention is bestowed  by their par-
ents and friends, who  have  been, in short, willing
learners,  will prove themselves  ready inventors, and
delighted teachers.  Those, on the contrary,  who
are neglected and  thrust  out of society, will hardly
extend their dictionary of signs beyond the  limit to 
     A VIEW OF THE CONDITION OF DEAF MUTES.   117

 which  their physical wants compel  them.  Still it
 would be unjust to conclude that this is likewise the
 limit of their ideas.   Signs are primarily instituted,
 whatever uses they  may afterwards subserve, as in-
 struments of communication.  He, with whom none
 will hold intercourse,  will  hardly  busy himself in
 perfecting a language which he will never  have oc-
 casion to use.  This  is not, however,  to suppose him
 without ideas,  wherever signs  are  wanting.   It  is
 only to suppose that the mind employs itself with
 ideas, directly, rather than with their representatives.
 In  like manner as a draftsman,  in  copying a de-
 sign, fixes in his mind the image of a particular line,
 which he is about to  transfer into his work,  without
 being conscious  of giving it a name ;  so the deaf and
 dumb conceive ideas, for which they have no visible
 representative.
  To persons not  familiar with the language of ac-
 tion, it will  hardly be found comprehensible, in its
 present state.  However accurate originally may be
 its imitations, however striking its analogies, it inva-
 riably undergoes, in the hands of the dumb, a species
 of abbreviation, which  leaves  it little title to  the
 character which has been claimed for it, of  constitu-
 ting a  natural  and universal language.    Thought
continually outstrips the  slowness of pantomime ;  and
the  mind,  impatient of delay, rejects  the  details of
description, and  seizing the characteristic, which, in
each object,  stands most  prominently forth, substi-
tutes it, at once, for the  object  itself.   The same is 
118                DEAF MUTES.

true  of ideas purely  intellectual.  The  metaphor,
which supplies them with a visible representative, is
reduced to a single sign; which, to be  intelligible,
must presuppose a knowledge of the subordinate por-
tion  of the picture,  and which  is consequently al-
ways more  or  less arbitrary.  By the institution  of
these  abbreviated signs,  usually denominated signs
of reduction, the  language of  action  become  singu-
larly elliptical, as well  as figurative.   The ellipses
will  readily be supplied by one in frequent intercourse
with the deaf and dumb, even when they occur  in
cases  entirely  new.   But to a  stranger, it will  be
necessary to exhibit  the language as it is in  its in-
fancy, before the process of reduction has commenced;
and  to sacrifice  rapidity for the sake  of clearness.
This necessity will  be instantly perceived by the
dumb, and cheerfully complied  with.   And  if one
form of  expression  is  found to  fail,  another and
another will be supplied, with an almost exhaustless
fertility  of invention.   Here will be apparent the
fruit of   that  minute observation which  omits  to
treasure up no circumstance likely afterwards to  be
of use in recounting past events, in describing absent
objects,  or  in assisting those  inquiries  by  which
the   observer  desires to  obtain  information from
others.
  As, on the one hand, the dialects by the  deaf and
dumb persons, living separately, are seldom  exten-
sively similar; so on  the other,  they are  rarely, if
ever, without some resemblance.  But that which they 
     A VIEW CF THE CONDITION OF DEAF MUTES.   119

have in common is but a small portion of the whole.
Degerando remarks, that the signs  which  usually
differ are those denoting the very numerous  class of
material objects;  while those which  indicate the
affections of the soul, the  few intellectual ideas  in
possession of the individuals, the common wants and
ordinary usages of life, and objects of immediate per-
sonal use, are often identical.
  It cannot be doubted, that, under ordinary circum-
stances, the uninstructed deaf and  dumb possess a
certain  power of discrimination on moral  subjects.
They are certainly capable of distinguishing between
good and evil, justice and injustice, for they sponta-
neously express their indignation against the perpe-
trator of any enormity, though by no means affecting
them directly  or indirectly.   They are conscious of
possessing certain  rights, and  they cannot  but infer
the existence  of such rights in others.  Thus,  they
have a  notion  of the right of property, which is not
the less real, that it does  not always prevent them
from invading that right.  What is there  wonderful
in this ?  How many, with the light of revelation to
guide  them, and with the  denunciation of the civil
and the divine laws equally hanging over their heads,
are guilty of  similar violence  to  their consciences!
But it would little avail the culprit to plead his crime
in  extenuation  of his  criminality.   We  moreover
believe that the deaf and dumb have, in this respect,
been severely judged.
   When M. Paulmier, a gentleman  associated  with 
120
DEAF  MUTES.
Sicard,  asserts that newly  arrived  pupils  usually
plunder each other, he says that which our own ob-
servation, at least, will bear him out in asserting.
  That the notions of every individual should attain
without instruction the same degree of  distinctness,
is not to be supposed.   Much depends upon the early
situation of the  dumb,  within  the  family or  social
circle.   Some are indeed alone in the  world, neg-
lected and despised by  all around them ;  others are
regarded as objects of high interest, not only by their
connections, but  also by all  the intelligent and the
humane in their  vicinity.   These latter partake, in
some degree, the blessings of social  intercourse,  and
experience its beneficial effects in the multiplication
of their  ideas, and the expansion  of their  minds.
Hence may arise a diversity almost  infinite.   Cases
may doubtless  occur, in which the  mental faculties
will  remain buried in a death-like slumber  for years.
If, as the Abbe de I'Epee asserts, ' some parents, hold-
ing themselves disgraced by the birth of a deaf child,
confine it in a cloister,'  what can we  expect  of such
a being, but that he should strictly correspond to Si-
card's description — that he should in fact remain for
life ' a living automaton, a walking statue.'
  Two things  seem to  be necessary to intellectual
development, viz :  the observation of objects, actions,
facts and  phenomena, and  the intercourse of mind
with mind.  If neither of these conditions  exist, the
humble being remains a mere animal.  To the truth
of this  position, we have the melancholy testimony of 
    A  VIEW OF THE CONDITION  OF DEAF  MUTES.  121

experiment, in the case of the injured Caspar Hauser.
If either exist singly, the expansion of the mind pro-
ceeds but  slowly.   Thus, we shall deceive ourselves,
if, from the absence or the obtuseness of the moral
sense, in the  case of a  dumb person, who has  all his
life been  treated like  a brute, and  has,  therefore,
been  dependent almost wholly upon observation and
solitary reflection, for the ideas he possesses, we has-
tily infer a similar deficiency in  all his companions
in misfortune.
   The  view  here taken  of this question, is far  from
having  received the unanimous suffrage of those who
have  published  their  opinions  regarding it  to  the
world.  The Abbe Montaigne, a French ecclesiastic,
formerly connected with  the school  at Paris in the
capacity of chaplain,  has  endeavored to establish a
contrary position; as well by argument, as by col-
lecting  the  testimony  of eminent teachers.   The
Abbe seems fully to have entered into the  views of
his favorite author, M. De  Bonald,  'that language is
the necessary instrument of every  intellectual opera-
tion,  and  the means of every moral existence ;' and
that  * to consider moral notions, words are indispensa-
ble.'  The conclusions of such a writer need  not  be
detailed.   They are discoverable in his premises.
   The  particular reference of the Abbe Montaigne's
inquiry is to  the subject of religion.  In this respect,
his views are not  widely  different from our own.
But when, in his argument, he includes the whole
field  of morals, we are compelled to enter our dissent.
            11 
 122               DEAF MUTES.

 And when, in his array of testimony, he  cites the
 names of Sicard, Bebian, and Bcrthier, we are forced
 to believe that excess of zeal has blinded him, either
 to  the  meaning of language, or to  the  exercise of
 candor.   We have already cited the explicit recanta-
 tions made by the first  of these men, of  his  early
 views.   The second affords us so many instances of
 opposition to the positions  of Montaigne,  that it is
 hardly worth our while  to  quote.   The  opinion of
 the third, being that of one dumb from birth, deserves
 attention ; and  we accordingly give it a place.  It
 relates to the religious notions of the deaf and dumb,
 1 It is possible,' he says, ' that  some  deaf  and dumb
 persons may attribute certain effects, as storms, wind
 and hail, to a certain cause ;  and may figure to them-
 selves one or more extraordinary beings, commanding
 the rain, the lightning, and other natural phenomena;
 but a deaf  and dumb  person,  without instruction,
 will never have a notion, even vague  and  confused,
 of a superior existence, whom it is his duty  to  love,
 revere and obey, and to whom he must give an ac-
 count of his thoughts,  and of his  actions.'   Such is
 our own belief.   We are acquainted with no instance
 of a deaf and dumb person, who has arrived, without
 instruction, at the idea of a God.   Nor can, we believe
 with Degerando, that a mind  possessing so few re-
 sources, can ever attain, by its unaided reflections, to
 a notion  of a supreme power, possessing  a  right to
 our worship and gratitude.   Yet we are very far from
believing language, whether  written or spoken, ne- 
     A VIEW OF THE CONDITION OF DEAF MUTES.  123

cessary to communicate this notion ; and  we  know,
in fact, that in all  our American  institutions,  reli-
gious knowledge is to a  great extent imparted  to
the pupils through  the medium of signs of  action,
long before words are available to them as an  instru-
ment of communication.
   From this sketch of the  natural  condition  of the
deaf and dumb, wc pass to consider the means by
which they may  be relieved.
   The first essential to all instruction is, evidently,
that a  medium  of reciprocal communication  shall
exist between the instructer and the instructed.   To
the former, we suppose pantomime  a novel language.
He is incapable of holding a connected conversation
with his pupil; for he can  neither  understand nor
can he make himself understood.   The parties must,
therefore,  for the  time,  change  places.   The first
requisite to his own instruction, must be  supplied by
the pupil himself.  He must  give lessons,  and the
• master must become the learner.
   A short  time will suffice for the establishment of a
common language, sufficiently extensive for the first
exigencies of the  teacher's task.   But  this extent
will soon be found too restricted.   Yet it can hardly
be enlarged, except,as the circle of ideas  common to
the teacher and the pupil expands itself.   For, beside
identity of signs, a second condition  is  essential to
intelligent intercourse, viz : identity of ideas.
   When two  natives of different countries meet, each
unacquainted  with the language  of the  other,  they 
124               DEAF MUTES.
find themselves possessed of a vast multitude of ideas
in common, while the audible or written signs, repre-
senting those ideas, differ for the  two, as  widely as
caprice can make them.  These two individuals ful-
fill the second condition, but not the first; they possess
identity of ideas without identity of signs.  Between
them, the establishment of a common language  re-
solves  itself into a series of conversation.
   Vastly different  is the case with the deaf and dumb
and their instructers,  where the number  of common
ideas is small, and even those not  presenting them-
selves  always under the same aspect to the minds of
both.   Between the ignorant and the learned in any
country,  here  certainly exists a wide  difference, as
respects their habits of reflection, and  the extent of
their information; and consequently as respects the
number  of well-defined ideas which  they  possess.
But this difference is not  greater than that  which
divides uneducated deaf and dumb persons even from
the inferior order of those who speak.
   So far as there is an actual  community of ideas
between the deaf  and  dumb, and their  instructers,
the value of words may be  communicated  by the
simple process of translation.   But this  limit  will
soon be passed, and we must then enter  upon  that
labor   which constitutes, whatever be  the particular
system pursued, the real peculiarity,  and,  it  may be
added, the  real difficulty of the art, viz : that of lead-
ing the pupil by judicious methods, to  the formation
of a system of ideas, corresponding  with the words of 
A VIEW OF THE CONDITION OF DEAF MUTES.  125
spoken language.   Here, indeed, is a task  of no tri-
fling magnitude.   But the learner, though not yet pos-
sessed of the ideas themselves, possesses, nevertheless,
the materials of which they are to be  formed.   The
whole  circle of ideas which  make up the  sum of
human knowledge, pertain, of necessity, to the world
of matter, or to  that of mind.   The  one lies  open
before the deaf and dumb ; it is our part only to teach
him system  in conducting his observations.  For the
other, he possesses the same faculties as we ; and it is
only necessary to bring them into operation.
   We should remember that it is no creative power
which we are called  upon to exercise.  We neither
fabricate minds nor the  materiel on which they are
to be employed.  We cannot even be said to impart
ideas, according to the  vulgar notion of such a pro-
cess.   What is more common than the  remark, that
while there  seems to be nothing wonderful or myste-
rious  in the fact  that the deaf and  dumb may be
taught the  nomenclature of visible objects, it is im-
possible to conceive how notions, purely abstract, can,
for the first  time, be  communicated to them?   The
difficulty, however, is in a great degree created by
the manner of considering it.  It  is, indeed, hard to
imaaine how, by means of any a priori description,
such an idea as that to which we apply the  name
justice, could be conveyed to an intelligence, to which
it should be new.   It is not by such means that it is
conveyed.   Nor has it been by such  means that we
ourselves have learned to associate this and similar
            11* 
126
DEAF MUTES.
words with their corresponding ideas-  The deaf and
dumb are  not  to  be placed  on the pinnacle of the
temple of science in a day.   They cannot plant their
feet upon the last step of the ascent, but by passing
the intermediate points.   There is no great gulf fixed
between the extremes of simplicity and difficulty in
language,  which  it is necessary with  one mighty
effort to overleap, or to abandon in despair  the  hope
of those  advantages  which  artificial  nomenclature
afford to mankind.  From the highest to the lowest
point,  the  chain  of association  is unbroken, and if
strictly followed, will  lead through  every maze into
the clear light of day.
   From the remarks just made, result  the  four pro-
positions (with the exception of the last, of which the
reason is obvious)  which follow ; and which may be
regarded as fundamental  in the instruction of the
deaf and dumb.
   1.   Instruction  should commence with  borrowing
from the deaf and  dumb themselves their own natural-
language of pantomime, in its full extent.
   2.   The instmcter should carefully  ascertain how
far the ideas of his pupils extend before instruction,
and how far  they  are just;  he should  know the ex-
tent, that he may build upon it, and the limit, that he
may not exceed it.
   3.  He should avail  himself of those materials pos-
sessed by  the deaf and dumb in common with  us, to
aid in the formation of a system  of  ideas, corres-
ponding to that represented by the words of our lan-
guage. 
     A VIEW OF THE CONDITION OF DEAF MUTES.   127

  4.  He must  present to  the eye of his pupil, lan-
guage under a visible form, and under this form must
teach him to  associate its  terms directly with their
corresponding ideas.
  To restore language, merely, to the deaf and dumb,
is not,  however, the  teacher's only task.   Language,
as written, must be made to subserve for him, all the
purposes which speech fulfills in the case  of other
men.   It is the office of spoken language, not only
to afford an easy and universal means of communica-
tion among men, but also to  aid the conception and
arrangement of ideas, and to  facilitate the operations
of the intellect.   Every instrument, it is true, which
shall answer the first of these ends, must necessarily,
at least to some extent, assist the exercise of  the in-
telligence.   But it is not equally true, that whatever
instrument shall supply the intellect with the means
of activity, shall also enable the individual  who em-
ploys it, freely to hold intercourse with  other men;
since the teacher may devise a language, whether of
action or of writing, which may be intelligible  only
to himself and his pupil.   In the present case, indeed,
he might easily create one, much  more easy of ac-
quisition  than any  which actually exists.   Yet, as
this would but partially  fulfill the purposes of his
education, the deaf and dumb  must  be content to
take language as it  is,  encumbered with  all  its
difficulties, its phrases and its idioms.  Hence, in the
words of Degerando,  ' It is necessary to put the deaf
and dumb in possession of the common  language of 
 128                 DEAF MUTES.

 his country in so  effectual  a manner that he  may,
 first, find in this instrument the  means of obtaining,
 in the highest possible degree, the intellectual ^cul-
 ture, in which he is  deficient; and secondly, that it
 may afford  him  the  means of communication, the
 most constant  and  general, with his fellow-men.
 Whence it follows, that, to  enable  him to use this
 language, we  must afford  him  the material means
 which is, in itself, of most universal and familiar use.
   Here are presented two different species of labor in
 the field of instruction ; the one relating simply to the
 material or mechanical means, by which language  is
 to be employed in practice ; the  other, to the value
 of language itself.   Thus  early does the art begin
 to  ramify;  and,  from  this point, the systems of
 instruction, most  widely differing, date their diver-
 gence.
   By adopting the material form,  under which lan-
 guage appears to  the  deaf  and dumb most  simple,
 and under which it may be  most easily acquired by
 one  incapable  of  distinguishing  between articulate
 sounds, time is gained for the more accurate study of
 language itself; while, as respects  ease and rapidity
 of communication with the  world,  something is ne-
 cessarily lost.   By cultivating, on the  other  hand,  a
 more rapid means of  communication, time is  wasted
 in an employment almost wholly  mechanical; while
the ease of intercourse, consequent on such an attain-
ment, will render it a valuable auxiliary to the pupil,
in rectifying his knowledge of words, and of the forms 
      A VIEW OF THE CONDITION OF DEAF MUTES.  129

 of speech in ordinary use among his more  favored
 fellow-beings.
   The material instrument which first suggests itself,
 as adapted to  the  wants of the deaf and dumb, is
 writing.  Being already in use, and generally under-
 stood in society, it  affords all the means absolutely
 necessary to the purposes of communication between
 man and man.   Still it is a process always laborious,
 often  exceedingly  inconvenient; it  exacts  a great
 consumption of time,  and requires him who  is de-
 pendent on it to be always furnished with the mate-
 rials which its  employment render indispensable.  It
 is, therefore, that the deaf and dumb should  acquire,
 if such an  acquisition be  possible, some  method
 more rapid than this, for the purposes of colloquial
 intercourse.    Still, the  nature of things   confines
 our choice within narrow limits.  Writing and arti-
 ficial  articulation are the only means which  present
 themselves,  available  to  the deaf and  dumb, and
 at  the  same  time universally intelligible  among
 men.
   The field is less circumscribed, when  we  address
 ourselves to the second  part of our  task,  which is
 that of teaching language itself.   We may here pur-
 sue the course which  nature has  made necessary in
 ordinary education; to give  the learner, first a prac-
 tical knowledge of  language, and afterwards methodi-
 cal instruction in its principles; or we may  combine
 these  two  branches of  instruction  into one.  The
. latter  is evidently  the  most  cumbrous method, and 
130
DEAF  MUTES.
the most tardy in its results;  yet it is the plan of Si-
card, in his Cours d'Instruction, and it has the  au-
thority of other respectable names.
  Either plan subdivides itself into two branches, of
which the one is logical, the other grammatical.   It
will be  the province of the former  to  acquaint  the
pupil  with the value of language in discourse, and of
the other to develop its principles.
  Each of these ramifications  will have  two subordi-
nate divisions ; the former embracing the significations
of isolated words, and  the consideration of their com-
bined value in prepositions;  the latter,  the elements
of language on the one hand, and the  principles of
construction on the other.   Thus, in the second,  and
more  difficult  part of the  undertaking,  four distinct
objects present themselves.
   Whichever  route, of those  distinguished above, it
is determined  to pursue,  the teacher will be more or
less at liberty  to make his  selection  from  among all
the different  combinations of means,  which have
received the  name  of methods  of instruction.  He
should not, however, forget the influence of methods
upon  the  development of  the  intellectual  faculties;
but, bearing in mind that  it  will belong to him, as
much to supply the pupil with means  for self-educa-
tion after he is removed from, the eye of the master,
as  to convey  positive knowledge to  his  mind, he
should rather choose those methods which call the
mental faculties into most active, continued, and bene-
ficial  exercise. 
      A VIEW OF THE CONDITION OF DEAF MUTES.   131

   We have now, in general terms, stated that which
 is to be accomplished in the education of the deaf and
 dumb.   Methods must next occupy our attention, to-
 gether  with the material instruments which  they
 employ,  and by the combination of which  they are
 distinguished from  one another.   Since, however, all
 methods equally propose to teach or rather to create
 for the deaf and dumb a language, we will  first pre-
 sent some  preliminary considerations,  peculiar to  no
 individual  system.
   ' There is,' says  Degerando, ' in the operation of
 the human mind,  a primitive and principal pheno-
 menon, to  which all  others  attach  themselves, and
 upon which the creation and the use of our languages
 exercise a considerable influence. This phenomenon,
 which we will  donominate intuition, is properly the
 act by which the  mind  beholds  the  objects "of its
 knowledge.  Intuition is, to the  human intelligence,
 the sole fountain of all light.'
  Intuition is of two kinds, distinguished by Deger-
 ando as real and rational.  The mind, by means  of
 the former, immediately and directly perceives what-
 ever actually exists.  This is  the intuition of things
 and  their  images.   The other  is the perception  of
 conditions and relations, which subsist among notions
 previously formed.  It is  the  intuition of reflection
 and  reasoning.   It  is the  immediate act  of judging.
 The objects  of real intuition pertain  alike to the
 physical, the  intellectual and  the  moral  worlds.   It
is by rational intuition  that we  seize the results of 
 132                DEAF MUTES.

 comparison, perceive the connection between truths,
 and foresee consequences in  principles.   It presides,
 therefore, in every mental operation.
   The exercise of rational intuition implies the pres-
 ence of objects, with respect  to which it  may be ex-
 erted.  Wherever real  intuition  exists, rational in-
 tuition follows as a consequence.   It is involunta-
 ry ;  and were we able, by a single  effort, to grasp
 every subject of thought in all its minute particulars,
 could we  hold them up at  once to the immediate
 vision of the mind, truths which  are now the deduc-
 tions of laborious reasoning,  would become axioms,
 But the power which  we possess, of thus directly
 contemplating objects,  is inadequate  to  such an
 effort.  It is  restricted in its operation within a nar-
 row compass; and were the total of our  knowledge
 limited to that which is strictly intuitive, we should
 be condemned to  a lamentable degree of intellectual
 poverty.  It is by the  aid of the signs  which lan-
 guage affords, that we are enabled to exercise rational
 intuition, when the real view of its objects is no longer
 possible.
  To obtain a clear idea of a new  and complicated
machine, we observe carefully all its  parts.  When
we recall the same machine to mind,  we  rapidly re-
trace the image, not at once of the whole, but of the
individual parts successively.   The idea of this ma-
chine cannot be perfect  until  the  detail of particulars
is filled up.   This, which is  the  process  of real in-
tuition, is  at  once  tardy and laborious.   Were  it 
      A VIEW OF THE CONDITION OF DEAF MUTES.   133

 necessary that the elements  of every complex idea
 should be thus set in array before the mind, as often
 as that idea is  recalled, it is evident that no room
 would remain for the exercise of rational?  intuition:;
 in short, that  our reasonings  must  sink  under their
 own weight, and that the extension of our sphere of
 knowledge, beyond the list of truths which receive
 the name of axioms, would be impossible.  But hap-
 pily this is not necessary.  A single brief sign takes
 the place of a  load of details, and, like the light and
 portable representative of a metallic currency, enables
 us to use our wealth  without being encumbered by
 its weight.
   Names further enable  us  not   merely  to dispense
 with this means of  particulars,  but they afford us
 the  means,  also, of  operating  upon  objects,  which
 cannot  be submitted  to real intuition.   Take,  for
 example, the word man.   To form a general idea of
 man, embracing  all those properties whether of mind
 or of body in which  the  individuals  of the  human
 race constantly  resemble each  other, and rejecting
 every particular  not appertaining  to  the whole fam-
 ily, is an acknowledged  impossibility.  Considering
 man as a collective, rather than an abstract term, the
 difficulty is equally  great.  It is  too high an  effort
 for the mind, really and at once to  conceive a  clear
and distinct  image of the various races, ages,  sexes,
 which go to make up the world of mankind.   Thus
we perceive, that, though the terms of our language
may not always be the names of images, which the
           12 
134
DEAF  MUTES.
mind can directly and immediately behold, they still
represent objects of positive knowledge.
   Signs, from their simplicity, may be  immediately
contemplated.   The conditions, which were obscured
by a mass of details, so long as real objects were kept
laboriously  in  view, now  stand  prominently forth.
The mind employs itself with signs simply, it is true;
but in so doing, in effect,  it operates  upon the ideas
themselves.   In this manner it advances gradually to
the formation of  notions, which, like the example
above, are beyond the limit of real intuition.
   To  pursue this subject farther,  would draw us
aside from our  main design, which  is  to introduce
the principle, that instruction in language should be
founded  upon the  observation and study  of real ob-
jects,  that words should  only appear when  the real
acquisition  of  knowledge  renders them  necessary.
This principle  is  a simple  one.  but its reason  lies
deeper than would at first be  imagined.   It is,  that
from this very primitive observation,  by refinements
more or less  extended, have sprung all the terms of
language.  They  are the  landmarks established by
the mind, to note its progress, and assist in  directing
its course, as it advances  beyond the  boundary of
real intuition.   As ideas without words are a posses-
sion of little value ; so words without ideas are worse
than useless ; yet how many words do children acquire
by note,  which, because  they utter,  they are pre-
sumed to understand.
  A method of instruction, resting strictly upon  the 
     A VIEW CF THE CONDITION OF DEAF MUTES.   135

principle of intuition, is by no means as easy in,prac-
tice, as  it appears  in  theory.   There  is  so great  a
tendency in the human  mind  to overleap details,
especially when they  are  familiar  and  simple, that
the teacher will often  find him involuntarily leading
his pupil, by strides  too rapid  for his  unpractised
steps.
  But, much more frequently this  principle fails to
receive due attention in the school-room, from igno-
rance  or willful neglect.   It is to restore  it  to its
rightful pre-eminence  and to compel a universal and
practical acknowledgment of its paramount  impor-
tance, that  the efforts of modern reformers in  educa-
tion are chiefly exerted.
   In applying the principle of intuition to the instruc-
tion of the deaf and dumb, we perceive  at once the
importance,  the  necessity  even, of some system of
nomenclature, which shall follow, as nearly as possi-
ble, the genealogical  succession of ideas ; that order
in which each idea naturally suggests its  succession,
and hence also, of course, explains it.  To say nothing
of the clearness which such an arrangement is adap-
ted to create in the ideas of the  learner, the labor of
instruction,  by means of it, is very materially econo-
mized.   We have a measure of the  pupil's  attain-
ments in the number of words which he has acquired ;
and thus we know where to avoid  the repetition of
details,  which  have  already  been  made familiar.
The words which the learner  successively adds to
his vocabulary, constitute a kind of mechanical power, 
136
DEAF  MUTES.
to aid in extending the circle of his knowledge.  It
is far otherwise, where words are  taught as chance
may direct.   The  same series of particulars must be
actually presented to the mind in repeated instances,
and without the pauses and points of repose, presented
by the successive  steps  of a judiciously  arranged
system.  The mind is, in  consequence,  encumbered
by its burthen;  its ultimate ideas are  indistinct and
vague; and it  can  hardly be  said to  possess  the
knowledge  which  it  has  acquired, — since, in too
many instances, it  will be diffident of the truth of its
conceptions. Still, a system of nomenclature, arranged
on the principle above suggested, is perhaps an im-
practicable  creation;  at  least if it is  designed to
embrace the great body of  words,  which  compose a
language.   It is an ideal perfection,  to  which we
can only approximate.   Particular sciences afford an
illustration of the desideratum ;  but it  is perhaps too
much to expect that this can ever be attained in that
portion of a language which does  not admit  of the
exactness of mathematical definition.
   Systems classify themselves according to  the dif-
ferent  degrees  of importance  which  they attach,
respectively, to  the different instruments which may
be made to fulfill the office of speech.   These instru-
ments are five in number, viz :  design, the  language
of action,  dactyology, alphabetic  writing,  and the
labial alphabets, accompanied by artificial pronuncia-
tion.   The principle of classification will  be  more
readily comprehended,  after a brief examination of 
      A VIEW OF THE CONDITION OF DEAF MUTES.   137

each of these particulars, and of the  extent  to which
it can be beneficially employed.
  A radical distinction must here be noticed, accord-
ing  to  which the  instruments,  just   enumerated,
arrange themselves under  two  heads;  to wit, those
which  more  properly  represent  ideas, and thoso
which represent  words  merely.  To the former de-
scription belong design and the language of action;
to the latter,  writing,  dactyology, and the  oral  and
labial alphabets.
  M. Bebian has  availed himself of its facilities to
explain the use of the articles,  the  formation of ab-
stract nouns, and the degrees of  comparison.  It is
easily applicable  to  the  exhibition  of  passions and
emotions, by imitating the  traces  of their effects in
the countenance and attitude.   By means of allegory,
it may be applied to the illustration of  notions still
more  refined.    There  exists  no subject,  however
removed from  the domain of sense, to the elucidation
of which its aid  may  not be  invoked.   Systems
have  been built upon  the use of  this instrument
alone.   It has  been made the basis even of  religious
instruction.  It  was by means of pictures  and dia-
grams, that Father Vanin, an instmcter  at Paris be-
fore the  time  of de  I'Epee, attempted  even  to ex-
pound the mysterious doctrines of the  Incarnation, and
of a Triune  God.   The result of  his  efforts, was,
however,  very unsatisfactory.    M. Saboureux  de
Pontenay, one  of  his  pupils, afterwards highly dis-
tinguished under the tutelage of Pereire,  speaks thus
           12* 
138                DEAF MUTES.

