PETER POUNCE, THE FIRST TEACHER OF THE DEAF AND DUMB, INSTRUCTING A BOY.
THE DEAF AND DUMB ALPHABET.
Amongst the many useful inventions which have been planned for the solace of individuals deprived of some portion of their senses, the art by which deaf and dumb persons are taught to express their own thoughts, and to comprehend those of others, is one of the most noble. The earliest attempt at a method of teaching the deaf and dumb was made in Spain, towards the end of the sixteenth century, by a Benedictine monk named Peter Pounce; and without doubt he must have formed his idea from observing the natural propensity of the dumb to supply the want of the organs of speech by making signs. After the essay of Peter Pounce many successful trials were made, and in 1692 John Conrad Amman, a Swiss physician, reduced the plans to a fixed method, or art, and published the scheme of it at Amstelod. The first asylum for the deaf and dumb in London was founded in the year 1792.
THE ALPHABET.
| A | B | C |
A is expressed by touching the top of the thumb of the left hand with the forefinger of the right.
B. Join the forefinger and thumb of each hand, and place the backs of the forefinger nails together.
C. Bend the fingers and thumb of the left hand, so as to form three parts of a circle.
| D | E | F | G |