Library Collections: Document: Full Text

Within three quarters of a century past, Humanity has achieved three very great triumphs over physical and mental misfortune. The teaching of the deaf and dumb to read and write, in 1773, at Edinburg, made Dr. Johnson conclude that such a conquest, over an infirmity seemingly irremediable, left nothing hopeless to human resolution. "After having seen the deaf taught arithmetic." says he, "who would be afraid to cultivate the Hebrides?" -- Yet in our own time, the lengths that had been gone in his day, are far transcended: so that to be deaf and dumb now forms, comparatively, a trivial obstacle to social enjoyments, and social usefulness. More recently, by the help of raised letters, the blind have had the inestimable pleasures of reading opened to them: and, by feeling along the page, are enabled to gather its meaning almost as rapidly as he who reads by sight. Thirdly comes the improved method of treating lunatics, invented by Pinel, and practised now in most or all of our American Lunatic Asylums; which substitutes kindness, fresh air, proper exercise, healthful diet, and a patient culture of the reason and of the moral feelings, for the chain, the dungeon, the ducking-stool, and the lash. An improvement by which the number of cures is quadrupled, and the sufferings of the incurable are unspeakably alleviated.

We have now to herald a yet greater wonder, to the Virginia public: a more striking, if not a more beneficent achievement of enlightened Humanity. It is the education of IDIOTS. The animation of clay seems hardly more incredible, than the extent to which MIND has been infused into such masses of stolidity. So hopeless has been the cure of idiots, so hopeless even any appreciable improvement of their condition by any process used in our Insane-Hospitals, that the Legislature of Virginia, eight years ago, (1) forbade any idiot to be received into either hospital. And such, we believe, has been the course in other States and countries.

But by the efforts of gifted men in France, new lights have lately been thrown upon the capabilities of those unfortunates. There is a school and hospital for them in Paris, where transformations are wrought, that appear almost miraculous. The expressionless face, the open mouth, the lolling and speechless tongue, all so eloquent of the vacant mind, the uncleanly habits, the tottering and powerless limbs and frame, -- have been changed into looks of comparative intelligence, neatness of person and dress, a perfect command of the limbs, a capacity to talk, to read and write, to do works of usefulness, and even to earn a livelihood by labor!

No mysteries attend this great work. There are no nostrums of secret composition -- no undivulged sleights of hand, -- nor any of the other artifices, by which humbug and quackery commonly operate. The whole magic of those marvellous cures consists in patient care, with judicious, long and oft repeated efforts, in training the hands, the feet, the eyes, the ears, the touch, and the mind of the idiot subject. Ever since 1830, these efforts have been going on; indeed the system of observation which led to them began in 1828, or earlier. Messieurs VOISIN, LEURET, and SEGUIN, French physicians, appear to be the men to whose benevolence, ingenuity, and patience, mankind are mainly indebted for this inestimable alleviation of one among human nature's greatest calamities. Doctor John Conolly, of London, seems to have been foremost in making the improvement known in England: and Mr. George Sumner, of Boston, is the first American, so far as we know, who has brought it to the notice of his countrymen. The Westminster Review, for April, 1848, from which we derive all our knowledge of the subject, has an article on "The Bicetre Asylum," made up chiefly of extracts from a book of Dr. Conolly, and a letter of Mr. S. to a friend in Boston. The letter is filled with particulars of the deepest interest. It was elicited by inquiries from Dr. Howe, of Boston -- member of a commission appointed in 1846, to inquire into the condition of idiots in Massachusetts, "to ascertain their number, and whether any thing could be done for their relief."

The Bicetre is the seat of the school for idiots, near Paris; and contains also a lunatic asylum. Dr. Conolly says,

"In the first part of the Bicetre to which I was conducted was a school exclusively established for the improvement of the idiotic and of the epileptic, and nothing more extraordinary can well be imagined. No fewer than forty of these patients were assembled in a moderate-sized school-room, receiving various lessons and performing various evolutions under the direction of a very able schoolmaster, M. Seguin, himself a pupil of the celebrated Itard, and endowed with that enthusiasm respecting his occupation before which difficulties vanish. His pupils had been all taught to sing to music, and the little band of violins and other instruments by which they were accompanied, was formed of the old almsmen the hospital. But all the idiotic part of this remarkable class also sang without any musical accompaniment, and kept excellent time and tune. Both the epileptic and idiotic were taught to write, and their copy-books would have done credit to any writing school for young persons. Numerous exercises were gone through, of a kind of military character, with perfect correctness and precision. The youngest of the class was a little idiot boy of five years old, and it was interesting to see him following the rest, and imitating their actions holding out his right arm, left arm, both arms, marching to the right and left at the word of command, and to the sound of a drum beaten with all the lively skill of a French drummer by another idiot, who was gratified by wearing a demi-military uniform. All these exercises were gone through by a collection of beings offering the smallest degree of intellectual promise, and usually left, in all asylums, in total indolence and apathy."

