The most important photographs we give are those that illustrate a message that I have prevailed on Mr. Gilby to issue through these pages to the deaf and dumb of the British Empire. The message is necessarily brief and short: as it is we are obliged to print twelve photographs in order to do it justice. The exact message is as follows:—
"Dear deaf and dumb friends, we wish you joined together in one heart and one mind, imitating Christ until the Church is complete."
The appropriateness of many of Mr. Gilby's signs becomes immediately apparent on glancing at the photographs, but some are not as clear as others. "Deaf and dumb" is signified by rapidly touching the mouth and the ear; "friend," by shaking hands with oneself; "we," by pointing at oneself, at the persons addressed, and vaguely to the left to indicate people in general; and "joined together," by opening the hands, and then bringing them together closed. A most interesting sign is that representing "Christ," where a finger is pressed into the palm of each hand in rapid succession, as if to indicate the piercings of the nails of the cross; and scarcely less remarkable is that which denotes the "Church"—the motions being those of one ringing church bells!
"KNOWLEDGE."
Excellent as these photographs are, they convey but a slight impression of the effect produced by a sermon in Mr. Gilby's gesture-language. It must be understood that his is no laborious art. Distinct and picturesque as Mr. Gilby's motions are, they succeed one another with the rapidity of words penned by an expert shorthand writer. On one occasion, indeed, Canon Wilberforce—one of the most fiery orators of the day—addressed our deaf and dumb congregation, and Mr. Gilby, who stood by the side of the eloquent Canon to interpret the discourse, experienced no difficulty in keeping level with him. It will thus be seen that, as practised by an expert, the art of gesture-language leaves little room for improvement. As a matter of fact, the sentence given above would be "signed" by Mr. Gilby, in the course of an ordinary pulpit address, in about three seconds.
Needless to say those signs that are to be expressive of themselves require to be of the most suggestive nature in order to be readily understood, and it is in the invention of these that the teacher of the deaf and dumb may find a great field for the exercise of his ingenuity.
In a great number of cases there are signs which are universally accepted and understood by deaf mutes the world over. On the other hand, each school has its own special gestures, equally expressive but peculiar to itself, and in the department of versatility of gesture Mr. Gilby is second to none. In fact, I have seen him express an idea in half a dozen ways, and each one of them could have been interpreted with ease by a half wit.
In the majority of cases the photographs illustrating the gestures have been taken in an entirely novel way.
By making several exposures on one plate we have sought to illustrate the various movements composing those gestures which are of a composite description. Where a word or idea is expressed by a single sign, this is, of course, unnecessary. One photograph is all-sufficient.