W. R. Roe

“ A mother's smile it may understand, but her soothing voice never comforts or delights it. While others grow in love, and life, and intelligence, its heart is chilled and its mind enfeebled. Only under suitable instruction, given at an early age, can the deaf mute become anything but a burden to others and to himself.
The anecdotes in the following pages will doubtless be read with considerable curiosity, and it is hoped that the Midland Institution for the Deaf and Dumb at Derby will receive some pecuniary assistance by the publication of this little book. ”

“ I wish I could bring before all those who are discontented with their lot, repining because God has withheld something from them or taken something away, the cheerful face of this lady, who has so little, but who accepts it as though she had all, who has never seen a human countenance or heard a human voice, who in the infinite glory and beauty of this outward world has no part, shut in by herself in that silent, dark, unchanging, awful loneliness. ”

“ Often have we seen some of this portion of suffering humanity unable to plead for themselves, or tell their tale of woe or hardship. Such was the condition of poor Sam Tranter. Though Sam was never in a Deaf and Dumb Institution, his skill and plans for worldly prospects were extraordinary. In his boyhood he was left friendless and uncared for, but persuaded a shoemaker to give him work, at which poor Sam was fairly successful; owing, however, to the man's ill treatment he had to leave, and, to save himself from starving, went in the workhouse. ”

“ It was thought impossible to teach her; the missionary's wife therefore shook her head, and made signs for her to go home. But she would take no denial; so Mrs. H—— sent to England for the "Deaf and Dumb Alphabet." It was astonishing how quickly the child was taught to read the New Testament, from which she learned to know Jesus as her Saviour. One day she signed to her kind teacher, "Missie, me too happy. You would think when me walk out that there were two people in the road; but it is Jesus and me. He talk and me talk, and we two so happy together." ”

“ Gallaudet, the president, who explained to him the various arrangements, after which Mr. Olof Hanson, a Swede, who has mastered English since the loss of his hearing, delivered orally the following address:—Two and a half centuries ago the Pilgrim Fathers laid the foundation of the nation. America may in a sense be called the child of England—and a well-grown child, of which she need not be ashamed. In visiting this country, therefore, you do not, we trust, feel like a stranger, but, as it were, among relatives and friends. ”

“ WILLIAM DE COURCY.
his boy was educated at a Deaf and Dumb School. He was fond of learning, and soon had many companions. One of the delights of his life was visiting the farmyard which was attached to the Institution. William had been taught to be kind to dumb animals. He watched the little birds with much interest, and liked to feed them. There was one bird which came daily to be fed which he used to call his own. He was eager for religious instruction, and soon knew God made him, and that Jesus was his best friend, and that sin was displeasing to God. ”

“ God made the firmament by His word; it is like silk paper, it is all round the world: there is water over it and clouds under it, and the sun shines through it, and the moon, and the stars. (Here he described by gestures the motions of the earth, the sun, and moon, and that there were [Pg 108] countless stars, larger much than the sun; that there was no axle on which the world moved, nor anything to keep it up like a cord, but that it was moved and upheld by the breath of the Almighty.) ”

“ I want to tell you how much I have been pleased with your course here as a student, how gratified I have been to see your pleasantness in your work, and how thoroughly you have won my respect and esteem; and then want to add that your patience and cheerfulness under the heavy cross of extreme illness has made you seem a real hero. It is an added pleasure to think that this heroism is of that sort which those sons of men alone exhibit who are filled with the spirit of our good and glorious leader, Christ. ”

“ But the real music for us comes through the eye. The rippling of waves, the tremulous vibration of leaf and blossom and twig, all these sights make for us a harmony perhaps as perfect as the most finished orchestra. ”

“ After a time Billy was persuaded to sign the temperance pledge, and began to attend the lectures and services for the adult deaf and dumb. For a time all went well, but one hot summer day one of his fellow workmen, who ought to have known better, knowing that Billy had signed the temperance pledge, offered him a shilling if he would drink a glass of ale he held in his hand. The temptation was too strong for Billy to resist, and having taken one, it was not easy for him to resist a second, and in the end poor Billy got taken up by the police. ”

