OF 
 
 THE TRUSTEES 
 
 OF THF. 
 
 NEW-ENGLAND INSTITUTION 
 
 
 
 FOR THE 
 
 EDUCATION OF THE BLIND 
 
 TO 
 
 THE PUBLIC. 
 
 BOSTON: 
 
 CARTER, HENDEE AND CO. 
 
 HVH96 
 
 •M45 
 
 1833 . 
 
ADDRESS 
 
 OF 
 
 THE TRUSTEES 
 
 OF THE 
 
 NEW-ENGLAND INSTITUTION 
 
 FOK THE 
 
 EDUCATION OF THE BLIND 
 
 THE PUBLIC. 
 
 BOSTON: 
 
 CARTER, HENDEE AND CO. 
 
 1888 . 
 
BOSTON C0LLSC2 LIBRARY 
 CHESTNUT HIT ' 
 
 TV.f A 
 
 : ■ J. -v Ks C7* 
 
 
 Boston : Kane and Co. 
 
 127, Washington Street. 
 

 TO THE PUBLIC. 
 
 It is four years since an act incorporating the Trustees of the 
 New England Asylum for the Blind, was passed by the Legislature of 
 Massachusetts. Why so much delay has occurred in commencing 
 operations, will be duly explained. 
 
 The Trustees have now the satisfaction of announcing, that their 
 institution has been in actual operation for five months ; and that their 
 most sanguine expectations of the capacity of the blind for receiving 
 an education, have been fully verified in the progress of the inter¬ 
 esting beings under their charge. But before giving any account of 
 the state of their Institution, the Trustees beg leave to make some gen¬ 
 eral remarks on the blind ; on the light in which they have been held, 
 and the manner in which they have always been treated by their fel¬ 
 low-men. 
 
 Blindness has been in all ages one of those instruments by which a 
 mysterious Providence has chosen to afflict man ; or rather it has not 
 seen fit to extend the blessing of sight to every member of the human 
 family. In every country there exists a large number of human 
 beings, who are prevented by want of sight, from engaging with advan¬ 
 tage in the pursuits of life, and who are thrown upon the charity of their 
 more favored fellows. And k will be found, that the proportion is at 
 all times about the same, in the same countries : for not only is the 
 proportion of those who shall be born blind, decreed in the statutes of 
 the Governor of the world, but the number of those becoming so, by 
 what we call accident, is regulated by laws as infallible and invariable : 
 and it is as little probable that by any accident, all mankind should 
 lose their eyes, as that by any precaution all should preserve them. 
 Blindness then is one of the evils entailed upon man, and it becomes 
 him to grapple with it, and try to diminish its pernicious effects. 
 
 The blind may be divided into two classes, those born blind, and 
 
4 
 
 those becoming blind by disease or accident: the latter class being in¬ 
 finitely the most numerous. 
 
 The frequency of blindness varies in different climates, and upon 
 different soils: it is most frequent in that part of the temperate zone 
 bordering upon the torrid : and decreases as we approach the poles. 
 It has been ascertained by accurate censuses taken in different coun¬ 
 tries of Europe, that the number is fearfully great, and that although 
 they are screened from the public eye, they exist in almost every town 
 and village. In Middle Europe, there is one blind person to every 
 800 inhabitants. In some Austrian provinces, it has been accurately 
 ascertained, that there is one to every 845 inhabitants; in Zurich, 
 one to 747. Farther north, between the 50th and 70th degree of 
 longitude, they exist in smaller proportions 2 in Denmark are found 
 one to every 1000! In Prussia, there are one to every 900. Egypt 
 is the country most afflicted with this evil, and it may be safely cal¬ 
 culated that there are there about one blind to every 300 seeing per¬ 
 sons. 
 
 In our own country, no means have been taken to ascertain with 
 exactitude the number of blind ; the returns made by some censuses, 
 have been ascertained to be very erroneous ; nor is there any reason 
 to suppose that the laws which act on nations under the same latitude 
 in Europe, should be null here : indeed, the Trustees have ascertained 
 that in some small towns, not exceeding 2000 inhabitants, and where 
 the census gave but one or two blind, there really exist four, five, and 
 six. These unfortunate beings, sit and wile their long night of 
 life away, within doors, unseen and unknown by the world: and soci¬ 
 ety would be startled, were it told that there exist in its bosom so many 
 of its children who never see the light of heaven : it would hardly 
 credit the assertion that there are more than eight thousand blind per¬ 
 sons in these United States: yet, such is undoubtedly the case. 
 
 The public must be ignorant of this fact; to suppose it is not so, and 
 yet that it had done nothing for so large a class of the afflicted, would 
 be an impeachment of its charity, and its justice ; and the Trustees ap¬ 
 peal to it in the full confidence that the ready answer will be, ‘ what 
 can be done for them?’ 
 
 Fellow citizens, much can be done for them ; instead of condemn¬ 
 ing the poor blind man to stand at the corner of the street, and ask for 
 charity; or to remain cooped up within the walls of an alms-house, 
 or to sit and mope away his solitary existence among his happier 
 friends, alike a burden to them and himself—you may give to him 
 the means of becoming an enlightened, happy and useful member 
 
5 
 
 of society : you may give him and his fellow-blind the means of earn¬ 
 ing their own livelihood, or at least of doing much towards it ; you may 
 light the lamp of knowledge within them, you may enable them to 
 read the Scriptures themselves, 
 
 'And thus, upon the eye-balls of the blind, 
 
 To pour celestial day.’ 
 