of the  effect produced upon his own  mind.  ' I be-
lieved that God the Father was a venerable old man,
residing in the heavens;  that the  Holy Ghost was a
dove, surrounded  with light; that  the  devil was a
hideous monster, dwelling in the depths  of the earth,
&c   Thus I possessed sensible, material, mechanical
ideas of religion.'
  <Buch a recital might shake our  faith in  the utility
of emblematic explanations,  as applied to moral or
religious notions, did  we not perceive that the result
in this case was the  natural  consequence of the ori-
ginal error, which made design the great  instrument
of instruction.  A proper distinction must be observed
in the mode of its use, according to the nature of the
subject, with regard to which it is employed.  What-
ever is material may be directly explained by design ;
and this instrument may here be implicitly relied on
with security.  That which pertains to  the intellec-
tual and moral world, can only be illustrated by visi-
ble metaphorical representions ; which, though liable
to mislead  when  made  the principal  dependence,
impart,  nevertheless,  a very  happy  light to  difficult
notions, when used as accessory to other more certain
means.
  The great utility of design consists in the economy
of time, which it   introduces into  the system of in-
struction ;  and in the  certainty and  precision which
(whenever employed  not in  an emblematic,  but  an
absolute sense) it imparts to the ideas  conveyed.  A
picture is not necessarily limited to the definition of 
    A VIEW OF THE CONDITION OF DEAF MUTES.   139

a single word.  It may represent a proposition.  It
may be made to explain the different usuages of lan-
guage ; and here is one of the great advantages which
this instrument possesses for the instmcter.
  The use of design in the education of the deaf and
dumb, is a subject which  has not yet received  from
teachers  the  attention  which it merits.    The re*
sources, afforded by this instrument, have not  been
fully developed, nor well understood, even  by those
who have employed it most in practice.  The Abbe
de I'Epee rejected it entirely.  In this country it has
been principally  employed in defining the nomen-
clature  of visible objects.   A system of  designs,
judiciously chosen and  judiciously  arranged, is ex-
ceedingly to be desired.   The task of preparing such
a series, is not indeed  one of small  magnitude.  Of
all  the attempts  which have been  made,  and the
plans which have been proposed  in  Europe, no one
seems  to have  met   with  universal approbation.
Hardly has one found an advocate beyond the origi-
nal proposer.   Still, an imperfect  system is better
than none, and we cannot refrain, here, from recom-
mending to the instructers in America an  effort in
concert to supply  the deficiency.
  The language of action is of essential  importance
in the education of the deaf and  dumb.  No system
can dispense with the employment of this instrument.
Its  necessity, as a first means of communication be-
tween  the master and the pupil, is an axiom ; and
is  the  substance  of the first fundamental principle 
140
DEAF  MUTES.
 of the art.   Still, no question has been more  vigor-
 ously discussed, than that of the extent to which this
 means should be employed in instruction, and of the
 degree of development which should be given to it as
 a language.
  That  the language  of action is capable of being
 reduced  to system, and advanced to the perfection of
 spoken language,  is a  truth self-evident, at least to
 those who have been accustomed to its use.
  No one can doubt,  that, were a whole people of
 deaf and dumb persons to exist together from genera-
 tion to generation,  they would construct  a visible
 language, equally  copious, and  equally perfect  with
 the languages now in use ; nor that they would add
 to this a corresponding system of ideographic writing.
 But this perfection could only exist in a state of high
 intellectual  cultivation.  Language being simply the
 nomenclature of ideas, its copiousness must always
 be the measure of their multiplication.  Supposing
 the language of action, therefore, to have attained an
 extent comparable to that of speech ;  we must sup-
 pose also a corresponding development of intellect, and
 a corresponding accumulation of knowledge in those
 with whom it originates.
  Such  a  language would of  course,  be  far  from
 being adapted to the circumstances  of the deaf and
 dumb as they exist.  Its signs, to  them, would be
 without meaning ;  except so  far as the limited  circle
of their  ideas extends.  It  was,  nevertheless, the
notion of de I'Epee, (a notion adopted by his illustri- 
     A VIEW OF THE CONDITION OF DEAF MUTES.   14|

ous successor,) that to extend the vocabulary of signs,
until it is  made to correspond with that of spoken
language,  is all that is wanting, to reduce  the  labor
of instruction to a mere process of translation.  He
conceived  that the deaf and  dumb might  acquire a
first language  by the same process which enables US'
to acquire  a second and a third.  But in this view of
the subject, plausible as it appears,  there is a radical
error.   We have already seen, that  what is peculiar
in this art  consists, not in the imposition  of  signs
upon ideas, but in conducting the pupil to the forma-
tion of the ideas themselves.  A language  of action
may be, indeed, devised and  taught, which, in con-
formity with the views of de I'Epee and Sicard, shall
strictly correspond, even in its grammatical forms,
with that of speech.   This language may  be trans-
lated into  that  of speech or  writing; yet, after all,
the process may prove merely mechanical; and we
shall have accomplished nothing towards the removal
of the real difficulty.   From  personal observation,
we can, in fact, bear witness  to the possibility of
dictating to deaf and dumb persons  complicated sen-
tences, embracing the most serious grammatical diffi-
culties, and of obtaining from them the corresponding
words, properly arranged; while they, themselves, are
utterly incapable of comprehending that which they
have produced.
  Let us look at this subject in  the  light of reason.
The  deaf  and  dumb present themselves before us-,
with a stock of ideas comprised within narrow limits; 
142
DEAF  MUTES.
 and for these they have  usually corresponding signs.
 Our task is to multiply these ideas.  It will not suf-
 fice merely to extend the vocabulary.  Each addition
 to the list of signs must  represent some reality, now,
 for the first time, made a part of  the pupil's knowl-
 edge.  Let us suppose our  efforts successful in  ex-
 tending  the  circle of that knowledge but a single
 step.  We have communicated one notion, to which
 the  learner was previously  a stranger.  It remains
 to impose  a  sign upon  this notion.  Whether this
 sign shall be a word or an action is for us to choose.
 If an  action,  then  translation  must follow.   Why
 this circuitous route?  Is anything gained  by it?
 On the contrary, is there  not something  lost?  We
 desire  to  make  our own language  the medium, to
 the deaf and  dumb, not only to communication but
 of thought.  This is among our  fundamental prin-
 ciples.  How can we  more  successfully  attain this
 end, than by giving him but a single sign for each
 new idea; and  that sign,  one appertaining  to the
 class which we desire him to adopt.
  But again: the imposition of signs upon words, if
 the principle of the Abbe de I'Epee be adopted, must
 take place, in many instances, without a careful de-
 termination of the corresponding idea.   Otherwise
 there can be no translation, worthy of the name ; but
only a double imposition  of signs upon the same idea,
constituting a load cumbrous  to  the  memory, and
dividing the attention between synonymous  terms.
If signs of action on the other hand be instituted, 
     A VIEW OF THE CONDITION OF DEAF  MUTES.   143

which are in themselves insignificant,  they may be
productive of very bad consequences.  The deaf and
dumb person is accustomed  to recognize nothing in
his language which has not meaning.   He does  not,
and he cannot, suspect  insignificancy  in any  sign.
To  that,  therefore, which is intended to represent an
idea above  his capacity, he attaches an idea of his
own ; an idea  in the nature  of things erroneous.  By
giving, then, to his language the degree of develop-
ment aimed at by de I'Epee, the master is  sure to
encumber him with  a mass, either of  useless  or of
unintelligible  signs, — useless, in the first instance,
when we consider that it is in words, and not in  pan-
tomime that we desire him  to  think ;  unintelligible
in the second,  when we  remember that these  signs
are  imposed upon  no real basis.  In the one  case,
we  thwart our own principal design;  in the  other,
we  at least bewilder the learner.
  Signs,  established in the manner considered above,
have received  the  appellation  methodical.   It was
the  favorite  labor  of  Sicard to systematize  and
perfect them.   In spite of the disadvantage insepara-
ble from  their  use,  pupils, distinguished  for their at-
tainments have been  produced by the  masters  who
have employed them ; but this  circumstance serves
only to demonstrate the ability of the masters them-
selves.
  In determining how far the language  of action may
be really useful in  facilitating instruction,  we  must
consider it in the several stages in which it is intelli- 
144
DEAF  MUTES.
gible  to  the  pupil;  in  which, in fact, it is his  own
work; guided, it may be, by the teacher;  but not
reduced, as  the theory  of methodical  signs pre-
sumes, to conformity with a  language which must
be understood before the conformity can be  compre-
hended.  Great imperfection must be expected in the
signs  which are the creation of the deaf  and dumb
person himself.   These signs may be  submitted to
the correction of the master.  In fact, in an institu-
tion where numbers  are  collected  together,  a more
philosophical system, the joint production of teachers
and pupils  will be  early  established; and  will be
adopted by each  pupil  on his arrival.  It is hardly
possible, with every  individual, to find  out  a series
of lessons, by which he may be guided, from a more
accurate understanding of things,  to a  more correct
mode  of expression concerning them.   He abandons
his own  signs for those which he finds actually in
use, not bscause they appear to him  more appropri-
ate, but because they  are universally intelligible.
Still, his own individual signs will be  carefully ob-
served by the instmcter;  since they afford a valua-
ble means of penetrating the extent of his knowledge,
of discovering how far his ideas of things are just, of
determining the degree  of his intellectual develop-
ment, and of ascertaining the limit of his capacity.
   The language of action, rectified as above, by the
care of the  teacher, will be useful to a certain extent,
as affording the means of instruction by  translation.
But, by  the freedom of  communication which it es- 
      A VIEW OF THE CONDITION OF DEAF MUTES.  145

 tablishes, it will also render the pupil, in a measure,
 the architect of  his  own intellectual edifice; for it
 will enable him to profit by his own independent
 reflection.  He possesses the means  of  interrogating
 his master, a means  which  he will  not fail  to em-
 ploy.
   Still, this language has its disadvantages, which, so
 long as it aspires to the character of a self-interpret-
 ing instrument of thought,  are  inseparable from the
 nature of its  elements.   These elements  are  three-
 fold ; consisting,  first,  in  the copiousness of those
 spontaneous signs,  by which the emotions of the soul
 manifest themselves to sight;  secondly, in imitation,
 of external nature,  whether of objects or of actions ■
 and thirdly, in that species of figurative descriptions,
 by which alone that which  is ideal can be made  to
 assume a material  form.   These  will evidently be
 intelligible, in the order in which they  are here ar-
 ranged.  With regard to the first, there can  be no
 mistake.  The  second,  less  self-explanatory, may
 still be rendered sufficiently complete to be compre-
 hended.   The third, however,  are liable  to greater
 uncertainty;  and, in more cases than one, when in
 practice they introduce  no  obscurity, may be  pre-
 sumed  to  borrow something  of  their  significancy
 from tacit conversation.
   It is  in conformity  with our  first  fundamental
 principle, to employ,  for purposes  of instruction, the
entire  la'.>j*age of the deaf and  dumb, embracing
all signs whatever  which have  a  meaning for him,
           13 
146
DEAF  MUTES.
and which, whether natural or not, may be  denomi-
nated colloquial.   Still, it is the suggestion of reason,
that, when  these  have fulfilled their  purpose,  and
have found, by translation, their equivalents in spoken
language, they should thenceforth yield their places
to words.  To continue  their  use  is  practically to
deny another of our fundamental principles,  and one
of the highest importance, viz :  that language should
be made to the deaf and  dumb what it  is  to other
men, the instrument of thought ; for it is to render
language subordinate to pantomine, to make it the rep-
resentative of a representative, and cause it to remain
for the  dumb what the learned languages are  to  us.
In that  case he will continue, perhaps for  life, to  be
a mere translator, whether in conversation  he occupy
the place of the speaker, or of the person  addressed.
If we would, in any  case, admit a departure  from
the strictness of the rule here laid down, it should be
only in  the  application of signs to  the exercises of
religious worship ;  which, in a large institution, can-
not otherwise be rendered universally  intelligible.
   Of the class of instruments the  office of which is
merely to exhibit words under a material  form, wri-
ting first demands consideration ;  since this  is indis-
pensable, and this alone is sufficient to fulfill all the
purposes for  which  such  an  instrument  is desired.
Fromt he latter part of the proposition here laid down,
however, many respectable instructers have with-
held their assent.   Written language, in tp.eir estima-
tion, must always  occupy a secondary rank.   It must 
     A VIEW OF THE CONDITION OF DEAF MUTES.   147

constitute the representative of some more privileged
instrument, standing between  it and the ideas, with
which it is presumed unsuited to be directly associa-
ted.  This instrument is found in methodical signs,
or artificial  pronunciation  and  the labial  alphabet,
according to the peculiar notions of the instmcter.
  The reasoning  intended to  depreciate  writing as
an instrument of thought, seems hardly to afford any-
thing sufficiently  tangible  to  merit a very labored
reply.   It is nothing to  say  that we ourselves  are
accustomed to employ the images of written  signs, in
conducting mental operations.   We employ such signs
as habit has rendered familiar ; but they are signs, of
which the deaf and dumb can never avail themselves.
For we  must  remember, that  with whatever  labor
and success we may bring the deaf and dumb to imi-
tate sounds, and read the  fleeting characters which
appear in succession upon the lips of a speaker, speech
to them  can never be what speech is to us.  Hear-
ing is  not restored  with articulation,  or  with the
power of reading on  the lips.   The deaf and dumb,
then, can never possess  that  species  of signs, inter-
mediate  between  ideas and  written  words,  with
which our ideas are associated.  The  movements of
the lips  are to  them visible, not  audible signs ; and
written  words are nothing  more.  But  argument is
unnecessary where the evidence of facts is at  hand.
  The  ideographic portion of the Chinese  writing is
a case in point.   And it is matter of  daily  observa-
tion, that deaf and dumb persons associate ideas with 
148               DEAF MUTES.
 words  for  which they  have no  determinate sign.
 For them writing is truly ideographic.
   Alphabetic writing  is indeed sufficiently ill adapted
 to the wants of the unfortunate deaf and dumb.  Con-
 structed originally for a purpose altogether aside from
 their instruction, and  without regard to their conve-
 nience, founded on no analogy which they can com-
 prehend, it  imposes a  severe burden upon their mem-
 ory.   Still  it is the sole instrument, common  to them
 with other  men, which presents itself to both parties
 under the same aspect.
   It has the advantage over articulation, of requiring
 little effort  for its acquisition, and  of being  immedi-
 ately  available in the earliest  stage of instruction.
 The language of the visible alphabet is also  the lan^
 guage of study.   It is the store-house  of all human
 knowledge.   It may be perused, and it may be com-
 posed with  deliberation.  It affords room for the mind
 to rest, to resume its train of thought, to  modify, to
 correct and  to improve.   If it interpose inconvenience
 in the way  of familiar conversation, it will, for the
 same reason, retrench  superfluities, compel  concise-
. ness and precision of expression, and force the dumb
 to think with greater clearness that they may express
 themselves  with greater accuracy.
   From the importance of writing  in this art, has re-
 sulted a wish, almost if not  entirely universal, that
 some means might be  devised to diminish the  labor
 which  its  employment  exacts; and  to  render it a
 more rapid instrument of communication.  He who 
      A VIEW OF THE CONDITION OF DEAF MUTES.  149

shall devise a system of stenography,  applicable  to
the circumstances of the deaf and dumb, will confer
upon  them an inappreciable benefit.   Space will not
permit us here to point out at  length  the  principles
which might serve as guides in  the  construction of
such a system.   It  is, nevertheless, sufficiently evi-
dent  that the stenography of reporters, in our courts
and public assemblies, will not answer the purpose.
To the deaf and dumb, there are neither vowels, con-
sonants, nor silent letters.   If articulation be taught,
the principles of syllabification  may  profitably re-
ceive  attention ; but if otherwise, these may be neg-
lected.  We  are  aware but  of a single attempt  to
adapt a system especially to the use of the  deaf and
dumb persons — that of M. Recoing, author of " Le
Sourd-Muet entendant  par les Yeux."  We are not
aware that this system,  which is  intended  to accom-
pany articulation  and syllabic dactylology, has ever
been tested in practice.   The stenography  of M. Re-
coing, being adapted to  the French language,  could
not, of course, be transplanted into ours.   It remairis
for the ingenuity of instructers in  our own  country
to devise a plan fitted to our circumstances ; and we
cannot but hope that  this ingenuity  will  be  called
into speedy and successful  exercise.
  Dactylology,  or the  manual alphabet,  has, with
hardly an exception,  been  admitted  as an auxiliary
in the instruction of the deaf and dumb.  It consists
in a set  of signs, formed by the fingers,  in partial
imitation of alphabetic  characters; and is  employed
           13* 
150
DEAF  MUTES.
 simply as a means of  spelling words.   As an instru-
 ment of instruction, common consent has assigned it
 a subordinate rank ; but as a means of communica-
 tion with society, or at least with those persons who
 will devote half an hour to its acquisition, it is very
 useful.  The rapidity with  which  deaf and dumb
 persons employ it in their mutual conversations, and
 the readiness with which they  will  often  seize a
 word, even from its initial letter, are astonishing.
   Under the head  of  dactylology may be classed al-
 phabetic signs, executed with one or with two hands,
 syllabic signs,  and writing in the air.   The two-
 handed alphabet is peculiar  to  England.   Syllabic
 signs have been employed only by particular instruc-
 ters.   It is  here that  there remains a chasm, yet to
 be supplied.   M. Recoing, by means of a system of
 his own invention, was able  to interpret to his son a
 continued  discourse, as a  sermon or an oration, as
 rapidly as it was pronounced.  Much of the success
 of the celebrated Pereire, is  supposed to have  been
 due to a system of syllabic  dactylology, which he
 refused to divulge, and which perished with him.  In
 proportion as the manual  alphabet is made to repre-
sent syllables, the number of its signs is, of necessity,
 multiplied.  The advantage, therefore, which it thus
 gains, is accompanied  by an  inconvenience; an  in-
 convenience, however, not  serious,  if the abbrevia-
tion be  not extended too  far.   Stenography and
syllabic dactylology seem naturally to associate them-
selves together.   He who shall devote  his attention 
     A VIEW OF THE CONDITION OF DEAF MUTES.   151

to the one, may with propriety make both the subject
of his labors.   Should the pupil, however, acquire a
facility of articulation and reading on the lips, he may
dispense with  dactylology altogether.
  A question now presents itself, of the highest mo-
ment in the practice of this art; and  one on which
the opinions of instructers have been most widely at
variance.   This question relates  to the expediency
of making the oral and  labial  alphabets a prominent
part of the instruction  of deaf and dumb  persons.
Entire systems derive their character  from  the view
which is taken of this subject in detail.
  Before entering  upon the  discussion of the ques-
tion, two propositions may be  laid down, with regard
to which there can  be no possibility of dispute.   It is
evident, from  what has already been said, that the
instrument we are  now considering is not  essential
in the instruction of the deaf  and  dumb.   Articula-
tion is not necessary to the operations of the intellect,
nor to the purpose  of communication with  society.
On the other hand,  it affords facilities, in the  latter
respect,  too important  to  be  disregarded.   Hence
results the second principle, that if its acquisition be
really practicable, no consideration should induce us
to neglect it.
  We must  be careful to remark, nevertheless, an
important distinction among deaf and  dumb  persons,
which renders the  instrument we are  considering
much more easy of acquisition to one class  than to
another.   With those who in  early age have  been 
152
DEAF  MUTES.
possessed of hearing, who  have become dumb  after
possessing the faculty of speech, this faculty may be
revived more easily than it can  be created in others.
Certain reminiscences of articulate sounds will remain,
long after  their use  has  been  discontinued.   The
power will not always be wholly lost, of supplying,
in the sentence as pronounced, those subordinate parts
which may not be distinctly observed.  This is not,
however, to deny to the deaf and  dumb from  birth
the power of acquiring the oral and labial alphabets.
Experience has demonstrated the practicability of
such an acquisition,  in a multitude of  instances.  A
person who is deaf and  dumb from  birth, is  dumb
only because he is  deaf.   For him, indeed, the oral
alphabet has no basis, either in the perception,  or the
recollection of sounds.   Its foundation, its material,
is in the sense of touch alone.  His sole dependence,
its material, is upon  a circumstance so entirely acci-
dental to speech, that we ourselves only perceive its
existence by a special effort of attention.   Heinicke,
it is true, pretended  to have  discovered an auxiliary
in the sense of taste.   But between  this  sense and
articulation, no connection exists in nature ;  nor can
we perceive  how it can  be created by  art.    Yet,
under all these disadvantages, articulation is certainly
available to the deaf and dumb.
   Another circumstance here demands attention. To
us, the language of utterance and that of hearing are
identical.   They are  the  language  of sound.  We
give no attention to  the play of our vocal organs, nor 
    A VIEW OF  THE  CONDITION OF DEAF MUTES.  153

to the  movements which accompany articulation in
others.   Whether we  speak, or whether we listen,
we recognize but a single instrument of communica-
tion.   It is otherwise with the deaf  and dumb.   To
them the labial alphabet presents a system  of signs,
addressing itself to sight ; a system having its parallel
in dactylology or in  writing.  Articulation, or the
guttural alphabet, as it is denominated by Degerando,
on the other hand,  employs  a different sense.  Its
elements are sensations of contact, resembling, re-
motely, those which the blind experience when they
pass their fingers over  the raised letters,  which afford
them the means of reading.    There  consequently
exists  for the deaf  and dumb, in conversation, the
necessity of making an abrupt transition from  one
instrument  to another ; a necessity which renders, for
them, the employment of the oral and labial alphabets
less simple  than speech is to us.
  To the disadvantages  already enumerated, others
still remain to be added.  The labial alphabet exacts
proximity, and usually a direct  view of the counte-
nance.   In darkness its use is entirely  lost.  It dis-
tracts the attention of  the observer from his employ-
ment.   One or other  of these  evils,  however, is
common to it with writing, with dactylolgy, or with
the language  of action.  To  say that they exist,
therefore, is only to say that they must exist for the
deaf and dumb, under all circumstances.
  But  further:  both the  oral  and labial  alphabets
require time and labor for their acquisition.  They 
154
DEAF  MUTES.
exhaust a vast portion of the space allotted to instruc-
tion ; and  take  the place of those exercises  which
have for their object the  cultivation of the intellectual
powers and the enlargement of the sphere of knowl-
edge.  Worse than all, they exact individual lessons,
and thus compel the  instmcter of a class  to neglect
the many while he occupies himself with a few.  It
must  finally be said, that there are those  who, by
reason of  early neglect or the late  period  at which
their education commences, do not possess the docility
or flexbility of muscle requisite for the attainment of
artificial  speech.
   Under all these disadvantages, is it desirable that
the deaf and dumb pupil should be  taught to speak,
and to read upon the lips ?  Most  unquestionably it
is.  What labor, what study, what  patient and unre-
mitted exercise of the attention,  can be weighed in
the balance with  the  immense  benefit  which these
instruments afford, in restoring him, absolutely  and
really, to the ordinary intercourse of society ?  How
broad a channel do they lay open,  for the expansion
of his  views, the  development of  his  intellect,  the
increase of his actual knowledge  !  What an amount
of information purely traditional, information in pos-
session of all who  hear,  but  nowhere to be found in
books,  will thus be placed within his reach !  How
will his moral perceptions be refined, his affections
purified, his character, as  a whole, exalted !  How
will his acquaintance  with language  be  extended!
What  a variety of phrases, idioms, proverbial  and 
     A VIEW OF THE CONDITION OF DEAF MUTES.  155

colloquial expressions, will be added to the treasury
of his  knowledge !   With  how much greater cer-
tainty will that important end of his education be an-
swered, which requires that he shall be weaned from
his favorite language of pantomime, and  induced to
adopt words  as the  instruments of his intellectual
operations !
   Articulation is  an instrument  available  under all
circumstances, and with  all classes of persons.  It
exacts not even an acquaintance with writing in those
with whom the deaf and  dumb may be associated.
It will  serve the purpose  of communication, on  one
part, at  least,  in darkness.  This instrument has re-
ceived  the united suffrage of the great body of teach-
ers, in   all  countries.  Even  de I'Epee and Sicard,
the very authors of that system which  has led in
many  instances  to  the exclusion of the  oral  and
labial alphabets, have testified in favor of their use,
both in  precept and practice.  The former has given
to the  world,  as  a part of his  work entitled, ' La
Veritable Maniere d'Instruire les Sounds-Muets,' a
treatise  on the means of restoring articulation to deaf
and  dumb persons, which, so late as the year 1819,
was  republished at Paris, with a preface by the latter.
In the course of this preface, the Abbe  Sicard thus
expressed himself.   ' The deaf and dumb man is not
completely restored  to  society  until he  has been
taught  to express himself viva voce, and to read speech
in the  movement of the  lips.   It is only  then that
we can  say that his education is entirely finished!' 
156
DEAF  MUTES.
   We are now in a situation to consider the distinc-
tive characteristics of different systems, and to deter-
mine, if we please, that which appears to the eye of
reason  the most judicious.  One essential difference
we have already remarked, viz. that which exists
between the  instructers  who have  chosen to  sepa-
rate practical  and methodical, (to  use the words of
Degerando) ordinary and classical  instruction, and
those  who  prefer to unite these two branches  into
one.   This principle of distinction by no means in-
terferes with  another,  which we are about to lay
down.
   We have noticed  a classification of the instru-
ments employed to replace speech.   We have seen
that it is the  province of one  of those classes  more
directly to  represent ideas ; of the other, words. The
superior prominence which  different  systems assign,
in practice, to one or the other of these  classes, con-
stitutes  the basis of their widest differences.   On the
one side, therefore, stand  the advocates of methodical
signs; on the  other, those of articulation.
   Two  other  species of systems remain ; of which,
the one rejects both the above instruments,  and pre-
sents, in the use of writing alone, the simplest form
of the art;  the other, adopting both, the most com-
plex.
   After what  we have  said, it is hardly necessary to
declare  our preference.   In adopting the  views of
those  who  are in  favor of articulation, however we
are admonished, by the extent to which  our remarks 
     A VIEW OF THE CONDITION OF DEAF MUTES.  157

have been  protracted, that  it is impossible in this
place to discuss  the merits, or even  unfold all  the
peculiarities of the  different  systems.   A  brief re-
capitulation will  nevertheless show that the differ-
ence of opinion presumed to exist among instructers,
is vastly wider in imagination than in reality.   The
controversies in which de I'Epee was engaged, have
had their effect in magnifying the distinctions which
really exist.  They have created parties among men
who should have been united  in the inquiry after
truth.  Had our  notions  of the art  been  from  the
writings and the experiments of those who preceded
that distinguished philanthropist in the same field,
we should have avoided those prejudices under  the
 influence of which we have acquired the information
we possess ; and we should have learned to regard all
instructers  of  the deaf and dumb rather as our coad-
jutors than our opponents.  In what  respect are the
opinions of different masters really at variance ?  In
questions merely of  secondary importance.  Perfect
unanimity  prevails in the  employment of writing.
No individual  is so  absurd as to reject the  language
of action.   No one will deny the utility of design.
Hardly a school rejects the  manual alphabet.   None
question the expediency of  employing  the  oral and
labial alphabets, if it  be  practicable ; and  few deny
its practicability,  at least in  many cases, where deaf-
ness is not  profound.  Methodical signs are continu-
ally losing  ground.   Minor differences of opinion are
continually vanishing before the light of knowledge.
           14 
158
DEAF  MUTES.
 Systems are  amalgamating;  and the  time may be
 anticipated  as not far distant, when this art  shall,
 like other  arts upon which the light  of  reason has
 been permitted freely to  play, possess the character
 of unity which belongs to them.   Why  should the
 views of instructers differ ?  Truth is everywhere the
 same.  Experience is everywhere multiplying its re-
 sults.   Whether  we live to witness  the  happy con-
 summation, or whether it shall be reserved  for another
 generation,  perfect unanimity will,  nay,  must ulti-
 mately prevail.
   To this result, the plan  of correspondence  estab-
 lished a few years since by the  institution  at Paris,
 will materially contribute.  The object  of this cor-
 respondence is to bring about an interchange of views
 among  instructers, by the  publication of their letters,
 either in full or in a biennial circular.   But  three
 publications of this nature have yet appeared, of which
 we have affixed the title of the  third to this article,
 It is drawn up, we understand, as was also the sec-
 ond,  by the able  Professor  Morel, and  embraces me-
 moirs from  various instructers, among which we look
 in vain for  any from an American hand.   In a coun-
 try, which  embraces within its  limits at  least  three
"institutions, numbers surpassing any three in any
 other,  we  cannot  view  this  circumstance without
 mortification.  It would seem that amoral obligation
 should  be  felt  among all those who have devoted
 themselves  to this enterprise, to contribute, if it be
 but their mite, to the common stock  of improvement, 
    A VIEW OF THE CONDITION OF DEAF MUTES.    159

  This history, for the sake of convenience, is divi-
ded by Degerando  into  two  distinct periods ;   of
which the first extends  from the  earliest essays at-
tempted in the instruction of the deaf and dumb, to
the time of de I'Epee ;  the second, commencing from
that era,  reaches our own  time.   The first  period
comprehends a space of nearly  two centuries; — the
second,  little more than  sixty years.  During  the
first, instructers were  few and  scattered ;  in  the
second,  comparatively  numerous, contemporaneous,
and frequently uniting their efforts in the  same field
of labor.   The  first is the period  of  invention ;  the
second of improvement.   The instructers of the first
period were  occupied, chiefly, upon  the mechanical
means of replacing speech ; those of the second, upon
the logical teaching of language, and  the cultivation
of the intellect.  During the first,  the oral and labial
alphabets were the instruments most generally em-
ployed ;  with the second,  methodical signs  make
their appearance, to the exclusion,  in some instances,
of articulation.   The  first period  is  that in  which
instruction is principally  individual;  the second is
the period of institutions.   During the  first, the arts
seem  to have constituted a species of masonry; its
processes were a mystery, and each instmcter seems
to have guarded his  secret knowledge with peculiar
jealousy.  Since the  commencement of the second,
the veil  has been  torn away, systems have been
opened to the light, and the discussion of their merits
invited.   The  early  instructers  generally  followed 
 160                DEAF  MUTES.

 their art as an instrument of gain.   The latter have
 in many instances  pursued it at great personal sacri-
 fice.   They have regarded the education of the deaf
 and dumb as a part of the great cause of humanity;
 and have been stimulated to put forth exertion, by a
 sense of duty.   The former seem, in most instances,
 to have been ignorant that others were,  or had been,
 laboring in the same field ;  they have known little or
 nothing of their predecessors or contemporaries.   The
 same processes  have,  therefore, been a  first  and a
 second time invented; and the art has consequently
 for years made little progress-.  It is the endeavor of
 modern times to promote improvement by a union of
 effort, and for this  purpose to render the intercourse
 of instructers as frequent and as familiar as possible.
 The first period may consequently afford more inter-
 est to the curious inquirers, the second to the profes-
 sor who is eager for practical information.
   Spain may be called the cradle of this art.   The
 first instructer,  of whom we have any authentic ac-
count, is Peter Ponce, a monk of the St. Benedict at
Ona.   He published no account of his methods, and
left behind him  no  manuscript.  Our knowledge  of
him is principally derived from the  brief notices  of
Francis Valles,  and Ambrose Morales, two of his con-
temporaries.  From these,  we learn  that he taught
his pupils to speak; and it  is added by the former,
(what is very improbable) that, for  this  purpose, he
employed only indicative signs.  Another writer tells
us that in the archives of the convent at Ona was 
     A VIEW CF THE CONDITION OF DEAF MUTES.   161

found a paper which attests that the pupils of Ponce
' spoke, wrote, prayed aloud, attended mass, confessed,
spoke Greek, Latin, Italian, (as well as Spanish) and
reasoned remarkably well upon physics and  astrono-
my.'  ' They were,' said Ponce himself, ' so distin-
guished in the sciences, that  they would  pass for
men of talent, in the  eyes of  Aristotle.'   If this ex-
travagant  use  of the hyberbole  excite  a smile,  it
still affords evidence that Ponce was  decidedly suc-
cessful.
  Second in point of time, and the earliest  author of
a practical treatise on the art, was a  countryman of
the last, John  Paul Bonet.  Urged,  as he  says, by
sentiments of personal affection, he  undertook to
instruct the brother of  an  officer of state, to whom
he was secretary.   He seems to have  been  ignorant
of what his predecessor had accomplished ; though,
with little reason, he has been accused of borrowing
his  processes and exhibiting them as his own.  Bonet
employed the language of action, writing, dactylology
and the oral alphabet.  His work presents the hasty
outlines of a philosophic system.   The labial alphabet
appeared to him an  unavailable instrument; one, at
least, which could not be  taught according to any
fixed method.
  We are told of  another Spaniard, deaf  and dumb
himself from birth, but how instructed we know not,
by name  Ramirez de  Carion, who taught one  of his
pupils, a  person  of rank,  to speak and  write  four
languages.
           14* 
162
DEAF  MUTES.
  Beside Jerome Cardan, other writers of Italy early
found  their attention arrested by the  art  which at
present occupies  us.   Among these, we find the
names of Affinate, the author of a treatise  not remark-
able for its merit, of Fabrizio d'Aquapendente, and of
the father Lana Terzi, a Jesuit of Brescia.  The lat-
ter, (being occupied with a variety  of curious  ques-
tions, such as the art of flying, the quadrature of the
circle,  and  the philosopher's  stone,  of  writing in
cypher, of the means of teaching  the blind  to read
and  write, and of telegraphic communication) fell
naturally upon the inquiry which forms the subject of
this article.   He examined the mechanism of speech,
and the art of instructing the deaf in the knowledge
of language.
  England,  in the seventeenth century,  presents
us with the  names of Bulwer, Wallis, Holder, Dul-
garno  and  Sibscota,  all  of  whom  directed  their
attention  either to the theory or the  practice of
this art.
  Wallis, by common  consent, seems to  occupy the
first  rank among the early English instructers.  He
was  the author of a treatise on speech, and of  other
occasional papers, relating to our present subject.  In
a few instances he took  the trouble to teach articula-
tion ; but this  instrument he afterwards  abandoned;
not,  however,  because  his views of  its utility  were
altered.  He avowed himself to be, as he believed,
the original inventor of the art — a claim which was
disputed by William Holder, of Blechington.  Holder 
     A VIEW OF THE CONDITION OF DEAF MUTES.  163

had, in fact, taught articulation to a single deaf and
dumb person, who, having afterwards lost the faculty,
attained it a second time under Wallis.  But of him
little is known, except that his views were rather su-
perficial than otherwise.
  In passing to Holland, we meet with the name of
Peter Montans,  who is said to  have offered  some
remarks upon the  subject of teaching the deaf and
dumb.    Those,  however,  whose opinions are best
known, and most remarkable, are Mercuric Van Hel-
mont, and John Conrad Amman. These men, both
distinguished for the  singularity of  their views, ap-
pear, notwithstanding the wildness of their notions, to
have been moved by a spirit of philanthropy.   They
agree in attributing to language  a divine origin; in
supposing the original language of man to have pos-
sessed properties, for which we search in vain  in the
degenerate dialects of  modern  days.   They behold
in speech, not merely a conventional instrument of
thought, but one possessing privileges, high, myste-
rious, inexplicable.  Van Helmont held  the  opinion
that  there  exists  a language  natural to man ; — a
language more simple in its construction and  in its
pronunciation, than any now in use;  that  this lan-
guage is the Hebrew, in the characters of which  he
seems to discover a resemblance to  the positions of
the vocal  organs, requisite  to give  them utterance.
The boldness of these assumptions is a little remarka-
ble, when we recollect that the pronunciation of He-
brew is forever  lost.   ' Van Helmont,'  says  Deger- 
164
DEAF MUTES.
 ando,  ' pretended  in three weeks to have  put a deaf
 and dumb  person in a condition to answer (by ar-
 ticulation) questions addressed to him.'  This person,
 if we believe Van Helmont,  learned  afterwards,  in
 very  brief space, the Hebrew language, by his un-
 aided efforts, in comparing the Hebrew text with a
 German translation of the Bible.   Of the probability
 of this statement we leave teachers to judge.
   Conrad Amman undertook the  education of the
 deaf and dumb  without being aware that others had
 preceded  him.   He became  afterwards  acquainted
 with their works, and engaged in a  correspondence
 with Wallis.  We cannot  better convey an idea  of
 his peculiar notions respecting the human voice, than
 by quoting his own words.   ' There is in us,' he says,
 'no faculty which more strikingly bears the character
 of life than speech.   I repeat  it, the voice is a living
 emanation of that immortal spirit, which God breathes
 into the body of man at  his  creation.  Among the
 immense  number of gifts from God to  man,  is
speech, in which eminently  shines the imprint of
divinity.  In like  manner as  the Almighty created
all things by his word, so  he gave to man, not only
an  appropriate  language  to celebrate  worthily his
Author ;  but, farther, to produce by speech whatever
he desires, in conformity with the laws of  his exist-
ence.   This  divine mode of speaking almost  disap-
peared from  the earth,  along with  so many other
perfections, at that unhappy epoch, the fall.   Hardly,
in the long course  of ages since elapsed, has the pre- 
     A VIEW OF THE CONDITION OF DEAF MUTES.   165