“ Lucien Buonaparte once asked Massieu, "What is laziness or idleness?" "It is a disgust from useful occupation; a disinclination to do anything; from which result indigence, want of cleanliness and misery, disease of body and the contempt of others." In writing this answer the gestures and looks of Massieu were in perfect accordance with the ideas that might be supposed to exist with him and the words he was writing. ”

“ In 1817 the first deaf mute school in America was founded at Hartford, Connecticut; there are now upwards of sixty schools for the deaf and dumb in the United States, and to day more than 7000 pupils receiving instruction. The minds of the deaf are just like those of other people, and only need to be developed. ”

“ Though not a member of a temperance society Gazan is an abstainer, and is none the less welcome, and he occasionally is able to sell to persons who frequent the place. One day last year when the barber's shop was full, a man was there who had often prevented people buying, and when Gazan left began to say all the harm he could of him. This he heard from the barber's wife, who expressed great annoyance at it. Some time after a young man, deaf and dumb, called upon Gazan and gave him to understand he wanted a Bible. ”

“ HALF A SCORE DEAF MUTES.
n Tuesday evening last the Stamford Corn Exchange was crowded with people eager to see half a score little deaf mutes from the Institution at Derby. The children—six boys and four girls—caused considerable amusement, and also pain to think they should be so afflicted. The youngsters can draw, read, and write in a way that is surprising, and some of the faces were marked by unusual brightness and intelligence.—Stamford Mercury, Sep. ”

“ This gentleman, who is now senior professor in the Paris Institution for the Deaf and Dumb, is described as a man of rare merit, probably superior in literary abilities and acquirements to any other deaf mute from birth that any country can produce. He is the author of several works that would do credit to a well-educated man whose knowledge of language had been acquired through the ear. ”

“ A number of the pupils from the Institution at Derby were present at a meeting, when the head master was advocating its claims for support. At the close of the meeting a deaf and dumb young man came up and said, "I have been very pleased with what I saw the children do, they will soon be very clever. I hope the people will all help you; other people helped me to get a good education, now I must help others who are deaf and dumb to go to school. ”

“ The following is the answer of Clerc, the other pupil, to the same question:—"He who never had anything has never lost anything, and he who never lost anything has nothing to regret; consequently, the deaf and dumb who never heard or spoke, have never lost either hearing or speech, therefore cannot lament either the one or the other. And he who has nothing to lament cannot be unhappy; consequently the deaf and dumb are not unhappy. ”

“ Angels are often in the world; they are always present with us, and in every place, separating the people's hearts, good from bad. God tells them to separate the good from the bad; and they are always soaring with their wings. ”

“ One of the boys wrote "All are sinners and have come short of the glory of God." A little Irish girl was then asked "How do you hope to be saved?" The child wrote "This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation that Christ came into the world to save sinners." In answer to the question "What does the Bible say about the righteous?" a little girl wrote "The righteous are as bold as a lion." The last question proposed was "How can you show your love to Jesus?" when one of the pupils at once wrote "He says if ye love me keep my commandments." ”

“ I think all deaf persons have an idea more or less vague of musical sounds. It comes to all who cannot hear through the sense of touch. The vibrations of the chords of a piano, when strongly played, are sufficient to produce real enjoyment by means of feeling to one who can touch the case merely. ”

“ The Bible teaches us how to do good to others, how to help them in distress, how to avoid temptation, how to love and obey God, how to pray to God to keep us out of dangerous things, and pray to God for our parents, for their children, and for our other friends. ”

“ The angels are soaring always, and standing on the air and the clouds; they never are flapping with their wings; they are never tired, nor sleepy, nor hungry, nor thirsty, nor eating, nor laughing, nor smiling ”

“ ACUTENESS OF EDUCATED DEAF MUTES.
ne evening the senior class of girls and boys in a School for the deaf and dumb were invited to put any questions they wished to the Teacher; amongst others, the following (which show considerable acuteness and reflection) were proposed to him:—Who made God? Were there any angels before the world was made? Before the world was made, how was God eternal? Do you know, are there houses in the moon which people inhabit? Do you think the dwellers in the moon have got the sin as well as ourselves? ”