 All this you can do by the establishment of institutions for then- 
 education; and it is to demonstrate this fact, that this Circular is ad¬ 
 dressed to you. The Trustees do not ask assistance for the Institution 
 alone, but they call upon the public to consider the situation of the 
 blind every where, and every where to extend to them those benefits, 
 which are greater than the most liberal alms that can be bestowed. 
 
 This is not a common call, nor is it a common case; for the object 
 proposed, differs materially from most charitable establishments ; first, 
 in that there is no possibility of deception, since no one can doubt or 
 deny the claim which the blind have upon the charity of their more 
 fortunate fellows; and second, that the object is an economical one to 
 the community. It is to take from society, so many dead weights , that 
 it is proposed to educate the blind, and enable them to get their own 
 livelihood : and society ought to consider any capital so invested as a 
 sinking fund for the redemption of its charitable debt; as a provision * 
 for preventing the blind from becoming taxes to the community. In 
 proof of this the Trustees would try to draw the attention of the pub¬ 
 lic to the different kinds of work which are performed by the blind 
 in the different institutions in Europe : some of which may also be 
 seen at the infant institution under their direction. 
 
 That a blind man may become a first-rate professor of music, fre¬ 
 quent example has taught every one; it remains however for many to 
 be convinced, that a blind man may become a good teacher of mathe 7 
 rnatics, the languages, and almost any science;, that he may gain a 
 decent livelihood by the labor of his hands in the fabrication of bas¬ 
 kets, mats, mattresses, twine, &c. &c. To do these things, he needs 
 only an apprenticeship in an establishment devoted, entirely to this 
 purpose, and pursuing a peculiar plan of education adapted to his 
 Avants : and it is in aid of their efforts to establish such an institution, 
 that the Trustees call upon their fellow-citizens for encouragement 
 and support. 
 
 It is alike the character and honor of our age, that society is not 
 content with administering charitable aid to the distressed, but that 
 it seeks to strike at the root of the evil, and prevent its recurrence,; 
 it remains yet for our country to apply this principle to the pauperism 
 
of the blind. It is not now the time to discuss the direct and indirect 
 tendency of blindness to produce pauperism; suffice it to say the 
 blind are generally paupers : they have always been so, and the place 
 to seek the blind, has always been at the way-side begging for alms. 
 Nothing was done for their education until about forty years ago, 
 when the humane Abbe Ilauy undertook to educate some blind 
 children in his own house, and his success was so great, that the Gov* 
 ernment of France employed him to establish an institution in Paris. 
 This he did, and it became so interesting an object that lie was called 
 by the Emperor of Russia to St. Petersburg for a similar purpose; and 
 after successfully putting his system into operation there, he laid the 
 foundation of a school for the blind at Berlin. He invented the method 
 of printing in raised characters, made tangible and sensible to the 
 blind; he also constructed maps, musical notes, &c. but left the sub¬ 
 ject in a very imperfect state at his death. 
 
 Similar institutions have been since founded, and are in successful 
 operation in Amsterdam, Vienna, Dresden, London, Edinburgh, Glas¬ 
 gow, Liverpool and other places; the condition and operation of 
 which have been thus noticed in a Report made to the Trustees by 
 Dr. S. G. Howe. 
 
 ‘ The European institutions for the education of the blind may be 
 divided into two classes; those established and supported by the 
 Governments, and those which owe their foundation and support to 
 the charitable efforts of individuals; the latter are by far more useful 
 than the former. 
 
 There can be no more delightful spectacle than is presented by 
 these establishments, where you may see a hundred young blind 
 persons, changed from listless, inactive, helpless beings,—into intelli¬ 
 gent, active, and happy ones ; they run about, and pursue their dif¬ 
 ferent kinds of work with eager industry and surprising success: 
 when engaged in intellectual pursuits, the awakened mind is painted 
 in their intelligent countenances; and when the whole unite in sacred 
 music, there is a display of deep felt interest, of fervid zeal, and anb 
 mating enthusiasm, which I have never seen equalled. 
 
 ‘The proposed end of these different institutions is to give to the 
 blind the means of supporting themselves; and this is effected with 
 different degrees of success. 
 
 ‘I visited all the principal institutions for the education of the blind 
 in Europe, and found in all much to admire and to copy, but much 
 also to avoid. 
 
 Those institutions, which are founded and supported by the Govern- 
 
7 
 
 ineiit, labor under many disadvantages necessarily attendant upon such 
 a connexion ; and it may be said without injustice to the persons em¬ 
 ployed, that they are obliged to follow such a system, and make such 
 exhibitions, as will redound rather to the glory of the State than the 
 good of the pupils. Hence so much of useless parade and show—hence 
 so much time and patience spent upon learning to perform surprising 
 but useless things. Those on the other hand, which are kept up by 
 individual effort and public benevolence, fall into the error of consider¬ 
 ing their pupils too much as objects of charity, and of petting and ca¬ 
 ressing them too much. 
 
