ledge, and, in every respect, a more melancholy privation than that of hearing.*

* Before I proceed further, I must here beg leave to differ in opinion from some writers, as to which of the two objects, the blind or the deaf and dumb, is most to be pitied. It has been contended by some, that the comparison is greatly in favour of the blind. I cannot agree with them, under any circumstances, and shall here give you the answer of two deaf and dumb scholars of the Abbé Siccard, to the following question, which evidently proves the reverse.

Q. "Do the deaf and dumb think themselves unhappy?" The following is the answer of Massieu.

A. "No; because we seldom lament that which we never "possessed, or know we can never be in possession of: "But should the deaf and dumb become blind, they would "think themselves very unhappy; because sight, is the "finest, the most useful, and the most agreeable of all the "senses. Besides, we are amply indemnified for our mis"fortune, by the signal favour of expressing by gestures, "and by writing our ideas, our thoughts, and our feelings; " and likewise by being able to read books and manu"scripts."

The following is the answer of Clerc.

A. "He who never had any thing, has never lost any "thing; and he who never lost any thing, has nothing to "regret. Consequently, the deaf and dumb, who never

I answered the gentleman's letter so much to the satisfaction of the parents of the deaf and dumb child, that, with no other instructions than those contained in my letter, and a print of the manual alphabet which I sent them, the child was put to a common school, not to an asylum; and, in three years time, the girl could read, write, and understand so much, as to be as useful as any other child in the family. A few years after I wrote the letter, I saw the girl, who could then talk with her fingers as rapidly as myself; and she thanked me for my letter, which she said was the means of her education.

A poor man from Buckhaven, in Fifeshire, with a family of eight children, who

"heard or spoke, have never lost either hearing or speech; "therefore cannot lament either the one or the other. "And he who has nothing to lament, cannot be unhappy; "consequently the deaf and dumb are not unhappy. Besides, it is a great consolation for them to be able to

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replace hearing by writing, and speech by signs."

had heard of my brother, lately came to Edinburgh on purpose to see me, in the hope of obtaining some information as to the most eligible method of instructing two of his daughters, one eight, and the other twelve years of age, who were born deaf and dumb. The latter, a very interesting girl, accompanied him, being the first time she had ever been from home. The poor girl was ignorant of every thing. The man was in my company about eight hours, and the girl about half an hour; during which time I taught him the manual alphabet, and the girl how to make the letters with her fingers; and further instructed him what to do, or cause to be done, in educating his children. In order that he might not forget the manual alphabet, I desired him to go to the deaf and dumb asylum in Edinburgh, and endeavour to get a print of the manual alphabet, if possible. As he knew the teacher there, from the circumstance of having tried to get one or both

pur

of his children into the Asylum, without success, he was sure the teacher would have given him a print if he had had one; but it seems he had not. The poor man wanted the alphabet, as he told the teacher, for the pose of trying himself to teach his children the letters; when the teacher told him, if he could do that, he could do every thing. This answer gave the man great satisfaction and pleasure, as he was confident, from what I had told him, he should be able to accomplish that. He left me with his heart full of gratitude and joy, and with the utmost confidence, that his children might be taught to know every thing that is useful.

Too much praise cannot be bestowed on the establishment of the benevolent institutions for educating the indigent individuals of this class. These institutions were established when there was no apparent possibility of meliorating their condition by any other preceptors; consequently, every credit is due to a generous public for their philanthropy.

I must beg leave to differ from the preceptors in one particular. Too much time, and too much labour, as I conceive, have been bestowed upon teaching the deaf and dumb utterance, when the benefit of it to them is by no means adequate to the trouble of learning it, particularly in the manner in which they are now attempted to be taught.

If it were of that utility which some have been pleased to ascribe to it, I would cordially subscribe to the propriety of every exertion being used to acquire speech; for if man, without utterance, were void of reason, as some have pretended, speech would be indispensable.

I will suppose for a moment that I was born deaf and dumb, had attended school, and learned every thing without utterance, and you being alike situated, had learned every thing with utterance. I should be glad to know, under such circumstances, how it can be made to appear that I am less