Newspaper Page Text
258
poor little Pink, because he belongs to my
‘-on who is gone to sea. I was in hopes he
would soon leave off quarrelling with the cat;
but if he won’t be neighborly, I’ll send him
out in the country to board. Sally, will you
bring me one of the pies we baked this morn
ing I I should like Miss Turnpenny to taste
them.”
The crabbed neighbor was helped abun
dantly, and while she was eating the pie the
friendly matron edged in many a kind word
concerning little Peggy, whom she praised as
a remarkably capable, industrious child.
“I am glad you find her so,” replied Aunt
Hetty ; “l should get precious little work out
of her, if I didn’t keep a switch in sight.”
“I manage children pretty much as the
man did the donkey,” replied Mrs. Fairwea
ther. “Not an inch would the poor beast
stir for all his master’s thumping and beating.
But a neighbor tied some fresh turnips to a
stick, and fastened them so that they swung
direetly before the donkey’s nose, and off he
set at a brisk trot, in hopes of overtaking
them.”
Aunt Hetty, without observing how very
closely the comparison applied to her own
management of Peggy, said —“That will do
very well for folks that have plenty of tur
nips to spare.”
“ For the matter of that,” answered Mrs.
Fair weather, “whips cost something as well
as turnips; and since one makes the donkey
*tand still, and the other makes him trot, it is
easy to decide which is most economical.
But, neighbor Turnpenny, since you like my
pies so well, pray take one home with you.
1 am afraid they will mould before we can
eat them up.”
Aunt Hetty had come in for a quarrel, and
was astonished to find herself going out
with a pie! “Well, neighbor Fairweather,”
she said, “you are a neighbor. I lhank you
a thousand times.” When she reached her
own door, she hesitated for an instant, then
turned back, pie in hand, to say, “Neighbor
Fairweather, you needn’t trouble yourself
about sending Pink away. It’s natural you
-■hould like the little creature, seeing he be
longs to your son. I’ll try to keep Tab in
doors, and perhaps, after awhile they will
-agree better.”
“I hope they will,” replied the friendly
matron. “We will try them awhile longer,
and if they persist in quarrelling, I will send
the dog into the country.” Pink, who lay
sleeping in a chair, stretched himself and
gaped. His kind mistress patted him on the
head. “ Ah! you foolish little beast,” said
she, “what’s the use of plaguing poor Tab?”
“Well, I do say,” observed Sally, “you
are a master woman for stopping a quarrel!”
“ I learned a good lesson when I was a lit
tlegirl,” rejoined Mrs. Fairweather. “One
frosty morning I was looking out of the win
dow into my father’s barn-yard, where stood
many cows, oxen, and horses, waiting to
drink. It was one of those cold, snapping
mornings, when a slight thing irritates both
man and beast, The cattle all stood very
still and meek, till one of the cows attempted
to turn round. In making the attempt, she
happened to strike her next neighbor; where
upon her neighbor kicked, ami the whole
herd were soon kicking and goring each other
with all fury. My mother laughed and said,
‘ See what comes of kicking while you are
struck. Just so, I have seen one cross word
set a whole family by the ears some frosty
morning.’ Afterwards, if my brothers or sis
tets were a little irritable, she would say,
‘Take care, children. Never give a kick for
a blow, and you will save yourselves and
others a deal of trouble.’ ”
That same afternoon the sunshiny dame
stepped into Aunt Hetty’s rooms, where she
found Peggy serving as usual, with the eter
nal switch on the table beside her. “I am
obliged to go to Harlem on business,” she
saie; “I feel ralher lonely without company,
and I always likn to have a child with me.
If you will oblige me by letting Peggy go, l
will pay her fare in the omnibus.”
“ She has her spelling-lesson to get before
night,” replied Aunt Hetty. “I don’t ap
prove of young folks going a-pleasuring, and
neglecting their education.”
