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MALIFAX, N. S.
PRINTED BY JAMES B0WE8 & SONS, BEDFORD ROW.

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AUTOBIOGRAPHY

GEORGE TAIT,

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A DEAF MUTE,

WHO FIRST GAVE INSTRUCTION TO THE DEAF AND

DUMB IN THE

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HALIFAX, N. S.
PRINTED BY JAMES BOWES & SONS, BEDFORD ROW..

• 1878.. . : *

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AUTOBIOGRAPHY 01? GEORGE TAIT. '

I, George Tait, in accordance with the wish of some of my
friends, proceed to write a brief History of my past life ; and it
is my sincere desire to make it sufficiently interesting to awaken
within the bosoms of any who may read it, an interest in the
Child of Silence.

To begin my history where my life began, I shall invite my
reader to travel in imagination far across the broad Atlantic, to .
the heathery hills of " Auld Scotland," " where the kilted lads
are born," and visit the haunts of mj' early childhood.

I was born in Caithness Shire, Scotland, in the vear 1828.
My father was a farmer, and consequently a thatched 'cottage
and broad green fields form the associations of my earliest
remembrances. As there were no fences inclosing my father's
farm, it was necessarj^ that the cows and sheep should be herded,
nnd as I was the eldest son, and at that time, the onlj' one old
enough to perform such a task, I was installed as herdsman ; —
a position which I, however looked upon with no very fvrour-
able ej'e, and I used to form all manner of plans to get cko^ of
it. My favorite way was to run off to my grandfather's, a
distance of about two miles. My grandfather, who was very
fond of me, was always ready with a smile of welcome. I loved
him dearly, and he and I were strongly attached to each other.
But in speaking of my grandfather, I must not forget to mention
my grandmother, and how she used to try to teach me to read,
and to honor the Sabbath day. Ah I how well I remember the
large old-fashioned Bible she used to love so well to read, and how
she used to try to teach me to love it too. I used to look with
reverence upon that book ; not because I knew its inestimable
value, but because she placed such store by it. I can remember
too the word "God" was printed in large capital letters, and
she would show me this, and with deep devotion glowing in her
faded eyes, pointy upward — thus I was at first made to under-

76-^i

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stand that God was one far above this earth, and a being whom
we were to regard with reference and awe ; and then the look
of despair that would come into her eyes when she saw how
utterly useless it was for her to try to tench me to read, I can
well recollect, although at that time I do not think the thought
troubled me much, for I could not see as there was any particular
use in my learning to read. I had also a sort of vague idea that
I was the only deaf and dumb person in the world, and I sigh as
I remember those days of blissflil ignorance when I knew nothing
of this hard, cruel world.

Although I thought so much of my grandfather, it did not pre-
vent me from often being very mischievous and thoughtless at his
exijence. One day he was working in the barn and supposing
me to be in the field he carelessl}' threw his j^ea-jacket aside
and went on with his work, but I was in the barn and not, as he
supposed, in the field, and at the sight of the jacket came the
thought, ," what a jolly chance for a lark." I always wore a
short kilt and I thought it would be splendid to have a pair of
pants so I took the jacket and forcing raj' legs into the sleeves
of it prepared to have some ftm, but just then to my grief grand-
father caught.sight of me and started to take it from me, I turned
and ran as fast as I could, considering that I had my legs through
the sleeves of the jacket. My grandfather engaged in hot pur-
suit after me ; and I venture to say that there never was a more
laughable sight. He caught m'e however and took my new-fashion-
ed pants from me and I went away rather crest-fallen at the utter
failure of my looked-for sport.

My grandfather was a most notorious snuff used. This black
stuff alwaj's reminded me of soot ; and supposing soot just as-
good, I one day took a little box and filled it with it, grandfather
seeing me with this and thinking it some of his snuff, took the
1)ox from. me, with a sharp reproof, and emptied the contents into
his own bos ; and I confess I looked upon this act of my grand-
father with a good, deal of satisfaction as it satisfied, in degree
my love of fun.

Thus I lived on, sometimes staying at grandfather's, at other
times returning home and staying there a while, until I reached
the age of twelve years, when mj; father left the country with it»

green fields and pleasant shady lanes and moved into the crowd-
ed, smoky City of Wick, where he kept a grocery store. Not
long after we went there the Minister of the Church which we
attended called on us, and seeing that I was deaf, told my parents
of an Institution established for the education of the deaf and
dumb. They were much gratified on receiving this piece of
Intelligence, as they had never heard of such an Institution before,
but had always looked upon me with a sort of despair, supposing
that there was no way of teaching me to read and write ; so it
was at once settled that I should go to school. My mother was
soon engaged in supplying every comfort her mind could suggest
to make me comfortable while at school. Soon all was ready
and I was to start on my new career, little thinking that this was
to be a turning point in my life, that henceforth the current of
my existence should run in entirely another direction and would
no longer flow on as it had hitherto done in quiet and undisturbed
tranquility.

I was placed under the care of a gentleman, whose name I do
not remember, and landed safely in Edinburgh (about 200 miles
from my home) where the School stood — tall and imposing. It
was well build of grev sandstone and situated near the Donaldson
Charit}' Institution, a splendid edifice of white sandstone and
capable of accommodating about 500 persons, built by a rich
bachelor named Donaldson. When I reached the school I was
kindly received by the Principal, a man who although he was 78
.years of age, was still heart}- and cheerful. He was a very tall,
stout gentleman, with a certain air of importance about him which
at once deeply impressed my young mind. He wore a very long
•tailed black coat, knee-breeches and gaiters. Some large old-
fashioned gold seals supended on a black ribbon, dangled from his
vest, and two or three gold rings glittered on his fingers ; another
thing I also noticed was that one of his little fingers was missing.
1 afterwards learned that this was due to some of his own mischief
and it seemed strange to me that this strict, important looking
gentleman, should ever have been a mischievous little urchin like
myself. After I had finished gazing at hira, I looked around the
school-room and to my delight I saw a number of boys and girls
all different in size, age and looks and of course in disposition ;

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but like myself none of them could either henr or siwak. Tliere
were about 85 in all, and besides the principal there were four
male and two female assistants.

Before long I was comfortably settled and soon became
ivcquainted with all of the scholars — reckless and sober alike.

Tliere for the first time I became acquainted with boys of my
own age, boys who could enter into my wild sports far better
than my old grandfather had done ; and soon I became very con-
tented and in a short time I could talk on ray fingers, thus being
able to converse more freely than by signs. So things went on
in the usual routine of school life. Sometimes I would become
tired of learning my lessons and try to get clear of them, but I
soon learned that there was no mercy shown to laz}' boys in that
well regulated school, so I resorted to another plan, that of
feigning to be ill, but 1 was immediately sent to bed and a most
shocking dose of salts was brought to me and I was forced to
drink it. Ugh! I have hated the sigh* of salts ever since, and
j'ou may be sure I did not pretend to be sick again.

One of my most intimate acquaintances was a fellow named
Crow. He had an immense hooked nose and I used to. be con-
tinually teasing him bj' telling him that he had a nose like a
Crow's bill. Many were the pranks I used to play upon him, but
he generally took to them very good-naturedly. One day the
matron of the school, as she was in the habit of doing, coaxed
Crow and I to do some little chore for her. She always repaid
us with something ; so, this day she gave me some bread and
cheese to divide between us, but instead of dividing it I ate
the whole of it myself just to see Avhat Crow would say, and 1
very much enjoyed his indignation at my impudence. Thus
in some way or another I was always anmsing myself at some
one's else expence. I often wonder that Crow and I were such
good friends when I was always tormenting him. I remember
another day he was absent from dinner, so it was set aside
for him when he should return ; but Crow never got that dinner
for I went and ate it all before he got back. Anyone can
imagine his feelings when he returned with a good appetite for
his dinner and found that it was all eaten up ; but he guessed

who was the offender and said nd hing for he knew it would only
add to my delight to see him get angry.

