The daily intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Territory [i.e. Wash.]) 1876-1881, 1879-06-18

Di.advantaGes and Conp-n ticn. Of
Dali Haribg.

f.4'urIay Bsy,.~
Those who live much with deaf pco-
pie are fully aware ths, their misior-
tune is not entirely one sided affair
There are more interesting questions
than What = al interrogation which
: too frequently put to them by their
dull-cared friends. II Is UNPLEASANT.
too. to be required by one person 90 tell
a good story twice, when the rest Of
the party heard it distinctly the frs:
time, and it is disagreeable to be obliged
to speak ia an unnatural loud tone IN
society. particularly when conscious that
ones remarks are not of worthwhile
interest. Il Is provoking. too, to be
requested to repeat another persons
story before he has got 10 the end Of it
himself. The deaf man who is fond Of
gossip is source of peril both to friend
aud foe. All scandal mongers are dam
gercus; bat the deaf scandal-mongcr is
such an unsafe member Of society that
be is unfit 10 go about without 3 keeper
He hears part Of story, mishcars an
other part. and fails altogether TO hear
the remainder. He seizes hi, scraps
and patches them together from sar-
mise. Armed with this valu ,ble infor-
nation. lie proceeds 10 spread il broad
cast. II is not often that h. cau!!get
hold Of story in any shape. so, when
he can piece one together, he tells it to
everybody lie meets.
1t has been obs rycd tha.. if one
watches dancers with clCssd ears. the
result is ridiculous. as they seem 10 be
capering about to no purpose more ab-
surd. however, il the appearance OF Il
preacher when we canuot hear wi a. lie
says. The dancers, at any rate, seem
good humored but here We have u man
who appears to have worked himself in
TO q passion with some person or per-
sons unknown, and We long 10 advi @
nim to keep his temper, be things ever
so bad From his manner we at orc
time infer that he is trying TIE feet 0i
persuasion, at another that OF lnvectlve,
we can hear his voice raise q or lowered
quivering with emotion Ur railing IL
indignation but We cannot dis in .ulsh
his articulttioEs. nor c.n ~ make nut
whe'h her he j. Seeding he cn"sr~-; tinu
or abusing al absent friend. Our at
tch;ion being occupied with the mat
ter ot hi sermon, we have ample time to
notice aii his little tricks and manner
i.m.; we unxiously watch for fresh
gestures, and wonder which attitudes
or movements foreteli an approaching
CONCLUSION. Watchin, singing Is little
more amusing than watching preaching.
OF course, person who is not entirely
deaf can generally hear great part Of
q song but in a large opera house or
concert room, when far from the or
Chestra, he loses quite enough to mar
the enjoyment of the whole. and some.
times he can hear little of the solos ex-
cept the highest shrieks OF the soprano.
When she lowers her voice. 1t gradu-
ally becomes mere and more indistinct.
until she seems TO open her mouth
without making any preceptiblc sound,
AMI these apparently mute movements
OF her lips are followed 10y an outburst
of uproarious applause. which contrasts
curl usly with the Ito the deaf person
deep silence which preceded and H.
! woke cd it. Little loss extraordinary is
the effect produced 10y the reader Ct
a comic story when we cannot hear q
word he says. Unlike the case OF the
preacher, it is the audience and not the
| speaker that seems eccentric when the
theme OF the discourse is amusing.
Without apparent cause their features
twitch and their diaphragms become con
vulsed The appearance Of others IT
| fits of laughter is more ridiculous than
dignicd TO those who are not them
selves amused Very odd, too, seem the
movements of speaker and his audi
.nce o. lublic d m r when we can
not hear him. lie shutters and he,i-
ts,es. smiles and goes through various
antics, and then the listeners cry Hear,
hear" and thump the table until the
glasses jingle.
| DefectSe hearing is not without Its
effect upon the mind and character Ct
the patient. Preventing him from en'
tering into general conversation, it has
tendency to make HIM observant, and
he becomes looker-on in society. He
learns to notice quickly expressions OF
pleasure, ill-tcmper, interest or wear
mess in the face of others On the other
hand, through his inability to engage
in ordinary discourse, he loses the
habi. of repartee. aud generally be-
comes slow, difldent and awkward
talker.
Mistrusting his hearing. he practi-
cslly obtains most OF his information
from print. in which case he has time
to draw his conclusions at leisure. He
is apt in consequence to lose the facility
OF rapid thought so necessary in good
conversationalist. He is, however, very
tenacious Of his leisurely matured opin'
loss, aud trusts TO them implicitly. often
gaining q reputation for obstinacy
! This is the chief reason of our hearing
so frequently ot,people being AS deaf
as posts and as obstinate as mules
The deafer man gets the more dis
trustfui heIoecomes of human speech
and he hesitates to form decision on a
| question unless be has seen it stated IN
black and white. His loss Of suscepti
blhty to the influence of the voices OF
others renders him less Affected by their
presence. Thrown so much upon him
| self he becomes absent, and feels alone
among a crowd. A confusion OF diseor'
dant.. Sounds has little power TO annoy
him, and the rear of a great city scarcely
distracts him. He is rot worried by
( barrel organs or street cries. nor dc