294 Medicine, 



If such exertions have not yet produced all the 

 good consequences which humanity could wish, 

 there is yet ground to believe they have effected 

 some good, and that no effort in such a cause will 

 be finally lost. Justice requires, whenever this 

 subject is mentioned, that the philanthropic lar 

 hours of Rush and Beddoes should be duly appre- 

 ciated. Similar exertions have also been made, 

 and with like considerable success, to throw light 

 on the nature and cure of Scrophula, and the Dis- 

 eases of the Alind, to say nothing of many others 

 equally worthy of notice. 



Under this head it is proper to take some no- 

 tice of the successful attempts which have been 

 made, during the eighteenth century, to enable the 

 Deaf and Dumb to speak. Deafness has, in all ages, 

 been considered such a total obstruction to speech, 

 and the knowledge of written language, that the 

 attempt to teach those who are destitute of the 

 sense of hearing, either to speak or read, has been 

 generally regarded as vain. This continued to be 

 the case till after the middle of the century under 

 review. Dr. John Wallis, towards the close of 

 the preceding age, had, indeed, suggested in his 

 Grammatica Lingiue AnglicaniS, a plan for con- 

 veying ideas to the minds of the deaf, more dis- 

 tinctly than by ordinary signs. His attempt was 

 succeeded by those of his countrymen Baker and 

 Holder, each of whom devised a plan, and made 

 some progress in its execution. To these may be 

 added some other attempts, attended with partial 

 success, by Helmont, an ingenious German, and 

 Amman, a Swiss physician. There was, however, 

 little done to any valuable purpose, till the year 

 1764, when Mr. Thomas Br aid wood, of Edin- 

 burgh, undertook the difficult task. In that year 

 he began with a single pupil, when, his exertions 

 being attended with complete success^ he was 



