OCTOBER 12, 1860. 
 
lEx ICtbrtB 
 
 SEYMOUR DURST 
 
 When you leave, please leave this hook 
 
 Because it has been said 
 "Ever thing comes t' him who waits 
 
 Except a loaned book." 
 
 Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library 
 Gift of Seymour B. Durst Old York Library 
 
VISIT 
 
 OF 
 
 HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS, THE PRINCE OF WALES, 
 
 AND SUITE, 
 
 TO THE 
 
 NEW YORK INSTITUTION 
 
 FOR THE 
 
 FEIDAY, OCTOBER 13, I860. 
 
 [From The New York Herald of October 13, I860:] 
 
 NEW YORK: 
 BAKER & GODWIN, PRINTERS, 
 
 PRINTING-H0C8E SQUARE, OPPOSITE CITY HALL. 
 
 1860. 
 
NEW-YORK INSTITUTION 
 
 FOR THE 
 
 rfrarfi0ira of % 
 
 President, 
 BENJAMIN R. WINTHROP. 
 
 Vice- President, 
 
 SHEPHERD KNAPP. 
 
 Treasurer, 
 
 GEORGE S. ROBBINS. 
 
 Secretary, 
 
 ANDREW WARNER. 
 
 HARVEY P. PEET, LL. D., FREDERIC DE PEYSTER, 
 
 HENRY E. DA VIES, DANIEL F. TIEMANN, 
 
 ISRAEL RUSSELL, CHARLES ROOME, 
 
 FRANCIS HALL, J. N. COBB, 
 
 Rev. WILLIAM ADAMS, D. D., GEORGE FOLSOM, 
 
 JAMES W, BEEKMAN, PETER C. TIEMANN, 
 
 WILLIAM H. SMITH, A. V. WILLIAMS, M. D., 
 
 WILLIAM P. LEE, ENOCH L. FANCHER. 
 
 ERASTUS BROOKS, CYRUS W. FIELD, 
 
 JOHN ALSTYNE, JOSEPH W. PATTERSON, 
 
 INTELLECTUAL DEPARTMENT. 
 
 Principal of the Institution, 
 
 HARVEY P. PEET, LL. D. 
 
 Vice- Principal, and Instructor of the High Class, 
 
 ISAAC LEWIS PEET, A. M. 
 
 Professors and Teachers, 
 
 ORAN WILKINSON MORRIS, A. M., ISAAC HOYT BENEDICT, 
 
 EDWARD PEET, A. M., WILLIAM HENRY WEEKS, 
 
 EGBERT LANGDON BANGS, A. M., WALTER WILSON ANGUS, 
 
 WARRING WILKINSON, A. B., JANE TOMLINSON MEIGS, 
 
 DUPLET PEET, A. M., M. D., A. LAVINIA HUBBELL, 
 
 JEREMIAH WOOD CONKLIN, CHARLES K. W. STRONG, 
 
 QILBBRT C. W. GAMAGE, ALBERT A. BARNES. 
 
[From the New York Herald, October 13, I860.] 
 
 VISIT OF THE PRINCE OF WALES 
 
 TO THE 
 
 mMntiwn for tljie «eaf hhIt SkimIl 
 
 INTENSELY INTERESTING EXERCISES — A POEM BY MRS. PEET — CHARACTERISTIC 
 COMPOSITIONS BY SOME OF THE PUPILS — HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS IS 
 GREATLY ENTERTAINED AND EXCEEDINGLY DELIGHTED. 
 
 Perhaps the most interesting part of yesterday's proceedings, 
 and, indeed, confessedly one of the most interesting visits of the 
 Prince and suite since their arrival in this country, was that made by 
 the royal party to the Institution for the Deaf and Dumb. His Royal 
 Highness and the members of his suite expressed themselves as hav- 
 ing been exceedingly delighted with their visit. The exercises, which 
 we fully chronicle below, were of an intensely interesting character. 
 