cious prerogative been  accorded to a few  privileged
individuals.   These were no other  than souls sanc-
tified and  united  to  God by fervent  and continued
prayer;   who,  interrogating the  very essences of
things have been  endowed  with the gift of miracles.
These holy personages have exhibited to the view of
other men traces of an empire  once  common  to  all,
but which most have suffered to escape.
  If such notions excite  surprise,  we cannot  but
smile when  we find  the  same  writer gravely ques-
tioning whether the apostle, on  the day of Pentecost,
really spoke in different tongues; or attained by  im-
mediate inspiration that efficacious speech, by means
of which the well disposed of every kindred and peo-
ple, and tongue, and nation,  simultaneously compre-
hended their thoughts.
   In Holland, as  in Spain and  England, the  art fell
during a long period  into total disuse, after the time
of its first inventors.   Our  attention is next attracted
to Germany.   Names here  begin to  multiply.   We
are presented with those  of Kerger, Ettmuller, Wild,
Niederoff, Raphel, Pascha,  Pasch, Schulze,  Conradi,
Solrig, Lasius, Arnoldi and Heinicke.  Among such
a multitude  we can notice  only individuals.
  Kerger, assisted by his sister, undertook the  task
of instruction at  Leignitz,  in  Silesia,  early  in  the
eighteenth century.   He availed himself  at  once of
design, of pantomime, of  the oral and labial alphabets,
and of writing.   Of dactylology he makes no men-
tion ;  but of the  utility of  the  language of action he 
166
DEAF  MUTES.
expresses himself in the highest terms;  entertaining,
in this respect, views materially resembling those of
de I'Epee at a later period.
  Contemporary with  Kerger  was George Raphel,
the father of three deaf and  dumb children.   Lead
first by parental affection  to  become an instructer,
and having subsequently succeeded even beyond his
hopes, he  committed to  paper an  account  of  his
method,  for the information of others.   This work
was first published at Lunenburg, in  the  year 1718.
  Lasius confined  himself to  the teaching of lan-
guage under a visible form.  He made use neither of
the manual alphabet, nor of design.   Arnoldi,  on  the
other hand, gave to this latter instrument considerable
expansion, and taught  the use of the  oral and  labial
alphabets.  He also employed pantomine, but only so
far as it is the work of the deaf and dumb themselves.
  Samuel Heinicke was the  director  of the first in-
stitution for the deaf and  dumb,  established   under
the  patronage  of  a government.  This institution
was founded  at  Leipzig,  in  1778.   Heinicke had,
before this time, announced in the public paper, that
in the course of six weeks  he  had taught a deaf and
dumb person to answer by writing whatever  ques-
tions were  proposed to him.  Arnoldi, says Degeran-
go,  could not but declare that such a result seemed
to him incomprehensible.    Still, Heinicke was  a man
of no common ability ; and his success is attested by
the reputation  which obtained for him the direction
of a public institution.   But he was, at the same time 
     A VIEW OF THE CONDITION OF DEAF MUTES.   167

a man of immeasurable self-conceit, irritable  in his
temper, rude, coarse and overbearing in his manners.
In consequence of the existence  of such traits in his
character, though his pupils were the principal suffer-
ers, all who had  to do with him were subject to more
or less  annoyance.  He  attributed  to himself the
honor of invention, but so far  as his  processes  have
come  to  the light, they afford  no justification of his
claim.   In some  trifling particulars, his methods was
indeed peculiar.   He  placed  instruments in the
mouths of his pupils, to regulate the  positions of the
vocal  organs in emitting sounds.  And he asserted
(what is very improbable) that he had made particu-
lar sensations of taste  to correspond  to  particular
articulations.   Heinicke was a believer in the exclu-
sive prerogative of the voice to serve as  an instrument
of thought.   Otherwise, his views were eminently in
accordance with  sound philosophy.
   France seems  not only to have been behind  other
European nations in her efforts for the education of
the deaf and  dumb,  but even in the knowledge of
what  had been accomplished  abroad.   Hence, when
at length she saw the advocater  of  this unfortunate
class spring up within her limits, she opposed to them
all those prejudices which had elsewhere found their
reputation in actual  exreriment.  Still, there exists
testimony that the practices of the  art had not been
wholly unknown even in  France before the time of
Pereire and Ernaud.  In 1769, a man, deaf and dumb
from birth,  named  Guibal, is recorded to have  made 
168
DEAF  MUTES.
his will in writing; and from the  evidence of his
knowledge produced in court, the will was confirmed,
We have also some  further evidence  that  the  deaf
and dumb were instructed ; but  nothing satisfactory
until  the time of Father Vanin,. who rested instruc-
tion as we have  seen, principally  upon  the use of
design.
   After him  sprung up Pereire, a Portuguese.  Two
of his pupils, whom he exhibited at  different  times
before the Academy of Sciences, were remarkable for
their attainments.   These were  Saboureux de Fon-
tenay, and D'Azy d'Etavigny.   Pereire  made  a se-
cret of his processes.  He offered to disclose them for
a suitable consideration ;  but this consideration being
withheld, they perished  with him.   It is even  said
that he bound his pupils, by an oath, not  to discover
his modes of instruction ;  and made  them a  secret
even to his family.   We know, nevertheless, that the
grand instrument of his system was  a method of syl-
labic dactylology ; which, by its rapidity in exhibit-
ing words, enabled  him,  to a great extent, to rely on
usage, to explain  their meaning.  He  was  neverthe-
less apprised  of the advantage of a logical method in
the teaching  of languages.   Few, if any, have been
more successful  than Pereire.   Of his pupil Fonte-
nay,  de  I'Epee  records that he translated foreign
works, and himself composed  a number of produc-
tions designed for the press.
   Ernaud, as well as Pereire, obtained the  approba-
tion  of the  Academy of  Sciences.   He  employed 
    a View  of the  condition Of deaf mutes. 169

 himself very much in reviving the sense of hearing,
 where it Was partially lost.  He asserts, indeed, that
 he had met with no instance of entire deafness.  Ar-
 ticulation was of course his principal instrument.
   The Abbe Deschamps  published, in  1779, a work
 on the instruction of the  deaf and dumb.  To this
 branch of education, he devoted, in practice, his for-
 tune and his life.  Acknowledging the  practicability
 of instructing by means of signs, he still accorded the
 preference to articulation and the labial alphabet.  He
 refused therefore, though  solicited, to unite himself
 with the Abbe de I'Epee.   Shortly after the publica-
 tion of his  work, he  was  assailed by  the  deaf and
 dumb Desloges, who very earnestly vindicated the
 methods of De I'Epee, and spoke in the  most  enthu-
 siastic terms, of the language  of action.
   In glancing at the second period of this history, we
 have to regret that our  notice of  it  must be  but  a
 glance.   The Abbe  de  I'Epee commenced the  labor
 to which his entire life, and the whole of his  pecu-
 niary means  were  afterwards consecrated, with com-
 pleting the education of two twin sisters, Who had
 been pupils of Father Vanin.  The grand feature of
 his system  we have already noticed.   It Consisted in
 giving to the language of action the  highest degree
 of expansion, and rendering it, by means of methodi-
 cal signs, parallel  to that  of speech.  He  attempted
also  the  task of teaching articulation; and, as  we
have seen, was the author of a treatise on this branch
of the art.
            15 
170
deaf  mutes.
   The actual success  of the Abbe de I'Epee was fat
from being equal to that of his successor, or even his
contemporaries.  In  a letter to  Sicard, written in
1783, he says, " Do not hope  that  your pupils can
ever express  their  ideas by writing.  Let  it  suffice
that they translate  our language into theirs, as  we
ourselves translate foreign  languages,  without being
able to  think  or  to express ourselves in  those  lan-
guages.'  He has more to  the same purpose.  With
the evidence of Pereire's success in the case of Fon-
tenay,  under his  eyes, those  views  are certainly
remarkable.  De I'Epee commenced the preparation of
a dictionary  of signs,  which was  never published.
He felt himself from time to  time called  upon to de-
fend his views.   He seems voluntarily to have thrown
down the gauntlet to  Pereire.   With Heinicke he
held a controversial correspondence of some length,
in which that instructer seems to have exhibited very
little courtesy.  A third time he came into  collision
with Nicolai, an academician of  Berlin.   The Abbe
Storck, a disciple  of De  I'Epee, had established a
school in the latter city; and it  was  from the exer-
cises of a public exhibition, held  by the former,  that
Nicolai took occasion to attack the system of instruc-
tion.   The  details of these  controversies,  though
interesting, are too  extensive to be exhibited here.
   A few years after the death ofde I'Epee, was estab-
lished the Royal  Institution of Paris, to  the direction
of which Sicard was  summoned.  It was the en-
deavor of the instructer, whose title  to our veneration 
     a view of the condition of deaf mutes.   171

is beyond dispute, to perfect the  views of  his imme-
diate predecessor and master ; and to carry out fully
in practice the theory which makes the  instruction
of the deaf and dnmb a  process of translation.   Of
Sicard's success we have living evidence in our own
country, in the case of M. Clerc, at Hartford ; whose
acquaintance at once with the French and the Eng-
lish languages leaves nothing to be desired.   Mas-
sieu, also,  whose  education forms the  subject of an
entire work from the pen of his master,  is an aston-
ishing instance of the extent to  which  the  intellec-
tual  faculties  of  deaf and  dumb persons  may  be
cultivated.   We cannot  refrain in this place  from
noticing a few of the answers of these pupils to ques-
tions of the nature of which they could have had  no
previous intimation.
  When Clerc was asked if he  loved the Abbe Si-
card, he replied in  the following words.   ' Deprived
at birth of the sense of hearing,  and by a necessary
consequence of speech, the deaf and dumb were con-
demned to a most melancholy vegetation.  The Abbe
de I'Epee and the Abbe Sicard were born; and these
unfortunate  persons, confided  to their  regenerating
care, passed from the class of brutes to  that of men :
whence you may judge how much I must love the
Abbe Sicard.'  Massieu  being asked  the difference
between God  and nature,  replied, 'God is the first
framer, the Creator of all things.  The first beings
all sprung from his divine bosom.  He said to the
first, You  shall produce  the second; his wishes are 
 172               DEAF MUTES.

 laws; these laws are nature.  'Eternity,' he said 'isa
 day without yesterday or tomorrow.   Hope is  the
 flower of happiness.   Gratitude is the memory of the
 heart.'
   In this second period:  of the  history, i-t is impos-
 sible that we should proceed  further  with  anything
 like particularity.  Germany affords us  the names-
 of  Neumann,  Eschke,  Caesar,  Petschke, Venus,
 Wolke, Daniel,  Stephani, Emsdorffer, Scherr,  Neu-
 maier, Gueger, Siemost,  Grasshaff, and a multitude
 of  others.   Switzerland, those of  Ulrieh  and  Neaf.
 Holland, of Peerlkamp and the Messrs. GuyoL  Eng-
 land, of  Watson, Arrowsmith and Roget.    Scotland,
 of Braiwood and Kinniburgh.  Spain, of D'Alea and
 Hernandez.; and Italy,  of Scagliotti.  France also
 presents  us with many  names,  among  which  we-
 notice those of Bebian, Piraux, Perier  Iamet, Dude-
 sert, Gondelin, Ordinane, Valade  and Moret. To the
 last, we understand, was intrusted at the Royal Insti-
 tution the preparation of the  second and third circu-
 lars.  It  would afford us pleasure, here, to examine
 specifically such of the productions of these individ-
 uals as have reached us;  but our own country exacts
 of us the space which yet remains.
   In April, 1815, were taken  the first steps toward the
erection of an institution  for  the deaf and  dumb in
America.   A feeble beginning in. the establishment
 of a small private school  had  been  previously  made
 in Virginia.   But of this,  nothing was  known,  at
 least no account was taken in Hartford.   An interes- 
     A VIEW OF THE CONDITION OF DEAF MUTES.   173

ting girl, the daughter of  a highly  respected physi-
cian in that city, had lost  her hearing at  the age of
two years.  The  Rev.  T.  H.  Gallaudet, having
become interested in  her case, visited  Paris for the
purpose of acquiring a knowledge  of the system em-
ployed  in   the  Royal Institution.   Returning, he
brought with him M. Laurent Clerc, whose name has
been already mentioned,  and with whose  assistance
he laid the  foundation of  the Connecticut Asylum.
This institution, which, having since experienced the
fostering  care of the Federal Government, has as-
sumed the  more exclusive epithet  American and has
always maintained a very  high reputation.   It has
produced, at least, while  under the  direction of Mr.
Gallaudet, pupils  remarkably distinguished for  their
attainments.
  Of these, George  H. Loring, of Boston, who was
retained for some years as an assistant instructer, after
the completion of his education acquired so great a
facility in the use of the French  language as to as-
tonish native Frenchmen with  whom  he conversed.
Articulation never  formed a'part of Mr. Gallaudet's
system.   He employed methodical  signs to a  great
extent in his practice, but not without a careful pre-
vious determination of their corresponding ideas. »>He
made it an  important part of his plan, to lead his pu-
pils to the formation of habits and of reflection upon
the  operations of their own minds; believing,  very
justly, that intellectual expansion will be more rapid as
the  power of discrimination between ideas having no
           15* 
t74                DEAF  MUTE'S.
palpable representative is increased. Mr. W. C. Wood-
bridge, editor of the American  Annals of Education,
was an early associate of  Mr. Gallaudet.  From this
school, also proceeded  Mr. Peet, principal of the in-
stitution in the city of New-York.
  The American Asylum likewise lent its aid to the
establishment  of the Pennsylvania Institution upon a
secure basis —this school, first a private seminary,
commenced by David  G. Seixas, having  been re-
moved.   Mr. Clerc spent some time at  Philadelphia,
and Was succeeded on his return to Hartford by Mr.
Lewis Weld,  an instructer of the same school.  Mr.
Weld was, in  1830, recalled to  Hartford to supply the
place of Mr. Gallaudet, who,  to  the  deep regret of
every friend to  the deaf  and  dumb, ceased in the
autumn of that year to direct the  American Asylum
and retired frOm  the employment.  The Pennsylva-
nia Institution, under the  direction  of Mr. Abraham
B. Hutton, has from that time continued to proceed
with  distinguished success.    The  first  movements
made toward the establishment of  aii institution in
the city of New-York,  originated in 1816, in con-
sequence, as we are informed by Dr. Akerly, its first
director, ' of a letter written  by a deaf and  dumb
person in Bordeaux, offering to come to this country,
to establish a  school.'  In the  beginning of 1817, a
public meeting was held  on the subject, at  which
many gentlemen, believing that two institutions were
unnecessary, and could  not be  sustained, opposed the
project.   A better acquaintance with the statistics of 
     A VIEW OF THE CONDITION OF DEAF MUTES.   175

our population, soon rendered the necessity of another
establishment self-evident.
  More than sixty deaf and dumb persons  were as-
certained to exist in the city of New^York alone, and
the returns were  still incomplete.  An act of incor-
poration was obtained in April, 1817; under this act
a school  was opened in the spring of 1818, which,
struggling against many difficulties, principally self-
created it is true, continued for years to languish on,
but seemed to hold its existence by a very uncertain
tenure.  It was an early error of this institution to
employ men entirely inadequate to  the task they had
undertaken.  Its results were consequently so unsat-
isfactory  as to  shake the confidence of its friends, and
ultimately even of the  Legislature, on which it was
dependent in the capacity of its  conductors.  They
afforded  also ample  ground for  the strictures which
occasionally appeared aimed directly at the institution,
and which were  believed at New-York to  originate
in a spirit of hostility to its interests.  It was further
believed,  Upon  no reasonable ground whatever, that
this spirit  was cherished in the  American Asylum,
and industriously propagated by its friends ; the ut-
most forbearance was  certainly  exhibited  by  that
institution under imputations the most  uncharitable,
and most directly suited to excite indignant feeling ;
and any  one who knows Mr. Gallaudet,  knows also
that he is incapable  of being influenced even for a
moment  by any unworthy motive.  Something like
a controversy  seemed, notwithstanding, to spring  up 
176
DEAF  MUTES.
 between the schools of New-York and Hartford.  We
 remark with some surprise, that this controversy em-
 braces very little that is essential in the art of instruc-
 tion.   It seems to relate entirely to the language of
 action ; and not even here to involve  the  question
 commonly agitated on this topic, viz. how far  this
 language should be employed in practice — but only to
 concern the visible form of the signs used in the  two
 institutions.    It  is  asserted in  the  Encyclopedia
 Americana, that the  New-York Institution originated
 its own system of instruction.   This statement, here
 first made in a  standard work, is not  indeed  novel,
 neither is it true.   The teachers at New-York  en-
 deavored, to the best of  their ability, to walk  in the
 footsteps of Sicard.   If, in the mere  form  of their
 signs  of reduction, they differed from  the  schools of
 Paris, nothing more  was true of them than is true of
 half the European institutions at the present day. Uni-
 formity among many institutions, however desirable,
 is not essential within the walls of  one.
  It has been asserted that signs do not admit  of de-
 scription, and that those  employed  by  Sicard cannot
be gathered from his works.  His Theorie des Signes,
 it is true, is far from being a dictionary of such as
deserve to be  called methodical,  or  such as were
used by him to abbreviate  the  indication  of  words
in practice.   But this reasoning, as  applied to  the
New-York  Institution in its infancy, rests upon  a false
basis ;  the  pupil is the book in which the teacher
must read.   He brings with him all the signs which 
     A VTEW OF THE CONDITION OF DEAF MUTES.   177

are  available to him in the commencement  of his
education.  The  number of these may be increased
as the circle of his ideas expand ;  but their particular
form is far from being essential to the purposes which
they are to fulfill.  The  Abbe Jamet, at Cam, has in-
stituted his own system of methodical signs, rejecting
those of  Sicard.  Jn like manner, the  instructers at
New-York had theirs, many of which  are still held
in recollection among the pupils,  and are still intelli-
gible.  But  the  real  cavils under  which  the New-
York Institution labored, the real  points of difference
between  it and the institution at Hartford, were the
incompetency of  its teachers in the artificial  nature
of the  instrument on  which they chiefly relied, or
their neglect to  avail themselves  of anything like
logical method in the  teaching of language.   They
erred in encumbering the memory of  the pupil with
isolated  words,  designated each by  its  methodical
sign, while the proper use of those words in  connec-
ted discourse  was yet but imperfectly understood.
We have had visible evidence, in a multitude of in-
stances, that their pupils were accustomed to regard
written  language, not as a practical instrument of
communication   available under all  circumstances,
but as a possible  means  of exhibiting particular pro-
positions.
  We  must  admit, therefore,  that the New-YoTk
Institution did  not  early fulfill the  purposes of its
charitable founders.   The year  1830 was, however,
the era of a radical reformation.  It was during this, 
178
DEAF MUTES.
 year, that Mr. Vaysse from  the  institution of Paris,
 entered upon his duties at New-York ; and that Mr.
 Peet, the principal, previously  for  nine years an in-
 structer in the American Asylum, concluded to accept
 the situation which he has since continued to fill.  Mr.
 Vaysse and Mr.  Peet brought with  them the methods
 and signs  iri use at Paris   and  at Hartford.  As a
 natural consequence, the institution at once assumed
 a character  which it had never before possessed ;  and
 which immediately won for  it anew the confidence
 which had  before  been partially withdrawn.  Uni-
 formity too  in the sign language, if that be considered
 an advantage  worth  mentioning,  was, by means of
 this revolution, rendered universal  among American
 institutions.  There  now exists but  a single sign
 dialect in the schools for the deaf and dumb  on this
 continent.
  The system of methodical signs, early, as we have
 seen, in use at  New-York, was, after  the  arrival of
 Mr. Vaysse, gradually abandoned.   The advantages,
 consequent  upon thus  shaking off the yoke of an
artificial  system, have  been strikingly perceptible.
 Thus France, at  whose hands our country first re-
ceived the art, has furnished us with its most decided
improvement here, in the correction of her own great
original error.
  The New-York Institution,  on  its new basis, is
now proceeding  with remarkable success.  In addi-
tion to the methods already employed, it is seriously
considering the  expediency  of  introducing articula- 
      A VIEW OF THE CONDITION OF DEAF MUTES.   179

 tion; the number of its pupils, capable of acquiring
 such  a  means  of communication  in some  degree
 through  the ear, being  sufficient  to  warrant  the
 attempt.
   Beside the establishments already noticed as exist-
 ing in America, there is  a school for the deaf and
 dumb in  Kentucky, another in Ohio, a third at Cana-
 joharie,  New-York,  and  a fourth  in  Quebec.   AH
 these have derived their methods from the American
 Asylum.   That at Canajoharie, having  been estab-
 lished merely for temporary purposes, by  the Legisla-
 ture of the State of New-York, will probably be dis-
 continued.
   In reviewing the labors of American teachers,  we
 cannot but be surprised that  so little has been done
 by them  towards the preparation of books.   It is an
 admitted  fact, that the deaf and dumb need exercises
 written  expressly for their   use.  Yet  among  us,
 nothing has been done worthy of note.  Seixas and
 Gallaudet published, indeed, some disjointed exercises;
 but upon these, we presume they did  not desire to
 stake their reputation.  In the  year 1831,  there  ap-
 peared at New-York, a course of lessons by Dr. Sam-
 uel Akerly,  which from  its  extent might  seem to
 challenge criticism.  Had  the doctor, in  preparing
 his work, fully understood  the nature  of his  under-
 taking, we should have been disposed to  meet the
 challenge.  To do so under  existing circumstances,
 however, since  his  book has  neither been  found
practically useful  in the  New-York Institution,  for 
180
DEAF  MUTE'S.
which it was originally designed, nor anywhere else,
would be a mere waste of words.
  The wants of printed lessons is  the disadvantage
under   which,  at  present,  American  institutions
chiefly labor.  To remedy this deficiency, along with
that of a systematic series  of designs, is the point
toward which the labors of instructers  should, for
the time, be principally directed.   Cannot a congress
of teachers be  established  ?   Cannot an union  of
effort be attempted ?  Cannot a division  of labor be
determined, which shall cause its advantages to be
felt by the deaf and dumb now existing ?   We have,
hitherto,  little  concert.  We have  been employed
rather in creating,  than in  perfecting institutions.
We  have been  struggling,  as we still are, against
pecuniary embarrassments.    We have been laboring
that the patronage of the Federal Government, already
extended to  two  seminaries, might  foster also our
undertakings.   We have toiled,  not  so  much for
celebrity, as for existence.   Confident in the  belief
that the  claims  of  the deaf  and  dumb would ulti-
mately be acknowledged in  their  fullest extent, we
have sought to establish points, around  which the
public  charity  might  rally, and  pour out upon its
objects its blessings in their most efficacious form.
For  the Northern  United States, these points are de-
termined.   For  the  Southern,  they  remain  to  be
designated.  Virginia  owes  it to  her character, and
to the numerous  deaf and dumb persons within her
limits, speedily to create  one.  Another,  or it may 
ODE.
181
be two, will be requisite for the south-western States.
Regarding  the promptitude  of our  countrymen  to
meet the calls of justice or  of charity, in  whatever
form presented, we cannot  doubt that  the  wants  of
the deaf and dumb will  soon be  supplied ;  and  that
the public  beneficence, already extended to a portion,
will, before the lapse of many years,  be accorded  to
the whole.
                        ODE.

  The  following Ode  was written by Mr. Samuel
Woodworth, and sung at the late celebration of the
pupils of the New-York  Institution for the  Deaf and
Dumb.

          The ills which call for pity's tear
             Were all in mercy given;
          The fetter'd tongue, obstructed ear,
          And every wo we sutier here
             Invites us back to Heaven.

          But he who binds the bleeding heart,
             By sorrow's tempest driven ;
          Whose kindness dries the tears that  start,
          Performs a man's, an angel's part,
             And aids the plan of Heaven.

          Then see! the tear from misery's cheek,
             By love and genius driven;
          Behold! they gain the end they seek!
          The Deaf can hear — the Dnmb can speak.
             And praise approving Heaven.
              16 
182                 DEAF MUTES.

          And now a bright and glorious morn
            Succeeds the dusky even;
          The dazzled soul, but newly born,
          In wonder lost, salutes the dawn,
            And hails the light of Heaven.
            INDIAN LANGUAGE OF SIGNS.

  My attention  has been  forcibly arrested by  that
part of Major  Long's expedition to the Rocky Moun-
tains, which treats of the language of signs employed
by  the aborigines of our western territory, and seme
observations on the subject.
   " The elucidation of a sign language is peculiarly
attractive to me, as connected with  the interest of
the institution in this place for the instruction of the
deaf and dumb, over which I have a superintending
care.  I therefore  hope to  fix your attention  for a
few minutes,  on a subject which,  although novel in
this  society,  may be  made  agreeable, and  I hope
interesting to  its members.
  " The Indians. Tartars, or aboriginal  inhabitants
of  the country  west of  the Mississippi,  consist of
different nations or tribes,  speaking  several different
languages, or  dialects of the same language. Some of
these tribes have stationary villages  or settlements,
while others  wander about the country,  resting in
their skin tents or lodges, and following the herds of 
           INDIAN LANGUAGE OF  SIGNS.         183

bisons  or buffalos, upon  which  they  principally
depend  for support.   These  tribes  are  not  able  to
hold communication with each  other by spoken  lan-
guage ;  but this difficulty is overcome by their having
adopted a language of signs,  which  they all under-
stand, and by  means  of-which, the different tribes
hold converse, without speaking.
   " This circumstance may  be considered as some-
thing novel in  the  history  of man ; for although
temporary signs have  been occasionally  resorted to
by travellers, and inadequate,, yet we know  of no
nation,  tribe, or class of human beings, possessed of
the faculty  of speech, besides the  Indians of this
country, who  have adopted  auything like a  system
of signs, by which they  could freely express  their
ideas.
   " Philosophers  have discussed the subject  of an
universal language, but  have failed to invent one,
 while the savages of  America have adopted the  only
one which can possibly  become universal.   The
 language of signs is so true to  nature, that  the  deaf
 and dumb,  from different parts  of the  globe,  will
 immediately, on  meeting, understand  each  other.
 Their language, however,  in  an uncultivated  state,
 is limited to the expression of their immediate wants
 and the few ideas which they  have acquired by their
 silent intercourse  with their fellow-beings.   As this
 manner of expressing their thoughts has arisen from
 necessity, it is surprising to me how the Indians have
 adopted a  similar language.,  when the intercourse 
  184               DEAF MUTES.

  between nations of different tongues is  most usually
  carried on by interpreters of spoken language.
    " If we examine the signs employed by the Indians,
  it  will be found that some are peculiar, and arise from
  their savage customs, and are not so universal as sign-
  language in general;  but others are natural and uni-
  versally applicable, and  are  the same as those em-
  ployed in the schools for the  deaf and dumb,  after
  the method of the celebrated Abbe Sicard.
    " In comparing a few  of  these signs,  it  will be
 seen wherein they agree.  Among them is found the
 sign for truth.
   '•' Truth, in spoken language, is a representation of
 the real state of  things,  or an exactness in words,
 conformable to  reality.   In  the language of signs,
 truth is represented by words passing from the mouth
 in a straight line, without deviation.   This  is  natu-
 ral and universal;  it is the same as was adopted by
 the Abbe Sicard, and is  used in the  schools for the
 deaf and dumb in the  United States.   It  is thus
 described  in Major Long's expedition,  as practised
 by the Indians.
  " ' Truth.  The fore-finger passed  in the attitude
 of pointing from the mouth forward in a line curving
 a little upward, the  other  fingers being carefully
 closed.'
  " A  lie, on the other hand, is a departure from rec-
titude,  a deviation from that  straight  course  which
inculcates truth.   The Indians represent a lie by the
following signs: 
            INDIAN  LANGUAGK  OF SIGNS.          185

  " ' Lie.   The fore  and  middle fingers  extended,
passed two or three times from  the  mouth forward,
they are joined at the  mouth, but separate as they
depart frim it, indicating that the words go in differ-
ent directions.'
  " This sign  is true to nature, and radically correct,
though in the instruction of deaf mutes we simplify
the sign, by the fore-finger  passed from the  mouth
obliquely or sideways, indicating a departure from
the correct course.
  "' House or  lodge.  The two hands  are reared
together in the form of a house,  the ends  of  the  fin-
gers upward.'
  " This sign is true and natural, though  we add to
it, by placing the ends of the fingers on each other
before they are elevated in the position of the roof
to indicate the  stories of which  a house in civilized
life is composed.
  " ' Entering a house or lodge.  The left  hand is
held with the back upward ; and the right hand also,
with the back up, is passed in a curvilinear direction,
down under the other, so as to rub against its  palm,
then upon the other side of it.   The left  hand  here
represents the low door of the  skin lodge, and  the
right, the man stooping down to pass in.'
  " This sign,  though peculiar,  is natural as  respects
the mode  of living of the Indians, but  is not univer-
sally  applicable.  It corresponds with  the sign for
the preposition under.
  " The sign  for an  object  discovered,  as distin-
            16* 
186
DEAF  MUTES.
guished from the simple act of seeing, is made by
the aborigines with much nicety and precision, and
may with propriety be  adopted  in  an universal lan-
guage.
   "' Seeing.  The  fore-finger,  in the  attitude  of
pointing, is passed from the eye towards  the real  or
imaginary object.'
   " ' Seen or  discovered.   The sign of  a man  or
other animal  is  made: after  which, the  finger is
pointed towards, and approached to your own eye;
it  is the preceding sign reversed.'
   "The Indian sign for a man,  is a finger held ver-
tically, which differs  from the deaf and  dumb sign.
Their sign for a bison  is the  same as the deaf and
dumb sign for a cow ;  namely :
   " ' The two fore-fingers  are placed near the ears,
projecting so as to represent the horns of the animal.'
Now, when a party of Indians  are  out on a hunting
or warlike expedition, they may discover a man, the
scout of a hostile party, or  a herd of buffalos.   The
sign for discovery, in such  a case,  will  be different
from that of the simple act  of seeing.
   " In general, we cast our eyes upon an object with
indifference, and in seeing simply distinguish a man
from an animal, a tree from a shrub, a house from a
barn; or  we determine the  relative  shape,  size, or
distance of  an object.  This is done by the coup
d'asili and therefore the act of seeing, in the univer-
sal language of signs, is to  direct the finger from  the
eyes to the object. 
           INDIAN LANGUAGE OF SIGNS.          187

  "But when we  discover an object, we  look  and
look again, and then, in the true natural language of
signs, it comes to our eyes  as the Indians have  cor-
rectly represented  it,  because  we have repeatedly
directed the eyes to the spot where the  discovery is
made ; and not seeing it, the first, second, third time,
the object clearly comes to our eyes ; and hence the
distinction between sight and  discovery is founded
in the universality  of sign-language.
  " To  see, is a radical word in sign-language; from
which may be derived  the words to look, to gaze, to
behold, as well as to discover.  These are all sensible
actions of the visual organs, or,  in  the  language of
Sicard, 'operations of the organic eye.'
  " The signs  for eating, drinking, and  sleeping,
are naturally and universally the same, and cannot be
mistaken.  They are thus described  in  the account
of the expedition :
  " ' Eating.   The fingers and thumbs are brought
together in opposition to each  other, and  passed to
and from the  mouth  four  or  five  times within  the
distance of three or four inches  of it, to imitate the
action of food passing to the mouth,
  ' Drinking or water.  The hand is partially clenched
so as to  have  something of a cup shape,  and the open-
ing  between the thumb and finger is raised  to  the
mouth as in the act of drinking.  If the  idea of water
is only to be conveyed, the hand does not stop at the
mouth, but is continued above it.'
  " ' Night, or sleeping.   The  head, with the  eyes 
 188               DEAF MUTES.

 closed, is laterally inclined  for a moment upon the
 hand.   As many times as this is repeated, so many
 nights are indicated :  very frequently the sign of the
 sun is traced over the heavens  from east to west, to
 indicate  the lapse of a day, and precedes the motions.'
   " In the work from which the preceding signs are
 taken, no other divisions of time are explained except
 different periods of day, by the passage of the sun
 through  an arch in the heavens under the word sun,
 in which the fore-finger and thumb are  brought to-
 gether at the tip, so as to form a circle, and held up
 towards  the sun's track.   In the school for the deaf
 and dumb, we distinguish the periods of a year, the
 seasons,  a month, a week,  a day, a night, and parts
 of a day or night, as dawn,  sunrise, morning,  noon,
 evening, midnight.   A year may be represented by
 a great circle in the air, indicating a revolution of the
 earth about the  sun ; but this  sign is  rather  philo-
 sophical  than natural.   It   may more naturally be
 represented by tracing with  the finger  the course of
 the sun's declination from the  summer to the  winter
 solstice, and back again.   But that  which is  easiest
 understood, and the most  natural, is by the sign for
 one hot and one cold season.
   " Spring is represented by the springing up of the
 grass, and the expanding of blossoms ; summer by
 the heat; autumn  by the  ripening  of fruits; and
winter by the cold.
   " A week is represented   by seven days;  or the
hands  placed  together before the breast in the 
            INDIAN LANGUAGE  OF SIGNS.         189

attitude of prayer, indicating the return of the Sab-
bath.
   " To indicate a day, the left arm is bent, and held
before  the body, to represent the horizon, and a semi-
circle is traced above it, beginning at the elbow and
ending  at  the  hand.   An  artificial  horizon being
formed, it is easy  to designate the parts of the day
by showing  where the sun would be at such periods,
as dawn, sunrise, morning, noon, afternoon,  sunset,
evening, night,  midnight.
   " The sign for a month  is  one  month,  and the
Indians use the correct natural sign.
   " ' Moon.   The thumb and finger open are eleva-
ted towards the  right ear.'
   " The Indian sign for good,  for death  and pretty,
are nearly the same as those of the deaf mute.
   " ' Good.   The hand held horizontally, back up-
wards,  describes  with the  arm a horizontal curve
outwards.'
   " ' Death.  By throwing the finger  from  the per-
pendicular,  into  a horizontal  position towards the
earth, with the  back downwards.'
   " ' Pretty.  The fingers and thumb, so opposed as
to form a  curve,  are passed over the face,  nearly
touching it, from the forehead to the chin, then add
the sign of good.'
  " The sign for  theft,  exchange, riding on horse-
back, fish, be quiet, fool  and snake are the  same as
those employed  in the tuition of the deaf and dumb.
  ' " Theft.   The left fore-arm is held horizontally a 
190                DEAF MUTES.

little forward or across the body ; and the right hand
passing under it with a quick motion, seems to grasp
something, and is suddenly withdrawn.'
  " ' Exchange.   The two fore-fingers are  extended
perpendicularly, and the  hands  are  then passed by
each other transversely  in front of the  breast, so as
nearly to exchange positions.'
  Riding on horseback.   The index and middle fin-
ger of the right hand are  straddled over the left in-
dex finger, representing the rider arid the horse ; these
are then jolted forward, to represent the  trotting mo-
tion of the horse.'
  " ' Be quiet, or be not  alarmed,  or  have  patience.
The palm of the hand is held  towards  the persons.'
  " ' Fish.   Hold the upper edge of the hand horizon-
tally,  and agitate  it in   the  manner of a fan, but
more  rapidly, in imitation  of the motion of the tail
of the fish.'
  " ' Fool.  The finger is pointed  to  the  forehead,
and the hand is  then  held vertically above  the head,
and rotated on the wrist, two or three times.'
  " ' Snake.   The fore-finger  is  extended horizon-
tally, and  passed along forward  in a  serpentine line.
This is  also  used  to  indicate  the Snake  nation of
Indians.'
  " The   Indian sign for a squaw is   natural, but
would not answer  for an  universal sign for a woman ;
it is, however, applicable to  the  general habits  of the
natives west of the Mississippi.
  " ' Squaw.  The hands are  passed from the  top 
INTERESTING EXPERIENCE.
191
down each side of the head, indicating the parting of
the hair on the top, and its flowing down each side.'
  "In the two excellent volumes of travels, entitled,
' Long's expedition to the  Rocky Mountains,' com-
piled by Dr. Edwin James, one of the party, is found
a collection of 150 or more  words, defined by signs,
as used by the Indians.
               [From the Christian Watchman.]

