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APPENDIX.

Report of the Director to the Trustees upon the Case of Laura Bridgman and other Pupils who receive special Instruction.

BOSTON, January 1, 1847.

GENTLEMEN:

IT was stated in the Report about Laura Bridgman which was made in January last, that her health had been failing during several months, and was then very feeble; I am sorry to say that it continued to grow weaker for some time, and has not yet become entirely reestablished.

During the most of the past year she has been weak and sickly. In the spring especially, she became very much emaciated, her appetite failed almost entirely, and she could hardly be persuaded to take nourishment enough to keep her alive.

She was placid and uncomplaining, and though never gay as in former years, she was never gloomy. She appeared to feel no fear or anxiety concerning her health, and when questioned closely about it she would answer that she was very well. Indeed, the change had come over her so slowly and gradually, that she seemed to be hardly conscious of it, and showed surprise when it was alluded to. Sometimes, indeed, when she found that she was wearied by walking half a mile, she was forced to remember her former long walks of five or six miles, and to think about the change.

As she grew thinner, and paler, and weaker, she appeared to be laying aside the garments of the flesh, and her spirit shone out brighter through its transparent veil. Her countenance became more spiritualized, and its pensive expression told truly, that, though there was no gloom, neither was there any gladness, in her heart.

Her intellect was clear and active, and she would fain have indulged in conversation and study about subjects of a serious nature; but she was sensitive and excitable, and the mental activity and craving were perhaps morbid. Be that as it may, however, she was at a fearful crisis in her life, and it seemed to be our first duty to save that. She was therefore not only diverted from all exciting trains of thought, but dissuaded from pursuing her usual course of study. We were very desirous not to alarm her by showing the anxiety which was really felt about her; and this object was gained so effectually, that she probably did not discover her danger. She is always very observant, however; and ascertains the state of mind of those about her by reading parts of the natural language of the emotions, which we never observe, but which are as sure guides to her as the expression of the countenance is to us. It is almost impossible that her companions should feel particularly gay or sad, and withhold the knowledge of it from Laura. The natural language of the feelings is almost infinite. A common observer reads only the page of the countenance; the keener one finds meaning in the tones of the voice, or, looking more closely, reads signs in the very shaking of hands; but Laura not only observes the tones of the finger language, she finds meaning in every posture of the body, and in every movement of a limb; in the various play of the muscles she observes the gentle pressure of affection, the winning force of persuasion, the firm motion of command, the quick jerk of impatience, the sudden spasm of temper, and many other variations which she interprets swiftly and correctly.

With all these means of ascertaining the state of her teacher's feelings, and with the certainty that an untrue answer would never be given to her, Laura would surely have learned that her life was thought to be in some danger, if she had ever been accustomed to dwell upon thoughts of sickness and death; but she had not, and therefore she walked without a shudder upon the brink of the grave.

The result was as I had hoped and expected that it would be, for I was more sanguine than others. The natural strength of her constitution, which had triumphed in that fearful struggle during her infancy, though at the expense of two of the most important organs of sense, had been carefully nurtured by constant exercise, simple diet, and regular habits of mind and body, and it carried her safely through this second trial. After she had been brought so low that it seemed as if the tendency to disease could find no more resistance to overcome, it yielded at last, and then the vital powers began to rally slowly.

When the weather grew warmer, she began a course of sea-bathing, and of exercise upon horseback. These occupied and amused her mind, and strengthened her body; and she continued to grow better through the year, -- very slowly, indeed, but surely. She has now recovered some portion of her lost flesh; and her appetite is so far restored, that she eats a sufficient quantity of bread and milk, but does not like any thing else. She does not wish to change her food at all, but, when meal-time arrives, she sits down cheerfully to her simple bread and milk, morning, noon, and evening; and having finished that, she disregards all the dainties and the fruits with which the capricious appetite of invalids is usually tempted. Her present diet is one of her own choice, and though it is not the best, and its sameness is unwise, we do not insist upon a change while she is manifestly thriving, because it might do more harm than to indulge a caprice of appetite, not uncommon with delicate persons.

