, 1884-10-26
The Past and Present Condition of
Deaf Mutes.
Wants of These Unfortunate People
in the West.
An Interesting Sketch Written by
One of Them.

I HIIDIls HInEA "a hardly InnNu nnNflnnRr
A. aonoraI ~, H. i'll - ~ ~,
mutos can bo ednco,o1 and tho,oc,s,
modo uoauona;LIo - IN. -,
y. 'o,
nuinpcr ol insane persons IN the United
states alone, Is about one hundred
Thousand. Ofthe idiotlc class there are
ABOUT eighty thousand, the blind number
about nifty thousand and the deaf mutes
number about forty thousand. But how
many oil TINS class do you think there are
IN the whole world? am only speaking
oil deal mutes and therefore, will tell you
that there are over one milllon'of them in
the world! There have been such afflicted
persons Tor centuries and centuries, far
pacK IN the dark ages, where they were
abused n denied their rights, considered
as only lmoeclies cursed by an unknown
uod' In many cases they were destroyed
upon The discovery OF their intirmity. In
the Mosaic law the blind and the deaf are
referred to, IN which advice Is given not
10 mock and abuse them. In the Roman
age 1t was universally conceded that deaf
mutes conld NOT ha adnca+ad Tnarosna
one of the Roman noets confirmed dis
belief when he said.
ITO instruct the deal. no art could ever reach.
No care improve them, and no wisdom teach
lhey were denied the exercise OF civil
rights by the'Ju stlnian code which classed
them with idiots and other irresponsible
persons Even the consolation of religion
was denled them. ST. Augustine, one of
the great fathers OF the church, declared
that deafness from birth makes it i'm
possible Tor such a one to have faith, since
ne VINO Is deal can neither heal the word
nor learn TO read 1t. Thus were deaf
inutes lett to grope their way in the dark
ness and solitude through the world for
eighteen centuries III that so-called en-
lightened age, where philosophers, astron-
oiners, poets and teachers hourished, and
when Rome herself was IN the zenith of
her glory. Words iml to express the
utter desolation OF their condition. Theirs
was
s1 so,rn now 4" u'a'' an" darkness no" pro-
But n ray of Iigbt Mt last ortorod ,ho;r
impervious cell and disne,l.d Tho oloom of
their obscur;tv Tbo;r corJ;,;on it'll
attention and efficient means woro IL
for their instruction and omel;oro,;on
From tbo o~orl;os, do,. 80 -.
suits wherein was claimed e,r do,f n,rtos
only a dovelonn,ort that m;obt &, H., -
nergorm Tho bnmhle e,nn,;ons 81 ;ntar;
cont labor a oro,v;ro os,ir,a,o hos -.
nlacod mon tbo;r conoh;T,;og Ill -
dov ,dvances 10 tho III - 20
cord;no tbom tho ocadom;o L. 49,
college graduation Tins tbov aro oIora,od
10 he teachers or ,bo;r avn A. - -
clerks corvi.ts and rollor, rar;o,s aaa,,
rot;ors Son,o : n,;n;s.a~ g.. H..
own neo,Io como oro oJ;,ory nr;,to-
noets and ono ia IN Tho Cbicooo Snol,;nn
and REFINING works Nc chief snoo;aI,ist -
metoIlnro;c cbom;str,, h :, ,roI -
in metonnrgic circlcs
II mrst MOI, bo srrnosol h,r..r H..
| tho education of doaf mnt,s La. -
10 biabas, no;,, c Il
comparotivoly snool;nn an n 4. ;nen
cv esnec;ollv in tbis corn,,,. wLoro ,bo
first s,ccesse,l o,tor,n, 60 ;,,.odn.a :,
dates hacl 10 only seventy yoors ono Tho
ingenuity of yeolons odrcotors ;s constant
10 am r1oved in 1oy;s;nn ;n,nranaman,s
Srston o0or s,.s,or, q uraua.aJ ii -
only IN give wov 70 tbo hotter mo,hods
that are being continually discovered II
will ultimately ho left for f,trro oo,sro-
tions IN pereect their svstep az education
If is well known that Reethoven ,vrote
many of his masterpieces after he was
completely deaf but he cannot have
written tbom w;tbout boo,;rc ,bon, Nth
in himself and if therefore fellows that
the converse can take nlace and that
music can be heard bv merely reading Il
Deafness. therefore docs not entirely de-
strov musical ENJOYMENT In fact as far
rs the sense If hearing noes evarv com-
poser, when he writes down his IDEAS. is
virtually ON the same footing as a deaf
person. for what he writes is the nroduct
of his mind alone. John Kitto. the great
Biblical commentator. who wrote his
Bibliotheca. was entirely deaf from the
age of twelve yea,s. vet such was his
craving for knowledge thathe surmounted
every obstacle.
1t is well known that blind Bunyan
never wrote his Pilgrims progrss He
dictated it to others IN nrison Az lono
II. III -