titude of inviting, it denoted the future, and the finger inverted
upon the breast, indicated the present tense. A single sign communicated
a word, and frequently a sentence. A singular instance of the first
occurred. A gentleman amongst the spectators, who appeared to be
acquainted with the art of the abbe, was requested to make a sign, to
the pupil then under examination, the moment it was made, the scholar
chalked upon the slate, in a fine swift flowing hand, "une homme." The
pupil erred; the gentleman renewed the sign; when he immediately wrote,
"une personne," to the astonishment of every person present. This
circumstance is a strong instance of the powers of discrimination, of
which this curious communication is susceptible.

Some of the spectators requested the abbe to describe, by signs, several
sentences which they repeated from memory, or read from authors, which
were immediately understood by the pupils, and penciled upon the slate.

The lecture and examination lasted about three hours. Upon the close of
this interesting exhibition, a silent sympathy reigned throughout the
spectators. Every face beamed with satisfaction. A tear was seen
trembling in the eyes of many present. After a momentary pause, the hall
rang with acclamations. Elegant women pressed forward in the crowd, to
present some little token of their delighted feelings to the children
protected by this institution. It was a spectacle, in which genius was
observed assisting humanity, and nature in a suffusion of gratitude,
weeping over the hallowed and propitious endeavours of the good, the
generous, and the enlightened. Well might the elegant and eloquent
Kotzebue select from such a spot, a subject for his pathetic pen, and
give to the british Roscius of the present day[12], the power of
enriching its drama, by a fresh display of his unrivalled abilities. The
exhibition of the Deaf and Dumb will never be eradicated from my mind.
The tears which were shed on that day, seemed almost sufficient to wipe
away the recollection of those times, in which misery experienced no
mitigation; when every one trembling for himself, had no unabsorbed
sensation of consoling pity to bestow upon the unfortunate. Those times
are gone--May their absence be eternal! This institution is made
serviceable to the state. A pupil of the College is one of the chief
clerks of the national lottery office, in which he distinguishes himself
by his talents, his calculation, and upr