10

Some Glimpses into the Condition and Doings of Deaf-Mutes

One evening the superintendent brought some lady visitors into the girls’ study room during study hour. After gazing around upon the neat, interesting-looking girls for a few minutes, one of the ladies turned to the superintendent and remarked, “How intelligent and attractive they look; and they appear to be happy, too, in spite of their misfortune. I always imagined that the deaf and dumb were much the same as lunatics.”

“So they are, in some respects, when uneducated; but education elevates and refines them,” replied the superintendent.

“Why do they make those quick motions with the fingers of the right hand?” asked the lady, trying to imitate the motions she saw the girls making.

“Oh,” said the superintendent, “that is the one-hand deaf and dumb alphabet which they are in the habit of using to spell out each word while studying their lessons. It seems to help them to think; by using it habitually, they soon learn to spell words correctly from memory. Very few deaf-mutes are subject to errors in spelling after finishing their course of study.”

“But,” queried the lady, “how can they communicate their thoughts intelligibly to persons who do not understand the deaf and dumb language?”

“They can readily make themselves understood,” replied the superintendent. “Would you like to have a demonstration of this fact?” he asked.

“Yes,” replied the lady; “I am curious to know all about it.”

The superintendent summoned a pleasant-looking young girl, requesting her to bring her slate and pencil. In obedience to this summons, slate in hand, she tripped softly down the aisle and, stopping in front of him, stood respectfully awaiting further orders. The superintendent, turning to the visitors, said, “This is Miss Grayson, a member of the class whose time at the institution will be out next year. She is both deaf and dumb. Please ask her a few questions and see if she does not prove herself competent to answer them intelligibly,” he said, handing the lady the slate and pencil. The lady, smiling at her own stupidness in not thinking of that means of communication, yet wishing to make the test, took the slate and wrote several questions. She then handed the slate to the deaf-mute girl, who, after reading the questions written, took the pencil and in a neat, legible hand wrote the correct answers to them.

After reading the answers, the lady expressed herself as convinced of the ability of any intelligent, well-educated deaf-mute to converse readily with any person who knew how to write the English language correctly. “I am glad they can,” she continued; “for I can hardly imagine a more pitiable condition than to be in full possession of intellectual powers and yet be unable to hold ready and intelligent communication with other minds.”

Now, noticing how intently some of the bright-eyed little girls on the front seats were gazing at her, she asked, “May I have the pleasure of asking some of these little girls a few questions?”

“Certainly,” replied the superintendent. “Susie, come here,” he called, motioning to a little maiden, apparently about eleven years of age. Susie came forward demurely. “This little girl has been in school nearly two years,” said he, “but owing to the great difficulties in the way of teaching language to deaf-mutes, she has not, as yet, learned to put words together so as to make correct sentences. She can, however, understand quite a number of simple words. Write, ‘Bring me your book,’ and see if she will understand and obey the order.”

The lady did as he directed, and then handed the slate to the little girl. She took it and spelled out each word written, repeating the familiar word “book” several times. That one word seemed to give her an idea of what was required and, returning to the desk, she picked up her book and brought it, half hesitatingly, to the lady, who smiled approvingly.

“What is your name?” the lady then wrote. The little girl spelled the sentence swiftly and nimbly with her slender fingers, repeating the word name, which was also a familiar word to her; then confidently taking the pencil held out to her she wrote, “Eva Lane.”

“Yes, that is her name,” replied the superintendent.

“How old are you?” was next asked. “I am twelve old years,” was the response. The lady smiled at the queer wording of the sentence. The superintendent informed her that this was a very common error.

Another little girl was seen busily writing on a slate, and the lady requested to see what she was writing. It proved to be a composition, and was as follows:

About a Rabbit

A tall gentleman went to a woods. He looked for the rabbit on the ground. He found the rabbit on the ground. He took his gun from his shoulder. He shot the rabbit. He put the rabbit into the game bag. He carried the game bag of rabbit home. He gave it to his mother. They very be glad it. She thanked him for it. She killed it with the sharp knife. She put it into the pan of water. She washed the rabbit. She put it into the large pan. She put the pan of rabbit into the oven. She took it from the oven, and she cut a piece of it, and she gave it to a little boy. He thanked she for it, and he ate it.