Mr. Sumner thus groups together some of wonderful results of the new system:

"During the past six months I have watched, with eager interest, the progress which many young idiots have made, in Paris, under the direction of M. Seguin, and at Bicetre under that of Messrs. Voisin and Vallee, and have seen, with no less gratification than astonishment, nearly one hundred fellow-beings who, but a short time since, were shut out from all communion with mankind, who were objects of loathing and disgust, -- many of whom rejected every article of clothing, -- others of whom, unable to stand erect, crouched themselves in corners and gave signs of life only by piteous howls, -- others, in whom the faculty of speech had never been developed, --and many, whose voracious and indiscriminating gluttony satisfied itself with whatever they could lay hands upon, with the garbage thrown to swine, or with their own excrements; -- these unfortunate beings -- the rejected of humanity, I have seen properly clad, standing erect, walking, speaking, eating in an orderly manner at a common table, working quietly as carpenters and farmers; gaining, by their own labor, the means of existence; storing their awakened intelligence by reading one to another: exercising towards their teachers and among themselves the generous feelings of man's nature, and singing in unison songs of thanksgiving."

Our readers must not fail to read the following long extract from Mr. Sumner's letter; containing in fact, its main substance. All that we have said was meant but to introduce and recommend this extract:

"Let us take a young idiot, in whom scarce any of the senses appear developed; who is abandoned to the lowest passions, and who is unable to walk or to execute voluntary movements. He is brought to Bicetre, and placed at once in the class of those boys who are executing the moving power. Here, with about twenty others, who have already learned to act somewhat in unison, he is made, at first by holding and guiof his arms and feet, and afterwards by the excitement of imitation, to follow the movements of his companions. These, at the order of the teacher, go through with various steps and movements of the head, arms and feet, which at the same time that they give wholesome exercise to the animal part of the system, develope the first personal sentiment, that of rest and immobility. After this, the class is made, at the word of command, to designate various parts of the body. On the 20th of January, the number of this class was eighteen; some of whom had been several months under treatment; others of whom had been just attached to it. The teacher, 1st, indicated, with his hand, a part of the body, -- as head, arm, hand, face, hair, eyes, and named it aloud; the children repeated the movement and touched the part. 2nd. The teacher designated with the voice, a part which the idiot touched. 3rd. He designated a part by gesture, and the pupils named it aloud. There are many, of course, who are slow to do this, but the love of imitation, and the care of teachers, produce, in time, the necessary regularity of movement; the organ of speech has yet, however, to be developed in others.

"A complete series of gymnastic exercises, adapted to the various necessities which the physiological examination has established for each case, is now followed up; the result of which is, to create an equilibrium between the muscular and the over-excited nervous system, to fatigue the idiot sufficiently to procure him a sound and refreshing sleep, and to develope his general intelligence. At the same time, the hygeienic treatment, adapted to his peculiar case, is applied. He is exposed to the light of the sun, to fresh air -- is made to go through frequent ablutions, and is warmly clad. In most cases a tonic diet is adopted, and he is placed at table where the monitors, by dint of industry and example, teach him to eat as do those around him.

"The next step is to educate the senses, beginning with that of feeling; and beginning with this, inasmuch as it is the sense by which the idiot acquires most readily a knowledge of external objects, long before his eye is accustomed to fix their image, or his ear to listen to sounds. Smell and taste are next cultivated; the former by presenting to the pupil various odors, which at first make no impression whatever, rose and assafoetida being received with equal favor. By degrees, and as the harmony of the functions is restored, and the intellectual activity developed, this sense is awakened, and lends again its aid to awaken others. The sense of taste is roused in the same manner, by placing in the mouth various substances, alternately, sapid and acid, bitter and sweet.