“Neither do I,” rejoined her neighbor; “but
I think there is a great deal of education which
is not found in books. The fresh air will
make Peggy grow stout and active. I pro
phesy that she will do great credit to your
bringing up.” The sugared words, and the
remembrance of the sugared pie, touched a
soft place in Miss Turnpenny’s heart, and
she told the astonished Peggy that she might
go and put on her best frock and bonnet.—
The poor child began to think that this new
neighbor w T as certainly one of those good fa
ries she had read about in the picture-books.
The excursion was enjoyed as only a city
child can enjoy the country. The world
seems such a pleasant place when the fetters
are and nature folds the young heart lov-
©©33M&&E] &,!![&&[&¥ IS A8 & IMF IS,
inglyon her bosom! A llock of live birds?
and two living butterflies, put the little or
phan in a perfect ecstacy. She ran and skip
ped. One could see that she might be grace
ful. if she were only free. She pointed to the
fields, covered with dandelions, and said —
“ See, how pretty! It looks as if the stars
had come down to lie on the grass.” Ah !
our little stinted Peggy has poetry in her,
though Aunt Hetty never found it out. Eve
ry human soul has the germ of some flowers
within, and they would open, if they could
only find sunshine and free air to expand in.
Mrs. Fairweather was a practical philoso
pher in her own small way. She observed
that Miss Turnpenny really liked a pleasant
tune; and when winter came, she tried to
persuade her that singing would be excellent
for Peggy’s lungs, and perhaps keep her from
going into a consumption.
“My nephew, James Fairweather, keeps a
singing-school,” said she, “and perhaps he
will teach her gratis. You need not feel un
der great obligation, for her voice will lead
the whole school; and her ear is so quick, it
will be no trouble at all to teach her. Per
haps you would go with us sometimes, neigh
bor Turnpenny 1 It is very pleasant to hear
the children’s voices.”
The cordage of Aunt Hetty’s mouth relax
ed into a smile. She accepted the invitation,
and she was so much pleased that she went
every Sunday evening The simple tunes,
and the sweet young voices, fell like dew on
her dried-up heart, and greatly aided the ge
nial influence of her neighbor’s example. —
The rod silently disappeared from the table.
If Peggy were disposed to be idle, it w 7 as on
ly necessary to say, “When you have fin
ished your work, you may go and ask wheth
er Mrs. Fairweather wants any errands done.”
Bless me! how the fingers flew! Aunt Hetty
had learned to use turnips instead of the
cudgel.
When spring came, Mrs. Fairweather bu
sied herself with planting roses and vines.
Miss Turnpenny readily consented that Peg
gy should help her, and even refused to take
any pay from such a good neighbor. But
she maintained her own opinion, that it was
a mere waste of time to cultivate flowers.—
The cheerful philosopher never disputed the
point, but she w r ould sometimes say, “ I have
no room to plant this rose-bush. Neighbor
Turnpenny, would you be willing to let me
plant it on your side of the yard ? It will
take very little room, and will need no care.”
At another time, she would say, “ Well, re
ally my ground is too full. Here is a root of
lady’s delight. How 7 bright and pert it looks:
it seems a pity to throw it away. If you are
willing, I will let Peggy plant it in what she
calls her garden. It will grow of itself, with
out any care, and scatter seeds that will come
up and blossom in the chinks of the bricks.
I love it. It is such a bright, good-natured
little thing.” Thus, by degrees, the crabbed
maiden found herself surrounded by flowers ;
and she even declared of her own accord that
they did look pretty.
One day, when Mrs. Lane called upon Mrs.
Fairweather, she found the old weed-grown
yard bright and blooming; Tab, quite fat and
sleek, w'as asleep in the sunshine, w 7 ith her
paw on Pink’s neck ; and little Peggy w 7 as
singing at her w r ork, as blithe as a bird.
“How cheerful you look here,” said Mrs.
Lane. “ And so you have really taken the
house for another year. Pray, how do you
manage to get on with the neighbor-in-law ?”
“I find her a very kind, obliging neigh
bor,” replied Mrs. Fairweather.
“Well, this is a miracle!” exclaimed Mrs.