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But the best sign of returning health is the change which has taken place in her animal spirits; nor is this change uninteresting in a moral point of view. Before her illness, she was not only a happy but a merry child, who tripped cheerfully along her dark and silent path of life, bearing sportfully a burden of infirmity that would have crushed a stout man, and regarding her existence as a boon given in love, and to be expended in joy; since her illness, she seems to be a thoughtful girl, from whom the spontaneous joy of childhood has departed, and who is cheerful or sad in sympathy with the feelings of those about her.

I hope and believe that her health will be perfectly restored, although it is still very frail, and easily deranged by any over-exertion of body or mind. Perhaps a complete change may take place in her physical system, and her now slender form develop itself into the proportions of a large woman; -- such changes are not unfrequent after such severe crises. At all events, with restoration of health will come a return to those studies and occupations which have been necessarily suspended.

She was just beginning to understand, that, as she was getting freed from the obligations of unconditional obedience to those who had directed her childhood, she must come under no less unconditional obedience to the new monitor and master, -- the conscience, that was asserting its rule within her; and the veneration and affection for human friends, which are the first objects of the awakened germ of the religious feeling, were gradually tending upwards and expanding into worship and love of God.

This transformation of her soul -- this disenthralment of its high and independent powers -- was becoming perfectly clear to her by means of instruction, and would have changed what had been mere habit and blind obedience into conscious duty and stern principle, but the process was necessarily interrupted. Such instruction would of course require the consideration of subjects which were to her of the most intensely exciting interest, and might have cost her life.

I know that many will say that I had already committed a great error by deferring the consideration of these subjects so long, and that I should have tried to retrieve it by giving at once the knowledge which they suppose necessary to eternal salvation, even at the expense of mortal life. To this I have only to answer, that I have gratefully received and carefully weighed all the counsel which has been given to me in the spirit of kindness, but that it has failed to alter my views of my duty.

As to those reverend gentlemen whose talents, and acquirements, and profession free them from fallibility so great as mine, and who have denounced me as "a blind leader of the blind," and bestowed upon me other terms of reproach, which I can more willingly bear than return to them, I have only to say that I think they overlook some of the circumstances of the case. If one of those gentlemen should receive into his household a child who came from a great distance, and whose intellectual and spiritual education had been intrusted to his care, he would doubtless pursue such a course of religious instruction as he conscientiously believed to be for that child's best good; he would not stop to ask what other people think and believe, but would teach the doctrines that he believed himself.

I did not venture, however, to do even so much as this, without first consulting the parents of Laura Bridgman, who are pious and intelligent people of the Orthodox faith. When her education was so far advanced that she could understand some of the doctrines of that religion in the spirit of which we had striven to make her live, I wrote to them to know their wishes. If they held that any particular form of faith and doctrine was necessary to her salvation, they had only to signify it to me. I gave them a general idea of the course which I should follow, if they left it to my discretion, and this course was not one which the gentlemen above alluded to would have approved; nevertheless, the parents did not choose to prescribe any other. They paid me the compliment of leaving me to be the teacher of their child in what I am sure they consider, as I do, to be the most important part of her education.

I should not make these statements and explanations in a Report which will go before the public, if they had no bearing except upon the case of Laura Bridgman, because that is a peculiar one, and for the religious doctrines that I may impart to her I am responsible only to her parents and to God; but they have a bearing upon the general interests of the Institution. They afford an opportunity for noticing insinuations which have been thrown out, that sectarian influence is used in our school. Such insinuations are unjust and injurious. They have been made probably by those who infer from some expressions in my Reports upon Laura Bridgman, that my religious sentiments are what they are pleased to denounce as false and dangerous. The error arises from misunderstanding the nature of those documents; they are special Reports, made by me, and for which I alone am responsible. They do not pretend to give the views of the Trustees or officers of the Institution; nor do they afford any indication of its policy with regard to the religious instruction of the pupils generally.

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That policy has always been perfectly liberal, and, as it seems to me, very just and proper.