In summer time we boys used to have to go about two miles
out of Edinburgh to bathe. One day three or four of ua raised- a
collection among ourselves and bought a bottle of whiskey, this
wc drank between us, and as may be supposed it made us reel-
ing drunk. In this disgraceful condition we turned to go back to
the school, but on our way we met the Principal. He saw at
once how matters stood and I can remember the look of mortifi-
cation and disgust that came into his face as he passed us by
without noticing or appearing to know us at all; but when he had
got a little way past he turned and followed us back to the
scliool where we each got a hearty thrashing, enough to distro}-
all the effect that the whiskey maj' have had upon us, and we
wore despatched to bed without our supper. Wc carried our-
selves straighter and more orderly for a while after that scrape.

On the premises of the school was a workshop, where three
different trades were taught: — carpentiT, tailoring and shoe
making ; and the boys had their choice of either of the three
trades, which they worked at after school hours. I learned
carpentry, which I have worked at ever since. We often
used to take the chance, when we were In the worksho[),
away from the eyes of our teachers, to steal out on the
street, which, however, was forbidden under pain of a good
thrashing; but when boj's see a chance for some good fun,
they generally do not think much of the consequences. So
one day we all went out on the street and were enjoying
ourselves amazingly, when we were caught and told that r<e
were w^anted in the school-room. There was not a boy
tliere who did not tremble in his shoes as the thought of the-
punishment, terrible to contemplate and awful to endure, rose
uppermost in his mind. All of the boys, except myself, went in
at once, while I, coward-like, hid in a small shed near by, hoping
to escape my share of the punishment ; but when 'the rest of the
boj's were assembled in the school-room, the question — "Where
is Tait?" was asked ; no doubt in no very gentle tone ; but as I
was not forthcoming, it was considered best that I should be
looked after. So Crow was sent in quest of me, and in his

search he came into the very shed where I was consealexl ; ami
after looking all around, went out again without seeing me at all.
I remained in the shed till dark, and then stole into the house
and up to bed (without anyone seeing or molesting me) , where
I slept soundly and sweetlj' until morning, when, to my surprise
and delight, the matter seemed to be entirely forgotten by the
teachers, if not bj- my companions, whose minds I have no doubt
it would have eased could they have given me a good tbraishing
themselves, since I had escaped the one given them.

But my happy school days were drawing to a close, for after
four years of study, I returned home in vacation and refused to
go back to school again as my father very much wished me to
do, for he knew better than I, how defieient my education was.
Often since have I wished that I had complied with his wishes,
and returned to school ; and I know that there are man}* others
who have neglected their education in their youth, but who have
lived to regret the day when they neglected their lessons or
played truant,when they were supposed to be in school diligently
applying themselves to their studies, '

But of late a desire to go to sea and travel the world over had
been growing within me, for home seemed desolate to me now
since my mother's death. She had died while I was at school.
I was then sixteen years old, and as I considered myself quite a
man, I thought myself fit for a sailor ; so I started otf with my
mind full of what I had heard of countries far across the sea.
America was to me a bright vision of silver and gold, and my
heart was set upon reaching its shores, for I thought that once
there and my fortune was made.

I went first to Aberdeen, where I hired onboard of a fine brig
belonging to that place. We sailed to several ports in Scotland,
England and Ireland. I worked all the time with a will, for I
was in my element and was happy. My mind was filled with
the wonders I was to see, and the vast fortune I was to make,
that I scarce^ knew how my limbs often ached from the unac-
customed toil. Our brig was in London at the time of the great
Exhibition in 1852. This I visited, and there saw works of art
and skill from all parts of the world. There I met with people
of almost every tongue and nation — from the hardy Scotchman

to the polite and fashionable Frenchman. After a short stay in
London we sailed to Paris. While we were in this port, I found
ample amusement to beguile the hours of daylight in roaming
over the gay, fashionable and splendid city of Paris. One day
one of the mates and I visited the Deaf and Dumb Institution
in the cit3*. I was surprised to see such a number of pupils.
They were, however, all French and speaking the French lan-
guage, we could not understand them ; but the Principle, a
pleasant, interesting sort of a gentleman, who could converse
fluently in both French and English, entertained us for some time
showing us through the School, after which we had some refresh-
ments given us, when we went a 'ay well pleased with our visit ;
but I was disgusted when I afterwards learned that the delicious
pie of which we partook, was prepared from the flesh of frogs.
I did not think the refined Frenchman capable of eating what a
Scotchman would shudder to think of. 1 was also much amused
at the extreme politeness which characterizes the manners of the
French people, contrasting strongly with the abrupt, burly
Scotchman. * ,

Leaving Paris we returned to Liverpool, England, where I left
the brig, and after spending all my money, the fact that my
pockets were empty suddenly dawned upon me, and it became
evident that I must obtain more employment or I should without
doubt starve, for I could not now turn to my father as I had
been in the habit of doing in former times of need ; so I summon-
ed up all m}- courage and went to look for another ship, for I
could think of none other than a sailor's life. After looking
around for some time, I to my unbounded delight found a ship
about to sail for America. I now felt sure that mj' wildest
dreams were about to be iwv*iized. But when I went down into
the cabin, where the captain sat reading and smoking, and pro-
ceeded to write to him on my slate, my heart sank within me
when he told me that he was not allowed under a heavy penalty,
to take a person infirmed in any way out of England without first
having proper authority to do so ; but whe'n he saw how anxious
1 was to go to America he seemed to take a deeper interest in the
seemingh' forlorn and friendless boy, so after a little deliberation
he decided to take me on board as carpenter. — He then dressed

me in a blue suit, and blackened my face with soot to make me
look like the grimy sailors, and sent me on deck with them, so
that when the Custom officers v came onboard to examine the
sailors, I was not noticed at all ; for with my blue suit and sooty
face, I looked very much like the rest of the crew, and soon to
my delight they were gone, and we set sail, and before long I
had lost sight of the land of m}' nativity, and was rapidly being
borne to the object of niy day dreams — the foundation of my
most glorious air castles. After a long and pleasant voyage,
in which I did not experience one spasm of that disagreeable
sensation called sea-sickness, we came in sight of the West
Indies, and then in a few daj-s arrived safely at Jamaica. I
found the heat here intense, to one not used to it almost
unbearable. -

On our aiTival, we were again examined, and a«;ain I was
passed over without my deafness being known. While here we
were engaged in discharging our cargo, and in taking in a fresh
one of cotton for English markets. The wharf was always filled
with swarthy natives. I made enquiries for a young and very
handsome native who had attended the Edinburgh Institution,
but could not learn anything of him, farther than that it was
supposed that he had been taken as a slave.

As soon as our cargo had been discharged, and a fresh one
taken in, we again set sail ; this time carrying several passengers.
Among the number was a young Englishman, about my own age.
We became acquainted, and spent manj' a happy hour together,
talking of the fortunes we were to make, for he, like mj-self, was
a fortune hunter. We were soon in New York ; from thence we
sailed to Boston, and thence to Maine, where I left our gallant
brig, and its noble, generous captain. We were very sorry to
part, but he gave me some good advice — told me to cheer up,
and perhaps we would meet again, if not in this world, in the
next ; but I have never seen that worthy captain since. I went
to work in the ship yard, and was engaged in working at a ship
l)eing built to sail for California. The owners wished me to go
on board as carpenter, and I would have done so with pleasure,
but just at that time I learned, through one of my fellow work-
men, that an uncle of mine was living in Nova Scotia ; so I

declined going to California, and proceeded at once to write to
mj uncle. In due time I received an answer, asking me to come
to Halifax at once. So I started, going from Maine to St. John,
N. B., in a sleigh ; thence to Annapolis on the ice, and thence to
Halifax in a sleigh. When I drove up to my uncle's door, and
he came out to meet me, I could not help laughing at his surprise
when he say that I was deaf and dumb, for he had not known .
it before. Mj'^ uncle, who was a house-carpenter, and carried on
an extensive business, which employed a large number of work-
men, employed me as one of the number.

I found the City of Halifax very small and quiet as compared
with the large and populous Cities of Edinburgh, Glasgow,
Liverpool and other places which I had visited. I was also sur-
prised to see how strictly' the Sabbath day was observed and how
quiet and free from all broils or disturbances the streets were
on that sacred day. Although Halifax is inferior to those large
cities in size, population «&c., it has a harbour far superior to an^-
that the}' can boast of.

