The Portland daily press., 1871-09-14
DAILY PRESS.
PORTLAND.
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER IA. 1871
Written for the Press
The Is struc lion of Deaf Mutes.

manner in which the deaf mute of today is
regarded as compared with the manner in
which he was regarded few centuries ago.
In the brightest days of the Roman Empire,
we find that this class of people were regard
ed as wanting in intellect, while the preju-
dces of the Northern nations seem to have
been even more severe, and they regarded
them as a semi-demoniacal race. The lines
of Lucretius:
ITO instruct the deaf. no art colld ever reach,
NO care improve them, and no wisdom Ieach."
seem to have been the common opinion of
thinking men at this eally date. As late as
the fourth century Augustine declared that
"as faith cometh by hearing it was manifestlv
impossible to the deafmute,n ami for manv
centuries afterward this unfortunate class
knew nothing of religion, had no faith in
Christ and no hope of heaven. Over against
this darkness stands an expression made by a
little deaf girl few days since: "Is nv friend
Annies birth day the 25th of December? the
same as sweet Jesus Chrsts?"
At this time we find also that natural deaf
mutes were deprived, by the Roman law, of
the ordinary rights of inheritance; and. to
authorize the marriage of a mute, an express
dispensation from the Pope was thought nee
essary. No doubt, during all these centuries,
the sympathies of superior minds must have
been strongly exercised in favor of this urfnr-
tunate class, but no history hands down to us
the record of anything done for them until
the eighth century. In work of the vener-
able Bede's we lea q that the Bishop of Hag-
ulstead had taught mute boy TO articulate
letters and sylables and so on to words aud
sentences. There is no reason to doubt that
this all may have been done, if we suppose
the bishop to have been man of great perse-
verance, and the pupil child of good natural
talents, together with sufficient length of
time. However to the simple Anglos, no
doubt il seemed no less a miracle than if he
had commanded the boy to talk and forth
with he had spoken like other men.
Alter all this was done and the deaf were
literally taught to speak, il seems almost in
credible that this art should have been lost
and vet this seems to have been the case, Tor
we find no mention of any mute receiving in
struction from this time for nearly eight CEN
turies, and, no doubt, ere this, Hagulstead
and his pupil were both forgotten.
In the fifteenth century, Rudolf Agricola,
one Of the most learned men of his time,
mentions another deaf who was taught
to write. He gives no name, place or mode
of instruction, Dutspeaks of il as being almost
miraculous, and we see how nearly so it was
generally considered from the fact that Louis
Wives, a writer of no little note, dared to dis
pute the testimony of AgIicola less than halt
a century later This statement of AgricCla's,
however, was not without its effect, as it
awOke a train of thought in the mind of an
Italian philosopher, jerome Cardan, which, il
it had been carried out would have resulted
in the education of mutes at much earlier
date a1xyo, 1no hot.
might be taught The connection between
written words and objects, also between ac-
tions and words; thus laying the foundation
of all deaf-mute teaching. He, however, SIM
ply advanced this idea then left it for others
to apply.
Tfere is some slight sketch of an educated
mute in France about this time, aud in the
sixteenth century we find Navarette or as he
was commonly called Ell Mudo. (the mute, J
enjoying the favor of the King of Spain, be-
cause of his unusual skill in art. With such
evidences, of the native skill OF the deaf-mute,
before him, we cannot wonder that it was a
Spaniard, contemporary with Navarette, who
first attempted the regular instruction of that
class of persons. In the early part of seven
teenth century, we find that St. Francis De
Sales educated lad in the doctrines OF the
church by means of gestures. The lad at.
tanned such proficiency that he could confes
himself by these gestures and was admitte,
to the Holy Communion.