 ‘ The Institution for the Education of the Blind at Paris, as it is the 
 oldest, and as there is about it more of show and parade than any oth¬ 
 er in Europe, has also the reputation of being the best ; but if one 
 judges the tree by its fruit, and not by its flowers and foliage, this 
 will not be his conclusion. 
 
 ‘ Its founder and the great benefactor of the blind, the Abbe Hauy, 
 invented and put into practice many contrivances for the education of 
 the blind; and otherwise rendered the institution excellent for the 
 age, and the time it had existed ; but as he left it so it has since remain¬ 
 ed. It receives, supports and educates about a hundred blind youth ; 
 and there being no other in France, it follows that there are only one 
 in 300 of their blind who receive an education. The great fault 
 in the Parisian Institution, is the diversity of employment to which the 
 pupils are put; and the effort made to enable them to perform surpris¬ 
 ing but useless tricks. The same degree of intellectual educa¬ 
 tion is given to all, without reference to their destination in life; and 
 a poor boy, who is to get his livelihood by weaving or whip making, is as 
 well instructed in mathematics, and polite literature, as he who is to 
 pursue a literary career. Now there is no reason why a shoe maker, 
 or a basket maker should not be well educated ; provided he can learn 
 his profession thoroughly, and find the necessary leisure for study. But 
 if this would be difficult for a seeing person, how much more is it so for 
 a blind one, who to attain any degree of excellence in a trade, must 
 apply himself most intensely and most patiently. The necessity of this 
 is made apparent by the situation of those youths, who come out from 
 the Institutional the end of the seven years passed there ; they have de¬ 
 voted five hours per day to mechanical employment, but to so many dif¬ 
 ferent ones, that they know but little of any. Weaving, whip making, 
 mat, and net making, and spinning, &c &c. have so effectually 
 divided their attention, that at the end of the year devoted to learning 
 
s 
 
 the one, they liave almost entirely forgotten that which they acquired 
 the year before. 
 
 ‘It has however with all its faults been productive of great good, and 
 lias sent out many pupils who are not only well educated and happy 
 men, but most useful members of society : among others may be cited 
 Mr. Paingeon, the celebrated Professor of Mathematics at the Univer¬ 
 sity of Angiers. This interesting young blind man came forward as 
 a candidate in the public controversy for the prizes in Mathemat¬ 
 ics at Paris ;—and after carrying them all off, was named to the profes¬ 
 sorial chair at Angiers. 
 
 ‘ There are iti Germany five institutions for the education of the 
 blind, which are carried to different degrees of perfection : some are 
 under the direction indeed of men of science, but who are cramped 
 in their exertions by various causes; others however are less fortu¬ 
 nate. 
 
 ‘ The one at Dresden foi* instance, is under the management of a 
 most excellent lady, but whose only merit is extreme kindness to her 
 interesting charges; the intellectual education of the pupils is almost 
 entirely disregarded; and they are not taught to read or write : nor 
 am I aware that if she had the disposition, she would have the power, 
 of giving them a better intellectual education. 
 
 ‘ The Institution of Berlin, under the direction of the excellent Pro¬ 
 fessor Zeune, is better managed ; but that gentleman cannot carry his 
 views into operation; for instance, he is obliged to employ seeing 
 teachers, because a commissioner wills it, where blind persons in his 
 own opinion might perform the duty infinitely better. How often is 
 it the case that in institutions of various kinds, the practical knowl¬ 
 edge and experience of those immediately engaged are overruled by 
 those who look into the subject but once or twice a year, and insist 
 upon directing the whole. 
 
 ‘ It may be safely said, that none are so well fitted for teaching the 
 blind, as the blind themselves; nay ! more, the blind can become 
 most excellent teachers of seeing persons : I have known a blind per¬ 
 son manage a class of twelve seeing boys to perfection; and what was 
 astonishing, he had sufficient moral influence over them to keep them 
 in the greatest order, and prevent them from playing those tricks 
 which boys will do when their master does not see them. 
 
 ‘ I 11 Berlin Institution, as always must be the case in well regu¬ 
 lated ones, great attention is paid to instructing the blind in music. Who 
 does not know that the blind generally evince greater capacity and in- 
 
9 
 
 clination for music than seeing persons ; and who can doubt, that the 
 blind man who has acquired his knowledge of music scientifically, may 
 teach it scientifically also, and thus fill a useful sphere in society ? 
 
 ‘ The Institution owes its existence indirectly to the illustrious Hauy 
 who passed through that place on his way to St. Petersburg, whither 
 he was summoned by the Autocrat to establish an institution for the 
 education of the blind. This latter, however, though founded and en¬ 
 couraged by an emperor, has fallen into decay while the Berlin es¬ 
 tablishment is continued almost solely by the philanthropic labors 
 and hearty zeal of a few simple citizens. 
 
 ‘ In the Berlin Institution, though the pupils are taught to read and 
 write, they have very few printed books ; and the information is given 
 orally. This arises however from the expense of books, and not from 
 any doubt oftheir utility; in fact Professor Zeune exerts himself to the 
 utmost to increase his library for the blind. 
 