Shortly after I came to Halifax, I aiet with a gentlemen at m}'
boarding house who had a deaf and dumb child, a little girl about
twelve years of age. As she had never received any education
he begged me to teach her, and as he did not live in the Citj' he ♦
said he would send her to live with an aunt residing in the City.
I was pleased to undertake her education and when she was sent
to Halifax I commenced without delay to instruct her, during my
leisure hours. This girl was the first deaf and dumb person who
ever received instruction in the City of Halifax. This was in the
year 1855. The generous heart of this little child would not let
her rest satisfied with being taught herself, but she was continually
urging me to gather togetlier the other children in the City of
Halifax afflicted like herself, and teach them too. She manifested
such concern for those who were like herself but had never been
taught to read and write, that I caivht the infection and de-
termined to do what was within my limited power towards start"
iug a School in Halifax for the education of deaf mutes. My
plans seemed to be favoured, for one day as I was walking along
the street I noticed a man and woman talking on their fingers.
It Avas evident that one of them was deaf and dumb and as. they

looked to he in a starving condition I went up to them and
commenced to talk to them. The poor fellew seemed pleased to
have some one who could speak to him and immediately com-
menced to tell me a most pitiful story of want and woe. I learned
that the woman who was with him w^as his wife and that the}- had
one child. He told me too that he had left Scotland with the
intention of going to his brother who lived in the United States,
but that he had been landed in Halifax. Friendless and almost
penniless he had found it impossible to get sufficient employment
to maintain himself. I went with him to his lodging which con-
sisted of one room scantily furnished, or not furnished at all, for
the onl}- thing in the shape of furniture that I could see, was a
miserable bed and a few dishes. He told me that his name was
Grav. I knew the name for I had heard of him before I left
Scotland. He had received his education at the Edinburgh
Institution and the thought occurred to me that I could collect
the scholars this man might teach them, as he had nothing else
to do, and in reality I had not sufficient time to devote mj'self to
them as I wished to do.» I proposed my plans to him. He
sympathized with them in every respect and promised to teach
as well as he could anj- who might wish to learn. Then after
supplying him with some of the necessaries he stood so much in
need of, I went away and commenced at once lo look for
scholars and to collect something for the School from any whose
sympathies might be enlisted in our cause. Friends seemed to
spring up on every side, and in a short time I had made a collec-
tion amounting to $160, with which we furnished a room on
Argyle Street. The School opened with two scholars. This
small number gradually increased and in course of time there was
quite a room full. Thus this little room with its few scholars
formed the nucleus, or beginning of the fine Institution of tc-day.
Andrew Mackinlay, Esq., assisted us in many waj's. He bocame
Secretary and Treasurer; for besides what was left of the $160
after furnishing the school-room there was always money on hand
given us by some kind friend in aid of the school. When the
number of pupils had so increased as to render the room Ave had
occupied till now, incapable of accommodating them all, the friends
and Directors of the school procured a larger room and sent to

Scotland for a teacher as Mr. Gray was not capable of suppljing
the place of a first class teacher. Before long the present
Institution was purchased and repaired and enlarged in dififerent
ways. There are now a large number of pupils attending the
school ; many of them going home every year in the holidays.
They come from all parts of Nova Scotia, Cape Breton, New
Brunswick, &c. Besides the Pi'incipal, there are two male, and
one female assistants. The school is a great blessing t m these
Provinces, for without it the deaf child would remain in utter
mental darkness and ignorance.

After awhile I began to get tired of boarding and determined
to go to sea again ; and as there were relatives of mine living in
Australia, I concluded to go there, but just then, by mere chance,
I became acquainted with a j'oung lady with whom I at once fell
in love, so instead of embarking on the deep, blue Atlantic, I
embarked in the sea of matrimony. My wife could both hear
and speak, yet at the same time could converse on her fingers
with as much ease and quickness as with her lips. After we had
been married for about 13 years and, a swarm of children had
gathered around my knee, I became desirous of again seeing my
native land, so I procured a passage in the " City of Halifax."
The passage was a pleasant one ; no storms were encountered
and everything went smoothly (after the hoiTors of the first
night were over.) I had gone to bed and was sleeping quietly,
lulled by the gentle rolling of ti^)e.jship, when I was suddenly
awakened bj- some one feeling over mj' head. I sprang up in
bed and met the bloodshot eyes of a drunken sailor who had stag-
gered into my room. He held in his hand an open knife which
he raised above his head in a threatening attitude, I grasped his
arm but not in time to avoid altogether the descent of the knife,
which struck my shoulder, cutting through my clothes and slight-
ly injuring the flesh. However by dint of a good deal of coaxing
I succeeded in getting him out of the room and fastening the
door. The rest of the voyage was accomplished in peace, and I
once more stood on Scottish soil. I proceeded at once to my
father's store and entered, — "But was that old man with the
bent form and snowy hair my father?" I had not thought of
seeing any change- in him. He did not know me, however, and

14!

the joy that would natura% shine in a father's eyes when he
recognizes a long absent child, was not seen in his. He looked
upon me as he would look upon an utter stranger. Yet how
could it be expected that he should see in the bearded man, any
resemblance to the slight youth of 16 who had left his home more
than 20 years before. I then made myself known to him. He
was greatly rejoiced to see me and after a hearty greeting he took
me to the house. ,It looked quite natural and home-like, for
although I had been absent so long I had not forgotton what my
old home looked like. It was but little changed, all l^e change
seemed to have taken place in the occupants themselves.

The brothers and sisters whom I had left at home children,were
now grown to manhood and womanhood. I also found brothers
and sisters whom I had never seen before, for my father had
married again during my absence. I spent a very pleasant time
during the summer visiting my friends and relations. I also
hunted up some of my old school mates and had a chat with
them. To one of them whom I visited, I did not tell my name,
I merdy said that I was an old school fellow, and we were spend-
ing a most delightful time together, talking of old times and the
many scrapes and adventures of our school days, when he asked
me if I knew what had become of that black curly headed fellow
namd *' Tait " who used to be such a mischievous rascal. I
could not help laughing at his surprise when I told him that that
person was now before him. After I had been home a few days
my father became suddenly ill. He had been out taking a walk
and when he got home ^vas scarcel}' able to reach his own room,
which he never left again but died after a few days of suffering.
I was very thankful that I had been permitted to see my father
once more, if it was but for a few days.

When the summer began to wane, and the autumn leaves were
falling, I prepared to return home. The voyage back was not
so pleasant as the one out had been, for we encountered several
storms — one vety heavy one. — The water lashed the ship, and
the day became dark as night. In the fury of the storm I was
washed overboard, and narrowly escaped being drowned. We
also passed a huge ice-berg on our waj*, when the warm conge-

Iwere
not

reral
and
was
We

Inge-

nial air of the early autumn was changed suddenly to the cold
chilliness of winter.

My family was not in Halifax when I arrived, and I proeeeded
at once to the country where they were spending the summer.
I came in upon them just as they were having a delicious feast
of corn. The com was foi^otten, and I was immediatel}' sur-
rounded by a laughing, dancing group of children, glad to see
^' Father" at home once more, and I felt that although I had
not gained the immense fortune I had once dreamed of, I had a
far greater blessing than any amount of money could buy, viz : —
« happy, loving family.

Shortly after this we left Halifax and moved to Dartmouth.
I built a house in which I still reside. Lately I have been
engaged as pattern maker in the skate Factory. This is an ex-
tensive manufactory where a large number of men are employed.
It is here " Forbes Patent Acme Club Skates" are manufactur-
ed. These skates are known all over the world.

Now, dear reader, my story is ended up to the present (1878),
and if I have succeeded in eliciting your sympathy in favor of
the '' Children of Silence," it will not be altogether a failure.

