The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1872-05-02
The Education of the Deaf and Dumb.

In ancient times the Hindoo pundits decreed
that any one born deaf, or any one dumb from
whatever cause, should be incapable of sue
ceeding to property; though the same law ar
ranged for the sustenance of the sufferers by
making it charge on the person who super
seded them in the inheritance. 1t has been
stated that, among the oldest nations OF the
East, the destruction of such children as use
less burdens on society is connived at, If not
authorized, by the Governments. Butinstances
of the care and sympathy Of individuals for
advent of Christianity; and in the writings OF
the venerable Bede and elsewhere, we read of
the partial success of attempts to teach the
deaf and dumb to communicate by signs. The
| first noticeable attempt at plan for this pur-
pose is the publication, by Benedictine monk
named Bonnet, of a treatise called 'The Re-
duction of Letters and Arts for Teaching the
Dumb to Speak" In this book, the author
processes to have invented system of finger
talking or dactylogy; and he published en-
cravings of the one hand alphabet, now used
nearly everywhere. The desirability of such
| means of communication subsequently caused
many physicians and other scientists to bestow
great attention and ingenuity on the subject (;
and among many treatises publishing sugges-
tions, one of the best was written in 1850, by
one Dalgarno. he was Scotchman by birth,
and a school teacher in England; and his
work, called, "Didascalocophus, or the Deaf
and Dumb Mems Tutor" even goes so far as to
assert the superiority of written language and
finer alphabet over reading and talking by
the organs of speech. Professor Porter repub-
lished this treatise in the year 1857, and states
that it is "a work of such pre-eminent ability,
and so replete with sound principles and i'm
| Of thQt
ought to be familiarly known to every instruct
ORB A German named Heinicke did good SER
vice to this cause by giving his time and atten-
ton to teaching few deaf mute pupils: and
his success was rewarded by the Saxon Gov
ernment inviting him, in 1772, to Leipsic, to
snnerintend school which is in existence and
prosperity to this day. Without, however,
enumerating all the various advances made in
this branch of education by mingled science
and philanthropy, we come TO the labors OF
Americans in recent days.
Tn the wear 1915, the deprivations of all the
pleasure of life, which deafness and dumbness
visited on young lady of Hartford, Conn.,, in
rerested some gentlemen of the same city in the
subject, and they dispatched a clergyman to
England to learn the system taught by some
persons named Braidwood, who had met with
much success and some celebrity. With mar
row.mindedness strangely out of place in such
a connection, these people declined to instruct
the visitor except on terms at once exorbitant
and burdensome and the clergyman Journeyed
to France, accomplished his mission, and re-
turned to the United States with NJ. Laurent
Clerc, well educated deaf mute, and one of
the hest teachers, on the system of Able Ri
card in use in his country, then to be found.
In 1917 the American asylum at Hartford was
opened, the Rev. Mr.. Gallaudet the clergyman
above mentioned, taking the post of principal,
and M Clerc that of assistant From this
small beginning, which, like many other noble
and useful works, originated in the sense and
liberality of few private individuals, has
grown up ali extended system for the educa-
tion and improvement of these unfortunates,
whose claim to our wisest, best, and most stren-
nous efforts needs no recapitulation. A column
might be filled with the names of deaf and
dumb persons who have become valuable and
useful members of society, some of whom
have obtained eminence in art, science and
| literature.
But the greatest siccess in teaching those
born deaf to speak has been recently attained
in the United States and in Germany by sys-
tenn of lip talking. By this method, the Ian
puage is communicated to the pupils solely by
the motion Of the speakers lips, and such ex-
cellent results have followed the introduction
of this method that, in an asylum at Northamp-
ton, Mass, general conversation is carried on
with such fapidity and viuacity that it is at
first difficult to induce spectator to believe
that the little pupils have been, many of them,
stone deaf from their birth, and that the OBJ
servation of the movements of the lips is the
only opportunity for instruction that they have
ever had. So thoroughly efficient is it, that
education is being carried en- up to the higher
branches, such as physiology, botany, and men
tai philosophy, as we'll as drawing and other
arts. Such results indicate the great superiori-
ty of the new system, and encourage us to hope
that the terrible Affections of deafness and
dumbness may be soon deprived of their worst
evils.-,Scientifc American.
t. Norar Cnmor Apain.