JAMES MITCHELL. 145 
acquisition, his alphabet may, from the very beginning, be ar- 
ranged in lines corresponding to the following order : 
Xo fos 
a Shin 
sz west.o. 
soe sight Oo 
XR Sse Ge 
A subsequent stage of instruction will be, to send messages 
to him, which may be impressed on surfaces of wax, and in- 
duce him to return answers, or to send other messages. 
Perhaps the art invented by Mons. Havy for the use of the 
blind may be found convenient for such purposes, that of im- 
pressing the letters with direct types on strong paper in a 
moistened state, so as to give tangible letters in bold relief on 
the opposite side. Not having seen any of the articles produ- 
ced by this manufacture, I cannot give an opinion on the ex- 
tent of its utility as applied to the present object; but hard 
~ casts are probably better fitted to insure success at an early 
stage of the process, as they are not liable to be injured by fre- 
quent handling. 
The teaching of the numbers is a separate object, but com- 
paratively easy, and may be conducted in such a manner as to 
prove amusing both to him and to his teacher. It should be 
done entirely by means of our common ciphers, without. the 
use of words. To a person in his circumstances.the names of 
the numbers in letters would be of no use; and it is easy for 
every person who afterwards.converses with him to employ 
ciphers exclusively. - This rule, with the omission of the use 
of capital letters, ‘as already mentioned, would form only two 
peculiarities in his language, easily followed by his friends. 
Vox. VIL. P. 1. wae Es AAMAS Ee The 
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