EXTRACT from an American Report, stating the early
History of the different Deaf and Dumb Schools on
the Continent of Europe* Also a short History of
the early American Deaf and Dumb Teachers :~

In the year 177C there existed hut three schools for the deaf and
dumb in the world, and they numbered, in the aggregate, less than
forty pupils. One was the establishment of the celebrated Abbe
Charles Michel de 1' Epee, situated on the heights of Montmartre, in
the outskirts of Paris, and supported, through the practice of the
roost careful economy, by the income of his own moderate patrimony.
He is properly regarded as the father of the French system of deaf
route education. The fundamental idea that led to the method he
adopted, was, according to Lis own statement, " There is no more
natural and necessary connection between abstl-act ideas and the arti-
ulate sounds which strike the ear, than there is between the same
ideas and the written characters that address themselves to the eye."
This principal, generally regarded at the time as a solecism in phil-
osophy, led him to inquire as to the best means of conveying a
knowledge of the significance and use of written language to the
mind of a congenital deaf mute. After much observation and reflec-
tion, he came to the conclusion that the most obvious instrument for
effecting his purpose was the natural pantomime which grew out
of the modes of thought of one born deaf, enlarged in its scope, and
methodized iu its arrangement. Commencing his labors in the
instruction of the deafaud dumb about the year 1755, with two
young girls whose pitiable condition touched his heart, be taught
auccessive classes till his death, in the year 1789, at the age of 77,
Two years after this, the school which he founded was adopted by
the national government of France, and has continued under its care
and surveillance ever since.

Anothei of these schools was in Germany, under the charge of a
self-made man named Samuel Heinicke, who, in 1754, while station-
ed as a private soldier at Dresden, had employed some of his leisure
time in developing the mind of an indigent deaf and dumb boy, an
esperimeut interrupted by the seven years' war. JSuppqrting himself,
after the close of this conflict, at the University of Jena, by bis
skill in music, he repaired, on his graduation, to the village of
Eppendorf, near Hamburg, and engaged in teaching a school for
hearing youth. Here he found another deaf mute, who, at once
became to him an object of absorbing interest. Other deaf mutes
soon found their way to his' benevolent miaistrations, and relinquish-

ing his hearing pupils, he devoted his whole time to their inatruction.
Such was bis success that it attracted the notice of the enlightened
Prince Frederic Augustus, the elector of Saxony, who, in 1778,
invited him to Leipsic with his nine pupils and established him at
the head of the first institution ever supported at the public expense.
In this to him most acceptable position he remained twelve years,,
laboring with a zeal ro disproportioned to his strength that his career
was prematurely terminated by death in 1790, when he had reached
the age of sixty-one. As the recognized father of the German
system, however, he still lives in the persons of his followers, and
the institution of which ho was director will, two years hence, cele-
brate its own centennial anniversary.

The principle which guided him was the opposite of that which
had been adopted by Do L'Epee. ''The written word," he wrote,
"is only the representation of articulate sound. It addresses itself
to the eye, and can never' be imprinted on the soul or become the
medium of thought. That is the sole prerogative of the voice.
Without an acquaintance with spoken language, a deaf mute child
can never become more than a writing machine, or have any thing
beyond a succession of images passing through his mind." He
accordingly devoted himself to the cultivation of vocal speech on th6
part of the deaf, regarding it as the point of departure in all his^
efforts in their behalf.

The school remaining to be mentioned in this connection is that of
the Bra id woods, father and son, established near Edinburgh, Scotland,
at a country place, which, from fhe fact of its being occupied for the-
instruction of the deaf and dumb, came to be called Dumbiedikea, a
name immortalized by Sir Walter Scott in his Heart of Midlothian.
Of this school, Dr. Samuel Johnson, in his Journey to the Hebrides,.
thus remarks : "There is one subject of philosophical curiosity to be
found in Edinburgh which no other city has to show, a college of the
dcaf and dumb. The number of pupils is about twelve. They are
taught by a Mr. Thomas Braidwood, and their improvenaent is won-
derful; they not only speak, write and understand what is Written,
but it is an expression scarcely figurative to say they hear with the
eye. * * * It was pleasing to see one of the most desparate of
human calamities capable of so much help. Whatever enlarges
hope will exalt courage. After seeing the deaf taught arithmetic,,
who would be afraid to cultivate the Hebrides?"*

Thomas Braidwood, according to that rar& old work **Vax ooulis
Subjecta," London, 1783, began the instruction of the deaf and
dumb with one pupil, the son of an eminent merchant at Leith, and,
about 1770, assooiateid his son John with himself in the conduct of
an academy for the benefit of this class of learners. The iauthor,
Erancis Green, stint his son Charles to this establishment in r'ebru-
ary, 1780, and in May, 1781, and September 1782, spmt MeveraL

'!!

weeks in visiting it. The evidence furnished by his testimony, anl
that of many others, goes to estnbllHhed the fact that these two men,
whatever moy be thought of their theory and practice, were endowed
with a tact, ingenuity and zeal that brought them as much success as
coud possibly be realized from the methods they pursued.

The academy wao, in 1783, removed to Hackney, near London,
where the older Braidwood died, in 1806; but the school was main-
tained by his widow and grandchildren till 1810, when it ceased to
exist as a separate establishment.

Thomas liraidwood's views of the importance of teaching vocal-
ieation to the deaf maybe inferred from his declaration, that "articu-
late or spoken language liHth so great and essential a tendency to
•confirm and enlarge ideas above the power of written language, that
it is almost impossible for deaf persons, without the use of speocii,
to be perfect in their ideas." He, however, as we infer from the
practice of his nephew, Joseph Watson, LL Dr. who was appointed
first principal of the London asylum in 1792, made use of signs of
action, including signs purely natural and others more or less arbi-
trary grafted on them, and also of tlie two-hand manual alphabet.
He also believed in the graduation of difficulties and taking up one
at a time. In this sense lie may be said to have marked out a course
intermediate between those of Heiuicke and De L*Epee, equivalent,
in some respects, to a combination of the two, though it is evident
Ihat he did not derive any suggestions from either. He differed
from both these eminent men, however, in putting a commercial
value upon his art. The prices be charged for instruction were very
high, and though a ^'ery few poor children were allowed to derive
benefit from his labors, his speci^kl ministrations were given to the
children of the rich. £oth he And his family refused to impart a
knowledge of their processes except for a larjge pecuniary consider-
ation. Still through his nephew, Dr. Watson, already mentioned,
through his grandson, Thomas Braidwood, and through Mr. Robert
Kinniburg, bis pupil, who became severally masters of ineoiporatcd
institutions at London, Birmingham and Edinburgh, as well as the
teachers they have trained, his methods have become perpetuated,
with more or less strictness to this day, so that he may, with pro-
priety, be called the immediate father of the Englii^ih system.

It is no,t to be inferred, however, from what has been said, that
the three schools mentioned as furnishing t)ie starting point for the
great developmeut of the work which bas been made during the
century we are ctmsidering, are entitled to any commendation further,
than that of doing for numbers what had been done equally well
before for individuals, Dor that all three of these founders were cither
the inventors or discoverers of the peculiar methods which they
ijidopted. To De L'ICpee, indeed, must be awarded the merit of true
^rigiQalit}*- — the origiuality of common sense, it is true — in that ho

oy, and
ro men,
ndowed

ccess as

[j0ndon,
,s main-
eased to

5 vocal-
•articu-
lency to
ge, that
speocli,
•om the
ppointed
signs of
ess arbi-
ilphabct.
; up one
a course
iiivalent,
evident
differed
nmercial
ere very
derive
to the
Impart a
onsider-
[ntioned,
Robert
ponitcd
11 as the
letuatod,
lith pro-
lid, that
for the
ing the
further,
ly well
either
li they
of true
that bo

simply recognized in his philosophy what now seems to be an axiom
And in his practice that which h'w pupils naturally sucgested to him
in all their eifurts to express their ideas, but stilt unique and note-
worthy, in that it was a departure from all the rieceived notions of
his duy. Even ho, however, owed to a Spanish teacher who appeared
nearly one hundred and fifty years before his time, the single-handed
manual alphabet, which, however, has been identified with the name
of Do L'Epee, because we find it in general use only among bis
followers.

