In the Philosophical Transactions for January 1668, p. 602, there is an account of a small Tract which was published the preceding year, both in Latin and Ger man, by F. M. B. V. Helmont, entitled Alphabet= Nature. In the first dialogue of the first part, the au thor is said to treat a of the motions and configura tions of the mouth of man : and how a man born Deaf, and consequently Dumb, may come to understand, both them, and by them, the mind of him that forms them; where it is observed, that a man born Deaf is not alto gether destitute of all motion of his tongue, and that he may be taught to understand others by the motions of the mouth and tongue, much after the manner as others are taught to read. To which is annnexed, a method suitable to that principle, of teaching Deaf and Dumb men to speak ; together with an example of a musician, who being altogether Deaf, and weak-sighted withal, was, by the author, brought so far in the space of three weeks, that he was able to answer to all that was spoken to him, provided it were done slowly, and with a well opened mouth ; who also afterwards by him self, as soon as he had by this very way learned to know the letters, and to read, did, by confronting only the Ger man and Hebrew Bibles, learn in a short time the He brew tongue so well, that now he understands the whole Hebrew Bible.
The subjects of the remaining parts of this work, all relate to Speech or Language ; but they seem to be treated in a very whimsical manner.
In 1669, Dr Holder published his Elements of Speech, with an Appendix. concerning persons Deaf and Dumb. The appendix contains an account of the method he employed in the education of a Deaf and Dumb per son, who was recommended to his care in 1659, and whom he taught successfully to speak. The whole work is rather tedious and obscure.
The translator of De L'Epee's Method, (Pref p.
refers to a work minted in 1670, entitled a Treatise - • • those that cre born Deaf and Dumb; and I line of tkorgt 50r otc, as its author. it teat of the tuitiun of the Deaf and Dumb, I 3 loose an-I gent cal manner, as a bUbjeCt of engin' y ; but we hate never seen it.
ne nest %volt., in point a date, relativ e to this sub ) Lt. is a t•....tile by Geo. e Dalgarno, published at (Wend in 168 , und.r the ludo.% ing title : Didas Cabe 1./1:11, G• the Deaf an I Dumb man's Tutor, to wlach !,d, a Iliscourse of the nature and number f D v C r ionalFs : Both which Tracts being the first (for v.:./iet the ,futhar knows) that havr been pu5ltshed t.pon rt h r cf the Subjects.
Tins treatise is purely speculative. The author does net profess to hate actually taught me Deaf and ; ne unlv puints out their cLpability of being in 51. ut .41.t1 lay s down the general principles accord
to 1,c 1-ma-rives that their Education ought to bt. conduCt :t is obvious, how ever, not only from the tile•page. but •,so from tile whole tenor of his t t he N..,s altogether ignorant of the success ful tabu t s c! Wa:lis Holder, and the other au thor, t venom •ve have referred, as preceding him in this aepartme. , a circumstance for which it is not ca-y. t., act •.unt, wil•n we consider that he had lived at Oaf .r.1 lor t owarLis of twenty ) cars prior to the pub licat.on vhf nis The oily media, Le conceives, by which instruction ca:. be cff, conveyed to the Deaf and Dumb, or by w they can be enabled to communicate their thoughts to others, are Writing anti Manual speech. He doubt that a Deaf Man may be taught to speak vocally; but he seems to think that this sort of speech will always be so imperfect in him, that it is not worth his acquiring. As to such a person's being able, by the eye, to understand the speech of others, he endea vours to prove that that is impossible, by an argument A posteriori, us he calls it, delivered in the regular form of Syllogism.
In consequence of these false views, his attention seems to have been chiefly directed to the improve ment of the department of Dactylology ; and after much search and many changes, he fixes on a Finger-Alphabet performed with one hand, which he regards as a very important discovery, and which he describes minutely in his eighth Chapter.
The parts of his treatise, however, which appear to us to possess most merit, are those he entitles the Deaf Man's Dictionary, and the Grammer for Deaf Persons. The general principles according to which he proposes, in these, that the Deaf and Dumb should be instructed in the Gleaning of Words, are quite cor rect ; and accord completely v., ith those which Wallis had laid down in his letter to Boyle, and by which he had actually regulated his practice nearly twenty years be fore. His method, however, when considered in detail, is inferior to that of \Vallis, both in arrangement and The treatise, taken as a whole, is spirited and amu sing; and is, obviously, the production of an original mind.
About the year 1690, a Swiss physician, named John Conrad Amman, was requested to undertake the educa tion of a young girl at Haerlem, who had been born Deaf and Dumb. He succeeded so well in this task, that, in two months, she could not only read distinctly, but could write down whatever was slowly spoken to her ; and at last could support a conversation on any subject, and rt ply w ith promptness to those who Intel rogated her ; hear iog, as it w. re, by the eyes.