648 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



ing a great and successful barrister at law (studying under the 

 learned chief justice), was a master of many languages French 

 (modern and old), Latin, Greek (ancient and modern), German, 

 Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, Danish, with some knowledge 

 of Gaelic, Irish, Welsh, Swedish, Polish, Russian, Bohemian, Fin- 

 nish, and had not neglected Hindostani and Sanskrit, He com- 

 menced Hebrew in his thirty-fifth year, and afterward constantly 

 read the Old Testament in that language. He was also familiar 

 with various branches of science, architecture, etc. The McLellan 

 brothers, both deaf, are successful Canadian lawyers. 



The results of competent oral instruction are simply marvel- 

 ous, students being shown at the Penn Institute for the Deaf, at 

 Mount Airy, Philadelphia, who can understand and repeat, in a 

 fairly modulated voice, long sentences uttered away from them 

 i. e., when they are only able to perceive the movements of that 

 corner of the speakers mouth which is toward them who can 

 also read fluently from the shadow of speaking lips thrown upon 

 the wall. These visual organs of the deaf are made to do the 

 work of two senses, and attain in time the most extraordinary 

 power and even subtlety of vision. It has with propriety been 

 suggested that such highly developed eyes would be of service in 

 the most delicate astronomical and physical experiments, where 

 instruments of precision are commonly employed. A likeness of 

 Helen Keller and one of her teachers accompanies this article. 

 This girl was congenitally deaf and blind, and has been taught to 

 use articulate speech by the oral system of education now so suc- 

 cessfully practiced. 



By oral instruction I mean that system which teaches the 

 deaf to communicate with the world at large by meaiis of articu- 

 late speech, in contradistinction to the inferior and largely dis- 

 carded manual-alphabet system, which entirely isolates them as a 

 class from society in general, which does not understand their 

 signs and can not spare time to use the writing pad. 



The theory of probability and uniform experience, said Dr. "William Ilarkness, 

 at the American Association, alike show that the limit of accuracy attainable 

 with any instrument is soon reached; and yet we all know the fascination which 

 continually lures us on in our efibrts to get better results out of the familiar tele- 

 scopes and circles which have constituted the standard equipment of observato- 

 ries for nearly a century. Possibly these instruments may be capable of indicat- 

 ing somewhat smaller quantities than we have hitherto succeeded in measuring 

 with them, but their limit can not be far off, because they already show the dis- 

 turbing effects of slight inequalities of temperature and other uncontrollable 

 causes. So far as these effects are accidental they eliminate themselves from 

 every long scries of observations, but there always remains a residuum of con- 

 stant error, perhaps quite unsuspected, tvhich gives us no end of trouble. 