 •j 
 
 ‘ He prints with types filled with pin points. The pupils are taught 
 also geography, history, languages, and the mathematical as well as 
 lighter sciences. The time is partly occupied in learning different trades ; 
 and on the whole the pupils are as well, if not better qualified to make 
 their way in the world, as those from the Paris Institution. There 
 are four similar institutions in Germany, the best, of which seems that 
 of Vienna ; there is also an excellent one in Zurich, which I did not 
 visit. 
 
 ‘ The Institution for Indigent Blind in London, is an excellent and 
 most charitable establishment, and productive of great good. 
 
 ‘ It is indeed a most delightful sight to see so many blind youth 
 assembled in the work-shops, all neatly clad, and with smiling faces, 
 busily employed at their different trades ; and all earning a large part 
 of their livelihood, by their own labor. Instead of the solitary helpless 
 being which we so often see, the blind here presents us the spectacle 
 of an active, industrious and happy youth, who, finding constant occu¬ 
 pation in the exercise of his physical powers, and being buoyed by the 
 hope of rendering himself independent of charity, has no time and 
 no inclination for repining at his lot, or for drawing unpleasant com¬ 
 parisons between himself and those about him. 
 
 ‘ The Institution in London is intended merely for indigent blind, 
 and their intellectual education is not at all attended to; nor do they 
 occupy themselves about any thing but their trades, with the exception 
 of a little music. There seems to be a doubt in the minds of the person 
 who directs the Institution, of the utility of teaching the youths to 
 2 
 
 
10 
 
 read themselves, by means of raised letters; which is singular enough 
 to one accustomed to see the immense usefulness and pleasure afford¬ 
 ed to the blind by the use of these books. 
 
 ‘ The doubt is apt to be raised however only by good men who ques¬ 
 tion the utility of knowledge in any person, beyond the strict 
 demands of his calling. It is said, that they can always have the as¬ 
 sistance of a seeing person to read to them ; but besides that the blind 
 cannot always have such a person at their elbow, there is infinitely 
 more pleasure and advantage to be derived from feeling out the letters 
 themselves. They can stop, and go back, or read over a passage 
 a dozen times, reflect upon it as long as they choose, and refer to it on 
 any occasion. 
 
 ‘ In mathematical studies particularly, where only a few brief pro¬ 
 blems and rules are given, books printed with raised letters for the use 
 of the blind are almost indispensably necessary. The advantage, nay ! 
 the necessity, ofprinting the Gospel in raised letters for the use of the 
 blind will be apparent to every thinking Christian. Here is a large 
 number of our fellow creatures within our reach, who might be sup¬ 
 plied with the New Testament at small expense, compared with that 
 laid out in sending it among distant heathen. 
 
 ‘ It may be said indeed, that the blind can hear the bible read by 
 their friends, while the heathen cannot; but on the other hand let one 
 consider what a precious treasure a copy of the Testament in raised 
 letters would be 10 a blind man; he would pore over it, read and re¬ 
 read it, until every word became familiar; and how much greater 
 probability there would be of its producing a good effect than in the 
 hands of those who have a thousand other things to occupy their 
 thoughts. Then too, let one consider the all-important nature of the 
 study ; and how jealous one should be of trusting to aught but the cool 
 decision of his own reason. 
 
 ‘ In fine, let any pious Christian put the case to himself and say, 
 whether he could be content with having the scriptures read by an¬ 
 other ; whether he could abstain from feasting his eyes on God’s sa¬ 
 cred pages ; or refrain from shutting himself up in his closet with his 
 Maker, and his revealed Word.’ 
 
 ‘ What his eyes are to him, the fingers are to the man deprived of 
 sight, and to the one equally as to the other, is solitary reading and 
 reflection a useful and healthful exercise.’ 
 
 ‘ Nor to the blind alone would the scriptures printed in raised letters 
 be a precious treasure; there are many people who from weak- 
 
II 
 
 ness or temporary derangement of the organs of sight, would be happy 
 to spare their eyes and read with their fingers. The acquisition of 
 this faculty is not at all difficult, any person may in three or four days 
 enable himself to feel out very easily the raised letters, and read pretty 
 fast.’ 
 
 ‘ I mentioned in a letter from Europe to your sub-committee a plan 
 which 1 had conceived of publishing one of the Evangelists in raised 
 characters ; without now detailing on all the methods which I would sub¬ 
 stitute for those hitherto used, I may say, that it is founded upon the only 
 principle which can possibly obviate the immense inconvenience of bulk 
 and expense, viz. that of contraction or stenography ; a principle 
 which if acted up to, may I am convinced, render books for the blind 
 as cheap and as compact as those printed for our use. Whether this 
 system shall substitute tangible for the visible forms ofletters, or whether 
 the symbols shall represent sounds, is a secondary question.’ 
 
 ‘ The Institution at Edinburgh is on the whole the best I saw in 
 Europe, it comes nearer than any other to the attainment of the great 
 object of blind schools, viz. enabling the pupils to support themselves 
 by their own efforts in after life. The establishment is not so showy 
 as that at Paris, nor has it the same means which the latter possesses, 
 and which receives an allowance of60,000 francs, or $12,000 per annum 
 from Government: nor has it printed books for their use; still they re¬ 
 ceive most excellent education and learn some most useful trades. 
 The matress and matmaking business are carried on by the pupils with 
 great skill and success, and many are enabled to earn per diem nearly 
 enough for their subsistence. They are mostly day scholars, and re¬ 
 ceive a sum of money in proportion to the work they do. 
 
