The Grenada sentinel. [volume] (Grenada, Miss.) 1868-1955, 1869-06-12
The Sign Language,

4lohGu III dUGOuuJ Oh CuuICu bGINlC0
among the London deaf mutes, from
which the following extracts are taken
The congregation sit. 1t Is the time for
the reading of the psalm, and they con-
suit the blackboard and their Bibles, and
turn to the appointed page, Their
preacher stretches out his arms to call
them to attention, and when he sees they
are all needing him, begins his quick ges
turing again. The psalm has been found
by us, too, but it Is impossible, with the
preachers nimbleness, and use, and
genius, to keep up with him and the
clue once gone, there is no regaining 1t,
and we can once more do nothing but be
all absorbed and look. With the grand
words OF the Psalmist come grander &C.
tiOps and we might be in the East with
type before us Of all the fire and imagery
of the Hebrew race. Our eloquent mute
bows his head moves his hanus above 1t,
as if the waves were fercely surging
there; lays his breast for the storm to
touch it wrestles with his foes bids
them strike him; thrusts them back;
pleads for help; eXults when it is given );
borne down when it does not come. He
shows the wind with its wild rush; the
pillows as they heGve the arrows of
heaven descending the peace that folloWsj
the obedience that takes II all for good.
And through all oft there is no moments
stay In the passion (almost) of his finger
speech. He is still making up the sum OF
the sublime words he is rendering, with
all the velocity Of before. His cOngrega-
tion keep their eyes on him intent. He
scarcely looks at his book, except now
and then to lay one of his charmed
fingers upon it Ito remind himself,
apparently, of how far he has gomez
or to hurriedly turn the page He
seems to know all that's coming by heart
and to feel it as though it were his very
life. He is on the mountains with the ga.
cred bark he is beside the waters; he
treads the pasture he scents the flowers
he feels the thorny way. To him the
fountains are again opened; he tells OF
their leapiDg in the sun, Of the dark shades
away from them, of the Rock of his heart,
Of the confusion of his adYersaries crowd
ing around. He is Gamaliel, an Isaiah,
a Job, a Jonah and Israelitish youths are
in procession near him, and he sees the
smoke of the sacrifice rise. He is hope
again, with his face radiant; he is endur
anCe, with his head bent low; he is victo-
ry, with his hands up like crown; he is
captive, with his body chatting under
heavy chains. His arms are open to re-
ceiVe sweet messengers; his hands are
clasped upon his breast with Joy that they
are come he points up with sigh that
means the Ruler; he points to the nail
marks in his palms that are the sign for
Jesus Christ. He filings away his hands,
to imply disdsin he joins them tight, to
signify accord; he spreads them wide, to
show universal reaching; he gently waves
them, to denote the shaking of the earth,
Long before we are weary of watching
him, he has figured all this, and more, and
he has stood in cedar groves, and by flocks
feeding, and he has drunk in the colors Of
a Syrian sunset, and melted under the ter
rOrs Of desert blaze; and then the last
verse Of the psalm is finished, and his
arms are again by his sides dropping, anc
his congregation have once more in a mass
risen to their feet. He is leading them il
prayer. He has changed his one book fol
the other has opened 1t, lighted upon hi
place, and recommended his Whirl OF inter
probation. Letter succeeds letter, picture
follows instantly upon picture, aspect, at
titude, expression, pose. There is one
there is the other, there are all and thel
the prayer ia over, and he points to TIL
black board for the lesson, interprets tina
(the people again sitting for it, signs t,
them to stand for the Collect and in few
minutes his necessarily shortened form
church service is done. 1t is now the tim
for the sermon, and in this is the marVelou
power Of this physical language still NOR
displayed. AS the preacher, Of course,
full Of his own thoughts, different set O
phrases clothes them and different sc
of symbols is needed to make them know
He cannot be more rapid-one woul
think he must be painting now, ready t
throw himself PROSTATE upon the foo
he cannot be more picturesque, but he
(or we fancy he is) more hOmely, and
seems that he has left poetry,,as it werC
andis manipulating to us now in prose
He appears to saw, cut, screw, fold, pa
mix, knock, fondle; to hang himself. Gu
his head off, pull his beard, pluck out hi
heart, recover, smile, assure every one h
is not hurt, blow bubbles and draw rope
He appears to tie, twist, twirl, rub, wiring
iron, make pies and puddings, hold thel
up to be admired, congratulate himse
that they have turned out so well. TheI
is danger Git seems to us) Of q wreck; b
sees the peril, cheers on the mel
throws rope to them, rejoices thS
they see it, hauls it in, comforts
that it is coming, hauls it still more, an
hauls and hauls again, and then snaI
off the simile, and is as precipitate oVt
something else. His emphasis
surprising. He lays his two hands
beat down the air, and does 1t as If n
one could deny the end; he returns TO h
velocity Of lingering, and then presss'
down the air again he is busy above p
head, and toward his feet and among h
puzziement of long and little fingers az
then is pressing out his outstretcht
: hands oonvincingly once more. Hisjoin
seem multiplied in his miraculous celeTlt
and VIC grow giddy with looking at b
energy and dispatch. There has been
: break in his movements, let 1t be remer
T bered. No Litany has changed the ordt
: with the congregation joining in respons
No grand old hymn has woven every OF
Q into harmony, and made but single so
0 out Of all those here assembled, with q
/ beauty of its sacred chords. The preach
Z has had to go on and on, with no CONN
: but those his supple hands have marke
o and with his whole labor almost one lol
9 continuous phrase. No words can 81
e cessfully paint his intricate action; mop
/ can describe his entanglings, his invol
e tions, his perplexing and plant skill.
9 Is so expert so faciie, so swift, so feet
!. fills us with ever increasing wonder, a.
s forces as to think It is we who are imp'
}, feet, and not he who leaves as so deep
i impressed. he speaks q different langua
to what we do; that Is what we como
J. think. We cannot feel that he has
q language at ell. What is this marvelc
e fuency of his, this pictured eloquer
is that we should feel pity for 1t as an
E trinity simply because it is some thing
t. cannot understand
Is -
p How Taste is Perverted.