"The power of speech, so imperfect in all, is the most difficult to develope; but a method, improving upon that which Pereira practised, in 1760, and which has been since successfully followed up in Germany, has been adopted at Bicetre, and also in the private practice of Seguin, with great success. This is, however, the part of idiot education that proceeds the slowest, and which, more than any other, except, perhaps, the moral treatment, requires, the greatest attention, patience and intelligence on the part of the teacher.

"The sight is next cultivated; and here, as indeed in every part of this miracle of instruction, great difficulties were at first encountered. The eyes of the idiot are often perfectly formed, but he sees nothing -- they fix no object. The organ he possesses -- but it is passive and dormant. The senses of smell and taste have been developed by direct action upon them; that of touch, by putting the hand in contact with different bodies; the stagnant eye of the idiot cannot, however, be moved by the hand of another. The method employed is due to the ingenuity of Seguin. He placed the child in a chamber, which was suddenly darkened, so as to excite his attention, -- after which, a small opening in a shutter let in a single ray of light, before which various objects, agreeable to the pupil, arranged upon slides, like those of a magic lantern, were sucessively passed. The light, and its direction, having once attracted his attention, was then, by a change of the opening in the shutter, moved up and down, to the right and left, followed in most cases, by his heretofore motionless eyeballs. This is succeeded by exercises of gymnastics, which require the attention of the eye to avoid, not a dangerous bruise, but a disagreeable thump; games of balls and battledores are also used to excite this sense. Another means employed, is to place yourself before the idiot, fix his eye by a firm look, varying this look according to various sentiments; pursuing, for hours even, his moving but unimpressed orbit; chasing it constantly, until finally it stops, fixes itself and begins to see. After efforts of this kind, which require a patience and a superiority of will that few men possess, the first reward comes to the teacher means than the touch, and he catches the first beam of intelligence that radiates from the heretofore benighted countenance.

"The number of pupils in the school has varied, for some time past, from eighty to one hundred. At 5 o'clock they rise, and pass half an hour in washing, combing and dressing; the monitors, pupils more advanced, aiding those whose instruction is but recently commenced. They then pass into the hall of classes, and range themselves in a double line-no easy task for the beginners-when they sing a simple morn- ing prayer, repeated to them by the teacher. After this, they make their first breakfast of a simple slice of bread. The class for the education of the senses now begins and fills up the time till 8 1/4 A. M. In the 1st or highest division, several occupy themselves with face and landscape drawing; and others, less advanced, with geometrical drawing upon the black-board. The 3rd division, divided into sections, is of those who are exercising the senses of smell, taste, sight, and observing color and form by the method I have before described. The sense of hearing is exercised, among other means, by the pupil's learning to distinguish and name, while blindfolded, the natural sounds as produced by the cords of a bass-viol. Meanwhile, the youngest class of eighteen or twenty is going through its elementary gymnastics of the moving power.

"From 8 1/4 to 9 A. M., is taken up by the study of numeration and arithmetic. Here the whole school is divided into frequently changing groups, according to the various capacities developed. The lowest of all is ranged in line and taught to count aloud up to thirty; a series of sticks, balls, or other material objects, being given to them at the time. This helps to ameliorate their speech, and to stimulate to imitation those who have not that faculty. Another group is set to climb upon ladders, counting the number of rounds as they go up, -- and thus the muscular system and knowledge of numeration are simultaneously developed. A higher group is of those who count up to fifty with counters, and who, by means of them, get an idea of unity, plurality, subtraction, addition and equality. A higher group still has learned to count up to one hundred, and another group is learning, by means of move able figures taken from a case, the combinations of numbers. Higher still are boys working upon their slates, or going through calculations upon the black board, with a facility and precision that any pupil of Warren Colburn might envy.

"From 9 to 9 1/4. Breakfast of soup and a plate of meat. The pupils are here seated at table, and eat with fork and spoon -- the more adroit aiding those less so.

"9 1/2 to 10 1/2. Recreation in open air, -- running, playing ball, driving hoop, or cultivating a small plot of ground, the hire of which, for three months, each one may gain by a certain number of tickets of good conduct.

"10 1/2 to 11 1/4. Reading class, in which all take part, divided, however, into various groups, as before.