 The elegant and spacious buildings of the Asylum are situated in 
 a beautiful position on Washington Heights, commanding a splendid 
 view of the Hudson river. Thirty-seven acres of land, formerly occu- 
 pied by Colonel Monroe, nephew of President Monroe, and desig- 
 nated Fanwood, in honor of his daughter Fanny, are laid out in the 
 neatest style of landscape gardening. In these splendid grounds — 
 worth half a million dollars, and fronting on the river — the buildings 
 
4 
 
 have been erected at a cost of about three hundred thousand dollars. 
 The Asylum is in every way admirably adapted to the purpose for 
 which it was designed. Accommodations are provided for five hun- 
 dred pupils, with every comfort and convenience. There are in the 
 Institution now only three hundred pupils, males and females, who are 
 arranged in fifteen different classes for the purpose of instruction ; but 
 in erecting these new asylum buildings the directors were wisely go- 
 verned more by anticipations for the future than by the present actual 
 necessities. The Asylum for the Deaf and Dumb is one of the most 
 worthy institutions in the land. There are about twenty such asy- 
 lums in this country, and many more in Europe, but the New York 
 institution is acknowledged to be the finest of them all. The system 
 of instruction adopted in the American institutions is superior to that 
 employed on the Continent ; and the distinctive language of signs, es- 
 pecially in its highest developments — as when it rises into the region 
 of abstractions — is here brought to a state of remarkable perfection. 
 The good Abbe De L'Epee, who may be said to be the father of the 
 sign language, was in the habit of closely observing the natural means of 
 communication which the deaf mutes whom he taught under the old 
 system employed among themselves to give expression to their feel- 
 ings and sentiments, and by selecting the most suggestive and beautiful 
 signs for different objects, and by careful thought and study, proceeded 
 to develop one of the most expressive means of communication be- 
 tween kindred minds. Since his day, experience has suggested, and 
 led to be adopted, a number of improvements. These the pupils of 
 this Institution enjoy to the fullest extent. From the lowest stages of 
 comprehension they are conducted through the various gradations to 
 the highest forms of emotional expression. The deaf mutes are cor- 
 dially invited to enter the asylum, and if their parents are able and 
 willing to pay for them well and good ; but in the absence of such a 
 desirable contingency, the State pays the Institution one hundred and 
 fifty dollars per annum for the maintenance and education of each 
 person. This amount entitles each to all the privileges of the Institu- 
 
5 
 
 tion. The pupils are instructed in the various branches of education 
 — reading, writing, arithmetic, geography, history, moral science, and 
 natural philosophy, astronomy, French, logic, and rhetoric, and Eng, 
 lish composition — in which some of them exhibit most astonishing 
 proficiency. They are also instructed in the practical part of various 
 industrial employments, ample facilities for which are furnished in the 
 Institution ; so that after a certain term of years they are prepared to 
 go out into the world intelligent citizens, and capable of providing for 
 their own subsistence. 
 
 A few weeks ago Mr. Cyrus W. Field, who is one of the directors, 
 went with Mr. Archibald, the British Consul, to see the Institution, on 
 which occasion the anticipated visit of the Prince of Wales to the 
 city of New York w r as mentioned. Several of the pupils in the higher 
 classes were asked if they would like to have the Prince of Wales 
 pay a visit to the Asylum, and were requested to write down their 
 sentiments on the subject. The replies were all unanimous for his 
 coming, and, through the kindness of the managers of the Institution 
 where copies were kept, we are enabled to give the public the senti- 
 ments expressed on that occasion. 
 
 Mr. Willis Hubbard, one of the pupils, wrote : — 
 
 " It affords us indescribable pleasure this delightful afternoon to 
 welcome to our Institution Mr. Cyrus W. Field, one of our honored 
 directors, and lady, accompanied by Mr. Archibald, the British Consul 
 at this port. As I had, no longer ago than this morning, read in one 
 of the daily papers an account of the efforts of Mr. Archibald and 
 several other British residents in New York to extend to the Prince 
 of Wales a suitable reception on his arrival at the great Western me- 
 tropolis, I was surprised to meet him, and divined who he w r as when I 
 first saw his name mentioned. As we are asked whether we would be 
 pleased to have the Prince visit us, I will simply state that we would 
 be afforded more happiness in beholding " England's hope" than by any- 
 thing else. I hope the influence possesed by our distinguished visitor 
 will be successfully exerted on this occasion in accordance with our 
 wishes." 
 

 
 Mr. David R. Tillinghast, another pupil, thus expressed his sen- 
 timents : — 
 
 " We feel highly flattered by the honor which Edward M. Archi- 
 bald, Esq., the British Consul in this city, has conferred upon us of 
 visiting an Institution to which we, once thought little better than the 
 brutes, owe so much for the ability to express our pleasure in seeing 
 him and his wife. We are also glad to see Mr. and Mrs. Cyrus W. 
 Field, to whose interest we are proud to say that we have a good 
 claim. Mr. Cyrus W. Field has asked us whether we wish to have the 
 Prince of Wales come here. It is with pleasure that we say yes. We 
 hope that Mr. Archibald will be pleased to acquiesce in our earnest re- 
 quest to bring the Prince here, which he can do on account of his con- 
 nection with the British government." 
 
