The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1876-07-01 00:00:00

THE DEAF AND DUMB.

By the kind permission of the Duke of Westminster, the
ball-room of Grosvenor-house was filled on Tuesday after-
noon with a large company assembled to witness an exami-
nation of the school maintained by the Association for the
Oral Instruction of the Deaf and Dumb. Lord Granville, the
• president of the institution, was in the chair, and besides
the noble host and hostess the Duke and Duchess of Suther-
land and Lord Hampton were among those present.—The
following account of the proceedings is from The Times :
Lord Granville, in opening the proceedings, said the
object for which the Duke and Duchess of Westminster
had lent that magnificent room was for the purpose of
testing the system of articulate speech and lip-reading
adopted in the school for deaf mutes, 11, Fitzroy-
square, W. It was not to be an occasion for making
speeches, but he was desired to state simply and briefly
the objects of the association. It was not so very long
ago since the deaf and dumb used to be treated with
great harshness. They were shut up in cages, and,
under the mistaken notion that there was something
wrong with their organs of speech their tongues and
mouths were often subjected to very cruel operations.
What was now a well-known fact—viz, that scarcely
anybody was born with defective vocal organs, and
that dumbness was almost always the result of deaf.
ness, was then a secret hidden from medical science.
The first who bad done much for this class of sufferers
were L'Ep6e and Sicard. But their system of teach-
ing the deaf and dumb by inciting them to an imita-
tive use of their vocal powers, although it was right
in principle, was very defectively carried out. It had
been known for more than a century, and had
done something in conveying moral and religious
ideas to deaf mutts and in enabling them to
communicate with a narrow circle of friends. But
that was all, and it was greatly improved upon by the
director of their school, Mr. Van Praagh, whuse
principles had been diffused in Germany, Holland,
Switzerland, Russia, and to some extent in France.

I's great tr'iumph ias that It Placed the _deaf and
dumb on speaking terms with the great world, and not
merely with a narrow circle of friends who had caught
the knack of understanding their )ude utterances. The
association was to be congratulated on the recent re-
moval of the school to a new and larger house, No. 11,
Fitzroy.square, where its operations were always open
,for inspection. It was owing to the interest taken in
the system by the Duke of Westminster, in conse-
quence of a visit he had paid that establishment, that
he had lent them that room, and the friends present
would now have an opportunity of seeing for them-
selves the working of the system.
_ - - - -

Mr. Van Praa 4h then proceeded with the examina-
tion of the claeses. The first consisted of a dozen very
young pupils of both sexes. They were taught the
pronunciation of the vowels, and reproduced tnem in
writing on the black board from watching the teacher's
lips. The next class reproduced in like manner, both
orally and in writing, not only the vowels but the
other letters and monosyllables in general. The
third class had learnt to pronounce words of three
land four syllables, and had mastered the first ele-
ments of language, so as to put together and speak
simple sentences. A pupil having been asked, for ex-
ample, how long he had been at school, answered
quite distit.ctly enough to be understood by the whole
audience, "Two years." Easy questions from the
multiplication table were readily answered, both
audibly and in writing upon the black board. The
fourth and filth classes showed still higher attainments.
The fifth, in particular, which was a year in advance
of that next below, and stood at the head of the school,
was examined in geography and history, and in arith-
metic had advanced to vulgar fractions, and the simpler
problems in proportion.
After Mr. Van Praagh had finished his examination,
the Rev. W. Wallace, vicar of St. Luke's' Stepney,
put a few questions, which were answered satisfactorily
for the most part. Dr. Behrend then moved, and Mr.
Van Oven seconded, a cordial vote of thanks to the
Duke and Duchess of Westminster for their hospitality,
which having been carried enthusiastically and
acknowledged by his Grace, the party broke up.