We have Catholics and Protestants, and members of every sect of Protestants, among our pupils, and we carefully abstain from using any influence that may affect the mere doctrinal belief of any of them. Our religious exercises consist simply of reading the Bible without note or comment, singing, and repeating the Lord's Prayer. The Bible is one of our schoolbooks, and is always placed within the reach of every pupil. The only other books of a religious character that have been printed in raised letters are the Pilgrim's Progress, and some small works selected from among the publications of the American Tract Society, the Prayer Book of the Episcopal Church, and the Guide to Devotion, by the Presbyterian Board of Philadelphia. These books may be considered of a sectarian character, but they were paid for by Orthodox societies or individuals who had a right to choose; and I was too desirous of increasing the library of the blind, and too fearless of the effect of such books on the minds of my pupils, to object to the selection. I shall be most happy to receive contributions from any persons of Orthodox faith for printing books of their selection, and I will do all in my power to cause the blind throughout the country to read them. We have printed a great many other books besides those above mentioned, and the selection of which was left to me; but although the money to pay for them had been raised by contribution among Unitarians, not one of them expressed any wish to have books printed which taught their particular sectarian views, nor have I ever selected such.

The press of our Institution exercises a considerable influence over the blind; a large part of all the matter printed in raised letters has issued from it; its books are used all over this country; none of its expenses are paid by the State, but by individuals; and yet, notwithstanding those who pay for it and those who direct it are all of one sect, they have never in any instance used it to put forth or to uphold the views of that sect. If we were to look for similar instances of liberality, we should find many that fall short of, before we found one that came up to it; and yet that liberality is manifest in other proceedings of the Institution, -- I hope in all.

We abstain from any sectarian teaching; but we require the pupils to attend public worship every Sabbath, each one in the place selected by himself or his parents. Many of them attend Sabbath school in their respective places of worship, and thus all the religious doctrinal instruction that they receive is given to them by pastors and teachers of their own faith.

But Laura Bridgman cannot hear preaching, nor learn in Sunday schools; and those religious persons who would have her taught their form of faith, because they think it is the very best form, should not blame me, if I do just as they would do in my place, and teach her the form of faith which I think is the very best form.

However, her friends, and to the credit of humanity be it said they are a multitude, need not be alarmed; the form of faith which I shall try to give her will be catholic and charitable; it will be charity and good-will to men, -- love and obedience to God. I shall explain to her the Bible as I understand it; I shall try to make her believe, as I do, that it contains a revelation of God's attributes, and that it points out to us all the way to happiness through the path of duty. It is already something more to her than a cold and barren abstraction. If she does not understand its doctrines, she begins to feel its spirit. On the last occasion of her manifesting any impatience, she said to Miss Wight, "I felt cross, but in a minute I thought of Christ, how good and gentle he was, and my bad feelings went away." For some months, she has been in the habit of asking her teacher every Sunday about the sermon she heard.

The mode of teaching her has been detailed in former Reports, and as she has not entered upon any new course of study during the past year, I shall not now occupy your time with any details respecting her instruction. A general review of her character and deportment during the past year gives rise to some agreeable reflections. In former years, though she presented an extraordinary example of gentleness, truthfulness, and affection, she showed, like most children, occasional excesses of feeling, which required her conduct to be under the regulation of others; so that she was not entirely a free moral agent. During the last year, the reins of authority have been slackened; she has been allowed to follow more freely her own inclinations; and though her teacher has been, as in former years, her constant companion, and doubtless exercised great influence over her, yet her society and companionship have been rather sought by Laura than imposed upon her. Opportunity has thus been given her to develop her individuality of character, and to exercise her moral powers by self-guidance.

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It would have been practicable to keep her in leading-strings still longer, and, by taking advantage of habit, to require unconditional obedience for years to come, though this might have been difficult, for she evidently inherits a strong self-will; but the time had arrived when she ought to begin to govern herself; she showed considerable capacity for doing so, and it would have been wrong to keep her in subjection.

Not only was it right to give her considerable freedom of action, but to have withheld it would have been injurious to her moral growth, by the loss of that exercise in self-government which prepares one for complete independence of thought and action. The result of leaving her in comparative freedom has shown that self-government, when the proper age for it has arrived, and the previous habits have been good, is as much better than foreign government, as walking by the aid of its own bones and muscles is better for a child than going in leading-strings.