 Miss E. Ida Montgomery gave expression to her feelings on the 
 subject in the following beautiful manner : — 
 
 " It is with unfeigned pleasure that we again extend a welcome, as 
 genial as the sunshine which to-day enlivens the earth, to Mr. and Mrs. 
 Cyrus W. Field and the lady and gentleman who accompany them. 
 Of the latter, we are informed that one is the English Consul, and 
 although we cannot greet him with his national air of'*' God Save the 
 Queen," such a welcome as is in the power of the voiceless to give, we 
 most cordially tender. We are asked whether we should like to see 
 the Prince of Wales, and although I acknowledge no nobility, save such 
 as Pope describes, no aristocracy in the crimson life current that 
 courses alike through our veins, I unhesitatingly answer, yes ; for to 
 see him to whom, in all probability, will be entrusted the supreme 
 power, under God, over millions of people, and the government of the 
 greatest empire on earth, and in addition to all this, the son of one to 
 be whose son were alone a passport to our hearts, would indeed be an 
 honor and a happiness to be oft recurred to through life — a white day 
 amidst many dark ones. To us the visit of the heir apparent of the 
 British throne to this country seems an auspicious omen, and an event 
 which will tend to draw still closer the bond of sympathy which must 
 ever exist between people so closely allied as are those of England 
 and America, and that tin- love-current flashing along "the golden 
 cord" ma), unlike the electrical fluid whose flow we once celebrated, 
 
never be interrupted, even temporarily, is our earnest hope and 
 wish." 
 
 Thus it is observed that the inmates themselves expressed a 
 deep desire to see his Royal Highness. A visit to the Institution, 
 however, had already been designed as a part of the programme of 
 his sojourn in New York. 
 
 After visiting the University yesterday, the Free Academy, the 
 Central Park, where he planted an English oak and an American elm, 
 and the residence of Mayor Wood, on the Bloomingdale road, where 
 he partook of an elegant repast, it was arranged that the Prince of 
 Walks and retinue should proceed to the Deaf and Dumb Asylum. 
 The matter had been kept comparatively quiet ; yet a large, but ex- 
 ceedingly select party of ladies and gentlemen met at the Institution 
 to participate in the pleasures of the occasion. 
 
 At the Institution, everything had been well arranged in good sea- 
 son, without any hurry or bustle. It was expected that the distin- 
 guished strangers would arrive at three o'clock. Half an hour before, 
 the children were seated in the spacious chapel on the second floor, 
 where they are in the habit of assembling daily, morning and evening, 
 for prayers, and where regular religious exercises are held on the Sab- 
 bath. The spectators, who were present by special invitation, also 
 secured their seats in good season. The chapel, which accommodates 
 about eight hundred, was filled to its utmost capacity, and everything 
 was waiting for the appearance of the Prince. 
 
 W hile he is yet absent, it is interesting and instructive to glance 
 around the room. At the eastern end, arranged on a platform, are 
 large slates upon which the pupils are to write. The three front seats 
 are reserved for the Prince of Wales and suite and such invited guests 
 as may accompany the party. The pupils, ranging from the ages of 
 ten to twenty years, are seated immediately behind — the males on the 
 one side, and the females on the other. Behind these are the specta- 
 tors, crowded out to the door. There are a number of noticeable per- 
 
