DEAF, BUT NOT DUMB. 



187 



did we ever meet with a " German " system 

 teacher who knew of one — that is, a toto-con- 

 genital pupil, old or present, that habitually, or 

 for any length of time, could pass as a hearing 

 person. But what we did see, were men and 

 women able to earn their own livelihood in trades 

 and other occupations, communicating with and 

 answering hearing persons sufficiently well by 

 articulation and lip-reading to go through the 

 world comfortably, and, in some instances, very 

 successfully. In no case were we unable to make 

 ourselves understood, or failed to understand in 

 return, except when with those educated in a 

 school where some signs were allowed, a large 

 "internat." 



Just in proportion as signs were allowed in 

 institutions, so those taught therein appeared to 

 less advantage when we saw them in after-life. 

 We asked their fellow-workmen, their employers, 

 their work-people, their relations, and those with 

 whom they lodged, "How do they communicate 

 with hearing persons ? " and were universally 

 answered, often with embarrassing astonishment 

 at such a question, " Why, by speaking, of 

 course ! " 



Let us take a few individual cases. That of 

 the Dutch gentleman, who kindly allowed himself 

 to be examined and tested in this room, and be- 

 fore the Social Science Congress at Leeds in 

 1871, is probably known to most here present. 

 Of him Dr. E. M. Gallaudet, the Principal of the 

 National College for Deaf-Mutes, at Washington, 

 U. S. A., not too willing a witness, declared that 

 he and the Dutchman before-mentioned had no 

 difficulty in conversing together on various topics 

 by word of mouth, not even the jolting of the 

 cab on their way to the station making any dif- 

 ference in the ease with which they understood 

 each other. 



But let us pass on to cases that came under 

 our own notice. One, that of a poor woman living 

 with an aunt, is worthy of special notice, show- 

 ing, as it does, that the education given on the 

 " German " system is good, and not lost after- 

 ward. She had left school some twelve years, 

 and lived in a part of Germany where one of the 

 many dialects prevailing in that country was 

 spoken. Her aunt, a garrulous old woman, chat- 

 tered at such a rate that my wife, though a good 

 German scholar, was sometimes at fault, as was 

 also the German lady who acted as my interpret- 

 er. More than once, when such was the case, 

 my wife asked the deaf niece, whose purer Ger- 

 man interpreted the sentence. 



Another case was that of a young woman, 



who was a leading dressmaker in a small German 

 capital. She was rather shy at first. On our 

 mentioning this to the landlord of the hotel 

 where we were staying, he called the hotel-por- 

 ter, who was engaged to the deaf dressmaker, 

 and told him we had not found his sweetheart 

 very communicative ; whereupon the porter 

 begged we would, escorted by himself, give her 

 another trial. So off we started, but met the 

 young woman soon after we left the hotel. The 

 meeting of the two lovers was most amusing. 

 He took her roundly to task for appearing to so 

 little advantage on our first acquaintance, and, 

 after some lively sparring — rattled off between 

 them just as though both, instead of one only, 

 had been hearing persons — we chimed in, and 

 had a long and pleasant talk. She assured us 

 that, in following her occupation, the only means 

 of communication between herself and those who 

 employed her were articulation and lip-reading. 

 Writing was never had recourse to; finger-talk- 

 ing and signs she did not understand. — Take 

 another case. 



We saw in Vienna a fancy-leather merchant, 

 who employed seventy men under him, whose 

 premises the Emperor and Empress of Austria 

 visited before the great Vienna Exhibition, who 

 could not only speak the language of his country 

 fluently, but also a little English, who had visited 

 England and other countries, was a practical 

 horticulturist, and altogether an agreeable, in- 

 telligent, wealthy man — wealthy through his own 

 educated talents and industry. 



A good instance of the independence which 

 pupils well educated on this system feel in after- 

 life, was mentioned to me last year. A journey- 

 man cabinet-maker had such a thorough com- 

 mand of language, that he told my friend he in- 

 tended to seek work in other countries, and 

 should settle in whichever he found gave him 

 best employment, having no doubt of being able 

 soon to talk the new language sufficiently. Not 

 to weary you with more of the many other in- 

 stances one could give, I will end this part by 

 telling you, that we went into a hatter's shop in 

 Friedberg who had a toto-congenital deaf work- 

 man. That very morning a man had been con- 

 victed for theft, principally on the evidence, 

 given viva voce in open court, by that deaf work- 

 man, who stood the test of examination and 

 cross-examination without any other method of 

 communication being used than word of mouth. 



After what you have just heard of the power 

 of the " German " system, does it not seem 

 strange that its introduction into this country 