             INTERESTING EXPERIENCE.

  The following has  been handed to  us by the pas-
tor of one of our churches of the neighborhood of this
city.  It is the account  given  of herself by a deaf
and dumb young lady, on her  application to be ad-
mitted as a member of the church.   We record it to
the praise of the Redeemer, as a manifest instance of
the bestowment of his sovereign  grace ; and also in
behalf of this unfortunate class of our fellow-citizens,
that  they may be sought after as hopeful subjects of
repentance unto life.   For God so loved the world.
that he gave his only  begotton Son, that  whosoever
believeth in him should not  perish, but have eternal
life.
  " Some weeks ago,  before a revival in this place, I
sometimes felt  serious about my  soul.  I often read 
192
DEAF  MUTES.
 my Bible, and prayed that I might be led to  repent
 and  trust in Christ.   I  was  often  apt  to forget to
 pray, because I was in a hurry.  About three  weeks
 ago,  1 felt more sensible of being a great  sinner than
 I did before.   I was unhappy, and my mind was so
 distressed that I was  ready to sink ; for I  was one
 of the chief sinners, and had long neglected to seek
 Christ, and delayed  repenting.   I loved  worldly
 pleasures, and  was often unwilling to leave them off,
 and to become a  friend of  Christ.   I was  convinced
 that 1 must be prepared for death ; and if I was not,
 what should I do when I  should be called to die J
 It made me feel  dreadfully hurt to think  I would go
 to hell, if I was not prepared.   1 was in the darkness,
 for I  was full of  sins.   I immediately prayed to God
 and confessed to  him  all that  I had wickedly done
 in my life.   When I  rose, I became  calm  and felt
 happy.    The  Lord gave  me  relief at  prayer.  I
 trusted in the Lord ; he forgave my sins.   I am full
 of wonder because he has been  merciful to me, a
 poor  sinner, and did not forsake me  and leave me to
 perish.    Christ saved  me  from everlasting misery
 when I came to him.   I have a great deal of think-
 ing of his salvation ; and  I am truly  interested in
 him ; I love him  as a lovely and dear and precious
 friend.  I love  God, for he gave me  health and food
 and friends; and  he led me to  the Asylum at Hart-
ford to learn.   I think  that  Mrs. M.  was the means
of pointing me  to the   Saviour.  When  I was  dis-
tressed in  my mind, she prayed for me, and told me 
            INTERESTING  EXPERIENCE.         193

to pray.  The Lord sent her to  teach me to trust in
him and to tell me the way of salvation, and to lead
me to him for pardoning mercy.   She felt much, and
wished me to be happy.   I fear  if she had not been
the means of pointing me to Christ, I should not have
found him precious to my soul.   Now  my mind is
joyful, and I am often  satisfied  and happy as new
things appear to me.  I have a hope in the mercy
of Christ.   Yesterday my  mind  was  dull.   Satan
strongly came into it, and I had  foars  and doubts of
Christ.  I immediately knelt and prayed to God to
enable me to resist temptations.  But now  I do  not
doubt, and Satan has fled  from me.   I wish to be
baptized with Christ, for he has commanded me to
be baptized."

  The following are some  of the questions proposed
by the pastor in writing, and answered by her in the
same  manner,  at the examination of  Miss  E. for
church membership.
  Q.   You say you were at the  asylum at Hartford ;
did your sins trouble you at that time ?
  A.   No — but very seldom.
  Q.   Did you pray when you was at the  asylum ?
  A.   Yes — sometimes.
  Q.   Was prayer pleasant or burdensome ?
  A.   Burdensome, I thought,
  Q   How is prayer now ?
  A.   Pleasant.
           17 
194               DEAF MUTES.
   Q.  You say that you love God ; what makes you
think that you love him?
   A.   Because he gives me health, food,  friends, &c.
and sent his son  to this world to die for me a siiner.
   Q.  These are reasons why you should love him;
but what evidence have you to yourself,  that you do
love him for these things?
   A.   He is full of loving-kindness and  long-suffer-
ing and mercy, and he has been very merciful to me,
and  his  spirit purified my  heart by the blood of
Christ.   And  he  showed  his love through his son,
and he gave him to die and  save me.   I am grate-
ful to him,  for  he gave me  understanding to love
him so.
   Q.  Do you read the Bible.
   A.   Yes — everyday.
   Q.   Does it seem to you as it did  before you had
a hope in Christ ?
   A.   No.
   Q.   In what respect does it appear different.
   A.   It is sweet and  interesting now.  Before I had
a hope, I read it with  unpleasantness and dullness.
   Q.  Do you love Christians?
   A.   I love Christ, and I also love  them,  and treat
them kindly  and pleasantly.
   Q.  What  were your  general feelings  when at
Hartford.
   A.   I sometimes felt conviction of sin, but was ex-
ceedingly fond of the  pleasures and  vanities of the
world, and neglected repentance and salvation.   My 
             INTERESTING EXPERIENCE.          195

 teachers  often spoke  to  me  of the  importance of
 attending  to  the  salvation ofrny soul; but  I  neg-
 lected it.
   Q.   How did you feel when you was under con-
 viction ?
   .4.   Very unhappy, sorry and  bad.
   Q.   What was the cause of your sorrow.
   A.  The  Holy  Spirit  strove  to warn  me  by the
 threateningsof the Bible, and I was very sensible of
 it, and my sins  distressed me.
   Q.   Then you were brought to see  yourself a sin-
 ner, were you ?
   A.  Yes, I felt myself a very unworthy sinner, and
 my heart was full of evils, of which I  was very sen-
 sible, and I saw that I was lost, because I long forgot
 and broke God's holy law,  and neglected seeking
 Christ  and repenting of my sins, and  reading my
 Bible, and praying; and  because  I  had such  vain
 pleasures  and foolish  amusements,  of all which I
 repented with sorrow.
   Q.   When under conviction, how did God's  holy
 law appear to you ?
   A.  Severely and  unpleasantly.
   Q.   Did the law condemn you ?
   .4.  Yes.
   Q.   Do you think that God would  have  been just
had he left you to perish; that  is, to be cast off at
his left hand ?
  A.  Yes, it would be very right for  him to hate me
and punish me severely in future time, and to leave 
196
DEAF MUTES.
 me to be  dreadfully tormented  in hell.  I should
 deserve punishment.  He would show his judgment
 and righteousness.
   Q.  What were your  feelings  towards the  Lord
 Jasus Christ ?
   A.   Before I had  a hope  in  Christ, I sometimes
 pitied him, for he was crucified,  but I  did  not feel
 iuterested in  him.  But  now I am deeply  grateful
 towards him, because he died for me that I might be
 saved.  And I feel much interested in him, for  he is
 a very precious Saviour and friend, and he  is meek
 and lowly in heart.
   Q.   You know that the law of God requires us to
 love him with the whole heart,  and you felt when
 your mind was serious that you had not done this ?
   A.   Yes ; I felt I was an undone aud wretched sin-
 ner, because I was unwilling to leave worldly things,
 and to become a  friend of Christ,  and to love and
 serve God.  I felt very distressed and sorry that I did
 not love God when  he showed his  love through his
 beloved Son, who was sent to die  for me and sinners.
 If I had not repented, he would  not have saved me
 from misery.
   Q.  Can  you hope for happiness  on account of
 anything good in yourself, or must you  rely  wholly
on the mercy of Christ ?
  A.   Wholly on Christ.
   Q.   Are you not afraid that others will think ill
of you, if you profess religion ?
  A.   No. 
            INTERESTING EXPERIENCE.          197

  Q.  Do you now feel that you had  rather suffer
reproach than to be ashamed of Christ ?
  A.  Yes ;  I am not afraid, and am  not ashamed of
Christ.   If others  should laugh  at me for being a
friend of him, and should try to drive me from hav-
ing a hope in his mercy, I know they  are my ene-
mies.  I  will give you  a  text.  " Blessed  are  ye
when men shall revile you, and persecute  you,  and
shall say all  manner  of evil  against  you falsely  for
my sake."
  Q.  Do you think your heart is sinful ?
  A.  Yes ;  but it will not all be gone till death, then
the  heart will be quite holy.
  Q.  Have you any particular wish to express ?
  A.  I  wish to be baptized  and become a member
of the church.
  Q.  Why do you wish to be baptized ?
  A.  Because  I  wish  to  follow Christ   into the
water.
  Q.  As we shall pray before we part, what do you
wish to pray for ?
  A.  That  I may  have a  holy  heart, and  be  an
humble sinner, and brought  to God as a converted
sinner.
17* 
198
DEAF MUTEi
            DEAF AND DUMB ALPHABET.

   The number of the deaf and dumb is greater than
 most of our  readers would at first suppose.   For
 though almost everybody has  seen  one or  more of
 these persons, yet  few know that there are  about
 7,000 in the  whole United  States;  and more than
 300 in the single State of Massachusetts! yet such is
 believed to be the fact.
   These poor persons  could  always make known
their wants  by signs, so that  their  nearest friends
eould understand them  pretty well; but it  was not
till within  the last hundred  years, that much was
done in the way of learning them to read, write, ci-
pher, &c.  There are very many schools, both in Eu-
rope and the United States, where the deaf and dumb
learn almost  everything that  other pupils  do, not
excepting many  sorts  of work.  In the American
Asylum  at  Hartford, in Connecticut,  they attend
morning and evening prayers, offered by one of their
teachers, and they perfectly understand them.

           So7ne of the  Signs explained.
   The vowels a, e,  i, o, and u,  are expressed on the
left  hand with the fore-finger  of the  right hand.
Thus a is made by  touching the top  of the  thumb ;
e, by touching the top of the fore-finger;  i, the  mid-
dle finger;  o,  the fourth or  ring finger; and  u the
little finger. 
DEAF AND DUMB  ALPHABET.         199
  To make B, join the fore-finger and thumb of each
hand, and place the backs of the  two finger  nails
together.
  The picture will show you  how  to  make C ex-
actly.
  D is not quite so simple.  Bend the fingers of the
right hand, but not quite so much as when you make
C;  then place the tops of the fore-finger and thumb
against the side of the fore-finger of the left hand.
  For F, put a fore-finger across the first two fingers
of the other hand.
  To make G and J,  place your two hands clenched,
upon each other.
  In making H, draw the palm of one hand across
the  palm and fingers of the other, beginning near the
ball of the thumb, and going along the hand  to the
tips of the fingers, as  if you were brushing off some-
thing.
  To make K, bend the fore-finger toward the thumb,
and place the second  joint of this curved  fore-finger
against the back of the second joint of the  fore-finger
of the other hand.
  L.  Lay the right  fore-finger across the palm of
the left hand.
  M.   Lay three fingers across the left hand.
  N.  Lay two fingers across.
  To make P, bend the  thumb and fore-finger as if
you  were going to make  D, only make a small curve ;
then apply the tops of the thumb and fore-finger to
the first two joints of the other fore-finger. 
200                DEAF MUTES.

  Q,.  You may learn this from the picture.
  To make R, bend the fore-finger of the right hand,
and place it on the palm of the left.
  S.  Bend the little  fingers, and hook them.
  T.  Place the top of the  fore-finger of the right
hand against the  lower edge of the left hand, between
the wrist and the little finger.
  V, is made like N, only  that the two fore-fingers of
the right are placed apart,  instead of being close to-
gether.
  To make W, join the hands together,  with the
fingers between each other.
  X.  Cross the fore-fingers at the second joint.
  Y.  Place the fore-finger of the right hand between
the thumb  and  fore-finger of the left, which must
both be extended.
  Z.  Raise one hand  towards the face, and place
the palm of the other under the elbow which is thus
elevated.
  It is usual to mark the end of each word, by snap-
ing the middle finger and  thumb of the right  hand.
  Numbers are counted  by the  fingers  in the most
simple way; one  finger  held up, signifies 1 ; two fin-
gers, 2 ;  &c.  The open hand signifies 5; and the
two hands, 10. 
HOME  FAREWELL.                201
                   HOME  FAREWELL,

  The following lines  are the production of John
R. Burnet, of New-Jersey, a  mute,  who was educa-
ted in the  New-York Asylum.   He  is in indigent
circumstances,  and  is about to  publish,  by  subscrip-
tion, a  volume of prose and  poetry,  to be  entitled
Tales of the Deaf and Dumb.

            I paused upon the mountain's brow,
              And turned me to survey
            My  native hills, all  smiling now
              Beneath the sun of May.
            The bustling world  before me lay,
              Whence I must win a name ;
            Hope beckoned to the onward way,
              And whispered thoughts of fame.

            But memory fondly lingered back,
              And dwelt, midst gathering tears,
            Upon my life's eventful  track,
              Through few, but changing years,
            My early loves, and hopes, and fears,
              Through disappointment's shroud,
            Shone forth as when the sun appears
              One moment through a cloud.

            Farewell the soil my steps that  stayed,
              In tottering infancy;
            Where free,  my bounding footsteps strayed
               In boyhood's thoughtless glee!
            Her treasured stores has memory
              Link'd with  each field and spring;
            She  clings to every rock and tree
               As a familiar thing.

            And here, in childhood's day I  heard,
               Who ne'er again shall hear, 
202                 DEAF MUTES.

            Or human voice, or song of bird,
              Or water murmuring near;
            The echo that with wondrous ear,
              I traced from hill to hill,
            Ling'ring thro' many a noiseless year,
              Rings in my fancy still.

            My native home! farewell once more!
              Hope darkens on the mind:
            I tempt the unknown world before,
              And leave my home behind!
            Where shall I meet with friends so kind
              As those who love me well ?
            Another home where shall I find ?
              But yet my home — farewell.
      A SABBATH  IN THE  ASYLUM AT HARTFORD.

                    [Written by a pupil.j

  There is an interesting meeting in the asylum for
the deaf and dumb, every Sabbath, like any common
meetings in the United States, which is the best day
in the week, the best day in which heaveuly things
are taught about  our souls, and a  future  state, that
will make us better and  happier.   We should  think
of the goodness of God, who  hath  given  it  to us to
spend, so we may become more useful and good unto
salvation, and dwell  in his presence, with the holy
and happy  angels forever.
  When the deaf and dumb rise every Sunday morn- 
     A SABBATH  IN  THE ASYLUM AT HARTFORD.  203

ing, we  offer prayers to  God, and thank  him  for
keeping us alive through the  night,  and the  past
week.   At six o'clock we are called to breakfast,
then attend prayer before eating and  after eating.
After an  hour or two, we change our clothes and
begin to study our lessons, which are in the Bible or
catechism; also  read some  good  books, not  about
amusements or trifling things ;  but about important
and religious things, which are very necessary.  The
oldest pupils are  willing to advise the youngest, and
tell them not to  talk about  worldly things,  and be
attentive  to  their  studies.   After the girls are all
seated around the parlor,  the principal of the asylum
comes almost every morning  to inquire if the pupils
are well.  At half-past ten o'clock, all the pupils  are
called into the chapel to attend meeting, except Miss
Julia Brace, who is  deaf, dumb and blind ;  she always
recollects the Sabbath, and dresses herself  neat and
clean, then  sits  in her rocking-chair.   Her appear-
ance seems thoughtful in her mind ; she is generally
quite  still, and walks  softly around the rooms.
   When the meeting is ended, some of the  pupils
copy the sermons in  a writing-book , also  find  the
text in the Bible, to keep  in remembrance after they
leave the  asylum.   The text last Sabbath,  was 2
Chronicles, xxxiii, 12.  I was  much surprised  at the
story  about Manasseh, for he was so very proud and
wicked a king.  How much his  father had advised
him before his death ; told him not to worship idols,
but only God.   Soon after,  he refused to do so, and 
Wi
DEAF  MUTES,
 forgot the great God.   He continued in worshipping
 the moon and stars, though he was quite old.   Then
 many people were discouraged with him, and bound
 him with fetters, and put him  in  prison, for he was
 so very cruel.   While he remained in prison for some
 time, he indeed felt greatly sorry for his sins and bad
 conduct; he prayed to God for pardon,  and God for-
 gave him,  This text teaches how God afflicts peo-
 ple when they do any wrong actions, and they should
 not murmur against him, but  submit themselves  to
 his  will.   The clergymen have  explained many
 interesting stories to us about the history of the  Bi-
 ble, some of which  I had never  heard before.  0!
 how many poor and ignorant deaf and  dumb there
 are, in the desolate  regions, who  have never been
 taught about their immortal souls.
   Every Sabbath,  after the sermons are explained.
 part of the girls sit  in  a circle,  and converse with
 each  other, about  the lecture  on religion.  At six
 o'clock we are called to tea; when done,  in half an
 hour the pupils  take a short walk.  While getting
 dark,  they light the  lamps, and place them on the
 tables and shelf; then several of the instructers visit
 us,  and tell us stories or news of what has happened;
 then they bid us good night, and return home.
  Now the Sabbath  is past and  gone,  and  another
 will begin every week,  and we must feel very grate-
 ful to our Heavenly  Father, for  giving it to us,  that
 we  may rejoice in our hearts, for that blessed day, and
spend it with gratitude. 
               EXETER INSTITUTION.            205

  We should  be serious, and  treat our  instructers
with great kindness and respect, because  they have
taken much  pain*  in  teaching us the gospel,  and
many useful things
  ANSWERS OF THE DEAF AND DUMB PUPILS AT THE
               EXETER INSTITUTION,

              [From the London Penny Magazine.]

   If  any of our readers were to endeavor to devise
 for themselves some process  by  which  they would
 communicate any  abstract ideas to  those  who have
 been deaf, and  therefore dumb, from  birth or early
 infancy, they would soon perceive by what  difficul-
 ties such an attempt is surrounded ;  and, unless they
 had some previous knowledge of the process actually
 employed, they  would  be disposed to consider suc-
 cess, in such an undertaking, perfectly hopeless.  But
 it is one most interesting circumstance of the state to
 which civilization  has brought us, that no man is, or
 need be, left utterly desolate by any physical depri-
 vation to which our nature  is exposed.   The blind
can read, and the deaf and dumb can acquire and ex-
 press ideas the most abstract  and the most complex.
 It is not our present intention to  enter into the de-
tails of the process by which this is effected; but we
            18 
206                DEAF MUTES.
 are enabled to  communicate some of the results  ob-
 tained by the process actually employed.
   At the Exeter Institution, it  is customary for the
 masters to ask their pupils the meaning of words; and
 their answers are written down upon  slates, which
 are kept hanging up in the  school-room for one day
 subsequently ;  during which the scholars have access
 to them, and often transcribe their own answers, and
 those of the other students.  From  a book  so kept
 by one of these scholars,  the following  extracts have
 been made, consisting of  such answers  as appear
 most original or striking.   It will  be seen that many
 of  the answers are remarkable in themselves ; and
 we have retained some  which  may not appear so at
 first, but which will be felt interesting, as indicating
 the degree  of success  with  which  an  abstract idea
 had been conveyed to the pupil, and of the manner
 in which his  mind entertained it.   The several an-
 fewers will be found to indicate the various degrees of
 progress which  the pupils had made, and the mea-
 sure of aptitude  they respectively possessed.
    What  is Revenge ?   Revenge is murder in  the
 heart; it is cruel  without  necessity.   Revenge is,
 when a boy will not give me some  cakes, I will fix
"U in my mind, and I will not give him cakes.  God
 Rates revenge.   Revenge has a  bad heart.   Revenge
 Is hatred  with cruelty;  if my  mas'er  is  displeased
 with me, and I keep it in memory, and hurt his dog,
it is revenge.
   What  is Anger ?  Anger is  great  displeasure. 
               EXETER INSTITUTION.            207

Masters are angry with careless servants, because they
break pretty plates,  cups, and saucers.  Anger has
troubled  thoughts.   Anger has a red  face and fierce
eyes.   Anger is a bad  feeling of the  heart.   Anger
has violent thoughts.   Anger  will not reason.  An-
ger is quick and impatient.  Anger is rage ;  a man's
cook spoiled his  dinner, and  he was angry and told
his servant to go away from his kitchen.
   What is Despair ?  Despair is  the  expectation of
a certain evil;  the  sailors  despair when  the  ship
breaks, and the large waves fall on  them.   Despair
has no  hope.  Despair has a  pale face ; the great
murderer despairs when the judge says he  must be
hanged.   Despair is fear without hope.  Despair is
darkness in the mind.  Despair does  not love play.
Despair  is idle.   Despair is  wildness in the mind-
Despair has no pretty home.
   What is Hope?   Hope  is  desire joined  with be-
lief.  Hope is a mental looking towards a happy state,
with a desire to attain it.  Hope is  the soul's sun-
shine ; its support and comfort under toil and hard-
ship.   Hope  is  the  staff of life ;  it  cheers us  in
affliction, and supports  us in our journey through life.
If we meet with disappointment, we   look for better
days ; and if we are poor and needy, hope tells us to
pursue industry and  improvement, and we  shall ob-
tain sufficient to support us in  this world.
   What is the Soul ?  The soul is the conscious be-
ing within me which directs my actions, and restrains
or inclines me to whatever I  do.  The  soul is that 
20S               DEAF  MUTES.

active principle within me, which remembers, distin-
guishes, and  reasons.   The soul  is the life  of my
body ; when my soul leaves my body, my body will
die.  It cannot be caught nor seen.   God can see it,
and God  talks to my  soul;  it is not deaf, it is not
dumb ; it hears God, and it will sing to God  when I
so to Heaven.
   What is Eternity 1   Eternity is duration without
beginning and without  end ?
   What is  the difference between  Immortality and
Eternity ?  That immortality extends only  to end-
less  life in  future, and  eternity embraces duration
without beginning or end.
   What was your condition  before instruction?  I
was ignorant,  and knew not right- from wrong.  I
was  unacquainted with  language, and  every other
accomplishment.   I had no idea of a Supreme Being,
or a hereafter.  My present  condition is  that of a
rational being ; 1 know my duty to God and man; 1
know the reward of virtue  and  the punishment of
vice.   My former condition was unhappy, lonely, and
miserable; I did  not know anything of  religion.
   What is Knowledge ?  Knowledge is the subject
r f thoughts, memory, judgment, and understanding.
Knowledge is science.   Things that are seen and
lectured upon, expand  the mind.   When Mr. Bing-
ham told me that God created all things, that he was
invisible,  but  could see in the dark as well as in the
Jight, I thought he was joking.  He showed me an
i.ld watch, and took it to pieces, and pointed out the 
EXETER INSTITUTION.
209
course of its moving by the fusee being wound up,
which tightened the spring.   He  then took a blade
of grass, a leaf of a tree, an  insect, &c, and showed
me there  was  no spring, but  several fibres, which
contained sap and nourished the leaf.   After showing
and explaining  many other things,  he asked mejf
man could make a blade of grass, <fcc.   And I said,
no.  He then told me that God made all things; and
I perceived by my mind  that  man's power and ca-
pacity was nothing compared with God's.
   What is Science ?  Science is knowledge obtained
by what is  made visible  to  the  mind.  Science is
knowledge founded on  demonstration or certainty.
   What is Art ?  Art  is whatever is accomplished,
or produced by the skill of man, as  distinguished
from natural causes.  Art is  produced by the inven-
tion  of  man ; it  is the skill of the  mind, and the
power of the body.
   What was the state of your mind before receiving
instruction ?  My  mind,  previous  to  instruction,
was  like a dark room filled with many good .and
beautiful things;  but  for  want of light  they were
hid.   My mind  was like ore, that  requires the strong
heat of a furnace to separate it  from the dross.   TJjye
state of my mind was like the earth without the sun.
   What is the difference between Reason and Judg-
ment ?  Reason is the  torch of the mind, and judg-
ment is the guide.
   What is Economy ?   Economy means taking,care
of money; that  is,  not spending  it  upon trifles, pr
          *18 
210
DEAF  MUTES.
 things which  are of no use ;  and also in taking care
 of my clothes ; and also in trying to make the money
 I have, last a long time.  Economy means keeping
 money, and never buying any pretty things that are
 not useful.  If I do not keep my clothes clean, and
 if I do not brush them, I am not economical.
   What is  Virtue ?  Virtue is pure motives and do-
 ings ;  it is good because it comes from God.  Virtue
 is like an Angel.
   Who is God ?  God is the life and preserver  of all
 things.  The sun  rises and sets,  and gives us  light
 and heat, because he is in the sun, and he commands
 it.   The  wind  comes, and he is  in the wind  ; the
 rain comes,  and he is in the rain.   He is the judge of
 the world ;  he will  punish the  wicked,  but he will
 give life and happiness to the good.  God is our Al-
 mighty Father: he  made the large world, and the
 trees,  beasts,  and  mankind.   We worship him be-
 cause  he  can  give us all good things; and we love
 him.   God  is  the incomprehensible being that is a-
 bove us, and around us, and that sees us always.   He
 has no fault.   He  will never decay.  He sends us
 health, and food, and  covering for our  bodies; he
 sends us  wisdom and  joy for our souls.   I see that
 God is most good and merciful.  God is a most  holy
 being, and he is omnipotent.   He  sees the past, the
present, and the  future.  He  cannot  mistake.  He
 does not doubt.
   What is Memory ?   I came from Dawlish.   I can
draw in my mind its houses, the sea-shore, my moth- 
EXETER INSTITUTION.
211
er's house.   I  can see  the town  of Dawlish in my
mind :  this is memory.   Memory is  the  portrait-gal-
lery of the past.   I can look upon my school-fellows,
and my home; I can remember when I  was a little
boy; but I cannot see these things with the eyes of
my body; they are in my memory.  Memory is a
mental cabinet, that receives my ideas, and holds my
thoughts.   Memory is like a drawing-master,—it
shows me the forms of my parents;  memory paints
in my mind what I wish  to keep  long.  Memory is
the consciousness of what is gone, or was done yes-
terday, or some time ago.
   What is an Idea 7  An idea is  a figure in the
mind.  An idea is an image seen by the  mind.
   What is Friendship ?   Friendship is love without
its fickleness, and produces affection without distrust.
It has respect to  the good qualities of the mind and
heart, and is not formed upon common or extrinsic cir-
cumstances.  Friendship is progressive  kindness of
the heart between persons of excellence.
   What is Contentment ? Contentment  is  enjoy-
ment without anxiety, and satisfaction without desire.
It does not  look with  envy at the  greatness of
another, nor seek  to enlarge possessions  by ambition
or meanness.   Contentment is an even state of mind,
that asks for no more than what it possesses.
   What is Gentleness  ?  Gentleness is  the  disposi-
tion of virtue.  It is mild and soft, and  does not op-
pose others from  a desire  to differ or quarrel.  It is
complying, but  not mean; it  bows to  the  will of 
212                DEAF MUTES.                  ,

others, but does not approve  their errors.   Gentlenestj
is  an innate goodness of heart,  that feels willing ,ty
oblige others.   Gentleness is a natural inclination of
the mind to be  kind to all.   A gentle disposition will
bear patiently all the ill-will of another person with-
out being put out of temper.
   NEW-YORK ASYLUM FOR THE DEAF  AND DUMB.    j

   The American Asylum  for  the  Deaf and Dumb,
established  at Hartford, in the state of Connecticut,
in 1815, is  probably  within the recollection of most
of our friends  and readers.  It has been  ably con-
ducted, and its utility has been extensively experi-
enced.  A great number  of our unfortunate fellow-
beings, in different parts  of the country, who are  '
deaf and  dumb, have received incalculable benefits
from it.   It is  still in high reputation, and well de-  '
serving the support of the public.
   The Institution  of New-York, for a similar humane
and commendable  purpose, was incorporated in 1817,
and the teaching of the deaf and dumb was began in
1818.   Such institutions are an honor to our country,
and to humanity; and we deem it our  duty to notice
all such efforts for  the relief and improvement of the
unfortunate of our race.
   The  building for  the Asylum  in New-York,  of i 
JF	§'M
	sM.'':l.il
 
 
NEW-YORK ASYLUM.
215
which we now present  a view, was erected in 1829,
and a fund for the support of the institution has been
formed, by a grant from the Legislature, and by pri-
vate donations.  For a few years after 1818, when it
was first opened, the institution was fat less useful or
famed than it now is.   A great reformation in the
government and the mode of instruction in the insti-
tution, has been  made  within three  or four  years.
One of the present teachers is a gentleman of ability
from Paris;  and the other from the Asylum at Hart-
ford ;  where he had become  qualified, by long prac-
tice, to teach others.
  The Asylum is situated  Oh an eminence, three
miles and a half north of the City-Hall, New-York ;
and west of the Harlem railroad.   The lot consists
of one acre ; but  it has a lease of nine acres more
adjoining, which must be a great benefit to the insti-
tution.  The main building  is of  brick, and is  one
hundred and ten feet in  length and sixty in width;
and it is five stories in height.  There is a chapel in
the second story;  and in other respects, the rooms of
the buildings are well calculated for the comfort and
accommodation of the pupils. 
216
DEAF  MUTES,
TO THE BEAUTIFUL DEAF AND  DUMB CHILD Of
                     LADY  MARY.