Her thoughts, as I remarked before, have been of a more serious nature, and her conduct more sober, during the past year, than in former times. This is probably the natural consequence of the lowered tone of her physical health, and not, as I have been able to discover, of any thought or fear of death.

Already with returning health and strength there appear glimpses of her former gayety of heart; and though she may never again be the merry, thoughtless girl that she was, we may hope to see in her a happy and cheerful woman. She will no longer be the same object of public curiosity and interest that she has been, but she will not be the object of less care and affection to her friends so long as her frail life shall last.

OLIVER CASWELL, the deaf and blind mute whose case has been so often related, has been in good health during the past year, and continues to be the same gentle and amiable boy as ever.

His progress in learning language and acquiring intellectual knowledge is comparatively slow, because he has not that fineness of fibre, and that activity of temperament, which enable Laura to struggle so successfully against the immense disadvantages under which they both labor. Still he continues to make gradual improvement, and can express his thoughts pretty well upon all ordinary subjects.

His case proves, therefore, very clearly, that the success of the attempt made to instruct Laura Bridgman was not owing solely to her uncommon capacity. Oliver is a boy of rather unfavorable organization, and of sluggish temperament; he had been deaf and blind from infancy; he received no instruction until he was twelve years old, consequently he lost the most precious years for learning; nevertheless, he has been taught to express his thoughts both by the finger language and by writing; he has become acquainted with the rudiments of the common branches of education, and is an intelligent and morally responsible person. Henceforward there can be no excuse for leaving any deaf and blind mute, who has ordinary capacity, in the state of irresponsible idiocy to which persons in his situation have heretofore been condemned by high legal authorities, (1) as well as by public opinion.

Oliver's memory is not tenacious. A great part of what has been taught him he forgets in a month afterwards. This is true of all the intellectual branches, especially of those in which objects are not used as illustrations; but it is not true of the mechanic arts, of the knowledge of persons and things with which he comes in contact. He is a very apt learner at any handiwork; he delights in the use of tools, and excels most of his companions in the workshop. He never forgets a lesson which has been taught him there, because it is a lesson upon objects.

The importance of appealing to the evidence of the senses, in teaching children, is sometimes overlooked by those who suppose that the advantage of it is confined to a knowledge of visible and material things; whereas it really extends much farther, and aids the mind in mastering abstract subjects. Strictly speaking, words are objects; a bare description of a steam-engine would be a lesson on objects; the words are substitutes for the thing; the learner tries to see with the ear; his mind, sitting within like a judge, receives the evidence through one sense that ought to have been given through another; but this is second-hand evidence, and therefore weaker; it is as if it had been translated out of one language into another, and lost much of its spirit in the process. If a model is used in the lesson, the advantages extend as far as the resemblance is perfect; but even supposing the size and appearance of the model to be the same as those of the original, still much of the language must be translated and weakened; the motion, the noise, and the effect must be represented by words. If the lesson is given in the engine-room, and the parts and their connections are explained, and the huge machine is set in motion, and some experiment is tried upon a piece of wood or iron, to show the crushing and irresistible power of the stroke of the piston, the lesson is invaluable, because the mind receives most of the evidence through witnesses who speak their vernacular tongue, which it understands, and retains for ever.

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Possibly the mode of giving lessons by objects may be abused, as every good thing may he abused, but it is very hard to conceive how the abuse shall be practised.

It may be said that this process of translating the language of one sense into that of another, and of forming general and abstract ideas from the evidence of all the senses, is a necessary and very important mental operation, and that, by presenting objects and the sensible qualities of objects to the different senses, we prevent the pupil from carrying on this operation, -- in other words, prevent him from exercising the power of abstraction. To this it may be answered, that the tendency to abstraction and generalization, like the tendency of the body to grow, is strong and irresistible; like that, it does not so much require encouragement as direction; no one fears that the boy will not grow, the only fear is that he may grow crooked or deformed.

