The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1868-03-15


what agency is this mechanism to be ap-
proachedf Obviously through the ear. The art
Of speech is acquired by imitation. Hence We
known fact about the dumb. Most of them are
dumb because they are deaf They cannot ar
ticulate, not because they are deprived of the
are deprived of the means of learning to put
that machinery in motion. The mechanism is
there, sometimes without single flaw in its
construction; but it is doomed to stand eter-
nally idle, because the channel through which
it is commonly approached is closed.
For eighty years past, the possibility Of learn
ing the dumb to articulate. has been eagerly
asserted by Heinicke and his followers, in Ger
many. The utility of it has been as eagerly
denied by the Able de PEpee, in France But
facts will speak for themselves. Through the
Intervention of Continental friend, Il was re-
Gently enabled to visit an institution in Brus-
sells, which demonstrated by actual experiment.
that such a thing is possible not only in the
case of picked individual or two. gifted with
extraordinary intelligence, but, lit seems safe
to sayj in every case, provided that the vocal
organs are not rendered fatally imperfect by
malformation.
perhuman self-control that you must have, If
you would take boy who is as deaf as the
ground he stands on, and utter an articulate
sound before him, over and over again, till, by
seeing your movements, he learns to reproduce
the sound In practice, however, the task is
no less stupendous than tho imagination pre-
diets. Indeed, as 1 watched their method, 1t
several times occurred to me that these instruc-
tors must have thrown up their work in de-
snair II they had not been doing it for the sake
Of their religion: 1t was, in truth, in the name
of religion that the whole of this unprecedented
labor was undertaken. In words of their own
framing, "to inspire the deaf and dumb with
the love of our holy religion, to form their
hearts to virtue, to develope their intelligence,
in short, to restore to God and society this un-
hanpy class-such is the task which we under
take in this house." Technically, moreover,
the house was a religious house, as being the
af Of n reliCiOuS ORDER 1t founded
some twenty wears ago by an eminent ecclesi-
astic. 40 distinguished for his self-sacrifcing
works of benevolence aud charity az to have
earned the title of the Vincent de Paul of Bel
OHM TIME to the reputation of the founder,
q nmInber of clergy attached to q religious bro
therhood-Les Freres de 10 Doctrine Chre-
tienne. whom I found by conversation to be
men of high talent and culture-carried ON
th;s work II was to ono of these brethren SO
cn1aoed = Frere Cyrille-that nv Brussels
fr;en5 presented me. found him bright nc-
comniished man. i'm the best years of life.
THE earliest lesson of course, was the artic-
u1ation of single omen syllables. that is to say,
Of a consonanf with q vowel attached The
nrocess nv which this was attained was OBJ
served, twofoId. First, simply the eye Of the
pupil was used. The teacher articulated, in q
veTv[mnrked manner the consonant that was
nnxer notice Nv signs and gestures the dumb
how was directed to watch the movement mi
/nuftely. and to make it himself If he succeeded
i'm doing so. all we'll and good; the object was
case: if for example, instead of ma he articu-
lated ba. then the sense of touch was called in
to the rescue. The teacher felt about his own
organs to sec exactly how they were affected by
which caused the difficulty He would find
that there was. perhaps, a movement in the
throat. or by the pressure of the fingers against
the side of the nose, that current of air was
Gncstion> Having discovered this, he took the
bows finger and nit it to his own (the teaehers)