       Whence comes the gleam in that eye of light,
       Like the meteor's flash  throngh the still dark night (
       Whence comes the love in that silent smile,
       Like an angel shut out from Heaven awhile,
       Who lingers, yet cannot depart from the scene
       Where her treasure is, and her hopes have been!
       Whence comes the deep and illumined flush
      On that pensive cheek, like the fountain's gush '.
      Can it be new-born thoughts that ride
      On the spirit's  wing like a gathering tide ?

       For though to thee it is not given
      To commune with earth's children here,
      There may be  voices  pure from Heaven
      That reach thy lone and favor'd ear!

      As nature painted that silent bird
      Whose song no mortal ear hath heard,
      And streaked with glorious hues that flower
      Which yields no perfume to the shadow —
      So earth is to thee a silent tomb:
      Thou knowest nought but the first  bright bloom;
      And, alas! thou never yet hast heard
      The summer note of the first forest bird!
      But, weep not, lovely child!  for thee
      There is no smooth song of treachery!

      'Tis not from thy silence we must  deem
      Thou hast no fond hopes, and no dazzling dream;
      For 'tis when the earth wears her  shroud of snow,
      That the seeds of the flowers lie warm below. 
INSTRUCTION  OF THE DEAF AND  DUMB.    217
 THE DUTY AND ADVANTAGES OF AFFORDING INSTRUC-
          TION TO THE  DEAF AND DUMB.

                [By Rev. T. H. Gallaudet.]

   There are some long-neglected heathen -,  the poor
 deaf and dumb, whose sad necessities have been for-
 gotten, while scarce  a corner of the  world has not
 been searched to find those who are  yet ignorant of
 Jesus Christ.
   Have the tears of  pity bedewed our cheeks, while
 perusing the terrific history of  Juggernaut, rolling,
 with infernal pomp,  his  blood-stained car  over the
 expiring victims of a superstition which surpasses  all
 others in its impure and cruel rites ?   Do we sympa-
 thize  with the missionary who has taken  his life in
 his hand, and has gone to fight the battles of the cross
 against these powers of darkness ?  Do we contribute
 our alms, and offer up our prayers for the success of
 the enterprise in which he has embarked?
  Do we greet, with the smile  of welcome and the
 kindest  offices of friendship, the savage  islanders
 whom providence has cast upon our shores ?  Do we
 provide for their wants, and  dispel, by the beams of
gospel truth, the thick darkness which has heretofore
shrouded their understandings ?  Do we make them
acquainted with the name of Jesus, and open to them
the prospect through his merits, of a bright and happy
immortality ?
           19 
218
DEAF  MUTES.
  Do we prosecute with still more ardor such efforts
in the cause  of  Christ?   We should fan  this mis-
sionary flame, until it shall burn in every  Christian
breast, and warm  and invigorate the thousands whose
bosoms glow with united zeal to diffuse the ' light of
the knowledge of the glory of God,  as it shines in
the face of Jesus  Christ,' to those who still sit in the
vast and remote regions of the shadow of death.
  No, my brethren, I hold a very different language.
I only put in a claim for one portion of the  heathen.
I only ask that the same stream of a diffusive benev-
olence, which, fed by a thousand springs of private
liberality, is rolling its mighty and fertilizing  tide
over the dreary deserts of ignorance and superstition
and sin, that lie in the other hemisphere,  may  afford
one small rivulet  to refresh and cheer a little  barren
spot in our native land,  which   has hitherto  lain
forgotten, thirsty, desolate.  I  only crave  a cup of
consolation  for the deaf and  dumb, from  the same
fountain at which the Hindoo, the  African, and  the
Savage are beginning  to  draw the water of eternal
life.
  Do you inquire if the deaf and dumb truly deserve
to be ranked among the  heathen ?  With  regard to
their vices they surely do not;  for a kind  providence,
who always tempers the wind  to the shorn lambs of
the flock, has given to the condition of these unfortu-
nates  many benefits.   Possessing, indeed, the gen-
eral traits of our common fallen nature, and subject
to the  same irregular propensities  and desires which 
      INSTRUCTION  OF THE  DEAF AND  DUMB.   219

mark the depraved character of man, they have nev-
ertheless been defended  by the very  imprisonment
of their  minds against much of the contagion of bad
example ; against the scandal, the abuse, the falsehood,
the  profanity,  and the blasphemy which  their ears
cannot hear nor their tongues utter.  Cruel is that
hand which would lead them into  the paths of sin ;
base,  beyond  description, is that wretch who would
seduce them by his  guileful arts, into the  haunts of
guilt and ruin.  Thus they  have been kept, by the
restraining  grace of  God,  from much of the evil that
is in the world.
  Yet they need the same grace, as all of us need it,
to enlighten the dark places of their understandings,
and to  mould their hearts into  a conformity to the
Divine Image; they require, too,  an interest in that
Saviour who was lifted up that  he might  draw all
men unto him.
  I tread not  upon dangerous ground when  I lay
down this position :  that if it is  our duty  to  instill
divine truth into the minds  of children  as soon  as
they are able to receive it; if we are  bound by the
injunction of Christ to convey the glad news of sal-
vation to every creature under Heaven ; then we fail
to obey  this injunction,  if we neglect to  make his
name known to the  poor deaf and dumb.
  I have said that they are heathen.   Truly they are
so,  as it regards their knowledge of religious  truth.
The experience of  more  than seven years, familiar
acquaintance with some of the most intelligent among 
220                DEAF HDTEft

them, has fully satisfied my mind,  that, without in-
struction,  they must inevitably remain ignorant of
the most simple truths, even of what  is termed nat-
ural religion, and of all those  doctrines  of revealed
religion which  must be the foundation ©f  our  hopes
with regard  to our eternal destiny.
   I have seen the affecting  spectacle  of an immortal'
spirit, exhibiting the possession of  every  energy of
thought and feeling which mark the most  exalted of
our species; inhabiting a  body  arrived to  its  age of
full  and  blooming  maturity;  speaking  through an
eye, whose piercing lustre beamed with intelligence,
and  sparkled with joy at the acquisition of a single
new  idea; I have  seen sueh  a spirit—O! it  was a
melancholy sight! — earnestly  contemplating

                       " the boundless store
         Of charms which nature to her votary yields  :
         The warbling woodland ; the resounding shore ;
         The pomp of groves and garniture of fields;
         All that the genial ray of morning gilds;
         And all that echoes to the song of even,
         All that the mountain's sheltering bosom shields;
         And all the dread magnificence of Heaven " —

while such an amphitheatre of beauty, and  order, and'
splendor,  raised not in  this  mind, which viewed it,
the notion  of an Almighty  hand that formed and
sustained the whole.
   I have asked sueh an one, after a few glimmerings
of truth had begun to dissipate  the  mental darkness. 
        INSTRUCTION OF THE DEAF  AND DUMB.    221

 in which it had been shrouded, what were its medi-
 tations at the sight of a friend on  whom  death  had
 laid his icy hand, and whom  the grave was about to
 receive into its cold and silent mansions.   ' I thought
 I saw,' was the reply, ' the termination of being ;  the
 destruction of all that constituted  man.    I have no
 notion of any existence  beyond  the grave.  I  knew
 not that there was a  God who created and governs
 the world.  I  felt no accountability  to  him.   My
 whole soul  was engrossed with  the  gratification of
 my sensual appetites ; with the decorations of dress ;
 the amusement of pleasure ; or the anticipations of
 accumulating  wealth, and living in  gaiety  and
 splendor.'
  I have seen — it was a vision of delight — the same
 spirit  when it first received the notion of  the  great
 creator of the universe.   I  dare  not  attempt  to  de-
 scribe its emotions, at such  an interesting moment.
 For I believe,  my brethren, it is impossible  for  us,
 who have grown up in the midst of a Christian peo-
 ple, and who were taught in our tenderest years the
 being and attributes  of God,  to form any just esti-
 mate of the astonishment, the  awe, and the delight,
 which the first conception of an invisible, immaterial,
omnipotent, omniscient  and  infinitely  wise,  just,
benevolent, and holy being, is calculated to inspire,
when  it breaks in upon a mind, that, in the range of
all its former thoughts, had never once conjectured
that there  was a Maker of this visible  creation.
  With what  mingled emotions of wonder and rap-
            19* 
222'
DE~AF MUTES.
ture must the bosom of Columbus have been agifafed
when the new hemisphere  burst  upon his view—
opening  to his imagination its boundless stores of
beauty, wealth, and plenty.  And yet how does such
an event—magnificent and sublime indeed, compared
with  all subhmary affairs—dwindle into insignifi-
cance when contrasted with the first conception that
an immortal mind is led to form, not of a new world,
but of trie God who created all worlds.
   I have seen the same  spirit  agitated with fearful
solicitude at the  prospect  of meeting that God, at
whose bar it was taught we  must.all appear; and
anxiously inquiring what must be done to secure the
favor of so pure and holy an Intelligence.
   I have seen the same spirit bowed beneath a sense
of sin, and casting itself upon the  mercy  of God
through a Redeemer whose character and office it had
just begun to understand.  And I have seen it, as I
fondly  trust, consoled and soothed and gladdened
with the hope of an interest in Jesus  Christ, and of
being made meet for  the inheritance  of the saints in
fight.
   A  little while ago,  this immortal mind  had its vis-
ion bounded by the narrow circle of temporal objects;
notv, its ken embraces the vast extent of its immortal
 existence, with  all the  momentous  realities of that
 unseen world whither it is hastening.   Then—0!
 what a degradation !.— it was kindred to the beasts of
 the  field.   Now^what  an exaltation? — we hope
 that  it is allied to the spirits of the jaet made perfect:
 that  it is elevated to  communion with its God, 
INSTRUCTION OF THE DEAF  AND DUMB.   223
  And, now, my  brethren, will  you deem my  plea
too urgent, when  I call upon you to imitate the ex-
ample of the apostle of the Gentiles; when I solicit
your sympathy for those who as truly sit in darkness,
and in the region of the shadow of death, as those did
among whom Paul labored ; or as those heathen of
the present  day, to whom missionaries and Bibles are
Bent} — for the moral waste-ground  is alike desolate,
whether it lies beneath an Asiatic or African sun, ©r
whether it is found near  at home,  sadly contrasted
with the gospel verdure which  surrounds it.
   Paul was constrained  to preach  to  those  among
whom Christ had not been  named.  O! aid us then,
while we long  to  make  the same name precious to
the deaf and dumb.
   Is encouragement needed in so generous a work ?
Let me present to your view the same sources of sup-
port which  animated the  efforts of the apostle.  I
mean the encouragement of prophecy.
   ' But, as it written, to  whom he was not spoken of,
 they shall see ; and they that have not heard  shall
 understand.'
   The fullness of prophecy stamps it with the  char-
 acter of Divinity.  Stretching, as it does, through a
 long line of events,  and  embracing within its  scope
 not only the immediate transaction  to which it more
 directly referred, but those remote occurrences which
 are unfolded  in  the progress  of God's  providential
 dispensations,  it eludes,  in its development,  the
 keenest conjectures of the mortal  who ventures too 
224
DEAF  MUTES,
 rashly to explore all its secret premonitions ;  while in
 its wonderful accomplishments, so obvious  and stri-
 king, when they have actually taken place, it demon-
 strates that it could not have sprung from any other
 source than the omniscient  mind.
   Thus many of the psalms, which alluded more
 immediately to  the  mighty monarch who penned
 them, and his illustrious son, have been seen to have
 a more important reference  to one mightier  than Da-
 vid, and more illustrious than Solomon.
   Thus our  Saviour's woful  denunciation of ruin
 against the  magnificent  city  which  witnessed  his
 ministry, and sufferings, and death,  bears also, with
 portentous presage, upon the goodly structure of the
 whole visible creation, whose final catastrophe is to
 be more terrible  than the awful  overthrow  of Jeru-
 salem.
   And  thus,  we may suppose,  the same prophecy
 which Paul took up as the  support of his labors
 among the Gentiles, looked forward  to events which
 are now  passing before our eyes; and  which are yet
 to pass, until all the inspired predictions  shall have
 received  their full  and  glorious  accomplishment.
 For, if Isaiah, from whose writings the words of my
 text were originally taken, had spread before his illu-
 minated  vision the Gentiles of Paul's time, why may
 we not  reasonably  conclude that the Gentiles, the
 heathen of our day, were also included in his cheer-
 ing predictions ?  And as a portion of these  heathen,
is it too bold an inference to suppose that he  alluded
to the deaf and dumb ? 
INSTRUCTION OF  THE DEAF  AND DUMB.    225
  1 But, as it written, to whom he was not spoken of
they shall see,  and they that have  not  heard shall
understand/
  I wish therefore, my brethren, while pleading the
cause of the deaf and dumb, to call forth your charity
in their behalf, from the most exalted and encouraging
of all motives ;  that in aiding them, you are but car-
rying into effect the will of God ;  that you are co-op-
erating with him ;  and that he is  pledged to crown
your labor with success, inasmuch as his own proph-
ecy cannot otherwise receive its accomplishment.
  And it is already receiving its accomplishment.   I
do not exaggerate the truth, when  I  say that,  they
already begin to see, to whom he  was not spoken of;
that they somewhat understand, who have not heard.
For it is a most singular trait of the language of ges-
tures and signs, that it is sufficiently  significant and
copious to admit of an application even  to  the  most
abstract, intellectual, moral, and religious truth.  On
this point I was once myself sceptical; but doubt has
yielded to actual observation of the fact;  and incre-
dulity can no longer urge  its  scruples among those
who have become familiar  with the deaf and dumb.
Were the occasion a proper one, I should not deem it
a difficult task to satisfy you, upon the acknowledged
principles of the philosophy of the human mind, that
there is  no more  intrinsic or  necessary connection
between ideas of whatever  kind, and audible or writ-
ten  language, than between the Same ideas and the
language of signs and gestures ;  and that  the  latter 
226
DEAF  MUTES.
has even  one advantage over  the  former, inasmuch
as it possesses a power of analogical  and symbolical
description, which can never belong to any combina-
tion of purely arbitrary sounds and letters.  But I
choose the rather to place it on  the  more safe and
palpable ground of observation, and of fact.  No one
who has conversed  with Mr. Laurent Clerc, a native
of France ;  (a distinguished pupil of the Abbe Sicard,
and for many years an assistant in the school of his
illustrious master, at Paris, and  now one of the in-
structers in  the Asylum at'Hartford,) the  intelligent
laborer in this novel department  of education,  him-
self born deaf and dumb ; no one who has witnessed
the almost magical  facility with  which he conveys,
by his own  expressive language of signs, truths the
most difficult and abstract to his companions in  mis-
fortune ; no one who has observed the ingenious and
often subtile inquiries which they are prompt  to make
on the various  subjects which  have  been communi-
cated to their minds ; can  withhold  his assent  from
the acknowledgment of the position, that  all impor-
tant, intellectual and religious truth  may be taught
them by the language of signs, aud even before  they
are capable of reading and  understanding ours.
  Do not suggest, then, my brethren, that I  call yon
to lavish your efforts upon a fruitless and  unpromis-
ing soil.   It has long, indeed, been overrun with the
thorns and briars of ignorance; but help  us to  plant
and to water, and, under the blessing of him who giv-
eth the increase, it  shall become  like the  garden of 
       INSTRUCTION OF THE DEAF AND DUMB.   227

God, and put forth blossoms,  and bear fruit, which
may yet flourish with immortal beauty in the para-
dise above.
  And while we would thus endeavor to prepare the
deaf and dumb for a better world, we will not neglect
the means of making  them happy and useful in the
present life.   How many of their hours are now con-
sumed by a torpid indolence, and vacuity of thought!
How  cheerless is their perpetual solitude!  How are
they shorn off from  the  fellowship of man!  How
ignorant are they of many  of the common transac-
tions  of life!   How unable are they  to rank, even
with  the  most illiterate of their fellow men !  How
inaccessible to them are all the stores of knowledge
and comfort  which  books  contain!    How  great a
burthen do  they often prove to their  parents and
friends!  How apt are they to be regarded  by the
passing glance of curiosity as little  elevated  above
the idiot, or the  beast of  the field!
   We would soothe and cheer these  lonely, forsaken
and hapless  beings.   We would  give them  the en-
joyment which active industry always affords. We
 would teach their judgment to distinguish, their im-
agination to  portray, and  their  memory to  retain,
 the various objects which the boundless stores  of
human and divine knowledge  present to  their view.
 We would  make some of them capable of engaging
 in useful mechanical employments;  others of hold-
; ing respectable stations in private and public spheres
of commercial transactions; and those who  discover 
228
DEAF  MUTES.
 a genius and taste for such  pursuits,  of cultivating
 the fine arts; and  all,  of thus becoming valuable
 members of society ; of contributing to the common
 stock of happiness;  and of gaining a livelihood by
 their own personal exertions.  We  would introduce
 them to the delights of social  intercourse j  to a par-
 ticipation of the privileges of freemen; to the dignity
 of citizens of a flourishing and happy community:
 we would furnish them with one of the highest sola*
 ees of retirement,  that which may be drawn from the
 fountains of science  and literature ; and books should
 supply them  with a perpetual source of instruction
 and delight — gladdening many an hour of solitude
 which is now filled up only  with indolence or anx-
 iety.   We would render  them a  comfort to  their
 friends, and the prop of the declining years of  those
 who have hitherto only bemoaned the sad  continu-
 ance of their condition  without any hope  of relief.
 We  would shield them  against  contumely; and
 almost render them no  longer  the  objects  even of
 condolence and pity.  Thus they  would soon  have
 a common  cause  of  gratitude  with us,  for all the
temporal blessings which providence sheds down  upon
 this vale of tears.
  And how would the feeble  powers of him  who
thus attempts to plead before you  the cause of the
deaf and dumb, yield in efficacy to the sight of  these
children of suffering,  could I but  place them before
your eyes.   Then  I would make no appeal to  your
sympathy.   I would only afford it an opportunity of 
      Ynstroction of the deaf and dumb.   229

having full  scope, by the interesting and affecting
spectacle which would excite it.  1 would point you
to the man of mature  age;  to  the blooming  youth;
and to the  tender child ; all eager  to  gather a. few
sheaves from that abundant harvest of knowledge,
with which a kinder providence has blessed you.   I
would explain to you, if indeed nature did not speak
a language too forcible to need 'explanation, the  lam-
entation of one bemoaning the long lapse of years
which had rolled by him. without furnishing one ray
of knowledge or of hope with  regard to his immortal
destiny.   I woukdbidyou mark the intense and eager
look of another, who was just catching the first  rudi-
ments of religious truth.   And  your tears should
mingle with theirs who would be seen sympathizing
in the fullness of a refined and susceptible imagina-
tion, with  the anguish  of the venerable patriarch
about to sacrifice his son ; or the grief of the tender
Joseph sold by his unrelenting brethren ; or the ago-
nies of him who bled to redeem both you and  them
from sin and sorrow and  suffering.
   Yes, the deaf and  dumb  would  plead  their  own
cause best.   But  they cannot do it.  Their lip  is
sealed in eternal  silence.   They are scattered  in
lonely solitude throughout our land.   They have ex-
cited but  little compassion ; for uncomplaining sor-
row, in our cold-hearted world, is apt to be neglected.
Now they see some dawning of hope.  They venture,
therefore, to ask aid  from those who extend  their
generous  charities to  other objects of compassion;
            20 
230                DEAF MUTES.
and crave that they may  not  be quite overlooked
amid the noble exertions that are making, it is to be
hoped in the spirit,  and with  the zeal of the great
apostle of the Gentiles, to fulfill the animating proph-
ecy — that' to whom he was not  spoken of, they shall
see; and they that have not heard shall understand.'
  And can you wish, my brethren, for a sweeter re-
collection to refresh the slumbers of your nightly pil-
low, or the declining moments of a short and weary
life, than to think that you  have succored these chil-
dren of misfortune, who look to you for the means of
being  delivered from  a bondage more galling than
that of the slave; from  an  ignorance more  dreadful
than that of the wild and untutored savage !  One tear
of gratitude glistening in the eye of  these objects of
your pity — one smile  of thankfulness, illuminating
their countenance, would be a rich  recompense for
all you should do for them.   To think that  you had
contributed to rescue an intelligent,  susceptible, and
immortal mind, as it were,  from  non-existence ; that
you had imitated that Saviour who went about doing
good; that you had  solaced  the aching bosom  of
parental love ;  that you had introduced a fellow-being
to those enjoyments of society in which you so  richly
participate; to  the charms of  books, which had
cheered so many of your hours  of solitude; and to
the contemplation of  those  sublime  and affecting
truths of religion,  which you profess  to  make the
foundation of your dearest hopes ; will  not this be a
more grateful  theme of remembrance,  than to look 
       INSTRUCTION of the deaf  and dumb.    231

back upon the wasted delights amid which  pleasure
has wantoned ;  the crumbling possessions for which
avarice has toiled, or the fading  honors  for which
ambition has struggled !    These, fascinating as they
may be to the eye  of youthful hope, or bewildering,
as they do, the dreams of our too  sanguine imagina-
tion, soon pass away, like the brilliancy of the  morn-
ing cloud, or the sparkling of .the early dew.   The
other will be as immortal as  the mind ; it  will abide
the  scrutiny of conscience ; it will  endure  the test of
that day of awful retribution, when standing, as we
all must, at the bar of our  final judge, he  will greet
with the plaudit of his  gracious benediction,  those
who have given even a cup of  cold  water, in his
name, to the meanest of his disciples — to the least of
these  little ones, whom  his  mysterious  providence
has  cast upon our care.
  May such an imitation of his example, in the spirit
of his  gospel, be to each  of us the surest pledge that
we are truly his disciples ; and that we are meet for
the inheritance  of  that  kingdom where   there will
be no  more sin to bemoan, or suffering to relieve. 
232:
BEAF MUTES-:
4N ACCOUNT OF THE INSTITUTION IN PARIS FOR THE
       EDUCATION OF THF DEAF AND DUMB.

  I remember having  put  into  your hands a little
book, entitled  " Le  Sauvage drAveiron,r the history
of a wild boy, caught in the woods of France, and
committed to the care of the celebrated Abbe Sicard.
I recollect that the  perusal  of this book led you to
inquiries relative  to  the Parisian  establishment for
the  education of the deaf and  dumb, which I was-
then unable to answer.  Since my arrival in this city,
I have obtained some further information of the rise
and progress of this philanthropic institution.
  The seminary, now under the patronage of govern-
ment, was originally  instituted by the Abbe L'Epee,
who, having undertaken the education of two young.
ladies, born  deaf and  dumb, was excited, by a con-
templation of their unhappy condition, to  devise  a
system of instruction, by  methodical signs, which
should not only prove a substitute for speech  in the
conveyance  of common  ideas, but  should also em-
brace every term, or idea, usually expressed by oral
communication..   To extend the benefit of this sys-
tem, he founded a  school, in which  he  received as
many of the  deaf and dumb as  he was enabled to
superintend; and reserving the  bare means of sub-
sistence,  (even denying  himself, in his old age, the
comforts of a winter's fire) devoted his private fortune
and  the remnant of  his days to the support and in-
struction of his pupils. 
              INSTITUTION IN PARIS.            233

  For a particular account of his mode of education,
and the progress of this establishment, I refer you to
a publication, entitled " The true method of educa-
ting the deaf and dumb, confirmed by long practice."
By an attentive perusal of this book,  you will per-
ceive that the author has succeeded in  " introducing
to the mind, through the medium of the eye, what is
usually received through the medium  of the ear; "
that this communication is not effected by the simple
and ordinary use of  the fingers, but by regular  me-
thodical signs, not merely significant of letters and
single words, but conveying ideas  of  the  most ab-
struse and  metaphysical  nature ;  that  the pupil is
conducted from sensible to abstract ideas, by a simple
analysis; that he is not only taught the meaning of
words, but is also instructed in their grammatical po-
sition, as to tenses, modes, genders, and cases, and is
thoroughly  initiated in the rules of conjugation and
declension.
  On the death of the Abbe L'Epee, the charge of
this seminary was assumed by the Abbe Sicard — a
character equally distinguished for his understanding
and benevolence.
  Having recently  attended  one of his monthly lec-
tures, I shall endeavor to give you a summary of that
interesting  exhibition, and  the manner in which it
was conducted.
  The  room, appropriated  for  this purpose, affords
accommodation for  three or  four hundred spectators
At one end is a small stage, erected for the teacher
          20* 
{i'M
DEAF  MUTES'.
and his pupils, and on the back of this stage, fastened
to the wall, is a large tablet, painted black, on which
the scholars write their lessons with white crayons.
Soon after the appointed hour, the Abbe made his
appearance.  " I  have been waiting," said he,  " to
introduce to you  a new  subject, almost an infant, a
little savage, a block of unchiselled marble, or rather
a statue, yet to be animated and endowed with intel-
lect ', a  child,  who  has received  no instruction,  of
whose capacity I  am yet ignorant,  and whose future
prospects will be  determined by the experiment I am
about to make.   I shall begin with one of my ele-
mentary lessons,  and you will at once judge of my
system and its effect."
  A young man,  (bom deaf and dumb) by the name
of Massieu, who, at an early  age, had been brought
from an obscure village  in the south of Prance, and
partially instructed by the Abbe L'Epee, was directed
to commence the  lesson  of experiment.   He drew on
the tablet, I have mentioned,  the  form of a key, a
hat, and a pair of spectacles, and at the foot of each
of these figures he placed the article  represented by
the drawing.
  The child, who had been announced, (a boy about
five  years of age) was now brought into the room,
and by the allurement of a bauble, attracted from the
arms of his mother, carried  to the tablet, and held up
to the objects  which  Massieu had delineated.  He
appeared, for some time, to regard  them  with an air
of total  indifference, and, by his vacant and inatten- 
INSTITUTION IN  FAKIS.
235
tive manner, excited an evident distress in the mind
of the Abbe ; but at the  moment when the instruc-
ter, as well as the audience, were beginning to doubt
his capacity, and despair of his salvation, he clapped
one hand to his head,  and pointed (with a smile)  to
the hat which had  been  drawn  on the board.—
" Enough!" exclaimed the Abbe, " this child may be
snatched from the abyss of night, from the cheerless
and insulated solitude  in which thousands of his un-
happy brethren are doomed to suffer! "
   This experiment happily concluded, the Abbe pro-
ceeded to show by what method the names  of the
articles, described by the painter, are first impressed
on the mind and  memory of the pupil.   In order to
do this, he caused the letters K E Y to be distinctly
written on the key; H A T on the hat, &c.  These
characters, united with  the figures, are left for the
study of the pupil, as another sign of  the thing they
describe, and when they are firmly imprinted on the
memory, the drawing is erased, and the letters alone
remain as the symbol, or representation of the object.
This is one of the introductory lessons  to the art of
reading and writing.
   " I have shown you,"  said the Abbe,  " the foot of
the ladder, the first round by  which  we ascend.  I
will now take you to the top."  He beckoned to his
favorite  Massieu.  "I will thank any  gentleman,"
said he, "for a book or newspaper; we  will exercise
the talents of this young man."  The Gazette of the
day was handed by one  of  the  audience.  " Take 
236
DEAF MUTES.
 this," said the Abbe, addressing himself to another of
 his scholars,  "dictate a  passage  to Massieu, and let
 him show that he can, not only comprehend the idea
 you communicate by signs, but that he can seize and
 repeat  the identical words  which  are used in  the
 paper you now hold in your hands."
   This address from the  Abbe to his pupil, you will
 observe, was first rehearsed to the audience, and af-
 terwards repeated in the language of gesticulation to
 the scholar.
   An advertisement had been pointed out,  by  the
 person who furnished the paper, as the subject of ex-
 periment.  The prompter communicated, by signs,
 the contents of the  publication, which Massieu with-
 out the  smallest hesitation,  or error, except in a sin-
 gle  instance, wrote word for word  on the tablet.
 This exception was the substitution of the word ar-
 rondissement for department.   The prompter, on the
 commission of this fault,  signified to Massieu that he
 has mistaken the word,  and  explained anew.   He
 then wrote " Empire or Republic."  Neither of these
 would answer.  A moment's pause, however, relieved
 him; the word flashed on his mind, and he went on
 correctly to the end of the sentence.  " I will now ask
 him," said the Abbe, " to define the two words.' The
 question was proposed, and written down by Massieu,
 verbatim, in the language  used by the Abbe,  viz:
 " What  is the difference between your word arron-
dissement and the word department ? "  " An arron-
dissement,"  was  the reply,  "comprehends several 
INSTITUTION IN PARIS.            237
communes,  governed by mayors, who are alt subject
to the control of a sousprefet; a department is a new-
province, a part of the empire, a military government
encircling several  arrondissements, under the domin-
ion of aprefet."   "You use the word government,"'
said the Abbe, " what is the meaning of the word ? "
" It is that power  which is placed at the head of the
community to maintain its existence by providing for
its wants, and defending it against harm."  Then,
as if dissatisfied with the definition, or desirous of
illustrating it, he added, (as nearly as I could trans-
late,) " It is one man,  or several, acting as the soul
of the  body politic, and serving as the prompter, the
guide, and the defence of the members."
  You may  well  imagine that the auditors testified
their pleasure and surprise.   " You are  pleased with
my pupil,"  said the  Abbe, " I will thank you to try
his resources.   Ask  him  any question, and I will
engage that  his answer shall be prompt, clear, and
correct."  " Ask him what is music," said one of the
audience.  The question,  with some reluctance, was
proposed.  Massieu shook his head, and wrote on the
tablet,— " It is extremely difficult, if not impossible,
for a deaf man to answer this question satisfactorily ;
our conceptions of music must be very imperfect.   I
can  only say, that  I  conceive it to be an agreeable
sensation of the soul,  excited by the  voice, or the
noise (bruit) of instruments."
  " Speaking  of music,"  said  the  Abbe, " you no
doubt recollect the answer of the  blind man Saun- 
238
DEAF  MUTES.
derson, when asked to what he could liken the color
of scarlet;  he replied to the sound of a trumpet.  A
gentleman of high literary  distinction, who attended
one of my lectures, requested me to reverse this ques-
tion ;  to ask of Massieu, what were his conceptions of
the sound of a trumpet ?  I remarked that this inquiry,
relating to sounds, of which the deaf could form no
adequate idea, was  calculated  to  excite embarrass-
ment  ; an effect I was always anxious to avoid.  He,
however, persisted in the request, and I could not re-
fuse to hazard the  question.  This was the answer.
" / can explain my ideas  of the sound of a trumpet
only by comparing it to the florid and effulgent rays,
which irradiate and adorn the horizon after the sett-
ing of the sun."
   " There is always something unique and native,"
continued  he, "in  the  answers  of  this surprising
young man.   Many  of his  definitions  have  been re-
ported.   What can be more sublime, than his illus-
tration of the sound of a trumpet ?   What more terse,
than his reply to the person who asked him, what is
eternity ?   ' It is a  never-ending time, without be-
ginning, or without  end.   It is a day without yester-
day or to-morrow.'1   The  tenacity of his memory is
no less wonderful than the acuteness of his mind, or
the brilliancy of his imagination.   He perfectly re-
collects the  date  of any  event  which  has  fallen
within his  notice."   Ask him, interrupted a bystander,
when you  were created a  member of the Institute ?
This  trifling question was answered immediately; on 
INSTITUTION IN PARIS.
239
such a day and  year of the republic,  corresponding
with such a day and year of the old calendar.
  The inclination to make interrogations now  be-
came general.   Many other questions were proposed.
I noted down  those which follow, with the answer
given by Massieu,  viz:  What  is  the  faculty of
speech ?   " It is a concussion of air, produced by the
movement of the lips and the tongue against the pal-
ate  and the teeth, operating on the ear, and through
that organ conveying ideas  to the mind.  It is a light,
a sun — which God has given to man to reflec.t his
thoughts."
  What  is Intelligence ?   "It  is  the power of the
mind to move in the straight line  of truth, to distin-
guish the right  from the wrong, the necessary from
the superfluous,  to see  clearly and precisely.   It is
the force, courage, and vigor of the mind.1'
  What  is the  Will?   "It  is a  faculty which the
Creator has conferred on the soul, which inclines it
to embrace what is  good,  and  avoid what is  evil."
He afterwards added, with a  smile,  " The human
will is fortunately more extensive  than the power."
  " You have seen," said the Abbe, " that my pupils
have been instructed  in  the arts of reading, writing,
and conversing  with each other; I wijl now show
you that these  unfortunate people, though incapable
of distinguishing sounds by the ear, can also be taught
the art of utterance and articulation.
  " This faculty is  acquired by minutely observing
and imitating the gutteral  and labial exertions of the 
 240                 DEAF MUTES.

 instructer,  the  agency  of the  tongue, the lips, &c.
 The pronunciation of a word beginning with a con-
 sonant is less difficult than one commencing with a
 vowel; for instance, in pronouncing the word pa-pa,
 (one of the earliest  efforts  of infancy) the  lips are
 made to touch.   This contact  is  plainly perceptible
 to the observer, and can be easily imitated ; whereas,
 in the expression of the vowels,  there is less exter-
 nal motion, and the sound is therefore produced with
 less certainty.   It is  easier to pronounce p and b, than
 a e i o or m."
   To exemplify these observations, he introduced a
 female pupil, of about fifteen years of age, and caused
 her to repeat several words  which he  pronounced.
 " You see," said he,  "that she can imitate my ex-
 pression ; but this is not the extent of her acquire-
 ment ; she can utter,  and distinctly articulate words
 which are submitted to her in writing, as well as those
 which are spoken by another."  To evince this, he, in
 his gesticular language, directed Massieu to read four
 lines of poetry,  (an address  to the Deity) to another
 of the pupils, and ordered the  latter to see them on
 the tablet, as an experiment  for the girl.   The tran-
 scription was executed with the utmost facility  and
 precision, the measure and punctuation critically ob-
 served by the writer, and every syllable distinctly,
 though feebly, pronounced by the girl.   There was a
something in her voice extremely distressing, without
being absolutely discordant;  a plaintive, monotonous
sound, rather tending to excite melancholy than plea-
pleasure. 
           TOE  DEAF  AND BLIND GIRL.         241

  "This child,"  said the Abbe, kindly taking her by
the hand,  " is  peculiarly  interesting to me.   I shall
always remember the  pleasure  I experienced  from
her earliest instruction,  and one circumstance 1 can
never recollect without  emotion.   One  of  the first
impressions  which I endeavored to  stamp on her in-
fant mind was the conception  of a God.   In propor-
tion as I advanced  in my efforts, she became  more
delighted with the subject; and when I at last  suc-
ceeded in conveying an idea  of the existence and
attributes of  our  all-bourtteous parent, she suddenly
threw herself on  her knees, lifted her hands and eyes
for a moment in an  attitude of adoration, and  then
springing from the ground, attempted  to  leave me.
Whither are  you going ? said I.   To find my father
and my mother, was the reply, and  to tell them there
is a God.
      THE DEAF AND BLIND GIRL.