 ‘ The mat and mattresses which come out of the Institution, and 
 which are entirely the work of the blind, are certainly better made 
 than any others in the city, and command a higher price in the market. 
 The pupils are occupied also with making baskets, which is a clean and 
 pleasant employment, but not altogether so profitable as the others. They 
 display great ingenuity, and finish very fine and difficult pieces of bas¬ 
 ket work, but it is a branch in which they have less chance of success¬ 
 ful competition with seeing persons. Indeed, one great fault in the 
 systems generally followed in Europe, is the attempt to counterbalance 
 the natural infirmity of the pupil by his ingenuity, his patience, and the 
 excessive nicety of his remaining senses, and to enable him to com¬ 
 pete with seeing persons in spite of the advantage they have over him. 
 Now this ought not to be the leading principle; on the contrary, 
 
12 
 
 taking it for granted that the seeing person ever must have an immense 
 advantage over the blind, in all handicraft works whatsoever, we should 
 seek out for him such employment as least requires the use of the 
 eyes. 
 
 ‘ There are some occupations, such as kniting, weaving, &c. which 
 a blind person may perform nearly as well as a seeing one, but in the 
 present age, the introduction of machinery has surperseded in a great 
 measure this kind of labor. In matmaking, the blind man can nearly 
 compete with the seeing one, and therefore should it be taught him, 
 as a means of making himself useful and necessary toothers; for after all 
 the efforts of charitable men, this unfortunate class will ever be in a pre¬ 
 carious situation, until they can become so useful as to command atten¬ 
 tion : men are charitable by fits and starts only, but self-interest never 
 sleeps; if the blind can appeal to this, they are sure of being heard. 
 
 ‘ Many of the pupils in the Edinburgh Institution are, as I observed, 
 day scholars; that is, they reside with their friends, and come in to 
 work and study every day, and an allowance is made to them propor¬ 
 tioned to the work they do, if this is adequate to their support. 
 
 ‘ I would observe, that sufficient attention is not paid to the personal 
 demeanor of the blind, either by their parents, or in the public insti¬ 
 tutions ; they contract disagreeable habits, either in posture, or in 
 movement; they swing their hands, or work their heads, or reel their 
 bodies ; and seem in this way to occupy those moments of void, 
 which seeing persons pass in listlessly gazing about them. 
 
 ‘ They are apt also to be exceedingly awkward and embarrassed in 
 company, and are often very bashful while very vain ; all this can be 
 corrected by pursuing the same means as used with seeing children, 
 and by accustoming them to society. 
 
 1 Blind persons can become as well qualified as seeing persons for 
 many employments which are generally thought beyond their powers, 
 they can teach languages, history, geography, mathematics, and many 
 other sciences, perfectly well; I know not why they should not make 
 the first rate councillors, and think it possible that they might fill the 
 pulpit both ably and usefully. 
 
 4 1 have the pleasure of calling my friend, Monsieur Rodenbach, mem¬ 
 ber of the Belgian Congress: a man who possesses great influence, 
 and who often makes that house ring with original and naive speeches ; 
 he is an agreeable orator, and an active business man, and a graceful 
 member of society, and yet has been stone-blind from his childhood. 
 
 ‘ I hope that the blind will not have to struggle against unfounded 
 
13 
 
 prejudices in our country, yet much do I fear that they will ; people 
 are so accustomed to consider the blind as helpless dependents on oth¬ 
 ers, that they will not believe them capable of a high and useful part 
 in society ; and when they see one of them, who by uncommon talent, 
 struggles and raises his head a little in the world, in spite of the weight 
 by which society would sink him beneath its surface, they regard him 
 as a passing wonder, and draw no inference in favor of his fellows in 
 misfortune. That great mathematician and philosopher, the illustrious 
 Saunderson, Professor at Cambridge, who deserves a niche in the tem¬ 
 ple of fame between Newton and Laplace, drew one of his athe¬ 
 istical arguments from the false opinion of men concerning his powers ; 
 he said to a clergyman on his deathbed, “ you would fain have me al¬ 
 low the force of your arguments drawn from the wonders of the visible 
 creation ; but may it not be, that they only seem to you wonderful , for 
 you and other men, have always been wondering how I could accom¬ 
 plish many things, which seem to me perfectly simple.” 
 
 * But to return to our notice of the different institutions : that at Edin-r 
 burgh is certainly superior to any in England, and on the whole is so 
 to that of Paris, and were it now in place, I might detail to you many 
 curious and interesting processes for facilitating the education of the 
 blind; the general principle however is to combine intellectual and 
 physical education in such a way, as to qualify the blind for the per¬ 
 formance of a useful part in the world ; and of so storing the mind 
 with knowledge, that they may have a fund within themselves from 
 which to draw in after life. 
 
 ‘ The school at Glasgow, is a more recent one, and is not yet equal 
 to the one in Edinburgh in the advantages of intellectual education 
 which it offers. 
 
 ‘ The Liverpool school is remarkable for the very great degree of at~. 
 tention which is paid to the cultivation of the musical talents of the 
 blind, and for their astonishing success in it. An idea may be had of 
 their proficiency from the fact, that the product of their concerts is 
 about $3,500 annually. 
 