When a child hears or reads a description of a thing, he must necessarily form some idea or other about it, and it is very important that his idea should be as nearly correct as is possible. The tendency and the danger is, that he will contract the habit of not examining closely the evidence given by the senses, and consequently that his ideas will be vague and indistinct. Inattention to those qualities of things which are the objects of sense leads to inattention to words which are the signs of these objects; and inattention to words makes the meaning of language obscure and equivocal, and obscurity of language causes evil without end both in school and in after life.

In the instruction of deaf and blind mutes, it is important to keep these principles always in view, and probably it would be so in other cases. To return to the illustration of the steam-engine; if the learner has a clear and distinct idea of the cylinder, piston, valve, cam, balance-wheel, and other parts, and of the principles of expansion, latent heat, friction, &c., so that when these words are used he knows exactly what they mean, then the engine or the model would be less indispensable. But the mischief is, that we often fail to require a knowledge of the component parts and principles, and a clear idea of the descriptive words, and we dispense with the model also. How many young persons, after studying years about geography, grammar, history, and natural philosophy, find out, for the first time, long after leaving school, what a harbour, a noun, a legislator, and a lever, really are!

In the case of Oliver Caswell, the difficulties could never be entirely overcome, even should he live to the age of Methuselah, and the little knowledge that can be given to him is with difficulty retained, unless it is illustrated by words which derive their meaning directly or indirectly from the sense of feeling or of smell. With regard to intellectual knowledge, then, he is still a child, and his tastes and pursuits are those of a child; but in his affections he is as tender and true as a woman; in his deportment he is as regular and discreet as a man.

What is most remarkable about him, perhaps, is the disparity between his mental powers and attainments, and his moral sentiments and social affections. His natural ability, as I said, is small, and his acquired knowledge very limited; but his sense of right and wrong, his obedience to moral obligations, and his attachment to friends, are very remarkable. He never wilfully and knowingly violates the rights or injures the feelings of others, and he seldom shows any signs of temper when his own seem to be invaded, but he bears even the teasing of little boys with gentleness and patience. He is very tractable, and always obeys respectfully the requests of his teacher. This shows the effect which kind and gentle treatment has had upon his character; for when he came here, he was sometimes very wilful, and showed occasional outbursts of temper which were fearfully violent. It seems hardly possible that the gentle and affectionate youth, who loves all the household and is beloved by all in return, should be the same who a few years ago scratched and bit, like a young savage, those who attempted to control him.

During the past year, his principal study has been that of language, of which his knowledge is still very limited and his command imperfect. He is instructed, for the most part, by familiar conversation, in which the teacher contrives to give him some knowledge of arithmetic, geography, &c. He is best pleased however, to be in the workshop, and he will probably become a good workman, and be enabled to support himself by his own labor after he leaves school.

Another child, ten years of age, has been brought to our school during the past year, whose case is a very interesting one.

She has a strong and vigorous frame, which, however, is evidently tainted with scrofula. She became nearly blind several years ago, and at the age of seven she lost her hearing entirely. Her parents, fearing that she would become entirely blind, brought her here in October last, and committed her to our charge.

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She presented a very vigorous but unfavorable organization; for though she had the indications of uncommon intellectual capacity, she had evident marks of very strong and active propensities.

She still retained the power of speech, and had vision enough to guide herself about, and to distinguish the position of the fingers. As there was danger that her eyesight might he lost entirely, it was thought best to take advantage immediately of what was left, and to teach her the manual alphabet of the deaf mutes.

But even though there had been no such danger, it would have been proper to give her the manual alphabet, because it is not unlikely that she may lose the power of articulation entirely in a few years. When persons become deaf at her age, it is often seen that they begin after a while to mispronounce certain words, because, not being able to hear the sound they make, they cannot correct their pronunciation, and it grows worse and worse, until at last they utter one word when they think they utter another, become discouraged, and give up all attempts at talking. This is not always the case, but it is sometimes so.

This girl manifested a violence of temper and strength of will far beyond her years. Sometimes, when her temper was roused by any trifle which displeased her, she was the terror of the little girls in the school, striking and fighting like a little fury. Sometimes she was their torment by her rude and boisterous mirth, which nothing could repress, and which showed itself in mischievous pranks.

