ain."

Her father embraced her impetuously, and then in great haste, in order
to make quite sure, he overwhelmed her with questions.

"What is mamma's name?"

"An-to-nia."

"What is the name of your little sister?"

"Ad-e-laide."

"What is the name of this college?"

"The Deaf-mute Insti-tution."

"How many are two times ten?"

"Twen-ty."

While we thought that he was laughing for joy, he suddenly burst out
crying. But this was the result of joy also.

"Take courage," said the teacher to him; "you have reason to rejoice,
not to weep. You see that you are making your daughter cry also. You are
pleased, then?"

The gardener grasped the teacher's hand and kissed it two or three
times, saying: "Thanks, thanks, thanks! a hundred thanks, a thousand
thanks, dear Signora Teacher! and forgive me for not knowing how to say
anything else!"

"But she not only speaks," said the teacher; "your daughter also knows
how to write. She knows how to reckon. She knows the names of all common
objects. She knows a little history and geography. She is now in the
regular class. When she has passed through the two remaining classes,
she will know much more. When she leaves here, she will be in a
condition to adopt a profession. We already have deaf-mutes who stand in
the shops to serve customers, and they perform their duties like any one
else."

Again the gardener was astounded. It seemed as though his ideas were
becoming confused again. He stared at his daughter and scratched his
head. His face demanded another explanation.

Then the teacher turned to the attendant and said to him:--

"Call a child of the preparatory class for me."

The attendant returned, in a short time, with a deaf-mute of eight or
nine years, who had entered the institution a few days before.

"This girl," said the mistress, "is one of those whom we are instructing
in the first elements. This is the way it is done. I want to make her
say _a_. Pay attention."

The teacher opened her mouth, as one opens it to pronounce the vowel
_a_, and motioned to the child to open her mouth in the same manner.
Then the mistress made her a sign to emit her voice. She did so; but
instead of _a_, she pronounced _o_.

"No," said the mistress, "that is not right." And taking the child's two
hands, she placed one of them on her own throat and the other on her
chest, and repeated, "_a_."

The child felt with her hands the movements of the mistress's throat and
chest