 ‘ I shall take care to put into the hands of your committee, a more 
 detailed notice of the different establishments which I have visited, and 
 I now close by respectfully submitting to you the conclusions at which 
 I have arrived respecting the general management of your proposed 
 institution. 
 
 ‘ Keeping steadily in view the principal object, qualifying the blind to 
 act a useful part in society, one ought to adapt his education to the 
 
14 
 
 sphere which the pupil will fill ; choosing for every one the occupa¬ 
 tion in which the least possible necessity exists for the use of the 
 eyes. 
 
 ‘Those who are fortunate enough to be above any pecuniary wants, 
 may occupy themselves entirely with the development of their mental 
 faculties, and the acquisition of all kinds of knowledge; alternating their 
 studies only with such mechanical employments as may be necessary 
 for physical health. I can conceive nothing more delightful than 
 watching and administering to the intellectual wants of a blind person 
 of good parts, as they gradually unfold themselves ; and enabling him 
 to wander at will among the fields of fancy and science. Such a 
 person may attain a knowledge of the classics* of ancient and modern 
 languages, and of almost all kinds of science. There is nothing to 
 prevent his becoming an elegant and accomplished scholar, and of being 
 qualified to adorn society, as well as to be a contented and happy 
 being himself. Think of such a person, and compare him with one 
 sitting in intellectual and physical darkness, and say whether it is not 
 worth while persevering in your undertaking. 
 
 * In the education of indigent blind children, or of those whose prin¬ 
 cipal dependence must be on themselves, I should hope that our insti¬ 
 tution will avoid the extremes into which the French fall on the one 
 hand, and the English on the other. We should depend entirely nei¬ 
 ther upon physical nor intellectual education, nor should we lay down 
 any general rule to be observed towards all pupils. One ought to be 
 even more observant of the bent of a blind boy’s mind, and the direc¬ 
 tion of his talent, than he is in the education of seeing children. 
 
 ‘ Considering handicraft work to be the occupatioa in which the 
 blind can compete to less advantage with seeing men than any other, it 
 should be resorted to only in the case of those who manifest no decided 
 talent for anything else. Among twenty blind youth, there will prob¬ 
 ably be found four who possess a decided musical talent, this then 
 should be assiduously cultivated, music should be their principal study, 
 and they should devote as much time as possible to it. 
 
 ‘ If one or two should exhibit a strong inclination for mathematical 
 studies, or display what may be called the teaching propensity, that is 
 the talent for communicating their knowledge, they should have these 
 powers cultivated; they will surely do better by them in the world, 
 than by making baskets or mats. 
 
 ‘ The majority whose talents are but ordinary should be taught some 
 mechanical arts, such as mat, basket or matress making, and they 
 
15 
 
 should make it the chief object of their education to attain an excel¬ 
 lence in them. I would not indeed prevent their learning to read and 
 write, or acquiring a store of intellectual knowledge, but it should not 
 be allowed to impede their way in learning their trade. 
 
 ‘ I have often wondered, when in the workshops of the European 
 blind institutions, that they did not have some one reading in the room, 
 while the pupils are at work. I do not believe that it would materi¬ 
 ally take off their attention from their occupation, and if they did not 
 profit much from the reading, they would do so to a certain degree. 
 
 ‘ The pupils who are to learn thoroughly any handicraft work, should 
 not have their attention too much distracted by a multiplicity of 
 occupations; it is true that there are some advantages attending the 
 French method of teaching the children a half a dozen trades, as there 
 are advantages attending almost every bad system : but they by no 
 means outweigh the immense disadvantage of the want of that excel¬ 
 lence in one trade which can only be acquired by strict and undivided 
 attention to it. 
 
 ( As the children destined to a trade should not devote too much of 
 their time to intellectual pursuits, so on the other hand those educated 
 for a higher occupation should not be left unacquainted with some 
 mechanical occupations ; they cannot have their mental powers always 
 on the stretch, and as they have the same means of amusement as 
 seeing children, they must be provided with some means of getting the 
 necessary exercise and recreation. 
 
 ‘ This may be obviated by a regular attention to work, and by intro¬ 
 ducing many amusements among them. 
 
 ‘ I have often observed with a delighted eye the movement of the 
 blind boys in Paris as they leave the Institution to go to play; each 
 grasps a cord held by a seeing boy, and follows him rapidly and 
 unhesitatingl}' through narrow streets, until they enter the immense 
 “ Garden of Plants,” when quitting the string they runaway among 
 the trees, and frolic and play together with all the zest and enjoyment 
 of seeing children. They know every tree and shrub, they career it up 
 one alley and down another, they chase, catch, overthrow and knock 
 each other about, exactly like seeing boys ; and to judge by their laugh¬ 
 ing faces, their wild and unrestrained gestures, and their loud and hearty 
 shouts, they partake equally the delightful exitement of boyish play. 
 
 ‘ It appears to me very probable, that the delicacy of health so often 
 the lot of the blind, is owing to the want of proper circulation of the 
 blood ; they being much of the time in a state of physical and mental rest. 
 