          [From the Lady's Magazine]

Mysterious being ! —shut from sound and sight;
  And barr'd from all communion with thy kind ;
Would thou couldst tell me what thy mental light,
  And what the musings of- thy lonely mind.

Would thou couldst tell me what the hidden springs
  Of joy, that gush out in thy gladden'd smile ;
What gay immaginings of nnknown things,
  Can charm thy spirit, and thy hours beguile.
   21 
242
DEAF  MUTES.
What visions fair can fancy sketch for thee ;
   No forms of life are on thy brain imprest;
What is it, then, can wake to ecstacy
   The life that seems an almost dreamless rest ?

I think on thee, as one shut out from light;
   The consciousness of being, thy sole thought;
Vet thou mayst be  ethereal, pure, and bright,
   With sense of God into thy being wrought.

Unchained by senses that bind down to earth,
   Thy  soul may upward wing her glorious way,
Explore the regions whence she drew her birtb,
   And  bathe in floods of everlasting day.

No sounds to jar thee — silent from thy birth,
   Thy nerves may have a fine ethereal tone ;
And flowret's breath, and balmy,
   May thrill thee  with a joy to us unknown.

Thine more than rapture, when thy  soul shall spring,
   From this dull prison, to her native skies ;
When Heaven's soft harmony shall round  thee ring,
   And heavenly beauty greet thy unseal'd eyes.

By Mercy's hand then sure the fate was  wrought,
   That placed the fountain of the joys within,
 That being gave, with life immortal fraught,
   Yet closed the avenues to wo  and sin. 
EDUCATION  IN  EUROPE.          243
  EDUCATION OF THE DEAF AND  DUMB  IN EUROPE

  If the art of instructing the deaf and dumb of the
human race to converse with their fellow-men and
women, cannot be traced to times of very remote an-
tiquity, it is  not, however, to be ranked among  the
discoveries which belong, in principle, to the present
age.   We know of works upon the subject of teach-
ing the deaf  and dumb to  think,  and write,  and to
learn useful arts, published as early as the beginning
of the seventeenth  century.  I shall  mention one in
the Italian language, by a  Signor Affinate, printed in
1620.   This  publication is generally reputed to be
the oldest upon  the subject extant.   Dr. Ammann,
a Swiss physician, who  taught several  deaf  and
dumb children in Amsterdam to  speak, above a hun-
dred years ago, has left  us his Surdus Loquena,
printed in  1692, and his De Loquela, printed in 1700.
In addition to  these documents of  what has  been
done long before our generation,  there are sufficient
proofs, that within  a very few  years  after  the publi-
cation of the Italian and Spanish works just quoted,
and before Dr. Ammann began to instruct any person
whatever, some Englishmen of  considerable learning
and ingenuity likewise  conceived  the extensive and
almost astonishing  idea of teaching  the  deaf  and
dumb to  understand  the  ordinary  conversation of
other  persons, and to  speak intelligibly themselves;
thus, as it were, breaking  down the barrier of des- 
244               DEAF MUTES.

tiny, to lead these unfortunates into a complete par-
ticipation of the  mighty medium possessed by  the
rest of the children of men for  the development
and expansion of the human mind, as well as for the
purpose of binding us more firmly, by their pleasures,
to the  duties of social intercourse.   The faculty of
speech was thenceforward made known to those des-
olate beings, who had seemed to be forever excluded
from its advantages ; and this benevolent art has been
practiced, with the intermission of very  short inter-
vals, in some part of Great Britain, ever since.
   The physiological  principles, which must have led
to the first conceptions of the possibility of  teaching
those persons to speak who  are dumb from deafness,
and not  from want  of articulating  organs, are very
simple.
   Hearing is  the universal medium  of  intercourse
among men ; it is also the regulator and medium by
which men are guided,  and learned  to express their
thoughts to one another by  sounds, that is, to speak.
Hearing excites the  child to make exertions  for the
production of sounds, like those, which, day after
day, it learns  to  understand are the usual signals of
things, of thought and will, among its protectors and
its play-fellows.   Hearing  is at  the same  time the
criterion by which a child is enabled with  ease to
judge of every sound, and to regulate its first attempts
at moulding and exercising its organs in a  way which
shall produce sounds like those uttered with such ef-
fect by the persons from  whom it has to claim assist-
ance and affection. 
              EDUCATION  IN  EUROPE.           245

  A deprivation of the sense of  hearing from the
period of  infancy,  whether  accidental or constitu-
tional, having  universally  had for a concomitant a
deprivation of oral  speech, it became  the  received
opinion,  that where  the sense of hearing was not to
be excited, it  was likewise impossible to enable the
person laboring under that deficiency to understand
breathing language,  and equally so to pronounce in-
tentional, intelligible sounds.
  Nevertheless, these  sounds are produced by certain
motions,  modulations, or appulses of organs of,  or
within the mouth.  These organs are all necessary,
or useful for other purposes, important in  the animal
economy,  and  indispensable  to a  deaf person  as
well as to any other.  And deaf persons usually have
these  organs as perfect as persons  who hear thor-
oughly well.
  Again: these sounds, and  the concealed  motions
which produce  them,  are  accompanied with visible
and distinct appearances.
  The sense of seeing is  very acute.  As our sense
of hearing  is always observed to seem stronger and
more accurate in the dark,  because then all our pow-
ers of attention are concentered upon  that  one me-
dium of perception.  So with the deaf: their sense of
seeing is generally quicker than ours, because better
exercised,  and that the force of their attention is not
divided or called off by the attractions of a sense so
powerful as that of  hearing.   If, then, ordinary per-
sons can take notice of many, out of the great variety
         21* 
1
24&:               DEAF MUTES.

of changes the muscles of the face undergo in pro-
nouncing a set of articulate sounds, and that we ad-
mit (what it is impossible to deny) that sounds  which
are distinct, are, as we have already hinted, produced
by distinct motions; it must  follow, to the compre-
hension of every reasonable mind, that the acute and
well exercised sight  of a deaf person, whose undi«
vided attention  is  bestowed  unremittingly to  that
single object, may gradually  learn to distinguish the
motions exhibited on the countenance in pronouncing
any word [ and  that  he may at length  succeed in
making the very  same  motions,  which (exactly the
same —- effected   in the  same manner)  cannot  fail
of producing the very sounds  uttered by people who
have learned to speak by hearing.
  The literati of France, not over much  inclined to
allow credit  to  the inventive spirit of their proud
maritime neighbors, or self-complacently predisposed
to claim all such merit for themselves, dispute with
England the  palm of superior genius and humanity,
in respect  to the unfortunate dumb and deaf.   Their
various governments have, since  the foundation laid
by their munificent Bourbons, certainly done much
to attract  the  attention of the universe, and to claim
the principal  merit among the powers of the earth,
which are most  systematically desirous to ease the
afflicted from the oppressive  weight  of evil.  The
world looks with  admiration  at the progress  of the
schools of De L'Epee and Sicard, in which the com-
munications of thought are,  however, carried on by 
EDUCATION  IN  EUROPE.
247
 a language not intelligible to the generality of men ;
 the glory of their neighbors  is,  that the first, in de-
 spite of seeming impossibility, taught to operate irr
 favor of the speechless the last of miracles, — to im-
 part to them the gift of tongues; and that in England
 the bounty of private individuals  keeps  pace with
 the munificence of the princes of other countries.
   The celebrated Sir  Kenelm Digby, who figured as
 an author in the beginning of the seventeenth cen-
 tury, from  1630 to 1660, gives an account of a deaf
 and dumb  young  man,  who was  taught to know
 what was spoken to him.
   Dr. Watson gives (in the  Philosophical  Transac-
 tions, Abridgment, Nos.  61 and 245) a very  minute
 description  of the method by which he taught one, a
 deaf and dumb  pupil, to write; and  some  general
 notions  upon  the  manner  in which  he  instructed
 another, a  deaf and dumb  person,  to speak.  The
 first, a Mr.  Daniel Whalley, was taught by the doc-
 tor to understand the English language mentally, and
 to become such a proficient in writing, that he could
 express  his own thoughts  readily  upon paper, and
 comprehend what was written to  him by other per-
 sons ;   the  second  was  Mr. Alexander  Popham,
 brother-in-law to the Earl of Oxford.
  It is  remarkable,  that, notwithstanding instances
 so conclusive as these, and all  which had been done
 in Italy, in  Spain, and in Holland, as well as in Eng-
land, the physiological fact, that those persons who
are born deaf are not necessarily dumb likewise, or 
248
DEAF  MUTES.
destitute of the reasoning faculties, did not  begin to
be universally considered, much less admitted, until
it received in France  a splendid  demonstration by
the success of the Abbe de I'Epee in that celebrated
experiment which has  served as the groundwork of
the pleasing comedy distinguished by his name, in
the French language, and performed in England un-
der the equally appropriate title of Deaf  and Dumb.
The progress  which had been made in other coun-
tries, however satisfactorily in most instances, and
convincing in the result, was from lamentable fatality
of but partial extension, and seemed, after some un-
certain duration, to be lost in obscurity.  The conse-
quence was, in the intervals, that many minds, endued
with valuable natural qualities, remained buried un-
der the accumulating rust of neglect, and confounded
with  hopeless ideots.   Mr. de l'Epee's success at-
tracted the attention of  monarchs ; and many  of the
most elevated among the crowned regulators of na-
tions have, since  that  epoch,  deemed it  highly be-
coming their glory to notice this science in the man-
ner the most efficient.   Several establishments are,
at the present moment, in a state of  activity in va-
rious parts of Europe, under the immediate patronage,
and in most instances  at the  expense of the sove-
reigns.   The example  was set by  France ; Germany
followed.   The countries in which, judging  by the
most ancient documents that come to our knowledge,
the light of theoretical publicity was first thrown
upon this curious subject,  have  joined in the benevo- 
EDUCATION  I.v EUROFE.
249
 lent undertaking.  While the free contributions  of
 private  individuals support in England the greatest
 purely benevolent establishment of the kind perhaps
 in existence ;  two other institutions for the children
 ef rich  people are rendered productive of very ample
 incomes to their proprietors and instructers.  In Den-
 mark,  and  in  Russia,  the  respective governments
 have recently established royal and imperial founda-
 tions for the education of the deaf and dumb, to the
 highest degree of attainment of which they may be
 susceptible.
   Upon a subject so intimately connected with phi-
 lological and liberal knowledge, and peculiarly inter-
 esting to the mind either of curiosity or benevolence,
 it may  be acceptable to know what, in  the  various
 institutions of  this  nature now in  being,  has  been
 done, where they are established, and by whom, as.
 well as  under  whose auspices.  A sketch of  the va-
 rious methods practised  in those institutions will en-
 able the inquiring mind to judge of their comparative
 advantages, and, if  the heart or genius  prompt, to
 continue the extension of the blessing.
  The  want of  an  establishment of this  kind is a
 reproach in the system of universal instruction, which,
 at least  in the spirit of  our republican institutions,  is.
 recognized by  the fundamental laws of the  United
 States.  Possessed of the knowledge, should the sub-
ject be taken up by our Federal or State Legislature,
there shall not be wanting a person willing to direct
the course of instruction—and disinterestedly. 
250                DEAF MUTES.
EXTRACT FROM AN ADDRESS WRITTEN  BY MR. CLERC,
READ AT AN EXAMINATIOV OF THE TUPILS OF THE AMERIGAN ASYLUM.

  The origin of the discovery of the art of teaching
the deaf and dumb, is so little known in this country,
that I think necessary to repeat it.  Afterwards I
will give you a hasty sketch of our system of instruc-
tion — then let you judge whether the opinion of some
persons among you  is correct, who  believe that the
sight  of the  deaf and dumb, or  conversation about
them, increase their number, and at length make you
appreciate the importance  of educating these unfortu-
nate beings.
  A lady, whose name I do not recollect, lived in
Paris,  and  had among her  children two daughters,
both deaf and dumb.   The Father Famin, one of the
members of the  society of  Christian  Doctrine,  was
acquainted with the family, and  attempted, without
method, to supply in these  unfortunate persons the
want of hearing and speech, but was surprised by a
premature death, before he could attain  any degree
of success.   The two sisters as well as  the mother,
were inconsolable at that loss, when, by divine prov-
idence, a  happy event restored everything.   The
Abbe de I'Epee,  formerly belonging  to the  above
mentioned society, had  an opportunity of calling at
their house.  The mother was abroad, and while he
was waiting for her, he wished to enter into conver- 
MR. CLERC's ADDRESS.
251
sation with the young ladies ;  but their eyes remained
fixed on their needles, and they gave no answer.   In
vain did he renew his questions —in vain did he re-
double the sound of his voice ; they were still silent,
and durst hardly raise their  heads to look at him.
He did not know that those whom he thus addressed
were doomed by nature never to hear or  speak.   He
already began to think them impolite  and uncivil,
and rose to go out.   Under these circumstances, the
mother returned,  and  everything  was explained.
The good Abbe sympathized with her on the afflic-
tion, and withdrew, full of the thought of taking the
place  of father Famin,
   The first conception of a  great man  is  usually a
fruitful germ.   Well  acquainted with  the  French
grammar, he knew that every language was a  col-
lection of signs, as  a series of drawings is  a collec-
 tion of figures, the  representation of a  multitude of
objects,  and that the deaf  and dumb  can describe
everything by gestures, as you paint everything with
 colors, or express  everything by  words; he  knew
 that every object had a form, that every  form  was
 capable of being imitated ; that  actions  struck  your
 sight, and that  you were able to describe  them by
 imitative gestures; he knew that words were  con-
 ventional signs, and that gestures might be the same ;
 and that there could therefore be a language  formed
 of gestures, as there was a language  of words.   We
 can state, as a probable fact, that there was a time in
 which man had only gestures to express the emotions 
1
£52                UEAF  MUTES.

and affections of his soul.  He loved, wished, hoped,
imagined and reflected, and the  words  to express
those operations still failed him.   He could express
the actions relative to  his organs;  but the dictionary
of acts, purely spiritual, was not begun as yet.
   Full of these fundamental ideas, the Abbe de I'Epee
was not long without  visiting the unfortunate family
again ; and with what pleasure was he not received!
He reflected,  he imitated, he delineated, he wrote,
believing he had but a language to teach,  while in
fact he had two minds to cultivate!  How painful,
how difficult were the first essays of  the inventor!
 Deprived of all assistance, in a career full of thorns
and obstacles,  he was  a little embarrassed,  but was
mot discouraged.  He armed  himself with patience,
and succeeded, in time to  restore his pupils to society
and religion.
   Many years after,  and  before  his method  could
have  attained  the highest degree  of perfection of
which it was  susceptible, death came and removed
that excellent  father from his grateful children. Af-
fliction  was in all hearts.   Fortunately, the  Abbe
Sicard,  who  was chosen for his successor, caused
their tears  to  cease.   He was a man  of profound
 knowledge, and of a mind very enterprising.  Every
invention or discovery, however laudable and inge-
nious  it may be, is never quite right  in its beginning.
 Time only, makes  it  perfect.   The clothes,  shoes,
 hats, watches, houses, and everything  of our  ances-
 sors, were not as elegant and refined as those of the 
              MR. CLERC'S ADDRESS.           253

present  century.   In like manner was the method
of the Abbe de I'Epee.   M. Sicard reviewed it, and
made perfect what had been left to be devised, and
had the good fortune of going  beyond  all the disci-
ples of his predecessor.  His present  pupils are  now
worthy of him, and I do not believe them any longer
unhappy.   Many are married and  have children en-
dowed with the faculties of all their senses, and who
will be the comforters and protectors of their parents
in their old  age.  (The United States  is the first
country where I have seen one or two deaf and dumb
fathers some of whose children are deaf and  dumb
like themselves.  Will this prove that the Americans
are wrorse than Europeans ?  By no means.   It is the
result of natural causes.   Many others of the deaf and
dumb are the instructers  of their companions in misfor-
tune.   Many others are  employed  in offices of gov-
ernment  and other public administrations.   Many
are good  painters, sculptors,  engravers, workmen
in mosaic, while others exercise mechanical arts ; and
some others are merchants, and  transact their busi-
ness perfectly well;  and it is  education  which  has
thus  enabled them to pursue these different profes-
sions.  An uneducated deaf and  dumb  person would
never be able to do this.
22 
254                    DEAF  MUTES.
      THE  UNEDUCATED  DEAF  AND  DUMB CHILD,

   Extract from a poem written  on reading an account
of the opinions of a deaf and  dumb child before she
had received instruction.   She  was afraid of the sun,
moon, and stars.

       And didst thou fear the queen of night,
          Poor mute and musing child ?
       She who, with pure and silver light,
          Gladdens the loneliest wild.'
       Yet her the savage marks serene,
       Chequering his clay-built cabin's scene:
          Her the polar natives bless,
          Bowing low in gentleness,
        To bathe with liquid beams their rayless night:
        Her the lone sailor, while his watch he keeps,
        Hails, as her fair lamp gilds the troubled deeps,
        Cresting each snowy wave that o'er its fellow sweeps:
        E'en the lost maniac loves her light,
        Uttering to her, with fixed eye,
        Wild symphonies, he knows not  why.
          Sad was thy fate, my child, to see,
          In nature's gentlest friend, a foe severe to thee.

        Being of lonely thought! the world to thee
          Was a deep maze, and all things moving on
        In darkness and in mystery.   But He,
          Who made these beauteous forms that fade anon —
        What was He?   From thy  brow the roses fled
        At that eternal question, fathomless and dread!

        O, snatched from ignorance and  pain,
          And taught with seraph's eye,
        At yon unmeasured orbs to  gaze,
        And trace amid their quenchless blaze
           Thine own high destiny!
        Forever bless the hands that burst thy chain,
        And led thy doubtful steps to learning's hallowed fane. 
DISADVANTAGES OF LOSS OF SIGHT AND HEARING. 255
  Though from thy guarded lips may press
  No word of gratitude or tenderness,—
In the starting tear, the glowing cheek,
With tuneful tongue, the soul can speak,—
       Her tone is the sigh,
       Her language in the eye,
Her voice of harmony, a life of praise,
Well understood by Him who notes our searching ways.

The tomb shall  burst thy fetters.  Death sublime
Shall bear away the seal of time,
   So long in wo bewailed!
Thou, who no melody of earth hast  known,
Nor chirp of birds, their wind-rocked cell that rear,
   Nor waters murmuring lone,
Nor organ's solemn peal, nor viol clear,
Nor warbling breath of man, that joins the hymning sphere
        Can speech of mortals tell
        What tides of bliss shall swell,
If the first summons to thy wakened ear
Should be the plaudits of thy Saviour's love,
The full enraptured choir of the redeemed above!
 DISADVANTAGES ATTENDING  DEPRIVATION OF SIGHT
                 A\D LOSS OF HEARING.

   It has been a topic frequently discussed,  whether,
had we our choice of the two misfortunes, we should
prefer being deaf or blind: and often as I have heard
the question agitated, the former has invariably been
esteemed the  lesser affliction.   In opposition,  how- 
256                 DEAF MUTES.

ever, to this decision, and as apparently tending to
render the  propriety of  such  a choice somewhat
doubtful at least, the well-known fact of blind per-
sons always appearing the most cheerful and happy,
while a melancholy  shade pervades  the countenance
of the deaf, has been urged with considerable  force,
and never very clearly accounted for.
  Facts here seem  to oppose themselves to theory;
and although the  former  are generally admitted,  the
latter is as often approved.   To  account for this ap-
parent inconsistency, and to show  that nature  be-
stows on her unfortunate, as well as happier  children,
a nearer equal  share of her bounty than is generally
supposed,  will be the object of my present inquiry.
  The  cheerfulness of blind  persons appearing  to
contradict the general dread entertained of becoming
one of their number,  while the  loss of hearing is
contemplated  with  comparatively  little  emotion,
arises, chiefly, I conceive, from the following causes:
  1. We form our estimate of the relative degrees of
eomfort and happiness, enjoyed by those who have lost
their sight or hearing, from their conduct and appear-
ance in society.   But in  thus  drawing the compari-
son we manifestly err ;  the  place and  time  of obser-
vation being favorable to the one and not to the other.
  2. We judge  abstractedly  of their  wants and in-
conveniences,  which leads also to an  inaccurate and
directly opposite conclusion.
  Society  possesses nearly all  the  charms for  the
blind  it ever  had ;  but the  deaf man is very differ- 
  DISADVANTAGES OF LOSS OF SIGHT AND HEARINO. 257

ently situated.   His loss is aggravated, from witness-
ing the pleasure which  conversation  affords to those
about him,  while  he is  unable to participate.   He
sees his friends, 'tis true ; but they are  to  him little
more than the almost animated pictures on the canvas.
He is a spectator of their happiness,  but the more to
feel his own misfortune.
  The blind person, on  the contrary, just escaped,
perhaps,  from  the  medium  of a darkened solitude
feels himself alive to all the pleasures  arising from
social intercourse; the  chit-chat and  topic  of the
day, discussions on literature and taste, the  brilliancy
of wit,  and edge of satire, in their  turn engage the
attention, and he is a partaker of the entertainments
they afford.   Music, that " soft soother of the  mind,"
sounds as melodious as  ever in his  ear; and, while
rapt in the enthusiasm it not unfrequently  excites, a
lover of  this charming science  would,  with  reluc-
tance, give up  the  pleasure it affords for the restora-
tion even of sight itself.-
  The sensations that arise  from the contemplation of
beauty are no  longer his, but then he does not wit-
ness that  delight in which he  cannot share.  Tanta-
lus would have felt his deprivation  less, had he not
seen the object of his wish.
  Let us  now  review the deaf man's feelings; and,
to do so most to his advantage,  we must follow him
into retirement.  Nature displays her ample  volume
to his view in  all  her  charms; her  unnumbered
beauties  pass before him in  silent  majesty.   Such
          22* 
258
DEAF  MOTES.
scenes he contemplates with rapture, and, lost in ad-
miration, no wonder he  exclaims,  " Thank God, I
am not blind ! "   In  his  closet, treasures of learning
and  science afford him  means of improvement and
delight; books supply him with intellectual gratifi-
cation, without  giving  trouble to himself or others;
philosophical experiments may enlarge his mind, and
their benevolent application warm his heart.
   This short view (which might be much  enlarged
upon) will serve to show, that if in  society the blind
have their advantages,  in retirement the deaf have
theirs;  and reconciles the seeming contradiction of
the vivacity of the one,  and gloom of the other.
   If we institute a closer comparison of their respec-
tive wants and enjoyments, they will be found much
nearer on a level than is generally supposed.
   In considering their mutual dependence on the as-
sistance  and kind offices  of  others, it must be con-
fessed that, prima facie, the deaf man seems to  have
the advantage ;  but  a minuter investigation  will in-
duce us perhaps to be less confident in our first opin-
ion.  The  idea  of being  led from place to place is
melancholy, and I   believe  has  principal  weight
among the reasons which induce us to prefer the sit-
uation of the deaf;  but  their  dependence, though of
a different kind,  is very nearly as great as the other.
They can pursue their  way unaided, it is  true, but
'tis the cheerless walk of silence; they see the busy
stir of men, are anxious to know the meaning of his
haste or her alarm, but inquire in vain ; they  are in- 
  DISADVANTAGES OF LOSS OF SIGHT AND HEARING. 259

troduced, as it were, by one sense  to the scene be-
fore them, but the motive or design of the  actors is
unknown  from  the  loss of another.  Sight will, in
most instances, enable us to escape  from, or prevent
those accidental  dangers, which a  loss of it would
frequently  expose us to ; yet  I  have known a deaf
person rode over from  not hearing  the  approach of
mischief,  which, if heard, a  blind  one could have
shunned.
  In case of fire, we picture to ourselves with horror
the  helpless situation  of the blind;  terrified  and
alarmed, aware of the  impending  danger, he is yet
unable to take  advantage of the warning, but must
trust to the precarious fidelity of attendants, who, in
such a situation, are impelled, by the strongest law
of nature,  to seek  their own in  preference to anoth-
er's preservation.   In such an  awful scene, however,
the deaf man is in imminent danger.   Night  is the
season  of repose,  and those  who  are  incapable of
hearing an alarm are most likely to sleep sound and
undisturbed.   A friend or servant may cry with the
voice of Stentor, or thunder  at his door, in vain —
he sleeps on,  or only  wakes, alas! to  see, without
being able to escape from the calamity.

      " Horror ubiqne animos, simul ipsa silentiee terrent."
                                   JEn. ii. e. 755.

   Is a blind man fond  of books ? he can still  amuse
himself in retirement,  by listening  to the reading of
another ;  though this is too  frequently found (I fear) 
260
DEAF  MUTES.
 to  be an  irksome state of dependence ;  and should
 previous habits have formed his taste for exercise of
 the body rather than the  mind, he will feel his loss
 the greater  from the  want  of such a substitution.
 The company of others now  remains almost his only
 resource ;  here  we shall find him  cheerful and ani-
 mated ; but  then 'tis only here, for the time he spends
 alone  hangs dull and heavy on  his hands.   Upon
 observing  to an active young soldier,  who lost his
 sight a few years since in the service of his country,
 how surprised I was at his still retaining all his nat-
 ural vivacity, he replied,  " I do enjoy myself in com-
 pany, and therefore I seek it,  for you can have no idea
 how  many miserable hours  I spend alone."   Even
 those who have shone most conspicuous in the ranks
 of  genius, seem to lament their misfortune with feel-
 ings peculiarly keen ; our great epic poet, for instance,
 had a mind amply furnished  with every resource the
 brightest imagination and profoundest learning could
 afford, and with singular propriety might  the follow-
 ing lines have been applied to him :
           " He that has treasures  of his own,
             May leave the cottage or the throne,
           May quit the world and dwell alone
             Within his spacious mind." — Hor. Lyrics.

 Yet we find him not less affected  by  his loss than
 others, who possess not  one tenth of his advantages,
 as  the  following  elegant  and pathetic  apostrophe
clearly  shows,  which no  one surely ever read un-
moved : 
  DISADVANTAGES OF LOSS OF SIGHT AND HEARING. 261

                        " Thus with the year
           Seasons return ; but not to me returns
           Day, or the sweet approach of e'en or morn,
           Or sight of vernal bloom, or summer's rose,
           Or flocks, or herds, or human face divine ;
           But cloud instead, and ever-during dark
           Surrounds me; from the cheerful ways of men
           Cut off; and the book of knowledge fan-
           Presented with a universal blank
           Of Nature's works, to me expung'd and ras'd,
           And wisdom atone entrance quite shut out."
                                 Paradise  Lost, b. iiir.

  Should  a deaf  person have  no taste for literature,
he cannot, like a blind one, supply the deficiency by
resorting  to the amusements  of  society.   Society,
when it ceased to give  him  pleasure,  began to give
him pain.

      " Migravit ab aure volupts Omnis, ad incertos oculus."
                                  Her.Ep. il 2, v.  187.

After all, then, it is much to be doubted whether this
almost necessary exclusion from " the cheerful haunts
of men," does  not fully counterbalance  the evils so
finely  pictured by Milton and others.  Man is  natu-
rally  a social being — rob him  of the pleasures so-
ciety affords,  and you  take  from him nearly all for
which  he  would  wish  to  live.   When  alone no
amusement  awaits  him ; and  the world,  when he
mixes in it, is little better to him than one vast mo-
nastery of the  order of La  Trapple.  Mournful in-
deed must be that man's lot, who finds  no  resource
in solitude, no  charm  in  society.   Not  much  stress 
262
DEAF  MUTES.
can be  laid on  the deaf being able to converse by
signs; for, though necessity  may have soon made
them expert,  'tis a language  mostly  unknown to
others, — that knowledge which  is  seldom  found
necessary or useful, we have but little inducement to
acquire.  They  become, from necessity, selfish be-
ings ; their enjoyments cease  to be in common with
those around them, and the intercourse that imparts
pleasure  to others, is to them a source of disappoint-
ment and chagrin.   Their infirmity  also creates in
them a suspicious temper ; conscious of their inabil-
ity to detect, they are too apt  to imagine an insult,
and thus excite unpleasant feelings  in others as well
as in  themselves.
   The loss of sight or of hearing are  doubtless very
heavy afflictions, but nature makes up the deficiency,
in either case, more than those can well imagine, who
are still  in possession of  both.  The  deprivation of
one  sense  quickens  the  acuteness  of the rest;  and
although their number is diminished, their powers of
perception are improved.
   We are all apt to think our  own  misfortunes the
heaviest; but by contemplating the fate of others,
we shall find less reason to complain.

              " Neque enium fortuna queranda
        Sola tua est ; similes aliorum respice casus
        Mitius ista feres." — Ovid's Metamorph. 1. xv.

   This disposition not unfrequently arises also from
making a false estimate  of the happiness of others, 
             THE  ORPHAN  PROTECTED.          263

and is neatly expressed by a French writer, whose
name  I do not recollect.  "Ce qui fait  qu'ou n'est
pas content de la condition, c'est I' idee chimerique
que 1' on se forme du bonheur d'autrui."
  Should anything suggested in this hasty and im-
perfect sketch induce but one individual to bear, with
increased  resignation,  the  afflictive dispensations of
Providence, my satisfaction will  be  great, as it will
afford me the pleasing reflection, that  one  leisure
hour,  at least, has not been employed  in vain.
THE DEAF AHD DUMB, OR THE ORPHAN PROTECTED.