Heinicke, on the contrary, had the merit of only making skilful
adaptations of the plan of John Conrad Amman, a physician in Hol-
land, who wrote a hook entitled Surdas Loquens (Amsterdam, 1692).
A copy of this work iell into his hands when he undertook the
instruction of liis first pupil, and gave direction to his subsequent
views and methods. Amman 'placed an extravagant estimate upon
the efficacy of speech, attributing to it a mysterious power altogether
beyond what is consistent with the teachings of philosophy. He was
the first practical teacher of the deaf and dumb in Hollaud, though
he was able to pursue this work only in the intervals of professional
leisure, and with a view, it would seem, rather to establish his theories
and interest others in his benevolent scheme than to found a school
of his own. After his death, no one wao found to continue the
work in his native land, and mor? than a century elapsed before any
effort was made to revive it.

Bra id wood, iu like manner, was indebted to John Wallis, LL. D.,
professor of mathematics in the University of Oxford, a man of pro-
found erudition, and of extraordinary philosophical acumen, who is
acknowledged by common consent to have been the earliest teacher
of the deaf and dumb in Great Britain. To him their case presented
itself in the light of a most interesting problem. In 1658 he pub-
lished a Latin work on English grammar, to which was prefixed ,a
treatise on the formation of ail articulate sounds. This he designed
for the use of foreigners studying the English language, and the appli-
cation of his theory to the instruction of the deaf and dumb probably
never occurred to him till the year 1G61, when he became interested
in a youth named Daniel Whaley, son of the mayor of Northamp-
ton, who became deaf at the age of five years, but had lost all know-
ledge of spoken language. Him he taught to read, to write, and to
speak in a way greatly to gratify the Royal Society before whicii he
exhibited his pupil at a meeting held May 21, 1062, and also his
MHJesty King Charles I, at Whitehall, together with His Highness
Prince Rupert iind divers others of the nobility, who were so nmch
interested that they sent for Dr. Wallis, aud required him to exhibit
the attainments of his pupil on several different occasions. He also
educated A lexaad'cr Popham, ^'a young gentleman of a very good
family and fair estate, who from his birth did want his hearing-"

These seemed to have been the only oases which he instracted in
articulation, though he continued to teach the deaf and dumb for
some fifty years, never undertaking more than one or two at a time.
He published very full accounts of his processes in the philosophicnl
transactions of the Boyal Society (1670-1691), and also in the fifth
and sixth editions of his grammar. He used as one of his instru-
ments of communication, a double-hand manual alphabet, which
seems to have been the original of the alphabet now used in Great
Britain, an engraving of which first appears in Daniel DeFoo's
history of the life and adventures of Duncan Campbell, a deaf mnte,
of whom he says, that he was educated by a clergyman who had
become familiar with Dr. Waltis's writings, and had enjoyed the
advantage of personal intercourse with him. The work, which was
published in 1720, contains a chapter devoted to an explanation of
the manner in which this was accomplished, which, says the author.
*' is mostly taken out of the ingenious Dr. Wallis ; and lying hid in
that book which is rarely enquired after, and too scarcely known,
died, in a manner, with that great man."

Contemporary with Wallis, and enjoying his friendship, was
George Delgarno, master of the grammar school at Oxford, who
wrote a book of great learning, entitled Didascolocophus, or the deaf
and dumb man's tutor, published in 1G80, a work held in respect by
teachers, and often consulted by them even at this day. Delgarno
discarded articulation as unessential in the instrnction of the deaf
and dumb. He was the inventor of an alphabet in which the con"
sonants were considered as located between the articulation of one
hand, with the vowels at the tips of the fingers, and which were to
be touched by the thumb and index fingers of the other. It is con-
jecttired not without reason, that Delgarno and Wallis were of
mutual assistance to each other in developing the theory of de^f mute
instruction, which, with the former, was simply an intellectual re-
creation, while the latter gave it practical effect. Previous to Del'
Srno and Wallis. the earliest writer on the subject in England was
r. John Bulwer, who, in 1644, published " Chiralogia, or the
natural language of the hand," and in 1648, " Philocophus, or the
deaf and dumb man's friend," both of which are interesting speoul»'
tions. But anterior to the earliest writer in England, and long
before the earliest teacher, was Pedro Ponce De Leon, a monk of
the order of the Benedictines in the Convent of Oiia, Spain, where
he died in 1584, The success of bis labors was vouched for by at
least three contemporary writers, one of Whom, Ambrose Moralez, a
Spanish historian, speaks of him as one of the most remarkable men
of his age. He is supposed to have commenced his labors in the
year 1550. Some thirty or thirty-five years after his death, all trace
of bis labors seems to have disappeared except in the casual mention
(fo which allusion has been made, and scarcely any thitig would now

be known of him but for an account of his libors he left in an act for
a foundation for a chapel execute 1 in 1558, and long afterward dis-
covered among the urchivoa of the couvent. At this poriod appear-
ed Juan Pablo Bonet, who wrote the first hook in regard to tho
method of instructing tho deaf and dumb ever published, an analysis
of which, from the pen of the late Dr. H. P. reet, was contributed
to tho American Annals of Ju1y« 1S51, and he elsewhere says of its
author, that, *' with this exception (the employment of pictures), ho
seems to have successfully employed all the methods now used in this
branch of instruction. In reading his book we are reminded that an
art, in its first elements, is often more nearly conformed to sound
philosophy than it becomes in the hands of subsequent innovatons. *
* * The parent or friend of a doafmute who should wish to begin at
home the education of a child, cannot do better than to follow tho
method laid down by Bonet — explaining the names of visible objects
by pointing to them ; verbs, by performing the actions they repre-
sent ; other ideas by explanations and scenes in pantomine, and the
general construction of simple sentences, questions, answers and
narratives, by continual usage, by means of the manual alphabet and
writing.*' The success which attended Bonet's labors was, as may
bo supposed, very considerable, though he never had more than one
or two pupils at a time. It should be added that the manual alpha-
bet which he employed and probably invented, is the same precisely,
iu about two-thirds of its letters, as that adopted by the Abbe De
L'Epce, and in none of the remaining letters, except the D and R, is
there any essential difference. Another teacher, contemporary with
Bonot, was Ramirez Emmanuel De Carion, who survived bis c tt-
laborer about thirty years. After his death no further effort was
made to instruct the deaf and dumb in Spain, until the year 1795,
when it was revived by Alea, a disciple of De L'Epee, who opsned a-
school for deafmutes at Madrid, and. though Spain has a population
of over 12,000,000, of whom 1*2,000 are deaf mutes, there ore, at
this day but two institutious in her borders ; and it is a remarkable
fact that, of the 238 institutions now existibg in tho different coun-
tries of the world, with the single oxception of the Paris National
Institution, which is the same on another foundation, with the pri-
vate school of De L'Epee, there is not one that has not been founded
since 177€.

In Great Britain and Ireland there are twenty-three, which, in
their methods, may be regarded as belonging to the school of
Braidwood, though they generally reject articulation as an incum-
brance.

Tho institution iu London was founded by the Eev. John Town-
send, a minister of the Congregational order in London, and, on the
14th of IS^ovembor, 1792, was opened with four pupils. Mr. Town-
rscnd began lo take subscriptions on the 1st of Juno, 1792, and, by

the aid of otliers whom he enlisted in the enterprise, succeeded in
securing for it a generous support. In the years 1808, 1809 and
1810, ht) travelled thousands of miles, preaching in different places,
and collected £6,000 as a permanent fund for the society. This fund
was afterwards increased until, in 1844, it amounted t) £140,000, or
$700,000, and is much larger probably at the ; resent time. The
pupils are selected for admission by a vote of the governors, who are
unlimited in number, being composed of those who pay one guinea
per annum, with the privilege of an additional vote for every addi-
tional guinea subscribed, many of its most liberal supporters being
personages of the highest rank. The first teacher selected was
Joseph Watson, a nephew of Braidwood, who had dedicated himself
to the education of the deaf and dumb. In the year 1809 he pub-
lished a treatise on his art, which secured for him the degree of
LL.D. from the University of Glasgow. He died in 1836, and has
since been succeeded, as principal, by his son, and subsequently by
his grandson. Among the distinguished teachers in Great Britain,
in addition to those already mentioned, the names of the late Duncan
Anderson, of Glasgow, aud Charles Baker, of Doncaster, deserve
special mention, while that of David Buckston, the present head of
the school in Liverpool, is eppeeially prominent among living instruc-
tors. The school of De L'Epee is now represented in the continent
of Europe by fifty institutions in France, fiftiaen in Italy, two in
Spain and one in Portugal, all of which adopt his methods to a
greater or less degree. His immediate and most distinguished suc-
cessor at Paris was the Abbe Sicard, and among the most distin-
guished professors have been Bebian, Morel, Berthier and A^aisse.
M. Vaisso was the only practical instructor at the head of the insti-
tution after the time of Sicard, the other individuals intrusted with
its management having been selected for political reasons, a circum-
stance which has greatly limited the usefulness of the institution, as
the teachers were practically left without a directing head. The
French, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese schools have been support-
ed by their respective governments.