16 
 
 ‘ We must also adapt our Institution to local circumstances, and in our 
 workshops try to produce those articles best adapted for sale in our mar¬ 
 ket. 1 have no doubt that the profit of work done in this country by the 
 blind will be infinitely greater than in any other, owing to the higher 
 price of labor ; and if one cannot make a blind man approach any 
 nearer to the seeing workman in the amount of his gains, yet, thanks 
 to Providence, the gains of a laboring man with us are not so stinted 
 that he would starve on their being diminished one quarter.’ 
 
 In submitting to the public this extract of the Report of Dr. Ilowe, 
 the Trustees are aware, that they are furnishing to cavillers some oppor¬ 
 tunity of objecting to their infant establishment, on the ground that it 
 is so difficult, even in Europe, to bring them to that degree of perfection 
 which enables them to pay their own way; but besides that the Trustees 
 are unwilling to suppress any evidence in the case, they are convinced 
 that they can steer clear of many of the difficulties, which are to be 
 encountered abroad, and they insist that too much consideration can¬ 
 not be given to the fact, that they will have fewer obstacles to en¬ 
 counter, and more circumstances to favor them than their predeces¬ 
 sors. It cannot be that in these United States there exists a parish 
 which would not give a salary to a blind organist, in preference to a 
 seeing one, provided they were equally well qualified, yet in Europe 
 this is the case. There is not here this fixed prejudice to struggle with, 
 nor yet the immense obstacle of the low price of labor, which in 
 many parts of Europe is in direct ratio to the means absolutely necessary 
 for supporting life. 
 
 They have too the light and experience which the others did not, 
 and can profit by their experiments, successful and unsuccessful. 
 
 The Trustees are well aware that the advantages of an education 
 
 o 
 
 cannot be extended to ail the blind ; and it is in the hope of doing 
 some little good to them, that the attention of their relatives is invited 
 to some remarks on the subject of the domestic education of the 
 blind. 
 
 ‘ There is a great error prevalent among those who have friends or 
 relations deprived of their sight; and who imagine that too much kind¬ 
 ness, or too much attention cannot be lavished upon them. This is 
 entirely a mistake, and it is quite certain that the greatest obstacle to 
 the education of the blind children who are received into the Euro¬ 
 pean institutions, is, that their previous treatment has been such as to 
 prevent the development of their remaining senses. 
 
 ‘Parents absolutely smother the faculties of a blind child in kind- 
 
17 
 
 nesses; ( the poor dear thing 5 is blind, say they, ‘ it cannot feed itself; 
 it is blind,’ ‘ and cannot dress itselfand if it ventures across the floor 
 alone, the anxious mother runs and silently removes every obstacle, 
 instead of teaching it a lesson by letting it run against them ; and bye 
 and bye, when she is not near the child it may severely hurt itself by 
 falling over something of which it never dreamed. 
 
 Then the blind are continually addressed in a strain of pity,—they 
 are reminded every moment of their misfortune, and taught to believe 
 themselves inferior to their fellows, and burdens upon society. 
 
 Now nothing can be more injurious than such treatment of blind 
 children, and ‘ It is all important to disseminate’ in the community 
 useful knowledge on the subject of infantile and earfy education ; 
 the mother is the most influential teacher in the world ; and if few 
 have correct ideas of their influence, and their duties as teachers of 
 their seeing children, we may say that almost none understand how 
 to act their parts in relation to a blind infant. The compassion of the 
 woman, the affection of the mother, doubly claimed by the misfortune 
 of her infant, grows into fond doting ; and as the anxious bird in its 
 eagerness to warm its shivering nestling, may stifle it beneath its feath¬ 
 ers, so the mother of the blind child renders it doubly helpless by an 
 excess of solicitude about it; by preventing it from supplying its own 
 wants, or putting forth any of its own energies.* 
 
 ‘ It should be strongly impressed upon the mother of the blind child, 
 that she ought to do nothing for it, which it can by any possible pains 
 do for itself; she should allow it to roam about where it will; there 
 is no fear of her suffering it to come to any serious harm ; there is 
 no danger that the tendrils of maternal affection should fail to twine 
 about the frail plant, but there is danger that they may encircle it so 
 closely, as to stint forever its growth. 
 
 * It would be useless to quote the immense attainments of many blind 
 persons, who have had the advantages of a proper education, or have 
 been endowed with great talents, for such examples would rather tend 
 to discourage many blind than induce them to strive at imitation ; 
 but I may notice what I have repeatedly seen ; the extraordinary dif¬ 
 ference between blind youth possessing the same natural ad¬ 
 vantages but differently treated by their parents. I have known young 
 men who could not walk out without a guide, nor occupy themselves 
 in any handicraft work, and who could not even dress or feed them- 
 ' selves; they were moping, helpless dependents, sitting bowed under 
 
 3 
 
 * Dr. Howe’s Report. 
 

 18 
 
 the weight of an infirmity, and the consciousness of their inferiority, 
 which was recalled at every movement by the officiousness of their 
 friends; they were alike useless to themselves, and burdensome to 
 those about them. 
 
 ‘ I have known others too without greater natural advantages, who 
 required little more personal attendance than seeing persons, who 
 never were assisted in shaving, or dressing, or feeding themselves, or 
 going about in the neighboring houses ; who could go all over a city; 
 nay, who could ride on horseback in the country, and mingle with 
 grace and spirit in the waltz, and the other amusements of society. 
 These young men prided themselves in dispensing with the services 
 of those about them as much as possible, and would take quite in high 
 dudgeon any speech of condolence, or any allusions to their infirmity. 
 