"11 1/4 to 12. Writing class. Here the lowest group is taught only to trace on the black board, with a ruler, these lines:

The next group is taught to make upon the board the rudimental curvilinear characters, making three in each line. After this they write on slates, and, when farther advanced, the monitor being ready to guide their hands, they write in ruled books. The highest class rules its own books, and writes alternately a page of large and fine hand.

"12 to 12 1/2. Gymnastics.

"12 1/2 to 1. Music.

"1 to 4 3/4. Manual labor. In this all take part; some as shoe-makers, some as carpenters, or rather cabinet-makers, and some as tillers of the ground. One of the best exercises for the body, inasmuch as it compels the idiot to walk and balance himself unaided, is that of wheeling a barrow, charged with a weight proportionate to his strength. The most stupid may be soon taught this. Others, more intelligent, wield spade and pickaxe most energetically and profitably; but nowhere does their awakened intelligence appear more satisfactory than in the workshop of a cabinet maker. When one of them has sawed through a plank, or nailed together two pieces of wood, or made a box, his smile of satisfaction, -- the consequence of something attempted, something done, -- the real result of which he can estimate, -- is beautiful to see. Nor is their work, by any means, to be despised. With one cabinet-maker as teacher and monitor, they performed, last year, all the work necessary for their school-room and dormitories, as well as for a good part of the great establishment of Bicetre. At shoe-making they show intelligence; but this is too sedentary an occupation for them. Some, however, who have quitted the school, work at it; but the greater number of them become farmers and gardeners.

"After this manual labor they dine, and after dinner play till 6 1/4 P. M.

" From 6 1/4 to 7. Grammar class; the lowest group is taught to articulate syllables, -- the highest, as much as in any grammar school.

"From 7 to 8 1/4 is passed in reading to one another, or in conversations and explanations with the teacher, upon things which may excite the reflective power; two evenings in the week this hour is devoted to a concert and a dance.

"After this comes the evening prayer, sung by all; and then, fatigued, but happy, they retire to rest.

"Such is a day at the school of Bicetre. Every Thursday morning the teacher takes them out to walk in the country, and then inculcates elementary notions of botany, designating by their names, and impressing by smell, taste and sight, the qualities of different flowers and useful vegetables which they see. At the same time he explains, by locality, the first elements of geography. On Saturday evening there is a distribution of tickets of good conduct, three of which pay the rent of a garden, and one of which may buy off, for another, with the consent of the teacher, the punishment adjudged for certain slight acts of negligence. You will see at once the effect which this must have upon the generous sentiments of the pupils. The sentiment of possession is developed -- the rights of property taught; but its duties and its pleasures are, at the same time, impressed.

"These tickets of good conduct are given also to those who are designated, by the pupils themselves, as having done some kind and generous action, -- as having been seen to run to the aid of one who had stumbled at play, -- who had divided among his companions the bon-bons he may have received from a visitor, or who had helped, in any way, one weaker than himself. Thus they are constantly on the look-out for good actions in one another; but they are most positively forbidden to repeat the negligences or unkind conduct which they may observe. The surveillance of the monitors is sufficient to detect these; and even were it not, M. Vallee prefers that they should go unpunished, rather than that they should serve to cherish the grovelling sentiments of envy and malice which lurk in the breast of the informer and the scandal-monger." -- Letter, p. 11.

The testimonies of other English travellers in France are given; but we have room only for one more short extract from Mr. Sumner, which speaks for itself: "The fact, I have said, is now clearly established, that idiots may be educated; that the reflective power exists within them, and may be awakened by a proper system of instruction; that they may be raised from the filth in which they grovel to the attitude of men; that they may be taught different arts which will enable them to gain an honest livelihood; and that, although their intelligence may never, perhaps, be developed to such a point as to render them the authors of those generous ideas and great deeds which leave a stamp upon an age, yet, still, they may attain a respectable mediocrity, and surpass, in mental power, the common peasant of many European states."

The Reviewer adds a sensible admonition to those who are establishing similar schools, or hospitals, in England, not to place them in, or adjoining lunatic asylums or other retreats for the insane; because of the hurtful influence exerted by the sights and sounds of such asylums upon the nascent and tender minds of the idiot pupils.

And now, will Virginia do her duty towards the hundreds of her own sons and daughters who are in the helpless and distressing condition of idiocy? We do not know, but we will lay any wager --even "our dukedom to a beggarly denier" -- that Massachusetts has done something decided, something generous, on this subject, before now.

M. L.