The school of Heinicke is represented by thirt}' institutions in
Germany, fifty in Austria, ten in Belgium and Holland, five in Den-
mark, Sweden and Norway, and three in Russia, although a number
of the institutions, especially those in Holland, Sweden and Norway,
have adopted what may properly be called the combined method,
which consists of using signs as an instrument of instruction in
language and articulation as a means of expression. One character-
istic of all the schools is that they reject the manual alphabet, thougb
there is an increasing disposition, even in the most pionounced
articulating schools, to use gestures, which are the more necessary,
as they find there is a large and increasing number of their pupils
who can derive no benefit from the efforts made to teach tUcm to

speak and read on tho lips. The total numher under instruction in
the 195 institutions of Great Britain and Europe has been estimated
at from 5,000 to 6,000, a contrast, indeed, to the forty that were
under instruction at the beginniug of the period whose progress wo
are considering. The characteristics of the French teachers are aa
unbounded euthusiasm and a close analysis of language and ideas.
Those of the Italian are great particularly in instructing theit
pupils in religious and ecclesiastical history and tencots, and also a
remarkable development in the arts of design, architecture, sculp-
ture, drawing, painting and engraving, many of rlie pupil's showing
a remarkable proficiency in these respects. All of the teachers
being members of religious orders, their services are rendered
gratuitously. The Abbe Peudola is the most remarkable man
among them. Tho Gorman teachers are remarkable for their de-
voted faithfulness, their extensive reading, and their philosophic
research, and hold a most respectable position among the learned
men of their country, a remark which may be applied with equal
truth to the teachers in Holland. Among the liatter the brathers
Guyot and Canton Hirsch are mea notable both within and without
their profession.

It is on the continent of America, however, and within the bor-
ders of the United States, that the art has rea-ched its fullest devel-
opment. The first deaf mute of whom we have any record in this
country was the son of Francis Green, Esq., then of Boston, after-
wards of New York, of whom it has already been said that he placed
his son at the Braidwood academy. In the early days after the
revolutionary war, he wrote a number of contributions to the news-
papers of Massachusetts, signed, " Philocophus,*' but from the fact
that there was no prominent man who had any personal interest in
the matter, the seed which he sowed did not bear immediate fruit. .
It was reserved, under Providence, to another father, twenty years
later, to give the impetus needed to a work, the importance and
benevolence of which all acknowledge, when they become familiar
with the deplorable condition of the uneducated deaf mute, and thus
receive positive proof that he is capable of such development as to
make him an intelligent, self-dependent, well informed member of
the community, capable of expressiug his ideas in written and
sometimes in spoken language, and of comprehending the written
communications of others. The daughter of Dr. Mason F. Cogs-
well, an eminent physician in Hartford, Conn., had the misfortune
to suffer total loss of hearing as the result of a disease then known
as spotted fever, but of late years greatly dreaded under tho name
of cerebro spinal meningitis. Parental love tried every expedient
for alleviating the condition of the child, but was fast settling down
into the sad belief that, in the holiest and tenderest relations of the
soul, there must ever be a wide chasm, isolating the cliild» It

'j.

chanced, however, one day, that Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet, son of
a neighbor and friend, a young clergyman, who had resently carried
off the highest honors at the Andover Theological Seminary, as he
had previously done at Yale College, chanced, in passing, to sec
little Alice Cogswell playing in the garcien, and, attracted by her
bright and winning ways, endeavored to establish some communica-
tion with her. Before he left the garden, he had actually succeeded
in teaching her the word hat. From this he proceeded, in sub-
sequent visits, to teach her to write the names of other objects, and
even little sentences. As hope animated the mind of the father, he
began to make enquiries as to what had been done for the deaf and
dumb abroad, and, as his information on the subject increased, he
ascertained that there were a number of deaf mutes in the State of
Connecticut, who, like his daughter, were entirely without educa-
tion. Through his efforts, a few gentlemen assembled in Hartford
and decided that it was expedient to send some one abroad to learn
the process of instruction there employed, and undertake the educa-
tion of the deaf and dumb in this country. Their choice naturally
fell upon Mr. Gallaudet, who, on the 25th of May, 1815, embarked
for Europe, and proceeding to London, at once made application to
Dr. Watson, of the London 'institution, for permission to attend the
exercises of his school, and make himself familiar with the processes
employed. He found, however, that the rules of the institution
were such that this could not be permitted, except upon terms with
which Mr. Gallaudet found it impossible to comply. He then went
to Edinburgh, and sought, from the Rev. Robert Kinniburgh, prin-
cipal of the institution there, the privileges which he had been denied
at London. Here he found the same influences at work to frustrate
his efforts. Mr. Kinniburgh had, like Dr.' Watson, received his
own license to teach only on condition that he should not impart a
knowledge of the art to any one designing to establish a separate
institution. On his return to London, proposals were made to Mr.
Gallaudet to employ a member of the Braidwood family then visiting
America, but this he feared would be inexpedient. While he was
thus tossed on a sea of doubt and anxiety, he had the good fortune
to meet, in London, the Abbe Sicard, who had brought with him his
two celebrated pupils, Massieu and Clerc, for the purpose of demon-
strating the value of his process. Becoming very much interested
in Mr. Gallaudet's project, he at once invited him to Paris, and Mr.
Gallaudet, satisfied of the superiority of his system and its result,
mo.st heartily accepted the invitation, under the feeling that he had
been guided by a special Providence overruling his own plans for
the benefit of those whose welfare he was endeavoring to promote.
We find him accordingly in Paris, where he remained from March
9 to June IC, 1816.

The time of his sojourn was very much shortened by his obtaining

the consent of the Abbe Sicard to Mr. Clerc's accompanying him to
this country, and in June, 1816, he set sail for Aniericn, arriving in
N( tv York ori the 9th of August. In the meantime, an act of incor-
po ation. under the style of the "Connecticut Asj'lum for Deaf and
Dumb Persons, " had been obtained from the Legislature of Con-
necticut. The eight niontlis succeeding their arrival was spent by
Messrs. Gallaudet and Clerc in visiting different cities in New
England, New York and Pennsylvania, and in obtaining subscrip-
tions. On the loth of April, 1817, the asylum was opened in a
rented house in Hartford, with a claps of seven pupils. In March
1819, through the efforts of Hon. Nathaniel Terry and Hon. Thomas
8. Williams, an act was passed by both houses of Congress granting
to the asylum a tbwnship of land consisting of more than 23,000
acres in the then new State of Alabama, and in the same year the
title was changed, by the act of the Legislature of Connecticut, to

that of the "American Asylum." it being thought that one institu-
tion would meet the necessities of the country. The lands were
located with excellent judgment and sold to great advantage by
AVilliam I'ly, Esq., who was made commissioner of the fund thus
created. In the year 1839 this fund amounted to $278,100, in-
olufling real estate and amounts, at the present time, to $338,925.
Tliis has enabled tliH asylum to contribute more than one thii*d to
the cost of maintaining the pupil'^, tiius diminishing the expense to
the Legislatures and individuals availing themselves of the benefit
it confers. * The six New England States and the State of South
Carolina have been the principal patrons. The State of Connecticut
made it a grant of $5,000 in 1816.. and has supported beneficiaries
in the asylum from the time of its opening until the present. lu
1825, the Lef,islatures of the remaining New England States follow-
ed its example The organization of the asylum was originally in
two departments, one that of a home under a superintendent, the
other that of a school under a principal. The title of superintendent
was afterward changed to that of steward, and still latter to that of
finnily guardian and steward. The early teachers selected by Dr.
Gallaudet were men of remarkable ability and finished education,
and the example thus set has been followed by all the institutions
which have since been established in this country, under the belief
that a work of such importance and intrinsic difficulty could thus be
carried on with far greater advantages than with teachers of of merely
ordinary qualifications. The result has been that what has been
called the American system has been brought to a degree of perfec-
tiou that was not anticipated when the American asylum was found-
ed. As, however, deaf mutes of more than usual intelligence and
attainments have Ueen trained in the different institutions, it has been
found advisable to make use of their rare ability to make an impres-
sion upon the minds of their companions in misfortune, in the teach-

