The
men and women are otherwise so entirely separated in this Asylum that
papa went round to the men's wards with the doctor, while I was taken
round by the matron to those appropriated to the women. We thought it a
pleasant, cheerful-looking place, considering the melancholy object to
which it is devoted.
The next sight we saw was, the Asylum for the Deaf and Dumb: being
Saturday, we could not see the mode of tuition, but we have gone through
it this morning, and yesterday we attended the afternoon service there,
so that in our three visits we have been able to form a pretty good idea
of the system carried out. They have an alphabet by which they can spell
words, which they do by using one hand only. They speak thus with
considerable rapidity, but this method is confined almost entirely to
express proper names and words of uncommon use, as the whole
conversation is carried on in general by signs, and it was most
beautiful to see the graceful manner in which the matron spoke to them.
As this system of signs does not represent words, but _things_ and
_ideas_, it has the great advantage of being universally understood when
taught, and as the same system is adopted in several countries of
Europe, in Norway and Sweden for example, a Norwegian and American child
can converse easily together without either knowing a syllable of the
other's language.
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