Lane. “ Nobody but you could have under
taken to thaw Aunt Hetty’s heart.”
**That is probably the reason why it never
w r as thawed,” rejoined her friend. “ I always
told you that not having enough of sunshine
was what ailed the world. Make people
happy, and there will not be half the quar
relling, or a tenth part of the wickedness,
there is.”
From this gospel of joy, preached and prac
tised, nobody derived so much benefit as little
Peggy. Her nature, which was fast growing
crooked and knotty, under the malign influ
ence of constraint and fear, straightened up,
budded and blossomed in the genial atmos
phere of cheerful kindness.
Her affections and faculties were kept in
such pleasant exercise, that constant light
ness of heart made her almost handsome.—
The young music-teacher thought her more
than almost handsome; for her affectionate
soul shone more beamingly on him than on
others, and love makes all things beautiful.
When the orphan removed to her pleasant
little cottage on her wedding-day, she threw
her arms around the blessed missionary of
sunshine, and said, “Ah! thou dear good,
aunt —it is thou who hast made my life Fair
weather !”
Cjomc (fformponienct.
For the Southern Literary Gazette.
LETTERS FROM CHEROKEE-NO. 2.
Education of the Deaf and Dumb.
The allusion to the Deaf Mute Asylum, at
Cave Spring, in my last, has brought to mind
some interesting facts in regard to the history
of the instruction of this class of persons, not
generally known, I presume. Though the
earliest attempts to give Deaf Mutes a social
position by education produced wonderful re
sults, yet the improvements in the method of
thaw education have been still more astonish
ing. The embarrassments common to every
new system, and particularly so in this, have
been greatly overcome. Plans of great com
plexity have been followed by arrangements
of extreme simplicity; and now the impart
ing of knowledge to a mute is considered, un
like what it was some years ago, quite a mat
ter of course. This class of persons, instead
oi being regarded as quasi idiots, as former
ly, are now taking their places in the busi
ness and other associations of life; and, in
deed, from a population not long since looked
upon as useless, are now being formed a num
ber as productive as those who speak and
hear. Previous to the middle of the fifteenth
century, an instructed deaf mute was un
known. R. Agricola mentions an instance
of a mute deaf from birth, who comprehend
ed the writing of others, and who expressed
his thoughts similarly. A Spanish Monk,
Pedro de Ponce, who lived during the year
1500, was the first deaf mute instructor of
whom history speaks. He taught two broth
ers and a sister, of the Constable of Castile,
and was succeeded by P. John Paul Bonet,
another Spaniard, Secretary of the Consta
ble, and whose younger brother, also a deaf
mute, was instructed by him. Dr. John Wal
lis, and Dr. Holder, of England, seem to have
been the next in order of time, who pursued
the systematic instruction of deaf mutes. In
1653, Wallis wrote and published a pamph
let in Latin, explaining the mechanism of ar
ticulate sounds; and, in 1669, Holder printed
elements of speech, with an appendix con
cerning persons deaf and dumb. Holder and
Wallis both claimed to have taught a young
man named Popham, born a deaf mute, to
speak; and one Whaley was also instructed
to articulate by Wallis. In 1648, John Bul
wer published a book called the Deaf and
Dumb Man’s Friend, which taught a system
of gesticulation, manual alphabet, and move
ment of the lips. Deaf mutes were also in
structed by one Amman, a Swiss, in Amster
dam, in 1700. But the great benefactor of
the deaf mutes was the Abbe de l’Epee. He
pursued this noble task not less from benevo
lence than taste, and has united in his biogra
phy the claims of charity with those of wis
dom. He first suggested the practice of im
parting to the deaf mute a system of signs,
conforming to spoken language; and, though
that system has been declared erroneous, his
efforts and perseverance excited the first and
most lasting interest in this enterprize. In
1760, he established a school for the instruc
tion of deaf mutes, which swept away his
private fortune ; which school was, in 1791,
by Louis 16, made a national establishment:
‘l’lnstitut Royal des Lourds muets de Paris.’