."^iS^

ing of

a portion of tho classes. Tliose early teachers also enjoyed
the rare advantage of obtaining, through Mr. Clerc, a systom of
pantomine, remarkable for its vividness and grace. Mr. Gallaudct
himself had a very remarkable skill in the use of this instrument, in
expressing ideas. He was tho first to introduce regular religions
exercises into an institution for the denf and dumb, on week days and
on the Sabbath, if we except the Paris Institution, where mass is
celebrated once a week. The permanent building of the asylum was
completed in 1821, and the service of dedication took place on tho
twenty-second of May of that year. On the 22nd of April, 1830, in
consequence of failing health, Mr. Gallaudet tendered his resignation
to the directors and retired from his office as principal, on the first of
the following November, when he was succeeded by Lewis Weld,
Esq., one of his early associates and disciples. His ability as a writer
and thinker received fitting recognition froin Trinity College, which
in the year 1832, conferred upon him tho degree of LL. D. He died
on the 10th of September, 1851, at the age of sixty-one. Thou3and.s
of deaf mutes in the country wlio had bjen directly or indirectly
banefitted by his labors were inspired, by this event, to enter at once
upon contribution funds towards the erection of a monument to h's
memory, and tho ccromouies attending its completion took place at
the American asylum, the scene of his labors, on the 6th of Septem-
ber, 1854. The design of this memorial stone was by Albert New-
sam, a distinguished deaf mute engraver, but ono of its most attract-
ive features was a sculptured group on tho seventh panel, in which
Dr. Gallaudet is represented as teaching little children the manual
alphabet. The postures and expressions of the figures are of rare
beauty, and do great credit to the genius of John Carlin, a distin-
guished deaf nmte artist of New York, who originated the concep-
tion. With its companion monument, subsequently erected by the
deaf mutes of the country to Laurent Clerc, who died at Hartford,
July 18, 1869, it forms a very beautiful ornament to the grounds of
the asylum.

Dr. Gallaudet had been called the De L'Epee of America, but
while this title is in one sense appropriate, both by suggesting that
he did for this country what De L'P^pee did for France, Italy and
Spain, and by reminding us that he was indebted to that great man
for those fundamental ideas which characterized the French system,
still, as he furnished to*tIie world a new point of departure, from
which has proceeded a system with peculiarities all its own, the his-
torian will be inclined to assign him a separate and independent
place, as he presents the representative names of Braidwood, Do
L'Epee, Heinicke, Gallaudet.

Since the time of Dr. Gallaudet, forty-nine institutions have been
established, all but four of which may be regarded as owing their
existence and their methods to his influence. Of these, New York

■

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hM seven, IlTinois two, Ohio two, Pennsylvania three, and erer^
other State in the Union one, with the exception of Maine, New
Hampshire, Vermont, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Delaware, Floiida
and Nevada. The first four named send their pupils to Hartford ;
New Jersey sends hers to any institution that may be selected by
the Governor, but pricipally to New York and Pennsylvania, and
Delaware to the District of Columbia. The number of pupils
aetuaJly under instruction on the 1st of JDeceraber, 1875, was 4,440
nbont. half the number under instntction in the whole world. Some
six of these institations have high classes in which the higher branches
of education are tnught, and there is connected with the institutioi>
in the District of Columbia a college, which receives, as students,
graduates oi the other institutions. This is the only institution to
which appropriations are made by the general government, the
several States making provision for the education of their own deaf
mute beneficiaries as a part of their common school system, the
institutions being responsible, in most instances, to the State Superin-
tendents of Public Instruction. Their immediate government is
intrusted to boards of trustees or directors which select the principal"
or superintendent, make by-laws, direct and control the expenditures
and exercise a vigilant guardianship, through frequent visitations^
Hcinicke,% however, is followed in an institution established in
New York city in 1867, entitled the New York Institution
for the Improved Instruction of Deaf Mutes, its principal teachers
having been associated with the distinguished Mr. Deutsch, of the
Jewish institution in Vienna. In this connection it may not be out
of place to say that Braid wood is also represented in the Clarke
Institution for the Deaf and Dumb in Northampton, Mass., where
the distinctive principles he advocated seem to have been followed.
This institution was also founded in 1867, having been endowed with*
u large fund for its support by the late John Clarke, Esq., who took
a peculiar interest in the deaf and dumb.

The New York institution may be regarded as having been as inde-
pendent in its origin as that of Hartford. In 181 (? William Lee, Esq.,
on his return from Bordeaux, France, where he had been consu,
brought a letter from Mr. F. Gard, the distinguished pupil of the Abbe
St. Sernin, the director of the institution at that place. The letter
was written in excellent English, which Mr. Gard had studied, and was
addressed to 'VPhilanthropists of the United States,** and contained an-
offer of himself as teacher of the deaf and dumb, and Mr. Lee handed
it to Samuel L. Mitchell, M. D., a celebrated physician in this city, who
had attained a great reputation as a man of learning and benevolence.
Dr. Mitchell's sympathies were at once aroused, and he conversed
with £ev. John Stanford, chaplain of the alms-house, who had met
a number of deaf mutes in the course of his ministrations, and with-
Dr. Samuel Ackerly, whom he knew as a man with n heavt open t»

every call of benevolenco. These three gentlenmn called a meeting
at the house of fiev. John Stanford, at which wore present, besides
themselves, Jones Mapes, Elislia W. Kinv. John B. Scott, Silvanus
Miller, R. Wheaton, James Palmer, Nicholas Koome, and llev.
Alexander McLeod. This meeting resulted in another, more public
at Tammany Hall, at which the feasibility of instructing the deaf
and dumb was deu)onstrated by evidence which Dr. Mitchell had
collected, and then arose the more practical question as to whether
there were enough deaf mutes in the city to justify the establishment
of a school. The result was the first census of deaf mutes ever made
in this country. The Committees appointed presented, at a third
iiioeling, on January 23, 1817, reports from seven of the ten wards
of this city, giving the names and residences of sixty-six deaf mutes.
The population of the city was then 120,000, which showed a pro-
portion of one to 1,818, which does not differ very much from that
which obtains at the present time.

A list of officers and directors, at the head of which was the
name of the Flon. De VVitt Clinton, was then formed, and a petition
presented to the Legislature for an act of incorporation. The high
character of the applicants, and the u exceptionable, though novel,
nature of the application, insured a ready and favorable hearing, and
on the 15th of April, 1817, the New York Institution for^^the Deaf
and Dumb acquired a legal existence with the usual corporate privi-
leges. By an interesting coincidence, this was the same day that the
asylum of Hartford was opened for the reception of pupils. On the
22nd of May, 1817, the board of directors met for the first timu.
.The first a jt was to appoint a committee to write to England for
a teacher, under the impression that the system of articu-
lation introduced by Braidwood would be of more value than
the French system, which discarded it. No answer was re-
ceived until the summer of 1818, when the terms demanded
were found so exorbitant that it was impossible to accede
to them. On the twenty-fourth of March, 1818, the deaf and
dumb of New York were collected in the court room of the city
hall, and lent an affecting influence to an address delivered by Dr.
Mitchell to an assemblage of the prominent ladies and gentlemen of
the city, on tho necessity of making provision for their education.
On the twentieth of May of the same year, was found in a room
which the city authorities had kindly set apart in the alms-house,
then situated in the City Hall park, a benevolent-looking gontlemaii,
of liberal education, named Mr. Abraham O. Stansbury, who had
been a year in the asylum at Hartford, in the capacity of superintend-
ent of the administrative department, and whom, after waiting in
vain to hear from Europe, the directors of the New Y'ork Institution
had engaged to take cliarge of their new school. Around him were

