DEAF AND DUMB. 



611 



to him and his pupils we owe, more than to any 

 others, the perfection which this language has 

 attained. He also endeavoured to avoid the error 

 of De 1'Epee, by explaining the theory of grammar, 

 and the formulas of the various species of propositions, 

 and, in this way, was led into a course of metaphysi- 

 cal and philosophical lessons, which later instructors 

 have found too extensive and too little practical. 

 According to the system adopted under his direction, 

 the first year was occupied with a vocabulary of names, 

 of adjectives, and of verbs, in three simple tenses, 

 with simple religious and other narratives in the sign 

 language. It was only in the second year, that words 

 were shown, in their connexion, in short phrases ; the 

 pronouns, prepositions, and the full inflection of the 

 verbs, were taught, and religious instruction given, in 

 written language. In the third and fourth years, 

 the organs, senses, and operations of the mind, and 

 theory of sentences, were explained, original descrip- 

 tion and definitions required, and in the fourth year, 

 books were put into the hands of the pupils. Through- 

 out the course, public lectures were given, in which 

 written accounts of Bible history and religious truth 

 were explained in the sign language ; but no devo- 

 tional exercises in this language were ever connected 

 with them, or practised by the pupils. 



British System. The method of teaching which 

 has been most successfully employed in this country, 

 is nearly the same with that employed by Sicard in 

 France. It consists in teaching the pupil the relation 

 between the names of objects and the objects them- 

 selves, the analysis of words into the letters of the 

 alphabet, and the particular gesture, which he is I 

 to attach to each word as its distinctive sign show- ' 

 ing to him also the meaning of collective words, as 

 distinguished from those denoting individual objects, 

 or parts of objects. General terms, as applicable in 

 common to a number of individuals, and to generic 

 names comprehending a number of species, are next 

 to be explained; and lastly, the most general 

 and abstract terms, such as being, object, &c. The 

 qualities expressive of the accidents, variations, and 

 modifications of objects, and which are expressed 

 by adjectives, are next taught. The master must 

 endeavour to make his pupil conceive these qualities 

 in the first place, as inherent in the objects themselves, 

 and next as capable of being detached by a mental 

 operation from such objects, though in feet they have 

 no existence but as united with them. The first and 

 most important operation in instructing the child is, 

 tliat written words have a meaning, and suggest to 

 all persons of education the same definite idea ; and 

 in teaching him the meaning of words, we should fol- 

 low, as nearly as possible, the natural order in which 

 they are generally acquired by those who have the 

 sense of hearing. The first and simplest course of 

 knowledge being that which relates to the objects com- 

 posing the material world, we must commence of course 

 by instructing him in the names of external objects, 

 beginning with those which are best known to him, 

 and most frequently presented to his view. The name 

 of any object of this kind, such as a knife, may be 

 written in large letters on a board ; and the attention 

 of the child being directed alternately to the name and 

 to the object itself, which is to be presented to him at 

 the same time, he will gradually be brought to un- 

 derstand that a certain relation exists between them, 

 though what that relation is we are not to expect that 

 he will as yet be able to comprehend. The idea of 

 this relation, however, will become gradually more 

 distinct, when a similar process has been followed 

 with regard to several other names. Occasionally 

 we may find it difficult to convey by this means the 

 least notion that the one is the sign of the other : the 

 child being unable to conceive how what appears to 



him to be an irregular collection of crooked lines, 

 bearing no resemblance in form to the object pointed 

 out in connexion with them, can serve as its type. 

 Experience, however, derived from the observations 

 we may teach him to make, will gradually instruct 

 him. Sufficient having been done to excite his atten- 

 tion, let us now, in his presence, call upon other chil- 

 dren more advanced in then- education, to direct their 

 eyes upon these mysterious characters, of which the 

 immediate consequences will be then- pointing to the 

 object itself. The effect produced will be observed 

 by the attentive pupil, and will not fell to make its 

 due impression. Let three or four words be now 

 written at the same time upon the slate, and the cor- 

 responding objects placed upon an adjoining board ; 

 on each of these words being pointed out to the ad- 

 vanced child, he will bring the proper article from 

 the table. We shall now have an opportunity of as- 

 certaining how far the proceeding has been under- 

 stood by the younger pupil, by making him repeat 

 the experiment. If he lay hold of the proper object, 

 it is clear that our meaning has been understood, and 

 that the first step, the most difficult of all, has been 

 made. In this way, he should be made to learn the 

 names of various articles, preferring always those of 

 a few letters, such as box, pen, shoe, cap, ring, hoop, 

 key, &c. The child also, while learning written 

 words, should be made to copy them himself, so that 

 by dwelling on their forms sufficiently, they may make 

 an indelible impression upon his mind. We should 

 from, time to time show him the objects, and require 

 him to write their names himself. Here, too, it is 

 obvious, that much assistance may occasionally be 

 derived from drawings of the objects we may wish to 

 point out, but which may not be immediately at hand. 

 Thus the outline of any familiar object, such as a key, 

 may be traced on a black board with a chalk pencil, 

 and the object itself placed at the same time before 

 the eye of the pupil, and thus he will readily under- 

 stand the resemblance of the design with what it is 

 meant to represent ; and the same operation is to be 

 repeated in succession with other familiar objects. 

 Then the name of each object is to be written within 

 the outline of the figure drawn on the board ; and the 

 outline itself is to be effaced, and the pupil made to un- 

 derstand that he is still to consider what remains as de- 

 noting the object drawn ; and that the writing and 

 drawing stand for the same thing. When by this method 

 the pupil has been once rendered thoroughly sensible 

 of the value and use of words, all drawn; ^s on the 

 slate are to be laid aside, and the more useful me- 

 dium of written language exclusively resorted to. 

 The method contrived by the abbe Sicard, for assist- 

 ing his pupils to understand abstract conceptions, is 

 as follows : Taking seven pieces of paper, each 

 white on one side and coloured on the other with one 

 of the primitive colours, he places them on a table, 

 before a black board, with their white sides upper- 

 most. He then writes the word PAPER on the board, 

 leaving sufficient intervals between the letters for the 

 insertion of other letters. Then turning the sheet of 

 paper painted blue, so that the coloured side is now 

 uppermost, he writes the word BLUE between the 

 letters of the former word, but in smaller characters, 

 thus 



PbAlPuEeR 



This is done successively with regard to the other 

 sheets of paper, inserting the name of its respec- 

 tive colour between the letters of the word PAPER, 

 which is repeated for that purpose. On being 

 finished, the blue sheet is again turned down, so 

 that its white side is presented, upon which the 

 smaller letters composing the word blue are effaced, 

 while the other letters, PAPER, are allowed to 

 remain. By this process the pupil is taught to con- 