This establishment was placed under one of
the pupils of the founder, Sicard, who car
ried out zealously the designs of de l’Epee.
Sicard improved upon the system of his mas
ter, and laid the foundation of that system,
now generally pursued in Europe, of basing
the instruction of deaf mutes on natural signs.
In 1760, Thomas Braidwood established a
similar institution at Edinburgh, beginning
with a single pupil. In 1792, an Asylum
was opened in London, in which the eminent
Dr. Watson was the instructor. Some cu
rious statistics are furnished in reference to
the hearing ability of deaf mutes, by Itard, a
physician of Paris. He states that one-fifth
of this class of persons are totally deprive
of hearing—that two-fifths distinguish sound
from silence, but confound speech with other
! noises—and that the remaining two-fifth*
hear more or less distinctly. It ia his belief
that one-tenth of the whole deaf mute p opu .
lation may, by cultivation, be restored to so
ciety.
One of the most astonishing examples at
j that early day, 1792, of the perfection attain
ed, is found in the biography of Miss Armit
age, who died near Leeds, in 1842. shewa<
| born a deaf rnute, but could understand whole
| sentences by observing the lips of a speaker.
J and could speak whole sentences so as to he
understood. The proportion of deaf mutes to
the population is, in Europe, from 1 in 1535
to 1 in 500, the latter in Switzerland. In the
United States, of whites, 1 in 1964— 0 f
blacks, 1 in 3134. So that there are over
half a million of deaf and dumb persons in
existence.
The State of Georgia has but followed the
example of some European States, in making
these persons the pupils of the State. They
are educated at the expense of government in
Denmark, Belgium, and in some of the United
States. There are fourteen or more schools
in England and Ireland, sustained by contri
bution. They exist in Russia, Brazil, Cal
cutta, &c.
Among the works giving most instruction
j as to these facts, and the system of education
pursued, are to be numbered Dogerandos’
comprehensive work, “de I’ Education des
Sourds muets,” in two volumes, which the
writer possesses, and which he has, with
great interest, consulted; the publications
of the Paris institution, “Ciiculaires de l’ln
stitut Royal des Sourds muets de Paris.” and
a “Vocabulary and elementary lessons for
the deaf and dumb,” by Mr. Peet, of the N.
York Institution.
It is to the labors of the Paris institution,
however, that the world is most indebted for
researches tending to display the effects of
the several plans adopted, and the general
benefits of the results. The conductors of
it have laboriously gathered facts and infor
mation from every part of the world, and suc
cessfully applied them in every form in which
they can be of advantage to the deaf mutes,
and enlighten the world as to their claims to
education.
We are confident that anew and useful
system of instruction will be revealed, when
Mr. Fannin, the enlightened head of the
Georgia School, shall give his plan of signs
to the world. It is based upon such natural
and simple principles—it is so susceptible ot
being grasped by the dullest intellect —but, at
the same time, so full and complete in pur
pose, that it cannot fail to excite, wherever
exhibited, the profoundest sensations and
most grateful commendation. We sincerely,
for the honor of the State, for the cause 01
this beneficent institution, hope that the com
ing Legislature of Georgia will not only pur
sue with renewed vigor the system begun,
but print, for the use of the State, the manu
script of Mr. Fannin. We can assure the
public that, with some knowledge of the mat
ter, we have looked into the plan adopted b>
him, and it is far superior to any ever befon
found, and, in our judgment, perfect.
The visitor will discover, in this school,
much to please him. In schools of person
blessed with hearing and speech, we often
see, on the part of pupil and teacher, a h pt
lessness which deprives them of any int^rc 1
whatever. It is not so here. r lhe g ract
ness of the gestures, their admirable adapt- 1
tion to the expression of the thoughts, t
nature and consequent simplicity, mak(
position and movements of the
glowing and vigorous narrative; while 1
intent contemplation of the scholars, t
deep interest in the looks and actions 0
teacher, the attention with which they to °
the changes of the features, the
the eyes, displays the wonders oi ’ho p