144 ON THE EDUCATION OF 



to him. Verbs of motion and of posture will be easily taught, 

 and rendered interesting by being associated with the mo- 

 tions and postures which they denote. Such are the words 

 walk, run, strike, break, eat, drink, lie, sleep. The words is 

 and not will prove extensively useful, by enabling him to con- 

 nect, in the form of sentences, his substantives and his adjec- 

 tives. He should also be provided with some significant ter- 

 minations, particularly the letter s and the syllable es, which 

 may, on proper occasions, be attached by some easy expedi- 

 ent to the labels containing his other words. It will be very 

 easy to show him the difference between stone and stones, cup 

 and cups, dish and dishes. The use of the terminations ed and 

 ing, and a variety of others, will naturally follow in the order 

 of their relative importance. 



If he can be brought thus far, the rudiments of connected 

 discourse will gradually accumulate ; but the process requires 

 to be conducted by a person who has sufficient discrimination 

 to introduce no words except such as correspond to the limited 

 knowledge admitted by the senses of which he is possessed. 

 Such short sentences as the following may first be taught him : 

 This zvater is warm ; that water is cold ; it rains ; it blows hard ; 

 go to the house ; take off your clothes ; we must go to sleep. 



.After he is well advanced, he may be furnished with some 

 sort of horn-book to facilitate his communications. Perhaps 

 the best form for this purpose would be a glove, with the 

 letters in relief attached to it ; the vowels being placed on the 

 tips, and the consonants under them, in alphabetical order, 

 on the bones and joints of the fingers. This will insensibly 

 conduct him to the practice of a convenient dactylology, and 

 he will in no long time be able to converse with his friends by 

 the fingers, without the use of the glove. With a view to this 



acquisition, 