 ‘ In fact a blind youth should not be reminded of his infirmity, 
 nor taught to consider himself as inferior to his fellows; it is not 
 only useless but discouraging, and his abilities ought to be directed to 
 the development of those of his senses which remain to him. He 
 ought to be made to attend to all his own personal wants and comforts, 
 he ought to be left to puzzle and grope out as many things as possible, 
 and to be left rather in perplexity for an hour, than receive assistance 
 in the accomplishment of any thing which it is morally possible for 
 him to do. And let me say that they can accomplish many things 
 which to an unattentive observer would seem impossible; it would 
 be hard, for instance, to convince many people that a blind man can 
 by the sound of his voice ascertain whether a table or a sofa had been 
 removed from a room which he had much frequented ; that he can 
 tell pretty correctly the age and size of a person from hearing him 
 speak ; or that he will correctly judge the character of another from 
 the intonation of his voice in a conversation; that he can attain as 
 much excellence in mathematical, geographical, astronomical and 
 other sciences as many seeing persons, and that he can become as good 
 a teacher of music, language, mathematics and other sciences, yet all 
 this, and more, can he do.’ 
 
 The Trustees have endeavored to base their institution upon broad 
 and scientific principles, and have spared no pains to commence aright. 
 They have procured from France, one of the most accomplished young 
 men who have been educated at the Paris Institution for the Blind ; a 
 young man whose acquirements in the classics, in history, mathematics, 
 and general knowledge, would do credit to any seeing person of his 
 age. He combines also with this, the talent of communicating his 
 knowledge to others. 
 
19 
 
 The Trustees earnestly beg the attention of the public to this fact, 
 which they consider of great importance, viz. the superiority of the 
 blind to seeing persons as teachers of the blind; they agree with Dr. 
 Howe, that no person can so well understand and overcome the dif¬ 
 ficulties which a blind child has to encounter in learning, as one who 
 had to encounter and overcome them himself. ‘ I should consider,’ 
 says he, ‘ a school for the blind without blind teachers, as necessarily 
 imperfect.’ 
 
 The Trustees have also procured from Edinburgh a blind mechanic, 
 who teaches different kinds of work, which may now be seen at the In¬ 
 stitution. 
 
 They flatter themselves that they have already introduced into their 
 Institution, some important improvements in the method of teaching 
 the blind ; as one instance, they would refer to the map at the end 
 of this pamphlet, which is on a plan entirely new, and unknown in 
 Europe. There the maps are made with infinite pains and expense, by 
 glueing strings on to another map, pasted on a board : besides the 
 great expense and necessary clumsiness of which, they do not admit 
 of the divisions and the lettering, which are here introduced. A map 
 of this size would cost at Paris and Edinburgh five dollars; and it 
 would weigh three or four pounds, and not have half as many distinc¬ 
 tions as this, which costs less than the one hundredth part of that sum. 
 
 The Trustees deem it unnecessary to go into any particular detail 
 of the method of instruction pursued at their Institution ; the speci¬ 
 mens at the end of this pamphlet, the raised letters, the musical notes, 
 &/C. indicate that the touch is the sense upon which the blind depend, 
 for the acquirement of their knowledge. Their apparatus is as per¬ 
 fect, to say the least, as that of any other institution, and they confi¬ 
 dently hope for success, in accomplishing the object proposed by ed¬ 
 ucating the blind. 
 
 Fully satisfied as the Trustees were themselves, of the capacity of 
 this neglected class for receiving an education, they were determined 
 to prove it by experiment before making a call upon the public: on 
 the return therefore of their agent from Europe with the blind teach¬ 
 ers, they took seven blind persons from different parts of this state, vary¬ 
 ing in age from six to twenty years. These children taken at random, 
 have now been under instruction nearly five months, and can read 
 correctly with their fingers books printed for their use; they learn 
 . arithmetic faster than the generality of seeing children : they acquire 
 more correct and definite notions of geography from their maps than 
 seeing children can, since they are unassisted by the written 
 
20 
 
 names ; and their progress in music is decidedly great. In regard to 
 manual labor, some of the pupils can already fabricate moccasins and 
 door mats, which are as strong and durable, and as handsome in appear¬ 
 ance, as those made and sold in our shops. 
 
 Finally, the Trustees consider that they have accomplished the most 
 difficult part of the task in putting their institution into actual opera¬ 
 tion ; they have planted the tree—it depends upon a generous public to 
 water it and rear it ; and they will only add, that if there be the slight¬ 
 est hesitation in the mind of any one about the propriety of encour¬ 
 aging the charity—if there be any one who shall entertain the shadow 
 of a doubt of the utility of their Institution, its doors are open, let him 
 come and see for himself. 
 
 N. B. The Institution is located at No. 140, Pleasant St. and may be seen Thursday 
 afternoons, from three to five, by a permit from one of the Trustees, or from the Super- 
 intendant, Dr. S. Gi Howe. 
 
 N. B. The lithograph appended is a fac simile of the hand-writing of the blind teacher. 
 
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 Chestnut Hill 67, Mass. 
 
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