Arkansas true Democrat., 1859-06-01
1he German Method of Instructine

purpose of introducing a plan into tbo United States. Of the systems tbera ,roro two Tn use: One was to dispense with signs III great degree and teach the pupil to ar tlculate; the other was to disnense w;tb a''icuia'ioh and rely upon the natural lan- guage of signs. MT. Gallaudett preferred the latter, and hence it has been followed Ill 'his country, with the exception of one UT two prlvate schools in which articulation was taught. One great draw back to 'eaching English mutes is the peculiar cha racter of the language which is described oy foreigners as $ the language of snakes" 10 them 1t sounds like a succession of llsses. In other languages the mouth is opened wider; more play is given to the muscles of the face and throat, and, as a general thing, there is more gesticulation, more sign-making and more expression thrown into the countenance. In the Paris Institute, the parents of the pupils may choose. which of the systems to have their children educated under, and one room or department is devoted entirely to that plan. Lieutenant F. G. Buffum, now in Europe, writes home the following interest ing description of visit to one department ment of the Paris asylum:
 Paris, March %, 1859
 |" Somewhat tired with the routine which all strangers in Paris pass, strayed aside from the ordinary path which they usually take. and yesterday paid visit to the :" h. stitution des Sourds- Muets'' deaf and dumb asylum of Paris. 1 witnessed there some very wonderful examples of the re- suits of patient labor, which certainly sur prised me, and possibly plainly written account of my visit may be interesting to your readers. Although I have seen pub lished statements to the effect that conside- rable success had been achieved in teaching children who were born deaf and dumb, and who consequently had never exercised their organs of speech, to speak, I have never seen any plain statement of facts in rela tion to the matter which gave me any idea of the perfection to which the system, which has been in operation only few years, has been already brought l pro- pose, therefore, to give you an account of my visit to the institution of C Sourd Muets," and, for convenience sake, shall give the conversations (which were, of course, all held in French in the English language; and it should be distinctly un- derStood that they were held through the medium of the customary organs of speech, and not by means of signs.
 The guide showed us into a room where a teacher, surrounded by thirty or forty boys, between the ages of six and fourteen years, was writing some grammatical ex. erclses on the black board As soon as we entered the room, the teacher, who appear ed to be a man about forty years of age, descended from the bench on which he stood, and coming up to me addressed me with some words of welcome saying that he was always very glad to receive visitors, and that he would exhibit to me some spe- cimenS of the proficiency to which his pu- plls had attained in speaking, although they were all born deaf l noticed pecu- liar '' clipping" of some of the words. and a harsh guttural sound which he gave to others, but supposed the teacher to be q German, and after thanking him for his protfered kindness, he called up a bright, intelligent looking little fellow. The boy looked closely at the teachers lips while the latter told him to bid us good day. The boy immediately spoke to me, enun- clatlng his words clearly and distinctly. and with very correct accentuation. and said:-
 " How do you do, sir?''
 l replied, and the teacher requested me to ask the boy question. Idid so. merely moving the organs of speech without utter ing any sound, and asking with my lips how old he was?
 He instantly replied " thirteen years and a half"
 Upon being told by the teacher. he asked me "where did you come from?'
 l replied in the same manner as before from America.
 The boy repeated '' America and. then taking piece of chalk he wrote upon the black
 '' You have come from great distance and must have seen a great many savages who were very wicked"
 During all this time l had been convers- ing with the teacher, he giving me infor nation about his pupils, and requesting me to question them, without ever having suspicion that l was talking with deaf man and listening to a dumb one. and should have remained in this state of igno- rance, had not the guide, after he had per mitted me to enjoy my error for quarter of an hour, informed me that the teacher, as well as the pupils, had been born deaf, and, until within the last five years, had never spoken a word.
 Two of the boys stood upon platform, at the teachers suggestion, and held con versation with each other, and then each wrote sentences upon the board and read them in loud and distinct voice Another boy was called up and handed a book, which l opened for him at random. and from which he read two or three pages "a pidly and without the slightest hesitation. and with a really musical and agreeable voice.
 The pupils, of course, receive the idea intended to be conveyed to them through tEe formation of the lips, and once or twice, when the teacher was speaking to them, they made motion signifying that they did not fully understand him, and once one of them drew him to the window. where the light played fully upon his lips while he was uttering quite long sentence. Ot course they can have no idea what sound IS, and the only difference l noticed between their utterance and those of other children was that the modulations were not always correct, and some of them kept the voice at the same pitch while speaking or read ing an entire sentence. But so perfectly can they interpret the movement of the lips, that when placed so that they can only see the side of the teachers mouth. they understood him evidently as well as when looking directly at his lips. So perfect. indeed, was the whole exhibition. that had l dropped in accidentally without knowing where l was going, the last place 1 should ever have suspected myself to be in would have been among deaf and dumb children.
 It was in this room alone learned from the teacher that spoken language was em-