Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1897-06-10

congregation OF deal
mntes, says the New York Tribune.
such services are held in this
city every Sunday afternoon; one at
the Episcopal church of st. John the
evangelist. at West 18th street and
Waverley place, where the members
OF 81. AIMS church are temporarily
W~orsniping, and the other at the Ro-
man Catholic church of st. FRAMES
Xavier, In West 10th street. To the
episcopal denomination belongs the
credit OF having first started sign lam
guage services for the children of
silence" 1t is over forty years since
the nrst one was held in old st. AIMS
church, which has always maintained
the lead in the movement and has come
10 De regarded as the especial church
by the majority OF the deaf mutes in
this city. BY its recent consolidation
with st. Matthews church, in West
s4th street, ST. AIMS expects to be able
shortly to maintain two churches-one
Tor It's regular congregation in st.
Matthews and the other exclusively
Tor deaf mutes, in the ediice to be
built upon certain property which the
church owns on Washington Heights
near l4Sth street. A visitor to one of
these silent Sunday afternoon services.
II he arrives before the hour for be-
ginning, will at first notice scarcely
anything unusual. The members Of
the congregation enter one by one and
seat themselves generally in some of
the rear pews, whence, before the open
ings words of the service. the rector
is accustomed to invite them nearer to
the front, where they may see more
clearly. He makes the request by a
gentle, reckoning motion Of the arms,
as If he were gathering his hearers
into a group. A stranger soon observes
the look Of rapt attention on every
face, which is vastly more intense thar
any which the words OF the most elo-
quent preacher ever succeeded in
calling to the faces of those who can
hear and speak. The eyes must do
duty for the useless ears. and their
anxious expression is ample proof of
their endeavor to I'LL the place of both
senses. There is a pathetic solemnity
in the tense, strained attitudes of many
of the congregation, and in the wonder
fully expressive symbolism by which
the preacher conveys his meaning.
For the sign language is a foreign
tongue, so far as it's resemblance to
English goes. II does not consist. as
many imagine, in spelling out the
words letter by letter; that Is done
only in the case of proper names. All
ideas are interpreted by signs or mo-
tions which are descriptive as far as
possible of the thought. Thus the lay
ing of the hand on the heart denotes
love; the arching Of the two hands
together, al IL encircling a globe. indi-
Gates the world; power is expressed by
a commanding wave of the forearm
with the fist clinched, and the idea of
glory is conveyed by raising both
hands above the head and sweeping
them back and forth horizontally. with
the fingers quivering, in semblance of
Of a shimmering light. 1t is wholly
impossible to comprehend without see
ing them the effectiveness of the al
most innumerable signs which take the
place of sounds. 1t is, of course, true
that this sign language cannot be
nearly so rich as a spoken tongue,
much difficulty being experienced in
conveying delicate and slightly differ
ent shades of meaning; but the people
for whom Ii was invented have known
no other, and ii suffices apparently for
their entire happiness and comfort.
An essential thing In such a church
is a clear, strong light; failing this,
the sight-hearers soone or later ex-
p~erience trouble with their eyes. 1t
Is unfortunately often the case that
deaf mutes become blind in later life,
owing to the overstraining of the one
precious sense which they possess.
Music in the services is naturally a
useless feature, and is almost never
provided. although there have been
Instances Wutit hitiibtiS VI tht SUtf-
aregation objected to the omission, de-
claring that they were able, in some
inexplicable way, to appreciate the vi
brations and derive pleasure from
them. 1t has been proved that mutes
can distinguish loud from soft notes,
tut it is only by the stronger or weak
er vibrations produced, and. while the
sense of rhythm is conveyed, there
can be no real sense OF tune. There
is a social organization for the deal
and dumb in this city. which fire.
auently gives dances for their amuse-
ment. On these occasions music Is al
ways furnished, and the dancers move
in perfect accord with the rhythm,
thereby attesting that they can enjoy
sound to that extent,