Brighouse & Rastrick Gazette. — 1883-09-01 (Brighouse, West Yorkshire, England)

REMARKABLE ENTERTAINMENT.  In connection with the meeting of the International Congress on the education of the deaf in Brussels a large audience a'-seinbled at the Royal Institution to witness representations, tableaux, and plastiques vivant s given by the female pupils. These were all, except the last, which was patriotic, of a religious character ; and it is only just to say (the Times' correspondent writes) that while the artistic effect was admirable, and testified to great pains and care taken to work up so many deaf children to so complete a result, good taste, and the sense of reverence were never transgressed. Alternately with the representations presented by the deaf pupils were given musical performances by the blind inmates of the institution. These performances were vocal and instrumental, the instruments employed being the pianoforte and the harmonium. In all that had gone before, there was nothing unusual, but the next exhibitions were certainly exceptional. One was a chorus or chant in which all the singers were "deaf and dumb" inmates of the institution. Of course a "musical ear at once detected the variations of tone; there was nothing which could possibly satisfy the requirements of ins chef d'isreltestre. Still it was a very extraordinary exhibition, and brought to mind the saying of Dr. Johnson recorded by Boswell, in regard to another exceptional performance of which he was witness: "The wonder is, not that they can do it so well, but that they can do it at all." After this came an address of thanks to the president and the visitors, spoken by une sourde areufsle. The speaker was a young woman, *ho in childhood had become deaf, was educated at the institution as an ordinary pupil, and then became blind. Thus deaf and blind, her speech became of the greatest value to her; it has been preserved and developed, and now she expresses all her own thoughts and wishes by speech, and i communicated with by a system of gestures and spelling on the hands, which has been applied and developed by the sisterhood who instruct her and the pupils who are her companions.  On Saturday the authorities of the Royal Free Hospital forwarded information to the local coroner of the death, in that institution, of Jane Salt, aged 44, belonging to Clerkenwell which took place from exhaustion following extensive burns. The husband of the deceased, a silversmith named Matthew Salt, now stands remanded on a charge of setting fire to deceased's clothing and causing her bodily harm. With reference to Mr. Parnell's statement in House of Commonsthatthe prisonersoonvicted at Belfast of complicity in the Crossmaglen murder conspiracy were tried by a packed Orange jary, and were believed in Ireland to be innocent, the Daily Express asserts that these prisoners were all prepared to plead guilty, but for the intervention of a priest, who induced them not to do so. An inquest was held at Old Charlton on Saturday concerning the death of Louisa Walden, aged a. 9, a barmaid, at the Bugle Horn public-house, Charlton. The evidence shewed that she had taken a marked sixpence from the till, and was in consequence dismharged. She was very much depressed in conse-!, quence, and bought at a chemist's some Battle's vermin-powder, which she afterwards took. A verdict of deathfrom phosphorus poisoning was returned