  An historical play was produced on Tuesday the
24 of February, under this title,  and received with
universal applause.   It is translated with alterations,
and additions, from a drama by Kotzebue,  who bor-
rowed the materials from a piece  represented  on the
French stage, the production of Mr. Bouilly, and en-
titled the Abbe L'Epee, or Le Sourd Muet.
  The Abbe L'Epee is the  founder of an institution
for the deaf and dumb, and is still living in the high-
est estimation at Paris.  The  circumstances  which
are here brought into a very moral and affecting dra-
ma, are built upon a real fact, that occurred in France
several years ago; and the restitution of a  noble or-
phan, deprived of the faculties of speech and hearing, 
264
DEAF  MUTE&.
 to his title and estates, was actually effected by the
 means pointed out in the play.
    The story is highly interesting, as our readers will
 perceive from the Abbe L' Epee's narrative, extracted
 from an elegant and spirited translation of Kotzebiie's
 play, by Benjamin Thompson, Esq. and differing very
 little from the  account delivered on  the stage.
    " It  is about eight years since  an officer of the
 police,  in Paris, brought to me a boy  who  was deaf
 and dumb.   He had been found on  the  Pont  Neuf,
 appeared to be nine or ten years of  age, and was of
 an engaging appearance.   The  coarse  tatters  with
 which he was clothed, made me at  first suppose he
 belonged to poor people, and I  promised  to take care
 of him.  The next morning, when  I examined him
 more minutely, I  observed  a certain  dignity in his
 looks.  He seemed astonished  at finding himself in
 rags, and I suspected that is was not without some
 intention he had been thus clothed  and  exposed.  I
 immediately published the  circumstance, and  accu-
 rately described  his  person  in the  newspaper, but
 without effect.   It  is  not  usual with mankind to
 be too eager in acknowledging  those who are unfor-
 tunate.
   " As  I perceived that all investigation was in vain,
 and as I was convinced that  this child was the vic-
 tim of some secret intrigue, I now merely endeavored
 to  obtain  information  from himself.  I  called him
 Theodore,  and placed him  among  my pupils.  He
soon distinguished himself, and so entirely  justified 
              THE  ORPHAN  PROTECTED.         265

my hopes, that after the expiration of three years, his
mind expanded, and he was (if I may use the expres-
sion) a second time created.   I conversed with  him
by signs, which in rapidity almost equalled  thought.
One day as we drove past a court of justice  in Paris,
he saw a magistrate step from his  carriage,  and was
unusually agitated.   I  asked the reason, and he gave
me to  understand that a man like this, clothed in
purple and ermine, had often embraced him, and shed
tears over him.  From this I concluded that he must
be the  son or near relation of some magistrate, who,
from his robes, could only belong to a superior court
of justice ; consequently, that my pupil's native place
was probably a town of considerable  size.   Another
time, as we were  walking together, we met the fune-
ral of a nobleman.  I  immediately perceived the for-
mer agitation  in  Theodore,  which increased  as the
procession came nearer.   At length the hearse passed
us — he trembled and  fell upon my  neck.  I ques-
tioned him, and he replied by signs, that a short time
before he was  conveyed to Paris, he had followed the
hearse,  in  which was the  man  who had  so often
caressed him.  From  this, I  concluded  he was an
orphan, and the heir to a large fortune, of which  his
relations had been induced to deprive him by  his help-
less situation    These important discoveries doubled
my zeal and resolution.  Theodore became daily more
interesting  to  me, and I  began to cherish  hopes of
regaining his property  for him.  But how to  begin
my inquiries ?  He had never heard his father's name ;
           23 
266
DEAF MUTES.
he knew not where he  had received existence.  1
asked  him whether he  remembered  when he  was
brought to Paris.  He answered  in  the affirmative,
and  assured me he  should know the gates through
which he entered.   The very next morning we went
forth to  examine  them, and  when  we approached
those  which are called  deVEnfer, he  made a sign
that  he recognized them ; that the carriage was there
examined,  and  that  his  two conductors, whose  fea-
tures still were present to his mind, alighted with him
there.   These new discoveries  proved that he came
from the south of France.   He  added that he  was
several days on the road,  and that the horses were
changed almost every hour.  After making calcula-
tions from  his several statements, I concluded  that
his native place was one of the principal towns in the
south of France.
  " After numberless unavailing inquiries, by  letter,
I at  last resolved to make a tour through the south-
ern towns,  with Theodore.  The various circumstan-
ces which he so minutely recollected, made me hope
that  he would easily recognize the place of his nativ-
ity.  The undertaking was certainly difficult, for 1
thought all expectations of success were idle, unless
our journey was performed  on foot.   I am  old, but
Heaven was pleased to grant me strength.   In spite of
age and infirmity, I left Paris above two months ago.
I passed through the gates deVEnfer,  which Theo-
dore  again  recognized.  When  we had left Paris a
little way behind us, we embraced each other, prayed 
            THE ORPHAN  PROTECTED.          267

that Heaven would guide our steps, and pursued our
way with confidence.   We had visited almost  every
place of magnitude, and now my strength was begin-
ning  to fail,  my consolatory hopes were  early ex-
hausted, when this  morning  we  arrived before the
gates of Toulouse.  We entered  the  town.  Theo-
dore hastily seized my hand, and made a sign that he
knew it.   We proceeded.  At every step his appear-
ance became more animated, and  tears  fell  from his
eyes.   We arrived at  the  market-place,  when sud-
denly he threw himself on the earth,  and raised his
hands towards Heaven, then sprung up, and informed
me he had now found the  place of his birth.   Like
him, intoxicated with delight, I forgot all the fatigues
of my journey.   We wandered  to other parts of the
town, and at length reached this  square.   He  espied
the palace exactly opposite to your house ; he uttered
a loud shriek, threw himself breathless into  my arms,
and pointed out the habitation of  his  father.   I made
inquiries,  and learnt  that  this palace formerly be-
longed to  the family of Count  Solar (D'Harancour)
the last branch  of which  is  my  pupil: that  all his
property is in the possession of a  Mr. Darlemont, the
guardian and maternal uncle  of the young Count, by
a false  declaration of whose  death,  he  became  pos-
sessed  of it.  I  immediately tried to  discover who
was the most eminent advocate in Toulouse,  that I
mi"ht  entrust  him  with  this  important  business.
You were mentioned to me, sir,  and I  am come to
place in yourhands what is dearest to me in the world : 
268
DEAF  MUTES.
the fate of Theodore.   Heaven sent him to me that
I might educate him.   Receive him from my hands,
and let your exertions restore  to him the  rank and
fortune  to which he is entitled by  the laws of nature
and of France."
   Darlemont wishes to bring  about  an  alliance be-
tween his son,  Capt.  St. Alme, and the president's
daughter; but the young man had been some  time
attached to  Marianna, sister to his  friend Faanval,
the advocate to. whom De I'Epee had been directed to
apply  for  advice.   Darlemont  is  highly incensed
when  he learns this, and peremptorily  prohibits his
son from marrying her.   The attachment is, how-
ever,  mutual, and  Franval, respecting the feelings of
St. Alme, is unwilling to expose the villany  of his
father, till he has endeavored to prevail  upon him to
reinstate the young  Count  in his rights.  In the
mean time, Theodore has been recognized by  some
domestics of the  estate.  St. Alme, too,  who had
loved him as a brother, and had sincerely lamented
his supposed death, acknowledges  the  beloved com-
panion of his early years ;  and  torn by contending
passions, arising from the conviction of his  father's
guilt, his own sense of wounded  honor, and above
 all, the wrongs of the young  Count, rushes out, re-
solving to redress them or die.   Darlemont, whose lot
is that of splendid  wretchedness, and who  has been
for some time, alarmed at the remorse  expressed by
Dupre, his servant and accomplice in guilt, still sat-
isfies  himself that  the boy  will never  be  heard of. 
              THE  ORPHAN PROTECTED.          269

 Dupre  had  accompanied  M. Darlemont  when the
 young Count was taken to Paris.   On  the evening
 they arrived there, he was ordered to procure some
 beggar's rags, that they  might clothe little Julio in
 them.   Darlemont then  took him away in a hackney-
 coach, and returned alone, some hours after, inform-
 ing Dupre, who expressed his surprise  at this, that
 he had executed a project which he had  long devised
 by leaving the young Count  to his fate in the middle
 of Paris.  In order to obtain possession of the Count's
 estates, it was necessary that his death should be le-
 gally proved.   Two witnesses were wanting for his
 purpose, of whom  Dupre was one.
   Franval and L'Epee proceed to the house of Dar-
 lemont, to assert  the  claims of Theodore.   Darle-
 mont is extremely agitated, when he  learns that  the
 celebrated instructer of the deaf and dumb  has  ar-
 rived at Toulouse; and  especially  when he under-
 stands  that the Abbe has circumstances to communi-
 cate  to him of the utmost importance.  He reluctantly
 consents to their being admitted; and though every
 proof is afforded him that his nephew is still alive, he
 expresses  his determination to keep possession of the
 estates ; and even  when Theodore is  introduced into
 his presence, he refuses to  acknowledge  his person.
 St. Alme, who enters in search of his father, entreats
 him, on his knees,  to prevent the disgrace which must
 forever attach to them both, if he persists in opposing
the just  claims of an  injured orphan.   Darlemont
rushes out in a paroxysm of fury :  St. Alme follows,
            23* 
270
DEAF  MUTES.
and breaking into the chamber in which he had locked
himself, accompanied by Dupre, who threatens to de-
liver himself and his principal into  the hands of jus-
tice, procures at length a written declaration from his
father,  that  ' Theodore  is the  Count  d'Harancour,
and  that he is ready to restore him to his rights.'
Theodore insists upon sharing  his  fortune with St.
Alme, and joining his hand in that of  Marianna, the
piece concludes.
   Such are  the leading incidents  of this play,  of
which the interest is  so powerful,  that, in despite of
the dullness of some  scenes,  and the impertinence of
others, the expectation is kept alive to the end of the
drama.   The unwearied benevolence of L'Epee; the
singularity,  and yet the unquestionable probability of
the action ;  the proneness of the human heart to feel
for a fellow-creature deprived of blessings which we
feel to be so very precious; the engaging manners of
the  youth,  who had been  exposed  in  the  publie
streets to perish with hunger, without the means of
making known his wants or his injuries to  the pas-
sers-by ; and the providential occurrences by which
this innocent victim is brought into the presence of
the wretch  who had  usurped his inheritance, are the
chief sources  of  that delight  which the audience
seemed to experience from the representation of ' The
 Deaf and Dumb.
   We feel particular pleasure in being able to state
that  the affecting situations of this play  do not arise
at the expense of morality.  The tendency is, on the 
             THE OftPHAN PROTECTED.         271

Contrary, perfectly unexceptionable;  and while the
author holds up to  admiration the  character of a
French philanthropist, who has devoted his time and
talents to  one of the most  honorable employments
which can dignify the  human  character, the  whole
affords a striking instance of the protecting  care  of
providence, and serves, in the words  of the Abbe, as
an additional proof that sooner  or later the most hid-
den crimes will be discovered ;  and that  nothing can
escape eternal justice.
   The piece has been  adapted  to  the English stage
with  great judgment.  The character of Darlemont
has been rendered of much  higher importance than
he possesses in the original.  The first scene, which
is altogether new, forms  a  suitable  opening  to  the
play,  and independent  of its use in preparing us by a
 dialogue between Darlemont and Dupre, for the rest-
 lessness, suspicion and horrible apprehensions which
 set the former constantly on  the  rack, presents us
 with an observation which  cannot be  too often re-
 peated ;  ' Accomplices in guilt are  of necessity the
 slaves of each other.'   An interview between Darle-
 mont and his son is extended and improved;  and the
 transpositions and omissions in the two  last  acts, by
 which  the denouement  is rendered more compact, rf
 not more artful, are also  to  be placed  to the credit
 of the adapter. 
272
DEAF MUTES.
  DEDICATION OF THE ASYLUM FOR THE DEAF AND
               DUMB, AT HARTFORD.

  The  ceremony of dedicating the American Asy-
lum  for the deaf and dumb  persons,  which  has
been erected in Hartford through the munificence of
the national government, and  the charitable dona-
tions of many persons of wealth  in this and other
States, took place  on  the afternoon of  the 22d May.
A procession was formed at the Court House, con-
sisting of the members of both branches of the Leg-
islature, the officers and pupils belonging to  the in-
stitution, strangers and citizens, which proceeded at
four  o'clock  to Lord's Hill,  the site on which the
Asylum is  erected.   Upon  reaching  the  Asylum,
which is about half a mile from the city, the whole
procession were accommodated with seats in the open
air in front of the building.   The officers of the in-
stitution occupied the  steps of the principal entrance
to the building, which were so elevated  as to give the
whole audience an opportunity of witnessing the cer-
emonies.  The Rev. Mr. Whittlesy, Superintendent,
first addressed the throne of  grace in an appropriate
and impressive manner, and  a  hymn,  composed for
the occasion, was then sung by the audience.  The
sermon  was delivered by the Principal, the Rev. Mr.
Thomas H.  Gallaudet, in  a pathetic  and   forcible
manner, which was immediately succeeded  by the 
     DEDICATION OF THE HARTFORD ASYLUM.    273

dedicatory prayer by the  same gentleman.   We for-
bear to comment upon the excellence of the discourse,
as we have learnt, with pleasure, that it is soon to be
published.  Mr. Gallaudet then explained to his  pu-
pils the  nature  and object  of the  exercises which
they had just seen performed.   This prepared their
minds to take a part in a scene in which they were
so immediately  interested; he then  prayed with
them by signs, in a manner so significant and solemn,
as to impress  the whole audience with reverence  and
awe.  Another original hymn was then sung, after
which the blessing was pronounced.
  After the exercises were  over, the assembly were
invited  to view the interior of the building.  It is
one hundred  and thirty  feet in length, forty-five in
width, four  stories  (including  a basement story) in
height, and contains about forty apartments, some of
which are very spacious.   It is built of brick,  in a
plain and substantial manner, and is delightfully sit-
uated on an eminence opening on all sides  to as ex-
tensive and rich  a  landscape as can be found in the
eastern States.
  Great praise is due to the  officers of the American
Asylum, and to the gentlemen who compose its cor-
poration, for  the zeal  which  they have  uniformly
shown for its best interests, and for the courage and
perseverance  with  which they have   met and over-
come the difficulties with  which  they have had to
contend.  But  they have  now the  satisfaction of
seeing it placed beyond  the reach of  competition in* 
274
DEAF  MUTES.
this  country, at  least so  long as  its  concerns shal
continue to be managed with  the same prudence and
foresight that they have been.
   The following  are the hymns which were sung on
the occasion:
		HYMN 1.
"To him who rei	nombered u	! in our low est
ever." — Psalm cxx:	[vi. 2—3.	
How shall the race whom nature's doom
  Consigned to mental night,
Thank those who changed their prison gloom
  To liberty and light.

Who from obscurity and  care
  Redeemed their lot distressed,
And bade them  in this mansion fair
  Enjoy an ark of rest ?

Who can their grateful thoughts explore ?
  What signs shall they  employ ?
Voiceless and mute,  how can they pour
  The language of their joy >

Fain would they bless the minds that bend,
  Instruction's  page to spread,
And teach them of the sinner's Friend,
  Whose blood for them was shed.

But  ah !  with what ecstatic zeal
  Shall they His praise express,
Who moved the pitying heart to feel !
  The bounteous hand to bless !

If e'er they meet around His throne,
  Where ransom'd spirits stand,
Then may they learn how high a  tone
  Such gifts as theirs demand 
THE  DEAF  GIRL.                 275
                   HYMN II,

our light affliction — which is but for a moment — worketh for I
"and eternal weight of glory."—2. Corinthians, iv. 17.

      What though we hear not nature's voice
         Melodious through the verdant trees,
      Majestic o'er the rolling floods,
         Or soften'd in the whispering breeze?

      What though the gentle tones of love
         Unanswered or unnoticed flow,
      Nor sorrow's broken accents move
         Our  minds to  sympathetic woe :

      Perchance the soul,  by sounds of pain
         And words of error ne'er distressed,
      May from its silent Sabbath gain
         A fitness for the clime of rest:

      Perchance the ' light affliction ' leads
         From earth's alluring charms away,
      Or moves with warmer zeal to seek
         The glories of the 'perfect day.'

      But who the raptured thrill can -tell,
         When from the lips its seal is riven ?
      When the freed  ear shall first essay
         Its power amid the harps of  Heaven ?
THE  DEAF GIRL.
   Marianne Willis, when beheld  in an  attitude  of
meditation,  was as beautiful a human being as  imag-
ination ever drew.    Brow, cheek, lips, just such  as a
poet would like to describe, and burn to kiss ;  and her 
*76
DEAF1  MUTES.
 eyelash, with its long dark fringe, shaded an eye that
 merited a  whole  Petrarch  sonnet;  and  then her
 graceful form, rounded arm, and delicate hand — each
 deserved its eulogium.  But  a beauty  who cannot
 speak, is no more to our intellectual beaux than a
 statue.   And yet,  where is  the great advantage in
 having  the faculty of speech, if it be only employed
 in lisping nonsense ?   Perhaps the subject has  never
 been considered.   I wish it might be proposed for a
 them,e at some of our colleges ; it  would  doubtless
 elicit as many new ideas from the young students, as
 a  " dissertation  on the comparative  advantages of
 Greek and Roman literature."
   Marianne  Willis was called the  "deaf beauty,"
 and she was the  only beauty I ever knew,  who al-
 ways turned a deaf ear to her own praises.   Yet she
 was not insensible to the admiration she raised;  the
 ardent, enduring gaze of those who,  for the first time
especially,  beheld her,  always called a deeper glow
 on her cheek, and she  would  cast down her bright
 eyes, and turn away, exhibiting that modesty of feel-
 ing which is so truly  indicative of the purity of the
 female heart.
  A person born blind, raises in the  beholder few
emotions, save pity.  We feel, at a glance, the help-
lessness and hopelessness of the case.   It  is other-
 wise when  we see those who are  deafi   There is
usually  more animation {eagerness, perhaps, would
 better express what is meant) in  the countenance of
such an one, than in that of a person who can speak. 
THE DEAF  GIRL.
277
There is, too, a hilarity in the smile of the deaf that
seems to ask amusement, not sympathy.  And then
the  oddity of  their gestures, the quickness of their
motions, the restlessness of their glances, are apt to
inspire a corresponding vivacity in  the  mind of the
beholder.  In  short, we feel that  the spirit of the
deaf one is awake, and can hold converse with ours,
and  thus  it is much less  painful  to contemplate a
deaf, than a blind person.
  But it  was  always a positive pleasure to look on
Marianne,  or rather  to  have her look on you — she
was so lovely, and her features  always so lighted up
with mirth ; it was not till she turned away,  and
you lost the inspiration of her  soul-beaming smile,
that  the  idea  of  the darkness  in  which that  soul
must be shrouded, came over you.   The melancholy
truth then fell so sorrowfully,  that tears, even from
firm  men, were  often  the  tribute  of grief for her
misfortune.  Tears — one glance from her laughing
eyes, in   a moment  dispelled  them.   She  was as
happy as she seemed, as happy  as she  was innocent
— she had never known a single sorrow or  privation
She had been tended and watched over from the hour
of her birth, by the  untiring, vigilant,  and affection-
ate care of parents,  who loved her a thousand times
better for  the  misfortune that  made their  watchful-
ness so  necessary.    They had taught her  every-
thing she could be made to comprehend concerning
her duties, and scrupulously did she perform them ;
especially in adhering to truth, she  was so  strict that
           24 
\
278                DEAF MUTES.

never,  even  in  her gayest moments, did a sign or
gesture, intended to deceive, escape her.
  This charming creature, much more deserving the
epithet angelic, than the fine and fashionable belles to
whom  it is so often applied,  lived in the retirement,
then almost solitude, of one of the western Counties
in the  State of New-York.  Till she was eighteen,
she had never been  out  of sight  of the house in
which  she was born.   About this time, Marianne, to
the oft-repeated and urgent request of her aunt, was
permitted to visit her,  and spend a few weeks in Al-
bany.  Her beauty, and the naivete  of her air, were
so exquisite, that her relative, Mrs. Drew, in the pride
of her heart,  could not  resist  the temptation of in-
troducing the sweet girl to society, and accompanying
her to  places  of amusement, although Mrs. Drew had
promised she would do neither.   Mrs. Willis had en-
joined  it on  her sister not to  indulge Marianne in
pleasures, which, as she  did  not know  existed, she
did not  require to  make her happy  ; but should she
once taste them,  the remembrance  might give her a
disrelish for those simple enjoyments that had hith-
erto made her bliss.   Perhaps it will be  thought her
parents did wrong to allow her to go to Albany, and
visit in the family  of  a fashionable  lady.  They al-
ways  blamed  themselves.  And yet, why  should
they ?   When people act from  a sincere motive of
doing  what, on the whole, they deem right, and ex-
pedient, and  calculated to give happiness to others,
or themselves, should a disappointment of these ex- 
THE  DEAF GIRL.
279
pectations involve self-reproach ?   I  think not.   We
may regret misfortune — we should feel remorse only
for guilt.
   Mrs. Drew should  have felt remorse, for she was
guilty of violating her  word—but  she always ex-
cused herself from all blame, saying,  " Who would
have thought just going to half a dozen parties, and
a few balls, and  once or twice to the  theatre, could
have been productive  of evil consequences ?
   At  the theatre, Marianne  attracted  the notice of
Captain Hall, a  young  naval  officer,  who was on a
visit to some friends in Albany.  He was astonished,
almost annihilated by the charms of the deaf girl,
and determined to see her again.   He was a gay and
thoughtless, but a generous as  well as  warm-hearted
man; and the pity he felt for the misfortune of the
girl whom he  was pleased to  style "divine," aug-
mented his passion.   Yet, he never dreamed of mar-
rying her — that  was entirely  out of  the question ;
but he wanted  to look upon her,  to talk about her,
and to engross, if possible,  her attention.   He was
not acquainted with Mrs. Drew, but as his relatives
were among the  honorable of  the city, an introduc-
tion to her was very easy.  She  was quite as much
flattered by the bow  and compliment  he  made her
on his first visit,  as he  was by the blush and smile
Marianne  gave him.    Thus they  were mutually
pleased,  and he continued  to call  daily, and accom-
pany  them in  their walks and to their parties, al-
ways contriving to take  the hand of Marianne—and 
280
DEAF  MUTES.
who would suppose he could relinquish it without a
pressure ? the only way in which he could express a
tender compliment.
  Marianne did not, at first, seem at all pleased with
his  attentions ; and to flatter her by the usual modes,
was impossible.  She  could  listen t© no praises  of
her beauty, taste,  or mind — but she could feel grat-
itude  for kindnesses ; and unfortunately she  ascribed
to the kindness of Hall the opportunities  she now  so
often  enjoyed  of  visiting  places of amusement, and
she was thankful  for his  attentions; and it was not
long before, when he pressed  her hand,  he  felt the
pressure returned.
  Mrs. Drew could not but notice the change in her
niece.  From being constantly cheerful, and testify-
ing pleasure and interest in all she saw, she began  to
droop, and be melancholy, except in the  presence  of
Hall.   She watched for  him when absent, she met
him with unrestrained joy; and yet she would blush,
and be offended, if rallied concerning him. It seemed
she had an idea that her love for him must be as se-
cret as it was sacred.   Mrs. Drew saw all this, and
yet she  took no  measures to prevent Captain Hall
from  associating daily with her niece.
  At  the  expiration of a  month, Mr. Willis came for
his daughter,  but  she  refused  to  accompany him
home, and the uneasiness  she  testified when  he
urged her to go,  made  him  suspect  something be-
sides  the attractions of her aunt's house induced her
to wish to tarry in Albany.  After some inquiries, so 
                 THE DEAF GIRL.             281

pointed  and particular Mrs. Drew could not evade
them, the father discovered the cause of Marianne's
tears and emotion.  Mr.  Willis was a plain farmer,
but a man of good  sense, and  some  acquaintance
with the world ; and  moreover, he had a  thorough
knowledge of his daughter's disposition.  He knew
if she could be convinced that there  was no truth in
the heart of the man  she thought loved her, or at
least, that he would pay  the same attentions to any
other girl, whose beauty happened to please  him,
Marianne would renounce him at once.  Mr. Willis,
therefore, waited on Captain  Hall, and frankly told
him the  mischief his  thoughtless  gallantry  had
caused,  and  asked of him, as a man of honor, to
make the reparation  of undeceiving Marianne.   " I
admire your daughter's beauty and disposition," said
the impassioned young man ;  " could she  but speak,
I should prefer her to any woman on earth."
   " Yet, as she never will speak, you have no inten-
tion of marrying  her," replied  Mr. Willis,  coolly.
" I am not intending to  upbraid you, sir, any more
than myself and sister Drew.   We have all been to
blame,  and now  that dear innocent child,  who is
free from guile  as an infant, must suffer.  It is to
shorten the term of her uneasiness, that I ask you to
undeceive her.  The pang of knowing she has been
deceived, she must endure."
   Captain Hall  changed color so  many times, and, in
spite of  his efforts, betrayed so much agitation, that
Mr. Willis was convinced his  daughter was  not  the
          24* 
282
DEAF  MUTES.
only sufferer — yet,  as  he knew  the young sailor
would never marry Marianne, (indeed he would not
have consented that he should) he deemed it his duty
to insist that she should not be left in any doubt on
the subject.  Captain Hall, at length, agreed to what
Mr. Willis proposed.
  A party was  made at the house of Mrs. Drew, and
while Marianne watched, with a feverish restlessness,
the entrance of every visiter,  Captain Hall made his
appearance, escorting two very fine  ladies.  He at-
tended and talked to them all the evening, paying no
attention, except  by a distant bow, to Marianne.
The next morning her  eyes were swollen, and her
cheeks  pale, yet  she insisted on  starting for home.
Her father consented.    As  they drove  out  of the
city, they met  Captain  Hall, in a carriage,  with one
of the ladies he escorted  the evening before.  Mari-
anne hid her face as soon as she recognized him.   He
turned pale, as he noticed the action, and stopped his
chaise as if to  speak.  Mr.  Willis, with a motion of
his hand, and a look, so determined, yet melancholy,
that Hall dare not disregard  it, bade him  drive ou.
The carriages  passed, and Hall  and Marianne never
met again.
   No allusion was ever made by Marianne concern-
ing her lover — and her parents hoped she would
again enjoy the simple  pleasures of home, and forgel
the disappointment she had suffered.   But the charm
that had made life so pure and pleasant; the charm
of thinking the  professions  of  those who  expressed 
LINES.
283
affection and interest for  her, were sincere, was de-
parted.   She had worshipped truth—she found the
world false — her spirit was not formed to endure it;
and  she could not have recourse to the maxims of
philosophy,  or, what is far better,  the  promises of
Christianity, to aid her to  resign her hopes of felicity
here, and seek her portion in that world where truth
is bliss.   She appeared calm and resigned,  but there
was in  her  manner an apathy, almost a deadness of
feeling, towards those objects and friends that seemed
once to  interest  every faculty of her  mind.   She
never complained of pain,  but she evidently declined;
her  beauty did  not  fade; she  retained her angelic
charms till the last;  and after her pure soul had  de-
parted, the clay it had  once inhabited looked too holy
to resign to corruption and  the worm.  She was  buried
beneath the shade of a broad sycamore, and the white
rose-bush planted at her  head,  still  droops over her
grave.
                      LINES
ON VIEWING THE BEAUTIFUL EDIFICE DEDICATED AS THE
                AMERICAN ASYLUM.


   These ! — stand forever !— God will hold thee up
   While lesser things of earth shall pass away —
   Such is the fate that mingles in the cup
   Of human hopes and human destiny ! —
   Sure, Heaven will bid thee stand unscath'd by time —
   Thou, consecrated to him, the Architect sublime. 
284
DEAF MUTES.
Holy retreat of the unspotted soul,
That cannot hear the world's loud tongue proclaim
Its tale of nothing o'er the madd'ning bowl,
Where pride and genius sink to guilt and shame ; —
Thou shalt survive, a glory to mankind,
While we shall make our graves, nor leave a name behind.

There is no  noisy mirth within thy halls,
Though the  full flood of life is rolling there I
A thousand tongues—but still no echo falls !
A thousand prayers—but still no sound of prayers !
A thousand hearts may pour the votive song,
But silence wings the note, and wafts it heavenward on !

There is no sound of mourning in thy halls,
Tho' thousands there may lift the tearful eye —
Bat living stillness moves along thy walls,
Where ears are seal'd to long eternity !
A breathing silence — where one feels alone,
As if all souls from this mortality were flown !

God has seal'd up all lips — and made them still!
Has clos'd all ears, and bade them hear no more —
And now no discord wakes a warring will,
Nor waves unholy break on passion's shore —
Peace is the watchword on this hallow'd ground ;
Religion speaks in silent eloquence around !

O God ! — thy dispensations none can  tell ;
No human mind can tell how dark may be
Thy visitations on us ; — for the spell
Of mortal knowledge centres all in thee ;
Thou art in  thy blue home — unknown — and high —
Alone—and one in  thy unchanging mystery !

But they shall lift their speechless lips to thee,—
And offer their heart's incense at thy throne,
That they can grasp creation with the eye,
And see that man is thine — and Heaven thine own ! 
       INSTITUTION IN PHILADELPHIA.       285

O 'tis a glorious thing in man to raise
So proud an altar to his Maker's praise —
'Tis the best offering laid on reason's shrine
And almost makes humanity divine.
     INSTITUTION FOR  THE DEAF AND  DUMB IN
                   PHILADELPHIA.

   This institution was established in  1820, and the
building erected in 1824.   It is constructed of gran-
ite;  the  front  is  ninety-six feet, and  the width is
sixty-three feet.  The Legislature of Pennsylvania
granted eight thousand dollars to the funds  of the
institution, and  to which were added donations from
some liberal  individuals.   The State made provision
also  for the maintenance of fifty indigent pupils, for
several years.   Maryland and New-Jersey gave sup-
port  to the institution ;  the former by an appropriation
of thirty-five hundred dollars for a number of years,
to support indigent deaf  and dumb  children of that
State; and the  latter by  maintaining twelve  pupils,
for an indefinite  period.   In  1831, the  number of
deaf and dumb children in the  asylum  was  about
seventy; and it is believed  the number has increased
since that year.   The  children are  taught  industri-
ous  habits, and their minds so cultivated by their
skillful teachers, that they acquire much useful infor-
mation.  The  pupils continue in the  asylum from 
286                DEAF MUTES.

four  to six years.  The system  pursued in the insti-
tution is agreeable to the theory of the Abbe Sicard ;
and substantially conformable to that adopted in the
American Asylum at Hartford.
        A  VISIT TO THE AMERICAN ASYLUM.
     [Extract of a letter to the Editor of the Religious Remembrancer.]

