1865.] Van Asch on Oral Instruction of so-called Deaf and Dumb. ±1 



Similar questions, or simple propositions dictated to her, she 

 could write down, and when they were written for her she could read 

 them with intelligence. A slight acquaintance was also made with 

 numbers ; and at the end of the third year she possessed a good idea 

 of the topography of Manchester and its suburbs, a larger understand- 

 ing of things generally, and a knowledge of addition and subtraction, 

 with numbers up to 100. Truly this was not very far advanced, but 

 we preferred quality to quantity. A few other additions were made 

 to the list of subjects in the fourth year ; and now the girl is eleven it 

 is probable that she knows as much as a child of average intelligence 

 of the same age concerning grammar, the geography of the British 

 Isles, the four elementary rules of arithmetic, and the early part of 

 English history. 



The following dialogue, taken down by the author verbatim, will 

 show the mental calibre and speaking powers of this child. She had 

 had an evening birthday party, and was conversing about it in the 

 presence of her deaf companion, F. 0. : — 



F. B. " I was astonished to see Mrs. A. Mamma did not tell me." 



(Meaning, that the lady in question would be at her party.) " I asked 



her whether she would come to see me. She said, No." (Pause.) 



" I thought that she made fun with me." 



Seeing me writing down the conversation, she said, " What for ? " 

 F. 0. (Her companion, also addressing herself to me) " What for? 



I ask you. Why do you write the same ? " 



F. B. (Answering her). " Fun ! (A pause.) " Papa asked me 



where was his ring." 



Teacher. '• No ; you must say, ' Papa asked me where his ring 



was.' " 



F. B. "When uncle B. lied" (meaning 'lay on the floor') "Mr. 



A. rose him up." 



Teacher. " No ; rifted him up." 



F. 0. " Fanny's cousin pressed my foot when I danced." 



F. B. " Rather rough." (Meaning that her cousin had been careless.) 



Teacher (Correcting F. O.). " Trod on my foot." 



F. B. " I told him, ' You must be quiet.' I cut the cake for 



girls." 



Teacher. " That is a mistake — ' I cut the cake for my friends.' " 

 F. B. " My papa sat near the cupboard. We could not go to the 



other side." (Meaning of the room.) 



Teacher. " Why was your papa in the way ? " 



F. B. " Because the table is so long." 



Teacher. " Did you ask your papa to make room ? " 



F. S. " Afterwards " (meaning after tea was over) ' : Fanny and I 



went up stairs to see Matilda " (her baby sister), " and she was 

 afraid of Fanny." 



Second Case, F. 0. 

 To form an adequate idea of the exact condition of the lost sense of 

 this young lady, it must be born in mind that not all persons who are 

 designated stone-deaf are absolutely so in the strictest sense. A large 