I had given directions that her violence should never be met by violence, and it often happened that her teachers, unable to enforce obedience, or to control her in any way, were obliged to bring her to my office. She dreaded this very much, for, although I had been careful not to treat her harshly, or even to use a threatening gesture, she had the wit to perceive that I had the power and needed only to exercise the will, in order to have her punished severely.

This case seems to confirm the opinion formed by observing other blind mutes, that the occlusion of two great avenues of sense is apt to prevent the harmonious development of the mental and moral powers, by perverting the energies of the system to the undue development of the animal nature.

It is very probable that this child had not been wisely treated at home; but as her parents are intelligent and respectable people, it is impossible to suppose that she learned by example the tricks and pranks which she displays when excited by passion. Her conduct has at times been so violent and unseemly, that it appeared to call at once for a resort to the easy, summary, and certain mode of subduing her by some kind of corporal punishment; but as there was danger of driving her into cunning and deceit, and as we could not tell whether her violence did not proceed from physical causes over which she had no control, I was unwilling to have it used. It begins to be evident already that she is somewhat improved, and her teachers will persevere in the use of kind and gentle persuasion, unless it should become obvious that punishment must be used, when it will be resorted to in such a way as to prevent the necessity of its repetition.

It would be wrong to refrain from using corporal punishment in such cases merely through the desire to carry out a theory, nor do we do so; the principle in our school is, to use it only after all other means have failed; but the other means have not failed for many years. There were cases, in the early history of the school, in which corporal punishment seemed to work like a charm, and its success apparently demonstrated the wisdom and necessity of its use; but more mature experience and reflection have led me to doubt whether the object which it effected could not have been gained by less objectionable means. I will mention the most remarkable case that ever occurred with us.

Soon after the Institution was opened, a man about twenty-five years old was brought to us, who became quite deaf at the age of eighteen, and gradually lost the power of speech, until he was altogether dumb at twenty-four. He was nearly blind, but not entirely so. He was generally tractable and obedient, but occasionally refractory. One day, he refused to go to work upon a basket which he was learning to make. He was encouraged and urged, but remained obstinate, and upon his teacher persevering still more, he suddenly seized an axe and struck a violent blow at him; the teacher fortunately escaped the blow, and the man put himself on the defensive. I was summoned, and as soon as the man ascertained who it was, he fled and took refuge in the coal cellar, and defended himself by throwing large lumps of coal at those who attempted to go in and seize him. He was subdued at last by severe corporal punishment, and from that day forward he never gave us the slightest trouble.

This was our first experience in such cases, and though it was successful, I have always looked back upon the cruel scene with pain. It is true, that, after the struggle was once begun, it seemed necessary to decide it by force, but I cannot help thinking the issue might have been avoided.

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There is always one painful consideration about such cases, and that is, though the person may not be insane, in the common acceptation of the word, he may be under the influence of physical irritation which he himself does not understand, and which he could not explain, if he did. It is possible that the little girl of whom I have been speaking may at times be under the influence of some pent-up constitutional irritation, which occasionally vents itself in boisterous laughter and wild pranks; for at times she indulges in them without any apparent cause. Grown people sometimes urge the state of their nerves or stomach in excuse for inequalities of temper which they would unhesitatingly punish in children by blows or reproofs. There is one conclusion to be drawn from such cases, which is very important, and that is, -- the lower the grade of intellect and the more narrow the capacity of the pupil, the more of care, and skill, and kindness does he require at the hands of his teacher. When the light of reason burns brightly, it may suffice for the youth's guidance; he may be neglected, or even misdirected, with less evil; but where it just glimmers in the socket, he cannot go safely alone a single step, and neglect or ill treatment may put it out for ever.

The child last referred to has already made very rapid progress in her studies. She has been under instruction only three months, and yet she has learned to use the manual alphabet with great ease and dexterity, and converses very fluently. Having learned to talk before she lost her hearing, of course she has now only to acquire the habit of making words with her fingers instead of uttering them with her lips. She still retains the power of articulation, and her voice sounds naturally and pleasantly, and we try to keep up the use of it, though she begins to like to use her fingers in conversation, and will probably soon prefer to talk with them entirely. She is fond of study, and will undoubtedly make a good scholar.