Pedro Ponce de Leon, Spanish monk O
| the sixteenth century was also a successfu
instructor OF deaf mutes. His first pupil
we're two brothers and a sister of the Copsta
BILE OF CASTLE, and afterwards he is suppose,
| to have had a considerable number under hi
instruction. According to lis own accoun
| of his labors he taught people who were dea
| and dumb from birth "to speak, to read, T.
write, to keep accounts, to repeat prayers, t,
l serve the mass, to know the doctrines of tn
1 Christian religion. and to confess themselve
| viva voce." All the stories of this land an
| time partake largely of the marvellous, so I'll
| doubleday some allowance should be made .
Ponce's case, and yet he was probably highl
successful as a teacher.
Early in the seventeenth century, Joh
Paul Bonet published a work on dea-mul
instruction. His was the first of the gres
mass OF essays which have since been publsl
ed on the subject. In this essay he sets fort
| the essential principles OF this art as they al
| to-day carried out, with one single exception
| He says nothing of pictures which play a.
1 important part in all deaf mute schools at th
present time. The first practical teacher @
deaf mutes in England was DR.. John Wallis
During She sixteenth and seventeenth Gel
turies at various intervals the condition G
II
| ing men, and we find in Italy, France, Ho
land, Germany and Great Britain notices
J individual mutes who received instruction
Such relief came only to isolated cases, gene
| ally to members of noble families who possess
| ed both the influence and the wealth to secul
| such instruction and to reward it richly; an
these cases show among the generations
deaf mutes-who doubtless existed then {
now-only as the first few little stars twink
in the boundless space of azure. Then it wa
that DEP Epee in France, Braidwood in SEQ
land, and Heinicke in Germany, founded il
| stitutions which, although they have new
undergone changes, remain to the prese
l day. The advantages which the deaf mute
| to day receives, are due to the efforts Of the
| noble men.
| Perhaps we should add 10 the list the nan
of Sicard in France. The story of Del Ep
is one well-worthy to be told.
| Calling one day upon a lady he met tv
| young girls who were unable TO cor verse vii
him. When the mother came he questiopt
her in regard to them, and found that dt
were deaf mutes, and that, their teacher has
ing just died, they were now lett without an
distraction. His sympathies were at once e
cited in their behalf. Believing" he say
"that these two unfortunates would live an
die in ignorance of religion IL made no effo
to instruct them, my heart was filled wit
\ compassion, and promised if they were col
mitted to my charge | would do all for the
| l was able" He now felt that God ha
pointed out to him his lifeWork, and enter,
upon it with enthusiasm. He opened
[ school for INDECENT deaf-mutes aud maintai
/ ed them at his own expense. He at FIRST l
4 fused to receive the children of the rich al
1 afterwards did so with extreme reluctane
4 "The rich" he said 'come to my house |
4 is IN hot I how
ed myself, it is to ihe poor only; but for the
should never have undertaken the instru
ton of the deaf and dumb"
1t was the Able De Epee who develops
the sign language and practically applied
l At is singular coincidence that the sat
year-1755-in which De Epee opened
school in Paris, Memicke became engaged
the instruction OF .dest-mute boy in Dresde
but, although they commenced at the sar
| time, they taught by entirely different met
DDS; while De Epee used signs, Heiuic
taught by articulation. In April, i772, Rei
icke opened the first institution for deaf ma
instruction in Germany, which has since be-
| followed by large number OF hourishll
1 schools. In 1850, five years after the openlI
| of the school in Paris by De Epee-Thom
| Braidwood commenced the instruction OF Il
dead and dumb at Edi1burgh. Tlss Scho
was tie parent of those since established
the British Isles. Braidwood as well as Hei
icke taught by articulation. Thus we S
that before the close OF the eighteenth cent
ry the work Of Geai-mute instruction was w
1 begun, both on the Continent and in Gre
| Britain. 1t had been apupdantly proved th
| the deaf-mute was capable of receiving a {;
education, and the European people felt
obligation which rested Upon them; but hc
was it ia America?
With single exception the condition of t
deaf mute had scarcely attracted attention.