Evening star., 1895-03-16
HEARING BY SIGHT
The Art Of speech-Reading as De-
scribed by Mrs, Bell.
AID AFFORDED BY FACIAL EXPRESSION
How Language That is Unheard is
Understood.
EDUCATION OF THE DEAF


Mrs. Alexander Graham Bell in Atlantic Monthly
- ,,., ~, .o..oro ,,,,a,s
""s ~ Souns WIG" Tic se'eie i'ine''
wnlch deprived me or my nearing occurred
that cannot remember ever having heard,
or hayirg been in materially different
,,os;+;o, :. VOC. I'd, o,+,c,,1a +;on ond sneach-
po'..oA -, e' teea. 20 81 ~ N.- ~ 80.
readlns from the one l nave occupieo ioi
many years.
1 presume the reason why can recall
nothing of INV 6rs+ stens s;n.snaecb-readtnp
..,.. =, - - .,.,,1
anu ai uAa 'ioH - pue " lne Aohs PC.
OF mental and physical weakness Wnlcn
followed nv illness NV mother saws that
for m.ny ,nontb. T sxnressed M interest in
- Ns 1rseer
or oesire ior any 'hihs' anu lhe paos spee1n
gone. During all this time she was work.
ins and n,snnine ande.vorine nv every
me,rs In bor no1vo,. +o civ. mo hac, tho
speech had lost and to make me read her
lips She talked to me continually long be-
fore cared to talk hack. and gradually. /
suppose. both language and the ability to
read speech came along with increasing
mental ana physical strength. 10 me II
sees uosioas .na' aios ,x,t,1ta n" ,ao,siy.
for If I had learned the one art before or to
a greater degree than the other. some i'm
preston would have been made on m!
mlno Wnicn snouid nave M .r,,a .,e.t eo
nv q, rI;est recoiIections are of being able to
talk end of understanding what was said
to me, at least sufficiently we'll to satisfy
all nv requirements
I recall no stormy outbursts of passion,
such as 1 believe are too often consequent
on inability in the deaf child to make his
wants known Looking back now, it seems
to me that whatever method my mother
and the Young teacher who assisted her
Miss Mary H True) pursued in my instruc-
ton, it must have been a true and natural
one simply because it has left no trace
upon my memory. All natural processes of
growth are gradual and imperceptible
there are no violent shocks and sudden
changes such as leave their imprint upon
the memory. 1t is the unnatural method Of
instruction, which, by demanding unnat-
ural and therefore painful efforts from the
child, leaves marks Of the work on his
mind.
To Understnnd Reading
This accounts, believe Tor my remem-
brance of one item in the plan of my In
struction-a daily drill in writing from die
tat,o, sentences which our teacher read
-, 49,. h..,
iiohi oooh. uo nv 'iiN .a"'
- ~ - =.
~ , a., a. 81
d.v a;ot.t,on of th;s Govt ;s ,.er,, irkso,oe
T. 10 M Uncommon ooc,,rrence for NV hus-
ts ~ - 49, - so.,,a.,,, o., ~.
..aa 49,, ,".a,t .,ao,n,,,hioa,
discoveries Sir Robert RaITs Story Of the
Sun, the latest news from the Chinese war,
some abstruse scientific problem in sravita-
ei1nmany thihs anu every .niis; ,, g..
neat and at the end T shoujd he ready to
hacS mvsaIf apainst almost anv hearing
nsrson 70 rive the suhstance of what he
has said nearly word for word. But IT is
almost imnossib,e for Mr. Rel to sit down
simnIsst hook and have ne understand
him without very great difticnltv and strain
of mind and eve
have often wondered why this sbouId he
90 and have tried To detect where the dif-
ference came in Int without success so
slight ia II and imperceptihIe Mr. Rell is a
good and expressiye reader vet there is a
difference between his manner of speakinc
and of reading which makes all the djfrer-
ence hetween ease and difficultv Of comnre-
hens;on What ia true of Mr. ReII is true
of every one with whom T have had com
munica fion- am CONVINCED therefore
that tho drill in 1jcta tion 90 far fron, aid
ING was Distinct hindrance 70 NV learn
ing to road sneech
roHu Oh meaning.
mother and teacher p;cneers in a new
-. -, I,.I. II,
WI ~ VI Gnu % ''u.' "s NM
sell, was essentially the same as that pur-
WAS educated At a very eariy period
.,o,,. ,,,o,l ,,,oo1. l., ~, honas 49, h.-
DooAs "e paeu -, ny oA' "Ao
came passionately 1ono OF reading. did
not care to play and romp out of doors: all
I wanted was to curl up in some quiet cor
,,., ,na ra.d oil dow 1o,o ~ ouo,,a, NV
fathers library was we'll stocked, and
hao almost 1ree range. Wnen eieven years
Jana pnrtsr's sco++ish 11hiess. anI hasore
I was thirteen / had read through. with
intense interest, Motley's Rise of the Dutch
Republic, most OF Prescotts histories, sew
"a hlaI. ~ trawsi uen - 90 s,' en tha sta
ries and novels I could get hold of. We
went abroad for three years, and my moth
er made point OF giving me all the MS
,a,i ant - ~ Iaa ~ ra GO Iouio .aa
.s.aS ,.ona aans 49,, ~ vt, 90.
Gr,1e. Esen"h Da,a,,,tio,, ,,ra -, @ w. s.i,
80, ~ ,hioh rata,,aS. ~, ',.ho,. % ~, os
y Ua. ~ tha 1,,ards oo,,,d NJ. ,,ndors.a,,,
ss otha ". . S;9 - ISIS. ~. ~ the1, ra.nu.
n.S ,ou LII uu ~ - Ss' ,s a .Iy We,
49, dt,ost th,,s NC e+ Ienath ny this s,ot
49, nS uoo,;a 1880 ,,.t,, ~ oh .hi. . .a .,'
$500 aet IN 60, ..'.,ols upo -, .'is .,,aan I' l .a
i oanieo ieses Oil hnS soe'ess All
hiS. ,oo,,oa h,.,, , re.
..,,aiaS ~ ,,,,1tar,;s of IN, my .an.h nas
ssuuieu ens .een"ui h VI my s.tul
ing appa ~ .. a. ss ,noasn. a ~ "a. '.i. .ely
oNSi oil my SAPciiSh tic Icoult at