  In  Hartford you are sensible there exists  a  pre-
eminently benevolent, and  most religiously as well
as scientifically conducted institution of the deaf and
dumb, the  superior fame of  which can derive  but
little from any eulogium of mine ;  however, I feel it
as imperative to make a plain statement of my visit
on Monday, July 31st, to  that school of providential
affliction, having been solicited  so to do, by the good
and learned principal, the  Rev. Thomas H. Gallaudet,
Mr. Laurent Clerc being absent in Europe.  For the
number, ages, and conditions of the pupils, the assist-
ant  instructers, the wonderful progress of those com-
mitted to their various charges, &c, I beg leave to
refer you  to the last report  of the directors.  The
exercises which  took place  on my  visit were  the
customary ones;  they were more than  interesting —
they were  solemn and affectionate, and their combi-
nation with pure and undefiled religion,  was heav-
enly ; how  could it  be  otherwise with such a well 
         VISIT TO THE  AMERICAN ASYLUM.      287

informed instructer,  and unassuming servant in the
glorious gospel of the Kingdom.   I  was requested to
ask a few questions, which being  made known by
signs, their replies on their slates,  for their quick-
ness, accuracy, and  intelligence, filled me with as-
tonishment.   To  enumerate  the whole  would  be
tedious  and unnecessary.   Mr.  Gallaudet  explains
different  words;   afterwards  sentences  containing
those words are given them to write down; the word
then  in course was poverty.   The sentence given
them was,  " Poverty of  spirit, through  the  grace of
God,  is most commendable."   Authority:  Jesus said,
" Blessed are the poor in spirit."   This was no sooner
understood by them, than the  whole appeared hand-
somely, and agreeably  to the rules of punctuation,
put down on their slates.   Requested to form senten-
ces themselves, embracing certain words, they did so
with singular ease, and void  of all embarrassment ;
on parting  and recommending  them to God, I ex-
pressed a hope that we should  all meet in another and
a better world, where they would, through illustrious
grace, praise the eternal Jehovah with voices as loud
as any  of the redeemed,  and hear  the anthems of
glorious  praise equal with the  highest order of the
heavenly hosts!   This  wish  or  prayer being made
known to them by their Principal,  he required each
one in his department to make his  reply.   On going
round for examination, all were solemnly appropriate.
One,  Miss  Morrison, (there  are in  the  institution,
three sisters of that  name) arrested  my attention and 
288
DEAF  MUTES.
 impressed  my soul.   " We  thank you, sir, for your
 pious wishes; but  as for myself, I  do not  know
 whether I  shall go to heaven or hell."   She was in
 tears,  and  the deepest distress.   I begged Mr. Gal-
 laudet to make from me the following reply: " Jesus
 saith, " Him," or her, " that cometh unto me I will
 in no wise cast out."  He requested me to write it
 on her slate ;  I did so: she read the gracious declar-
 ation of the Son of God,  and the  tears  rolled down
 her cheeks, and with fixed  eyes on the writer, her
 countenance seemed to express, or more than express,
 " And is there hope  for such a sinner as I!"   The
 whole department or  class, the visiters, the excellent
 instructor,  were as  solemn as the grave.  Not being
 able to endure the interview any longer, after a con-
 tinuance of two  hours, I bade them,  affectionately,
 farewell!   In this institution there  appear to be
 several candidates  for glory;  some  have professed
 faith  in the  Lord's anointed:  one of these interest-
 ing objects of commiseration, Mr. George Comstock,
 from Newport, R. I.,  called daily, during my stay at
 my brother's ; he is  supposed  to be a child of  God!
 Oh, how I wish  that  I could  have conversed with
 him.
   At  eight  o'clock in the evening, agreeable to pre-
 vious invitation of the Rev. Mr.  Whittlesey, Super-
 intendent of the  asylum  for the deaf and dumb, I
 repaired thither with my brother.    Mr. Whittlesey is
also one of the engaged followers of the Lamb, who,
 with his amiable  lady are both devoted to the cause 
          VISIT TO THE AMERICAN  ASYLUM.      289

 of Christ and humanity.   Tarried till  the  hour of
 prayer, nine o'clock.   All  the deaf and dumb, with
 their several instructers, and some of the neighbors
 were collected.   A chapter was read by the Rev. Mr.
 Whittlesey; the whole school then arose from their
 seats, with their eyes most devotionally fixed on the
 Rev. Mr. Gallaudet, who  addressed  the throne  of
 grace by signs.   Never, dear sir, did my soul witness
 a more affecting scene,  the whole  appeared to be the
 voice of God from Heaven.  Afterwards, all kneeling,
 I was requested to pray!   Perceiving many, but Miss
 Morrison  aforesaid in particular, to be affected,  she
 was called up, when I solicited Mr. Gallaudet to say
 unto her from me the words of our Lord and Saviour
 Jesus Christ.  " Come unto me all  ye that labor and
 are heavy laden, and  I will give you rest."   She ap-
 peared  to be  filled with  agonizing concern, which
 prompted me  to  address a letter to her the  day fol-
 lowing, to be delivered after I left the city.  In Hart-
 ford, none who profess our holy religion are known
 to undeify the Son of God !
   From the  foregoing  statement,  the correctness of
 which you may depend upon, how  necessary does it
 appear,  if not absolutely requisite,  that the teachers
 of our youth generally, particularly the instructers of
 the deaf and dumb, should be men and women  of
unblemished  lives, and taught themselves  in the
school of Christ by the Holy  Spirit  of  the living
God, that they might be enabled to teach others, as
instruments in his hands, the way of salvation.
         25 
290                      DEAF  MUTES.
                  THE  BLIND MANS LAY.

                     [From the Lady's Magazine.]

   "At times Allen felt as if his blindness were  a blessing—for it
forced him to trust to his own soul — to turn for comfort to the best and
purest human affections — and  to see God always.   Fanny could al-
most have wept  to  see the earth and the sky so beautiful, now thai
Allen's eyes were dark ; but he whispered to  her, that the smell of the
budding trees and of the  primroses that he knew were near his feet,
was pleasant indeed, and that the  singing of all the little birds made  his
heart  dance within him." — Lights and Shadows of Scottish
Life.

           He sat beside the fountain, on whose brink
           A troop of blue-eyed  violets ope'd their lids
           To the first breezy call of  early spring ;
           And there — from the grey dawn till twilight's gloom,
           Where the soft, springing moss, surcharged with dew,
           Yielded its oozing moisture to the  touch,
           Telling the nightfall near — he  mused away
           Long hours of silent happiness, save when
           The soft and pitying words of love would call
           His spell-bound spirit from its blissful thrall ;
           Then in the  voice of sweetest melody
           He breathed his unrepining, meek reply :

                Though I hear thee gaily tell
                Of  the tulip's shaded bell,
                Of  the wall-flower's varied  hue,
                And the  violet " darkly blue,"
                And the  crimson blush that glows
                On the rich, voluptuous rose —
                These no longer bloom for me,
                These I never more may see.

                 But this  gentle season still,
                 Can my  heart with gladness fill —
                 I can hear the spring-winds  blow 
   THE  BLIND MAN'S LAV.               291

And the gurgling fountains flow —
Hark ! — e'en now a zephyr breathes
Through the balmy  hawthorn wreaths,
Unfelt, unheard by all but me,
It swells so soft, so silently !

I can hear the humming-bee
Flitting o'er the  sunny lea,
Wooing every bashful flower
From morn till evening's dewy hour.
All around the voice of birds,
And the lisped and laughing words
Of merry childhood, greet my ear,
With power the  saddest heart to cheer.

When o'er earth night's shadow lies,
I hear thee tell of cloudless skies,
And countless stars that twinkle through
Heaven's broad  and boundless arch of blue ;
Of snow-white spires and turrets fair,
Soft gleaming in the moonlight air,
Whose dusky depths of shadow lie
Height'ning the  brilliant scenery.

Then beneath the pine trees tall,
Near yonder foaming water-fall,
I listen to the stock dove's wail
Far floating through the quiet vale ;
Soft sighing breezes waft to me
The fragrance of the birchen tree —
And the " brawling burnie" wimples by
With a gush of  soothing melody.

E'en all sweet sense of these will fade
At times — as though impervious shade
Like that which hides me from the day,
O'er each external image lay —
Then, many a form thou canst not see,
Unfolds its sun-bright wings to me, 
292                     DEAF  MUTES.

                And deep within my silent soul
                High thoughts and holiest visions roIF.

                Full many an angel messenger
                Comes down my darksome path to cheer,
                And all around my sylvan throne,
                There seems to wake a dreamy tone
                Of solemn music through the air,
                So wildly sweet — so silvery clear—
                So full of Heaven — no longer tell
                The raptures that my bosom swell.

                Not all the joys that have their birth
                In the vain pageantries of earth,
                Are half so fraught with power  to bless,
                So rich in pensive happiness —
                Wrapt in these lonely reveries,
               Serene and holy transports rise,
               Such as we deem pure spirits know,
               Such as from God's felt presence flow.

               Thus, when affliction's friendly screen
               Shuts out life's vain, illusive scene —
               When thus she seals our weary eyes
               To all its glittering vanities,
               A gleam of heavenly light will pour
               Our dark, despairing spirits o'er,
               And Faith, with meek and steadfast eye,
               Far glancing through eternity,

               Sees where the heavenly mansions rise,
               Of her bright home beyond the skies,
               Whose golden fanes sublimely tower
               High o'er the clouds that round us lower.
               Then welcome sorrow's shrouding shade j
               Fade ! scenes of earthly splendor, fade t
              And leave me to that dawning ray
              That brightens till the  " perfect day," 
     MR.  BRAIDWOOD's  ACADEMY IN EDINBURGH.  293


    MR. BRAIDWOOD'S ACADEMY IN EDINBURGH,

  For the teaching of persons born deaf and dumb, to speak, write
and read with understanding.  From Mr.  Pannant's tour into
Scotland.

  Mr. Braidwood, professor of the academy of dumb
and deaf, has under his care a number of  young per-
sons who have received the promethian heat, the di-
vine inflatus; but from the unhappy construction of
their organs, were  (till they had received his instruc-
tions) denied the power of utterance.  Every  idea
was locked up, or appeared but in  their eyes, or at
their fingers' ends, till their master instructed them
in arts unknown to us  who have the faculty of hear-
ing.   Apprehension reaches us by the grosser sense.
They see our words, and  our uttered thoughts be-
come to them visible.   Our ideas, expressed in speech,
strike their ears  in  vain: their eyes receive  them
as they part from our lips.  They conceive by intu-
ition, and speak  by imitation.  Mr. Braidwood first
eaches them the letters and their powers ;  and  the
ideas of words written,  beginning with  the most
simple.   The art of speaking  is taken from the  mo-
tion  of his lips ; his words being  uttered  slowly and
distinctly.  Their answers are slow,  and somewhat
harsh.
  When I entered the room, and found myself sur-
rounded with numbers of human forms so oddly cir-
cumstanced, I felt a  sort of anxiety as I might be sup-
            25* 
294
DEAF MUTES.
posed to feel had I been environed by another order
of beings.  I was soon relieved, by being introduced
to a most angelie young creature,  of about the age of
thirteen.   She honored  me with her newly-acquired
conversation; but  I may truly  say, that  I  could
scarcely  bear the power of her  piercing eyes :  she
looked me through and  through.   She soon satisfied
me that she was an apt  scholar.  She readily appre-
hended all I said, and returned  me answers with the
utmost facility.   She read;  she  wrote  well.  Her
reading was not by rote.  She could clothe the same
thoughts in a new set of words, and never vary from
the original sense.   I  have forgotten the book  she
took up,  or the sentences she made  a new version of,
but the effect was as follows:

                  ORIGINAL PASSAGE.

  Lord  Bacon has divided the  whole of human
knowledge into history, poetry and philosophy, which
are referred to the three powers  of the mind, memory,
imagination and reason.

                      VERSlOB.

   A nobleman has parted  the  total, or  all  of man's
 study or understanding, into an  account of the life,
manners, religion and customs of any people or natu-
ral knowledge, which are pointed to the three facul-
ties of the soul or spirit; the faculty of remembering
what is past, thought or conception, and right judg-
 ment. 
PHEBE  P.  HAMMOND.
295
  I left Mr. Braidwood and his pupils with the satis-
faction which must result from  a reflection  on the
utility of his  art, and the merit of his labors, who
after receiving under his care a being that seemed to
be merely endowed with a human form, could pro-
duce the divina particula aurde talent, and  but for
his skill,  condemned to  be latent in it; and who
could restore a child to its glad parents  with a capac-
ity of  exerting its rational powers, by expressive
sounds of duty, love and affection.
              PHEBE P. HAMMOND.

  Phebe P. Hammond, was an  uncommonly beauti-
ful and interesting child.   She  was the daughter of
Elisha Hammond, Esq. of Brookfield, Massachusetts,
and born on the 4th of March,  1817.   Her perceptions
were so quick in infancy, and her attention to every
passing  object so lively, that the circumstance of her
being deaf and dumb was not  so much as imagined
by, her parents.  When she was nearly two years old
this was accidentally discovered by  her  not regard-
ing a loud and sharp noise  from the  hammer of a
mechanic.   As she had never been sick, to occasion
the loss of any of her senses,  it was therefore appa-
rent that she must have been deaf from her birth. 
296
DEAF  MUTES.
   When she was two and a half  years  old,  another
 daughter was added to  the family, and it was soon
 ascertained that she also was in the same  situation.
 The hearts of the parents mourned over the  misfor-
 tunes of these two lovely  children.  They appeared
 to  them excluded by nature  from participation in
 the blessings of education  and the  privileges of  an
 intelligent community.  That noble institution, the
 American Asylum for the deaf and dumb,  was then
 in its infancy,  which has since diffused the light  of
 knowledge and the  happiness of  religious truth to so
 many interesting and isolated beings, and which, like
 the Banian of the East, is  striking out  healthful and
 vigorous roots, whose ' leaves are  for the healing of
 the nations.'
   The attachment of these little  silent sisters soon
revealed  itself in the most touching and endearing
 forms.   Phebe seemed perfectly  happy when  little
 Frances  was old  enough to run about, and play with
 her.  She  would lead her  with the greatest  gentle-
 ness, take continual care lest she should get hurt, and
watch over her, as with a mother's tenderness.  When
they were permitted to play out of doors, if she feared
anything would harm her sister, she encircled her  in
her arms, to protect her, and then by her  cries, so-
licited aid and relief from others.   If she wished "to
climb a fence, she would first ascend it alone,  trying
every part of it, to be sure  that it was  strong; and
then return  aud help her sister, keeping  hold  of her
with all the strength and firmness  in her power, and 
PHEBE P.  HAMMOND.
297
 extending her little arms on the other side, to lift her
 tenderly down.   It was a sight more pleasing  than
 melancholy, to view those beautiful infants at their
 healthful sports upon the  smooth, green grass, or un-
 der the shade of the  trees in  summer, supplying,  as
 far as they could, the deficiency in nature's gifts, by
 the sweetest and most cheerful affections.
   As they grew older, they expressed a  desire to at-
 tend school, with other children.  Their cousin had
 charge of the school.  She had always  loved these
 little silent sisters, and they were permitted daily  to
 attend her instructions, with the other scholars.   She
 devoted as much  attention to  them  as  was  in her
 power, and  they soon  learned to sew and to  write.
 Their father procured for  them the manual alphabet,
 used at the  Deaf and Dumb Asylum, at  Hartford.
 and  they were thus taught to spell  many words,
 They were very diligent in their studies, and  when
 visiters came to the  school, they were  surprised  at
 their exhibitions of writing and needle-work,  which
 excelled  all  others of the same age in the school.
  In the month of May, 1827, these little girls, with
 their  father, and  the cousin who had  taught  and
 loved them,  arrived  at  the  Asylum, in  Hartford.
 Phebe  was then ten years old, and Frances only seven
 and a half.
  They  soon became cheerful and  happy.   They
loved their teachers,  and their fellow pupils.   They
admired the delightful situation  of the  asylum, its
commodious  apartments,  and spacious  grounds. 
298
DEAF  MUTES.
Their affectionate hearts were open to every innocent
pleasure, and they were treated with a  kindness  by
their companions which made them feel at home.
  Phebe, as the oldest, took the utmost care of the
clothes of her sister.  She wished her to be always
neat, and to have everything in its place, and seemed
as if she felt  it  her duty to supply as far as possible
the absence  of a mother.   Her  own wardrobe she
kept in perfect  order.   No article could  be  displaced
without  her  perceiving and restoring it.  She was
very neat in  her person, and careful to  preserve her
garments from being soiled or injured.
  In the April vacation of 1829, they went home for
the usual period of four weeks.   They  had now en-
joyed the advantages of education for two years, and
their improvement was very  obvious.   They were
exceedingly interesting to all who saw them.   When
they left their parents,  to return to school, it was ob-
served that Phebe had a slight  cough.   But  as she
had always  enjoyed excellent health,  nothing was
thought  of it.  Indeed, she  had never  been sick  in
her life.  It was therefore with great surprise, as well
as sorrow, that her parents received  a letter from her
instructer, mentioning  her illness, and  his fears that
she might not soon recover.
  She  was  of a very uncomplaining spirit.  She
knew that her  instructer had communicated  to  her
parents an account of her  feeble  health, and she  pa-
tiently waited their decision,  without any  allusions
to her own sufferings.   When her father arrived,  he 
PHEBE P.  HAMMOND.
299
was shocked at the alteration which had taken place
in so short a time.  She was so  low as  to be lifted
in and out of the carriage, and was immediately con-
veyed  home.  Hope was still  entertained that she
might  recover.   But  decided pulmonary  symptoms
appeared,  and her sickness  assumed an  alarming as-
pect.   The  cousin who had taken such pains in her
early education,  was much  with  her in  her time of
disease and  depression.  She rode  with her almost
daily.  And possessing the  facility of communicating
with her by signs, as well as by the manual alphabet,
frequently introduced  conversation  on religious sub-
jects.
   Phebe  still trusted that  she should recover,  and
manifested aversion at  the thought of"death.   She
was somewhat irritable and  impatient at  the com-
mencement  of her disease,  which was foreign from
her naturally placid temper.   Her  cousin entreated
her, by the love she bore her, to open  her heart to
her, to tell her what were  her feelings  towards her
teachers  and  companions;  and  to  study her  Bi-
ble, and prayed  to  her Heavenly  Father.  With a
most animated countenance, she gave repeated assur-
ances of her happiness  at the asylum, of her respect
and affection for all her teachers and associates in
school; that she  was instructed to read her Bible, and
pray; that she was taught we are all sinners; that Je-
sus Christ died  to  save penitent sinners; that  our
hearts are evil and wicked  till the Holy Spirit makes
us love God; and that God requires us to pray to him ,
to love him, and to be afraid of sin. 
300
DEAF MUTES.
  When inquired of,  what was her request in her
daily prayers,  she uniformly replied,
  ' I pray that I may  love God, and trust in Jesus
Christ.'
  On September 2d, the following conversation took
place between her cousin and herself.
  ' Does Phebe expect to recover ?'
  'I cannot tell.'
  ' Who made you  sick ?'
  ' God.'
  ' Is it right that you should be sick ?'
  ' God is just and  good.  I love God.'
  ' Who are sinners ?'
  1 All are sinners.'
  ' How caii we be saved ?'
  'Jesus Christ died to save sinners.'
  ' Where shall  we go when we die ?'
  ' If the Holy Spirit makes us  love  God, we  shall
go to Heaven.'
  ' If we do not repent and love  God,  where shall
we go ?'
  ' To  Hell.'
  ' What will the wicked do there ?'
  'They cannot  see God.'
  ' What will those do who go to Heaven ?'
  ' Love and praise God.'
  ' Is your heart  good or bad ?'
  1 Bad.  I pray  the Holy Spirit may make me good.'
  ' Does Phebe often pray ? '
  1 Yes, morning and evening, and when I sit up.' 
PHEBE  P.  HAMMOND.
301
  Her affectionate relative  was cheered by this clear
expression of her religious belief, and the warmth of
feeling with which it was imparted.   It  had been
previously observed that  she  had for some time de-
sired to be  carried to her chamber, every  afternoon,
between the  hours of four and five, and there  left
alone, often until the family retired  for  the  night.
There she had been found, communing with her  Fa-
ther in Heaven ; and by her silent language of signs,
it was perceived that she was  imploring  pardoning
mercy.   How affecting  the sight,  one so  young, so
lovely, so near the tomb, on  whose ear no  kindred
voice had ever fallen, and by  whose  lip  no  feeling
had ever been imparted to her  fellow-creatures,  lift-
ing up her  heart in the solitude of her apartment, to
Him who seeth in secret, and to whose ear  the  un-
spoken thought is audible.
  Late one evening, after a long and  voiceless com-
munication with the Father of  Spirits, she  called  her
mother, and kissed her  with much affection.   She
told her that  God was good, that she  had  prayed for
the Holy Spirit, and repeated that passage from  Isaiah,
' Though your sins  be as  scarlet, they shall  be as
white as snow ; though they be  red like crimson, they
shall  be as wool.'
  On the evening of September 9th,  her  mind  was
filled with exceeding joy.   She  seemed to have found
great peace  in believing, and  a  degree of elevated
delight to  which she had before  been a stranger.
           26 
302                DEAF  MUTES.

The seed sown in silent and solitary prayer sprang
up to a harvest of gladness.
  She was much cheered by receiving the annexed
letter, from the Rev.  Mr. Gallaudet,  to  whom she
was  gratefully attached, and  who  was at that time
Principal of the  Asylum.

                       Hartford,  Sept. 18, 1829.

My dear Phebe,
       I am sorry to  hear that you are  very sick.
Perhaps you may die.   God is good.  He has made
you sick.   Be patient.   Jesus Christ sees you.  He
is very kind.  He died on the cross, to  save  all per-
sons who will  trust in  him.   Trust in Jesus  Christ
to save you.   Can you not pray a little to God in
your mind ?   Try to pray to God.   Ask Him to for-
give all your sins, and  trust in Jesus Christ, and love
God.   I pray to God to bless you,  and if you  must
die, to take your soul to Heaven, to be happy with
him   forever.   I send  my love to Frances,  and to
your dear father and mother, and brothers and sisters.
May God bless you all.

       Your affectionate friend,
                         Thomas  H. Gallaudet.

  The simplicity of the Christian  faith, thus  depic-
ted by her revered instructer, was  already wrought
into  the soul  of this  young  disciple.  "' Out of the 
PHEBE P.  HAMMOND.
303
mouth of this babe,  God had  perfected praise.'   In
showing this letter to her friends, she said, ' I love
Mr. Gallaudet.  I pray for him.  I wish you to write
to him. . Tell him I love his letter.   I am glad for it.
I do trust in Jesus Christ, and pray to God in my mind.
I shall go to  Heaven.  I desire  to see all  the  deaf
and dumb there.'
   Towards the close of September,  the sufferings
usually attendant  on consumption  of the lungs, in-
creased to a distressing degree.   She  was restless,
exceedingly emaciated, without appetite, and troubled
with  frequent and  painful  fits  of coughing.  Her
cousin pointed to that sentence  in Mr.  Gallaudet's
letter, ' Be patient.''  She appeared to be grieved.
   ' I am sick,' said she, 'but God is good.'
   She asked for a sheet of engravings, containing the
likness of the Abbe  Sicard, and  three other  distin-
guished teachers of the deaf and  dumb.  Pressing
the page to her bosom,  she said,  ' Three of these are
in Heaven, and one in Hartford.   Mr.  Gallaudet gave
these pictures to me.  I love all  my  teachers.'
   She then raised her  weak, emaciated  hands, and
made signs for all the teachers, told the names of
their children, and expressed her  love for each.   Her
cousin,  who had been with her constantly for weeks,
mentioned a desire to go out for a few hours.   Phebe
objected, but on being told that a few ladies met for
prayer, and  would remember her,  she readily con-
sented.
  ' Shall they ask God to restore you to health ?' 
«>04                deaf mutes.

   ' No.   I would see Jesus.'
   ' Shall they pray that you may soon die ?'
   1 Yes ; and go to Heaven.'
   The closing hour now drew  nigh,  when she who
''would see Jesus,' was about to close her eyes upon
earthly things.  She seemed gradually sinking.   Her
nerves became shrinkingly susceptible,  so that,  not-
withstanding her  deafness, noise,  or loud speaking
gave pain to  her head, and especially to the  region
about  the right  ear.  Those  ears were soon to be
freed from nature's seal, and fitted for the melodies
of a more exalted clime.  She still spoke of the good-
ness of her Heavenly Father, and of her desire to die,
and go to  him.
   On the last afternoon of her life,  October 5th, the
Rev. Mr. Fowler called, and she wished  him to pray
with her.  After he had retired, she expressed grati-
tude to him,  and to her Heavenly Father.   In the
evening, the  Rev.  Mr. Foote called; and she desired
to  have  prayers,  soon after he  entered the room.
This was to  be his last prayer for her on earth.
   ' He has often prayed with me,' she said.   ' I love
him, and God loves him.'
   The powers of nature continued  gradually and
gently to sink, until about twenty minutes past eleven,
when her spirit serenely departed to receive the ful-
fillment of its wishes, and to 'see Jesus.'   At the age
of twelve,  she was taken from her silent pilgrimage
on  earth,  to the  full  and everlasting melodies of
Heaven. 
                   PHEBE P.  HAMMOND.              305

   May we not almost  imagine the sister she so much
loved and confided in,  on  earth,  thus addressing her
from a higher mansion ?


            I dwell where angel-harps
              Pour forth the enraptured lay,
            And listen to my Saviour's tone,
              More sweet, more dear than they,—
            My voice is loud among the train
              His glorious praise that sing,
            Who broke from ear and lip their seal,
              And plucked  from Death his sting, —
            Yet 'mid such joys, so new, so high,
            For thee I bend the wishful eye.

            Ah ! thou art left alone
            Upon the silent earth,
            With whom my earliest sympathies
              And budding hopes had birth,—
            Our mute and uncomplaining hours
              Serenely took their flight;
            One path throughout the day we trod,
              One pillow shared at night;
            And still I guard thy lonely sleep,
            And shed such tear as spirits weep

            We gazed upon the birds
              That soared on pinions high,
            And wonder'd what  their song could be ;
              From the bright summer sky,
            We might not hear the hymning choir
              That made God's worship glad;
            Yet walking onward hand in  hand,
              Our bosoms  were not sad ;
            For still thy fond confiding eye
            Seem'd like a secret melody.

              26* 
306                    DEAF  MUTES.

            We saw the mother bend
              Caressing  o'er her child,
            And mark'd the moving of her lips
              Assuage its anguish wild,
            And marvell'd in our infant hearts
              What was that mystic sway
            Of language, linking thought to thought,
              And charming grief away ;
            But in thy tenderness I found
            Balm for the whole lost world of sound.

            When knowledge o'er our minds
              First shed its wondrous ray,
            With blended strength we gladly toil'd
              Along the shiny way ;
            But here, its everlasting tides
               Without obstruction roll,
            And  pour unutterable joy
               On every sinless soul;
            Yet, ' mid such bliss, I think of thee,
            Sister, dearest, come to me.

            Keep thou the Holy Word,
               That to thy youth was taught,
            And make the Ever-Seeing Eye
               The witness of thy thought,
            Invoke a Saviour's boundless love,
               To grant his Spirit free,
            And  at Heaven's pure and pearly gate
               I will keep watch for thee,
            And the first sound thy ear shall hear.
            Must be, my welcome, sister dear.
                                            L. H. Sigodrniv. 
THE  DEAF  AND DUMB AT PRAYER.       307
        THE DEAF AND  DUMB AT PRAYER.

If sweet it is to see the babe kneel by its mother's side
And lisp its brief and holy prayer, at hush of eventide;
And sweet to mark the blooming youth, at morning's purple ray,
Breathe incense of the heart to Him who ruleth night and day —

How doth the bosom's secret pulse with strong emotion swell,
And tender, pitying thoughts awake, which language may not  t ell
When yon mute train, who meekly bow beneath affliction's rod,
Whose lips may never speak to man, pour forth the soul to God.

They have no garment for the  thought that springs to meet its aire,
No tone to flush the glowing cheek or the devotion's fire;
Yet surely to the eternal throne the spirit's sigh may soar,
As free as if the wing of speech its hallowed burden bore.

Were language theirs, perchance their tale of treasured grief and fear
Might cold and unresponsive fall, even on a brother's ear,
So may they grave upon their minds, in youth's unfolding day,
'Tis better to commune with Heaven, than with their fellow clay.

The pomp of words doth sometimes clog the spirit's upward flight,
But in the  silence of their souls, is one long Sabbath light;
If God doth in that temple dwell, their fancied loss is gain:
Ye perfect listeners to his voice, say— is our pity vain ?
      MARRIAGE OF A  DEAF AND DUMB PERSON.

   On  Monday evening,  I  witnessed  a ceremony
which was very interesting on account of one of the
persons engaged.   This  was  the beautiful Miss Mary
E. Rose, who  is  deaf and dumb,  and who on  that 
308
DEAF MUTES.
evening was married to Mr. D. C. Mitchell, in the
Rutgers street Church, by the Rev. Dr. McAuley.
  The ceremony,  though short, was  imposing, and
was performed before a crowded meeting of friends
and strangers to the parties, attracted by the novelty
of the scene and the circumstance of one  of them
being a mute.   The parties took their station in the
middle aisle of the church, and Dr. McAuley com-
menced by making a very impressive and appropriate
prayer.   He then,  addressing the groom,  gave the
usual charge,  and  repeated to him the words of the
marriage covenant, to which Mr. Mitchell signified
his  consent.   He then stated that as Miss Rose was
a mute, the covenant had been written out in full and
explained to her, and  that she clearly comprehended
it.  It was accordingly handed  to her;  she read it
with deliberation, intimated by signs that she under-
stood, and consented.  Dr. McAuley presented a pen
and ink, and she subscribed the covenant, when the
same was done by Mr. Mitchell.  The minister then
pronounced them husband and wife, and concluded
with a prayer.  The marriage certificate was handed
to Mr. Rose, the father of the bride, and the  cove-
nant, after having been subscribed, as witnesses, by a
dozen or more persons, was delivered to the directors
of the institution for the deaf and dumb in this city,
in which Miss Rose had been educated. 
THE BLIND  AND  DEAF GIRL.           309
        THE BLIND AND DEAF  GIRL.

The pipe's shrill note, the tabor's lengthened sound,
And mingling voices fairly echoing round ;
The loud wild laugh, which o'er the valley rings,
The boy that whistles, and the maid that sings,
Proclaim alike, or indistinct, or clear,
The evening scene of  village triumph near.
But who is she, who, by the cottage wall,
So slowly moves, or scarcely moves at all ;
Who, in the setting sun's departing ray,
Pursues with faltering steps her doubtful way >
The placid hue of beauty on her cheek
Has language which the lips refuse to speak !
Charms with its light, but, as it wins the eye,
Betrays affliction, and  awakes the sigh ;
For her, alas !  by wisdom's hand  assigned,
No objects rise to animate the blind.
   ******
Within the circle where she loves to stray,
Each object smiles, and all, save her,  are gay;
The hum  of insects dancing in  the beam,
The freshness breathing from the twilight stream,
The setting sun, and from the springing corn,
The lark's last song, on gentle breezes borne,
To other eyes, and other ears convey
Delights she tastes not, though in pleasure's way.
So shines the summer's sun upon the tomb,
Where simple flowers in withering beauty bloom. 
310                DEAF  MUTES.


              EXTRACT OF A' LETTER.

FROM THE REV. DR.  POOR, MISSIONARY AT  BATTICOTTA,  IN CEYLON,
        TO THE PRINCIPAL OF THE AMERICAN ASVLUM.

  This morning I went to one of our school bun-
galonees, in Changarne,  to preach.  As I rode up to
the door, a venerable old man, who stood leaning on
a staff within,  came  forward and  took hold of my
horse's bridle as I dismounted,  which was rather a
novel thing, as the people here are generally afraid of
horses.   In  the course of my  preaching I  proposed
many questions to the  people,  as is  my  practice,
many of which  the old  man  answered  with much
propriety, and in such a manner as  evinced  a consid-
erable knowledge  of the Christian religion.   After
the service, I had the  curiosity to  converse a little
with him.   As  soon as  he found  that he  was per-
mitted to speak familiarly with me, he observed with
an air of interest and solicitude, " As you are a priest,
sir, I wish to ask you one question ; in  eases of per-
sons who are  born  deaf and dumb — is it owing to
the sins they have committed in  a former state, or to
the sins  of their parents?"  After giving  him  the
best answer I was able to give, and  showing him that
it might have been worse for them,  if they had not
been born deaf,  he  said,  "Is it proper to assist such
persons  in  charity ?"   " Certainly  it is," said I.
" Three  such descended from my loins, and are in
very needy circumstances;  can  you assist them?" 
EXTRACT  OF A LETTER.
311
" Where are they ? "   " In the house."   " Where is
your  house?"   "Near."   Scarcely believing  the
man,  I told him I would go and see them.   He con-
ducted me to  his house about a mile distant, a com-
pany  of people following us.  On my arrival at the
place, he  called before me  three large,  well  formed
persons, a son and two daughters, all the children he
ever had, who were from twenty-five  to thirty-five
years of age.   It  was truly an affecting sight.  I
was desirous  of ascertaining to what extent the pa-
rents  were able to communicate ideas.
  I gave some account of your labors to the company
present — who listened with  much attention.   But
the burden of the old man's complaint  was, that he
might obtain even a very small sum, which would
enable him to get his two daughters married.  You
can hardly understand this subject; but it is true that
if a man has a little property he can easily take hus-
bands for his daughters.   It is of such importance,
that the  heathen consider  it one of the most accep-
table species of charity, to assist poor females with a
little property, that they may get married.  It is con-
sidered,  and  it is  in fact  a calamity,  to a female
here,  not  to  be "given  in marriage."  I presume-
twenty dollars would enable  the poor old  man to
marry both  of  his  daughters.   After  making the
three  unfortunates a small present in money, (which
gladdened their countenances, and drew tears from
the  eyes of their parents)  I told them I would come 
312                   DEAF MUTES.

there  soon  and preach,  and  vvor.'d  bring Mrs. Poor
with me.   At this  they were well pleased, and said
they would call all their neighbors.
     THE DEAF  AND DUMB.

 [From Poulsons's American Daily Advertis.r.J

Ye kind benevojent, that know
  Of intellectual bliss the sum ;
Ye whose expanded feelings glow,
  Oh, smile upon the deaf and dumb.

On them the storms have rudely blown,
  They wither on the breast of even,
Receive the flow'rets to your own,
  Their fragrance shall ascend to  Heaven.

Oh, let  these, too, in knowledge share,
  From the waste mind let darkness flee,
Bid the bright day-beam kindle there
  The lamp to immortality !

Though soothing blandishment ne'er cheers
  Their solitude, nor utterance kind,
Yet mutual sympathy is theirs,
  The language of the kindred mind.

And this shall bless you — and the tear —
  Nature's pure accent — shall reveal
Emotions undefined — yet dear,
  The tribute  which the heart can feel.

Yes ! and the bosom whispered prayer,
  Of innocence shall rise, while  some
Winged mesenger to God shall bear,
  The offering of the deaf and dumb !
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