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The following extract from his teacher's journal shows the ease with which verbs are taught. July 15 -- "tried to make Oliver familiar with the use of a verb in connexion with adjectives. He asked for a cracker, I went with him to get one, and told him "cracker is round;" he smiled and nodded his head, as much as to say, I understand it. Afterwards he applied it to other things of himself saying "button is round, ball is round, &c." My former plan was to go on step by step, and give the different parts of speech separately, beginning with nouns, but reflection has convinced me this was wrong. Whenever the deaf-mute indicates through natural signs, assertion, negation, interrogation, quality, &c., then is the time to give him the corresponding arbitrary signs or words, which he by mere imitation, and without requiring any explanation, immediately adopts.

When he was taught that persons have two names, he was very much interested and went on to ask the second name of all the members of his family, as John Caswell, Richard Caswell, &c.; but afterwards asking the family name of one of his school mates, which happened to be Caswell, he was sorely perplexed, and much of the value of the lesson was necessarily lost from inability to explain to him the apparent violation of a rule which he seemed himself to have established. He also inquired what was the second, or family name of cat, dog, &c. One of his exercises is when alone to put down words and sentences by inserting metallic types in the form of pegs into a board pierced with holes to receive them. He can write quite well with a pencil, but this method of putting down words with types is better, inasmuch as it enables his teacher to make him correct his own sentences. He generally puts down the words in what is probably the most natural order, placing the one of leading import first, as Jacket, Oliver, give, mother: that is mother gave me (Oliver) the jacket: the jacket, -- the principal object; to him, -- the second; given, -- the third; by his mother, -- the fourth. Having been drawn upon a sled on the snow, he said "ride, Oliver, Sled, snow, rope, Thomas:" that is Oliver rode on a sled on the snow, the rope held by Thomas: and fall, Oliver, sled, snow, rope, Thomas; that he fell from the sled on the snow, the rope being drawn by Thomas; the word significative of the leading idea coming first in each case. One chilly day he perceived that the dog was wet, trembling with cold; and on his teacher saying to him interrogatively, Walk? that is, will you go to walk, he said, walk, no, rain; and added, shake, cold, dog.

Like Laura, and like all children indeed, he is very fond of using new words; his teacher having explained to him the word hurry, he amused himself during the rest of the day by saying hurry to every one he met, and pushing them along to show them how to hurry. Having learned a word, he easily and of his own accord makes various applications of it. For instance, having learned the use of the verb is, when his teacher caused him to shut the door, and then to spell door shut, he added, door is shut. He then took up an umbrella, and made signs to know what the cover was called, and being told, cloth, he said, "umbrella is cloth." Having fallen over a sled, and hurt his leg, he said to his teacher "Oliver, hit, fall, leg, sled, hurt; leg sore; Oliver blind;" that is, I hit, in falling, my leg against the sled, and hurt it; my leg is sore; I was blind.

He is much inclined to frolic, and sometimes tries to excite laughter by saying extravagant things; as, "house can laugh" -- and then laughing at it himself; rolling a button on the floor and saying, "button can walk," He seems to understand readily that mere play is intended, when one holds him over a place from which he might fear to fall, or when one tells him any thing extravagant; but is inclined to put implicit reliance on what is said in an ordinary way. For instance, when I had gone away, to be absent as he was told, for two nights, but returned the next day, his teacher said to him, "Doctor has come;" he replied, "No! Doctor will come after one;" that is, after one night more: but, being again told I had come, he seemed troubled, and replied emphatically, (4) and with a look of reproof, "No! Doctor will come after one night; Rogers not know!" He understands when words are to be taken interrogatively, by a peculiar manner of using them, and will answer affirmatively or negatively. For instance, his teacher said to him a few days ago, "Did Oliver go with Bradford to see sister?" "Yes." "When?" "Yesterday," said he. He makes this visit weekly, and on a particular day, and said, "Oliver will with Bradford after five nights;" that is, will go with Bradford after five nights. Being asked, to see who? he replied, "Sister." He has learned to count pretty correctly as far as fifty but he always fives, (as the old form of expression is,) that is, counts his fingers; if he is counting leaves, for instance, and finds eighteen, he will hold up both hands, with the fingers spread out, then one hand with the fingers, then one with three fingers. His progress, however, is slow in this as in other studies.