“ The Countess having perfectly assured herself that the child really slept, took a large stone, which she had concealed under her shawl, and to the horror of the nurse—who, like all persons of the lower order in her country, indeed in most countries, was fully impressed with an idea of the peculiar cunning and malignity of "dumbies"—raised it with an intent to fling it down vehemently. Before the nurse could interpose the Countess had flung the stone—not, however, as the servant had apprehended at the child, but on the floor, where of course it made a great noise. ”

“ In this country we have the deaf as teachers, lawyers, chemists, artists, clergymen, editors, &c. Many take a most creditable rank among the hearing persons in their professions. Among the graduates of this college will be found some of the most intelligent and best educated deaf mutes in the world. The college is the only one of its kind in existence. Two young men from the old world have come all the way here to obtain an education which they could not get at home. ”

“ As you go far away over the ocean to your home, to your loved ones, and to that work which God will give you to do, my prayers will follow you daily that God will give you health and strength to do His will, and, above all, that the "peace of God" which passeth knowledge may fill your soul. ”

“ He said "Intelligence is a faculty, by which we distinguish good and evil, what is useful and what hurtful. I think discernment is the faculty of distinguishing the greater and less degrees of good and evil."
[Pg 117]
THE AGE OF DEAF MUTES.
he question is frequently asked, "Is there a greater mortality among the deaf mutes than there is among the total population?"
The statistics so far published, on the whole, show a somewhat greater mortality among the deaf and dumb than that among the total population. ”

“ On Tuesday last an inquest was held by Mr. Michael Fullam, Coroner, at Aughaward, near Ballinale in this County, on the body of a respectable middle class farmer named James Prunty. It appears the deceased, a feeble old man of 76 years of age, went into an out-house occupied by his own bull for the purpose of cleaning it out, and while in the act of doing so, the bull broke its chain and turned on him. By the interposition of providence, his daughter, a deaf mute, happened to come that way, and looked into the bull-house, her attention having been attracted by seeing the door lying open ”

“ She is now receiving daily instruction by means of the manual alphabet. It is, however, to be regretted that her present teacher is an entire novice in the work she has undertaken, but as she has large sympathy for her, and individual experience as to the needs of her pupil, it seems safe to hope that she may lay a substantial foundation, upon which some more accomplished person may build an education which will make this greatly afflicted being equal to Laura Bridgman, of world wide fame. ”

“ All those who trust in Jesus' precious blood are cleansed from all sin. He is mighty to save." The minister then asked, "Was it through the instruction you got at the Deaf and Dumb Institution that these good impressions were made upon your mind?" He answered, "My teacher used to teach the Bible to all deaf and dumb pupils, but I did not feel any grace from God till I was afraid to meet God for sins ”

“ SPEED OF MANUAL SPELLING.
n reply to a question "What is the number of words a good hand speaker can make or say in one minute?" A deaf mute says, "Take the average number of letters per word of the English language as five; this is the number decided upon by the Postal Telegraph department. The average of the Bible is about 4-1/8."
A good hand speaker can go through the alphabet ten times in one minute. I have proved this by personally testing several deaf mutes. ”

“ In one school for the deaf and dumb 25 per cent., in another 20 per cent., and in others 15 per cent. of the pupils are said to be the off-spring of marriages between blood-relations.
Davy mentions the following case observed by Menière:—A married couple, being cousins, who enjoyed excellent health, had eight children, of whom four were born deaf mutes, another was idiotic, another died when five years of age, and two others suffered from absolute deafness, which only made its appearance later on. ”

“ She is active in her nature, and has a remarkably intelligent mind. Through the one medium of gestures, as perceived by the touch, she understands wonderfully well, and in turn makes herself understood. ”

“ In the year 1810, when about four years old, she lost her sight and hearing from malignant sickness. At that time there was no school for deaf mutes. It was not until after she was turned nineteen years that she entered school, and she remained there between twenty and twenty-five years. During her long stay at the school her case always attracted particularly interesting attention on the part of visitors. In many ways she could render much service [Pg 56] in the daily work of the Institution. ”