322 On the late efforts in France and other -parts of Europe 



and within tlie same period, by those who are profoundly deaf. If 

 the child's hearing had been perfectly restored, it is not for a mo- 

 ment to be admitted, that nearly six years would have been neces- 

 sary to enable him to speak. As that time, however, was actually 

 employed, and the period required to teach those who remain deaf 

 to speak, is no greater, we are compelled to conclude, either that his 

 hearing was entirely useless to him in acquiring the use of spoken 

 lano"uage, or that he never, in fact, recovered it. Itard and Berjaud 

 have adopted the latter supposition, and have endeavored to show 

 that this alledged cure was simply a successful instance of instruc- 

 tion in artificial articulation. The conclusion derives considerable 

 plausibility, from the fact that Deleau strongly insists upon the ne- 

 cessity of a special education of several years, for those whom he 

 has cured, and that in this case, he does not deny, that six years of 

 constant labor have been spent to accomplish the result produced. 

 It seems more natural, however, on the whole, to suppose that the 

 hearing of the child was really improved, but in so slight a degree, 

 that nearly the same course v.'as necessary to teach him to speak, as 

 that employed in Europe with the deaf and dumb for the attainment 

 of the same object. 



We have been thus minute in examining the case before us, be- 

 cause it has already begun to appear in the medical books, as an 

 undoubted instance of perfect restoration to hearing. But in this, 

 as well as in the subsequent cases of success, published by Deleau, 

 we look in vain for the evidence on v/hich to found such a conclu- 

 sion. Of the numerous cures which he claims to have performed, 

 it is at present sufficient to remark, that none of them are even so 

 plausible as that of Trezel, and that in France, by men who are best 

 capable of judging, little or no credit is given to them. A full ex- 

 amination of the several publications of M. Deleau, would properly 

 belong to the pages of a medical journal. It may here be remark- 

 ed, however, that judging from his later works, injections of air 

 (douches d' air,) seem finally to have taken the place of nearly all 

 other remedies. Of the little value of this harmless operation, phy- 

 sicians can easily judge. 



The success which seemed for a time to have crowned the efforts 

 of Deleau, induced the Council of Administration of the Royal In- 

 stitution for the deaf and dumb at Paris, to request of M. Itard, a 

 report on the advantages which might reasonably be expected from 

 various remedies, if employed, on a large number of their pupils* 