groaped four young deaf mutes, who had been brought to him that
morning, and whom he wns in the act of teaching the letters of the
manual alphabet. They were to live at home, and come to him every
day. Before the close of the year 1818, had been gathered thirty-
three pupils, and Miss Mary Stansburry had been employed as an
additional teacher. Twenty-four of these pupils were day scholars,
and nine were boarders who were accommodated in rooms hired for
their benefit. Some of these wore paying pupils, but the expenses
of the majority were defrayed by charitable conlWbutions, and by
the city of New York, which agreed to make an annual appropria-
tion of $400. At the annual m*ieting af the members of the institu-
tion, composed of ladies and gentlemen who had agreed to pay three
dollars annually, or thirty dollars in one sum, held on the third Tues-
day of May in that year, in accordance with the terms of the charter,
Dr. Mitchel was elected president, in place of De Witt Clinton, who,
having been elected Governor, felt constrained to retire. In the
spring of 1819, as the number of pupils had reached forty-seven, it
vas found impossible to support the institution on the limited
resources they could command, and accordingly Dr. Mitchell, as
president, and Dr. Ackerly, as secretary of the board of trustees,
sccompanied by Mr. Stansbury and eleven of his pupils, proceeded
to Albany, and held an exhibition before the Legislature. The
result of the favorable impression thus created was the passage, on
the 13tb of April, 1819, of two acts — one making a direct appro-
priation of $10,000 from the State treasury, and the other securing
to the institution a moiety of a tax on lotteries in the city of New
York, from which, for fourteen years thereafter, a considerable part
of its income was derived.

In the June following, Mr. Horace Loofborrow was engaged as an
assistant teacher. In 1321, a furthei grant was obtained from th'j
Legislature of $2,500, and on the 16th of April, 1822, was passed an
act appropriating 8150 each per annum for thirty«two indigent State
pupils, four of whom 'were to be sent from each Senate district, and
authorizing the supervisors of any county in such district to send to
the iri'/itution, at the expense of the county, any detif mutes not
provided for by the preceding arrangement. In this way, it was
thought, no deaf mute need be left without instruction. The term
of instruction was, however, unfortunately limited to three years.
In the meantime, important changes had taken place in the organiza-
tion of the institution. Mr. Stansbury departed for Europe in May,
1821, and Mr. Horace Loofborrow was made principle, an office which
he held for nearly ten years. The admmistrative department of the
institution was placed in the hands of Dr. Samuel Ackerly as superin-
tendent and physician, who occupied this post till February 1881.
In 1827, an act of the Legislature was passed, granting $10,000 to

.^■■sm-.

jaid in the •erection of buildings for the pcrmnnoiat use of the institHtiou
■coupled with three conditions : Ut. That the director? shtiU raise an
equal nmount ; 2d. That the location and plans shall receive the
approval of the Superintendent of Common Schools and the espeno
ditures accounted for to the State Comptroller, and, 8d. Thnt th«
institution should be subject to the inspection of the Superindent of
Public Schools, this otficer being, at the same time, authorized to
visit other institutions for the deaf and dnmh, and to su(;gc8t to the
•directors such in |^r 'Vements in th3 system of instruction as might eeera
to him desirable.

The directors having complied with all the conditions, tho coroer-
stono of the new building was laid on Fiftieth street, between the
Fourth and Fifth avenues, by the Hon. A, C. Flagg, Secretary of
State and ex officio iSuperitendent of Ijommon Schools in proeience
of a large assemblage of friends of tho institution. The site selected
was an acre of ground donated by the city, but some ten acres of
land adjoining were leased from the city for the use of the pupils.
Fur one who vsees it now, densely built up with elegant stone struc-
tures, it is difficult to realize that this was then a rt:ral spot, sur-
rounded by green fields, woods and pasture lots, and reached only
by country roads. The building was dedicated to its humane pur-
poses on the 80th of September 1829. The address on tho occasion,
was delivered by Rev. James Miloor, D.D., Eector of St. George's
church, who at the election in May, had beeti chosen as the successor
of Dr. Mitchell, in the office of president. Though the cost had
exceeded the original estimate by $15,000, amounting in all to
$35,000, the entire amount, except 810,000 given by the State, was
secured by the directors, who thus far exceeded the condition imposed
upon tbem by law.

While these events were transpiring, the Superintendent of Com-
mon Schools visited the institutions at Hartford and Philadelphia,
and made a careful comparison of their system of instruction, with
that which had been pursued in New York, and made a careful report
of his observations, which indicated his opinion as to the course it
Was rlesirablc for the dh f.tors to pursue. The labors and anxieties
connected with erecting a suitable building having been brought to an
cud, the directors now turned their attention to making improvements
in the internal management and especially in the personnel of tho
corps of instruction. Under the inspiring guidance of their new
president, they in ugurated measures designed to give the institution
u leading positidu in this country and in the world. Dr. Milnor
visited Europe in 1830, at his own expense, and inspected a large
number of institutions. On his return he brought with him from the
Paris Institution, Prof Leon Vaisse, an instructor who held high
xank in the corps of tUe Paris Institution, •to which he returned after

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some years of service in New York, and was successively made vice-
principal and principal.

The services of Harvey P. Peet, A. M., who has been as!<ociatcd
with Dr. Oallaudet in the Hartford Institution as an instructor since
the year 1822, and had, during most of tho time, had the cliargo
of the administrative department of that institution, was soon after
engaged to combine, under one head, the hitherto separate offices of
principal and superintendent.

From this, dates a new era in the history of the institution. Mr.
Peet (afterwards known as Dr. Peet, by virtue of the title of LL. D.
conferred upon him by thp Reironts of the University of the State
of New York) entered upon his duties on tho first of February,
1831, and at once, with chnractoristic vigor, began to introduce the
chances which his experienced eye found necessary. He was a man
of judgment and indefatigable energy, and he left, nothing unat-
tenipted that would redound to the benefit and reputation ot the in-
stitution. He always kept it before the public eye, both in the city,
and at the capital. He procured teachers who had the making of
men that would be considered eminent in any profession. He pre-
pared and published a course of instruction for the deaf and dumb
which has been adopted in all the institutions in this country. He
originated and furthered, during bis life, a system of conventions
of teachers of the deaf and dumb which have continued to the pre-
sent time. He constantly contributed himself, and urged his asso-
ciates to contribute, articles for various periodicals, chiefly the
American Annals of the Deaf and Dumb, supported by all the insti-
tutions in the country, and in every way in.spired enthusiasm in
his associates as well as his pupils; and yet, withal, he was a man
of quiet manners and dignified presence, combining seemingly oppo-
.''ite qualities in such a way as to bring to the institution and to the
cause everything tliat was needed for their advancement. Obtaining
the confidence of a board of directors, composed of gentlemen of
much more than usual intelligence, he secured their co-operation and
influence in all measures where his special knowledge and ability
gave him pre-eminence, and was guided by them, in all matters
where their united wisdom and varied experience were put in exer-
cise for the benefit of the institution. The result was that the
institution gained a full measure of that public favor that was
essential to its prosperity. The period of instruction was length-
ened at various times till it finally reached eight years, and additions
were made to the number of State pupils till, by the act of 1862,
every indigent deaf mute in the State, between the ages of twelve
and twenty-five, was entitled to education at the public expense.
The number of pupils was also steadily increased from eighty-five at
the time of Dr. Peet's accession, to the unprecedented number of

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489 at tho close of his administration. The influences which brought
it about, were tho wide disseminations of notices of tho institution
circulated in its annual reports, which reached almost every person
of lending influence in the several counties, and especially county
and town officers, by the union with the New York institution, in
1836, of the Central Asylum, established in 1821, at Canajohnrie,
N. Y., by sending agents through the State to seek out the unedu-
cated deaf and dumb, and by a tour in which Dr. Poet visited every
«ity and many towns of importance, in the State.

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