M. B.

The writer, the superintendent informed the visitors, was both deaf and dumb and had been under instruction three years. The ladies bowed adieu to the girls, who returned the civility with pleasant smiles.

It was almost the hour for retiring when the visitors withdrew, and those of the girls who, while the attention of the teacher in charge of them had been given to the visitors, had neglected their lessons to watch their movements, began studying industriously, justly fearing bad marks on the morrow if their lessons were not learned.

“Take this story to commit to memory this evening,” said Miss Mayhews to her class on the following day, holding up the book opened at the story designated. The pupils took their books out of their desks and turned to the story. One after another they began asking the meaning of the words in the story which they did not understand. They spelled the words, and Miss Mayhews, by means of signs, explained their significance.

Penmanship was next taken up, and occupied the time till the close of school.

That evening, just after supper, the supervisor entered the girls’ study room and, mounting a chair, proceeded to wave a handkerchief to call the girls around her. That signal being observed, and the girls also noticing that she held a sheet of legal cap paper in her hand, they came flocking around her, eager to learn the message she had to impart to them. After securing general attention, the supervisor said, “Those girls who have worked at prescribed tasks until now are relieved, and others here named are to take their places.” She proceeded to give the new list of names, together with the special duty assigned to each. Their duties consisted of sweeping and dusting the various dormitories, halls, staircases, and other apartments on their own side of the building. The girls who had performed these tasks daily for the last three months were relieved, and they were jubilant over the fact. Some of them took occasion to express their satisfaction by a loud clapping of hands. They knew that their only duties for three months to come would be to assist in ironing one day in each week, sewing three hours five days out of the seven that go to make up a week, and keeping their beds and wardrobes in order.

After the reading of the list had been finished, and each one instructed as to what would be her especial duty, a number of the girls formed themselves into a ring and began one of their animated silent conversations. A hearing and speaking person, unable to understand this silent language if watching them then, would almost have envied them the ability and evident ease with which they conveyed their thoughts to each other without any danger of disturbing others or of tiring that very useful, though often unruly member, the tongue. But what were they talking about, do you ask? They were discussing the merits and demerits of institutions for the deaf and dumb in general, on the basis of knowledge they had gathered from various sources.

One girl who had spent some time in a western institution detailed an account of the various duties which were imposed upon the girls there. Said she, “In the morning, before breakfast, we had to tidy up our rooms. During meals, three or four girls, chosen for the purpose, waited on the others while they ate. The same number of boys waited on the other boys. When all the others had eaten, they were permitted to eat at the servants’ table. After meals, about thirty girls assisted in washing the dishes, while others swept and dusted the halls, staircases, study rooms, dormitories, etc. Once a month, and sometimes oftener, we had to scrub some of the rooms, and every day, after school hours, we had to sweep the schoolrooms, or sew, or iron. But we did not have to iron the clothes of the officers and teachers as you do here. This was done by servants hired for the purpose.”

“Did they pay you anything for your work?” asked one.

“No; we only received our tuition, board, and lodging as compensation, just as you do here. You have not near so much housework to do. You do not have to wash dishes, wait on tables, or scrub.”

“No,” replied one of the girls; “nor do I think we should be required to do these duties. With so many different duties claiming a part of our time and attention, our opportunities for obtaining a good education would be greatly diminished.”

“I think,” said another, “that it would be more profitable if the girls in all the institutions for the deaf and dumb were thoroughly instructed in cookery, dressmaking, tailoring, etc. Dishwashing and sweeping can be learned without a teacher; but one needs to be taught how to cook, bake, and make dresses and other garments in order to be able to do such work well. You know there are so few way for us to make a livelihood after we leave school. Teachers who can hear and speak are so often chosen to teach the deaf and dumb in preference to those who are themselves deaf and dumb; and we are also crowded out of other positions on account of our deafness.”

The teacher on duty made her appearance at this point, and the girls were obliged to drop their conversation and begin the task of learning their lessons for the following day.