It has been stated in former Reports, that persons are not unfrequently blind in consequence of the scrofulous nature of their whole physical organization, or of some general tendency to disease. This feebleness of organization and tendency to disease sometimes pervade the brain and nervous system, and then there is weakness of intellect and want of moral energy. I do not mean that the two are necessarily connected, but that where there is feebleness of intellect resulting from a want of healthy tone in the brain and nervous system, there is usually a corresponding weakness of the moral sentiments. Such persons yield readily to the strongest impulses; and these in childhood being the animal appetites are unwisely indulged by the parent, or secretly abused by the children, until they become too rampant and strong to be controlled by any appeals to the moral sense.

Children are sometimes brought to us whose intellectual condition and apparent want of capacity would cause them to be rejected from common schools as incompetent to be taught, who, if left to themselves, would degenerate still farther into idiots, and yet who were probably born with a fair capacity. In some, the intellectual powers have been left in such entire inaction, or have been so completely cut off from any stimulus, that they remain as weak as those of infants. In others, they have been prostrated or weakened to a fearful and serious extent by habits which are almost fatal to any hope of improvement.

In saying that we are expected to teach, and in some cases do succeed in a good measure in teaching, children who are of so low a grade of intellect that they could not be taught in common schools, even if they had all their senses, I do not mean to disparage other teachers. I mean, that we can go to the necessary expense of time, and make the proper appliances, which they could not do without neglecting other scholars.

Cases of this kind, whether of children who are blind, or deaf, or merely weak in intellect, should be carefully attended to, if from no higher motives than those of a wise economy. I have no doubt, from personal observation of many poor creatures, who, reduced to the lowest stage of humanity, drag out a life of grovelling idiocy in the almshouses of this State, that they originally had capacity enough to become respectable and independent men, if they had been aided by proper care and training.

Among the first class which I have mentioned, that is, those who originally possessed a good physical organization and common mental capacity, but who had become dull and stupid for want of exercise of the body and stimulus to the brain, are found more girls than boys. Their parents, through ignorance or mistaken kindness, not only keep them as much as possible in-doors, and perhaps in a rocking-chair, most of the day, but encourage them to lie in bed and sleep as long as possible; they allow them to vegetate like plants, and supply them with abundant food and drink to favor their growth. Now the error, so common among adults in this community, of taking too little sleep, is not so fatal to the healthy tone of the brain as its opposite, especially when the slumber is favored and prolonged by warm covering and silence. The brain generally guards itself pretty well from overwork, and flags and nods or operates but feebly when exhausted; but it yields to the more insidious enemy, rest, and if wrapped in soft slumber all night, and indulged in dreamy listlessness all day, it will be brought with great difficulty to any vigorous and sustained action.

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I have been led naturally to make these remarks in connection with the special cases for which this Report is made, and I may improve the opportunity to explain why I am obliged to employ so many teachers, and why our system of instruction is so very expensive, compared with that in common schools.

To say nothing of Laura Bridgman and Oliver Caswell, each of whom requires a large portion of the attention of one teacher, we have several other pupils who cannot be taught with the classes, and who require special instruction.

There are not over eighty scholars who attend the school, and if they were about the same age, and of about the same capacity, they might be taught by two teachers; but they are of all ages from six to twenty, and of all grades of intellect from imbecility to decided talent. The first must not be neglected, and the second must not be held back in a snail pace, to wait for the laggards. Besides the music teacher, I am obliged to employ three teachers and two assistants, and we ought to have another.

Miss Wight still has the charge of Laura Bridgman, and is to her as a mother, friend, and teacher. To her is due all the credit for the moral and intellectual improvement which Laura has made during the last year. Miss Tallant has the care of the boys' school, and Miss Paddock of the girls'. The former has been assisted by Mr. Sturtevant, and the latter by Miss Carter, both of whom were formerly pupils in the school. I take this opportunity to express my obligations and thanks to them all for the ability and zeal with which they have discharged their several duties during the year. The success of the schools is owing to their labors.

Mr. Werner continues to have charge of the music department, which has made excellent progress under his skillful management.

Very respectfully,

S. G. HOWE.