178 
Roberts Vaux, the philanthropic Quaker, and with Mr. Nieder- 
stetter, charg6 d’affaires of the king of Prussia. I had before 
omitted to visit this establishment, as the pupils were just leav¬ 
ing their old temporary dwelling in the city, to move in their 
newly-built house. This house is large and massive. It consists 
of a principal building, which is reached by means of a portal, 
decorated with four doric columns; and of two wings behind it, 
one of which is inhabited by the boys, and the other by the girls. 
There were at that time eighty pupils in the institution, fifty 
maintained by the state of Pennsylvania, thirteen by their fa¬ 
milies, five by the state of New Jersey, and twelve by the insti¬ 
tution itself. It has now subsisted for six years; at the begin¬ 
ning it was founded by voluntary contributions and subscriptions; 
the legislature of Pennsylvania afterwards gave eight thousand 
dollars, and the state annually pays one hundred and fifty dol¬ 
lars for every pupil which it has placed here. The direction of 
the institution consists of a president, four vice presidents, among 
which was Mr. Vaux, a treasurer, a secretary, and at this time, 
twenty-three directors. A principal teacher, Mr. L. Weld, 
four tutors, a matron, and two physicians preside over the house. 
Mr. Weld had passed a long time at Hartford in Connecticut, 
and had learned the method of instruction in the deaf and dumb 
asylum at that place, which he practises here with great success. 
He was teaching one of the lower classes when we arrived. He 
dictated to the pupils something on subjects of natural history, 
which they wrote with great rapidity on large slates. We put 
several questions to them, which they answered with much sa¬ 
gacity. Mr. Niederstetter asked them if they could form any 
idea of music; one of the boys answered, he well knew that 
there were tones, and that several tones systematically combin¬ 
ed made a sound, but what this was, and how all this was con¬ 
nected together, he could form no idea. In other rooms, other 
pupils were engaged in writing and cyphering. One of them 
had made much progress in crayon drawing, and was just work¬ 
ing at a portrait of President Adams. The boys learn trades, 
several were weaving, others were making shoes, &c., the girls 
learn to sow and knit. The clothes, which the pupils wear in 
the house, are all made there. They have a common eating room, 
and each sex has separate sleeping rooms, where two sleep in 
one bed; besides, each wing contains a separate infirmary. Every 
where I saw the most exemplary cleanliness and order prevail; 
the pupils had a very healthy appearance. 
I conversed with some of them in writing; one of them asked 
me* what was my favourite study, I answered mathematics. 
Upon this he wrote to me, that he was also pleased with this 
study, but found no opportunity of making great progress in it. 
