Chapter 8

A deaf and dumb Lady said that the first time she went to church after she was impressed with the truths of christianity, she saw over the pulpit the words "Faith cometh by hearing," which caused her great unhappiness; for, she thought, that as she had no hearing she could never have faith. Shortly after, however, she saw this text in the Bible, and observed that it was followed by "and hearing by the Word of God," which gave her so much delight, as shewing her a way in which it was possible for faith to come even to her, that she clasped the Bible to her heart.

MASSIEU.

One of the best educated and most distinguished deaf mutes was Massieu, who gave the following remarkable replies to questions put to him by various friends:--

"What is hearing?" "Hearing," said he, "is auricular sight." Another party asked him whether he made any distinction between a conqueror and a hero? "Arms and soldiers made a conqueror; courage of heart a hero. Julius Caesar was the hero of the Romans; Napoleon the hero of Europe," was the answer he wrote on the blackboard, without hesitation.

In reply to the following questions, he instantly wrote answers. "What is hope?" "Hope is the blossom of happiness." "What is happiness?" "Happiness is pleasure that ceaseth not; and misfortune is grief that endeth not." "What is the difference between hope and desire?" "Desire is a tree in leaf; hope is a tree in flower; and enjoyment is a tree in fruit." Another pupil standing by wrote, in reply to the same question, "Desire is the inclination of the heart; hope is a confidence of the mind." A stranger asked Massieu, "What difference do you think there is between God and nature?" His reply was "God is the first maker, the Creator of all things. The first beings all came out of His divine breast; He has said to the first beings, ye shall make the second; to the second ye shall make the third beings; His wills are laws; His laws are nature."

"What is time?" "A line that has two ends, a path that begins in the cradle and ends in the tomb." "What is eternity?" "A day without yesterday or to-morrow, a line that has no end." "What is God?" "The necessary being, the sun of eternity, the mechanist of nature, the eye of justice, the watch-maker of the universe, the soul of the world." The deceptive and acute question, "Does God reason?" was put to him, it is said, by Sir James Macintosh, Massieu at once wrote, "Man reasons because he doubts; he deliberates, he decides; God is omniscient; He knows all things; He never doubts; He therefore never reasons."

Lucien Buonaparte once asked Massieu, "What is laziness or idleness?" "It is a disgust from useful occupation; a disinclination to do anything; from which result indigence, want of cleanliness and misery, disease of body and the contempt of others." In writing this answer the gestures and looks of Massieu were in perfect accordance with the ideas that might be supposed to exist with him and the words he was writing. When he had finished the last word he turned round, and then his whole person, with his countenance and his eyes, exhibited one of the justest pantomimic representations of laziness which it is possible to conceive. After he had a moment dwelt upon this personification, which his fancy suggested to him, he made an expressive transition to the looks and manners of a person filled with that dread and abhorrence which the idea of laziness should ever inspire.

GRACE ANNABLE.

Grace Annable was deaf, dumb, and blind, and although her form and features were well proportioned, she was a great sufferer from constitutional weakness; yet her temper was mild and affectionate. Strange to say, Grace was a capital nurse, and was much attached to several very young children, some being mere babies; in order to ascertain whether they were crying, she would pass her hand most carefully over the mouth and eyes, and soothe their little distresses with all the care and success of a talkative nurse. Grace was fond of fruit, and would beat the pears and apples from the trees, and could select the best with as much judgment as if she had been possessed with the sense of sight.

She frequently went in a field to gather wild flowers, to which she was directed by the pleasantness of their odour. Her sense of smelling was remarkably exquisite, and appeared to be an additional guide to her fingers. Grace would feel and admire ornaments, etc., and would never break or injure the most brittle things even in a strange room.

A gentleman once made several experiments with her in order to test for himself her reported abilities, and expressed great surprise that one thus afflicted should be able to accomplish so much. Grace has, after a patient life, passed away into that land where deafness and dumbness is for ever unknown.

A DEAF AND DUMB BOY AND HIS BROTHER.

Brownlow Harrison, a bright little boy who had spent a few years in the school for the deaf and dumb, was watching with great earnestness for his father, who was to fetch him home for the summer vacation.

Brownlow had made unusual progress during the last half-year; this he himself knew, and made him intensely anxious that his younger brother, who was also deaf and dumb, should be admitted as a pupil in the Institution. Brownlow himself at once wrote to the Committee as follows:--"When I was at home I was ignorant, and I don't know about God; but I am now taught about religion, and it is wonderful; I will be taught before I leave school. My dear brother cannot read, and he cannot understand; I wish he will come to school, for he don't know about God and angels, and all things good or bad. I am afraid he will grow wicked if he is not taught. I will feel thankful to the gentlemen to send my deaf brother to school."

FRANCIS CARTER, PRINTER, IRON GATE WORKS, DERBY.

Transcriber's Note:

In the anecdote entitled "DEAF, DUMB, BLIND, AND LAME," the character is named once as David and once as John in the original text. This discrepancy has not been changed.

Punctuation and alternative spellings have been retained as they appear in the original text.