8 
 
 sons present. Perhaps the most important and interesting individual 
 in the room is the principal of the Institution, Harvey P. Peet, LL. D. 
 He learned the art of teaching deaf mutes from the Rev. Dr. Gallau- 
 det, who was the first instructor of the language of signs in this coun- 
 try. Dr. Gallaudet taught in the American Asylum at Hartford. Dr. 
 Peet went there in 1822, nearly forty years ago, and attained distinc- 
 tion in the art of teaching. About ten years later he came to the 
 Asylum in New York, which at that time had few in number, and an 
 inferior system of instruction. His useful labors in assisting materi- 
 ally to build up and improve the institution are well known, and need 
 no special mention. In the chapel are also seen his three sons, who 
 are all teachers in the institution, the eldest of whom, Isaac Lewis 
 Peet, A. M., is the Vice-Principal. The wife of this gentleman is a 
 semi-mute, and a most gifted and estimable personage. She has com- 
 posed some verses giving a welcome to the Prince, which will be inter- 
 preted after his Royal Highness arrives and the exercises have com- 
 menced. Miss E. Ida Montgomery, a member of the highest class, is 
 also a highly-gifted lady, and one of the favorites in the Institution. 
 She has a wonderful command of written language, and writes beauti- 
 ful compositions, replete with exquisite sentiment. Another exceed- 
 ingly talented young lady, one who has been in the asylum for nearly 
 a dozen years, is Miss Gertrude Walter, whose exquisite delicacy of 
 feeling and unsurpassed attainments in the language of signs in its 
 highest forms, have elicited the admiration of all who know her. 
 There is also sitting on one of the seats on the same side of the room, 
 an interesting little orphan girl who was picked up in one of the worst 
 neighborhoods of the city, taken to the Asylum, and named Mary 
 Fanwood — after the title of the estate upon which the Asylum is situ- 
 ated. One of the young men sitting near the platform is David R. 
 TiLLiNGHAsr, a young gentleman of brilliant talents and extensive ac- 
 quirements. Other pupils scarcely less interesting arc in the room, 
 but we have not opportunity to describe them, for there is an excite- 
 ment among the voiceless, and in subdued tones those \\)i<> are blessed 
 
9 
 
 with the gift of speech murmur the announcement that " the Prince is 
 coming." 
 
 Precisely at three o'clock in the afternoon the party arrived in 
 front of the Institution. They immediately alighted, were met by 
 the President and Trustees, and escorted up to the chapel. Walking 
 with Mr. Winthrop, the President, the Prince of Wales entered the 
 chapel, accompanied by the members of the party and followed by 
 the Trustees of the Institution. All the people rose when he entered, 
 and when he approached the platform, resumed their seats again. It 
 was a beautiful sight to witness the joy of the pupils, which was 
 communicated to each other in their own impressive and peculiar 
 manner. The Prince sat between the President and Mayor Wood, 
 on one of the front seats. Then Dr. Harvey P. Peet, rose and 
 addressed his Royal Highness as follows : — 
 
 "Baron Renfrew, — In behalf of the Institution which I have the 
 honor to represent, I beg leave to tender you a cordial welcome, not 
 the less sincere, although of necessity it must be brief. In your tour 
 throughout our extensive country, you must have seen every variety 
 of natural scenery — our lakes, our rivers, our mountains, our broad 
 prairies, our municipal institutions — and have everywhere, I trust, 
 received that respect and consideration due to your Lordship's high 
 position and future prospects, But this is the first Institution of the 
 kind, I believe, that your Lordship has visited. It was founded in 
 1817, and has steadily increased, from time to time, as the wants of 
 the community demanded. Its object is to restore to the condition 
 of social life those who are deprived of the privileges which we enjoy, 
 and to impart intellectual and moral light to those who sit in dark- 
 ness and elevate them to the dignity of thinking and rational beings. 
 They cannot give utterance to their joy and gratification on this occa- 
 sion in vocal speech, but they can express the emotions of their hearts 
 with equal sincerity and earnestness in the language of action. It 
 numbers three hundred pupils, divided into fifteen classes ; but only 
 two of them can be exhibited on the present occasion — those who 
 have been here only four weeks, and those who have been here seven 
 and eight years." 
 
10 
 
 The Prince rose, and gracefully bowed his acknowledgments. 
 Three boys and three girls, from a class which had been in the 
 Asylum only four weeks, were then brought upon the stage. It was 
 explained that when they came there they did not know their own names, 
 and could neither read nor write ; but they had since learned to form 
 letters with a pen, to distinguish between the written and printed 
 characters, and had become familiar with about twenty words. They 
 first wrote their names. Mr. Gamage, one of the teachers, then led 
 them through several exercises, making the signs for " cat," " dog," 
 " cow," " horse," and " a blue bird " — the names of which they wrote 
 upon their slates. These fine attainments in so short a time elicited 
 the admiration of all. These younger pupils were introduced for 
 the purpose of showing from how low a point of intellectual de- 
 velopment the instructors were compelled to start. 
 
 The next was a selection of three young ladies and three young 
 gentlemen from the highest class. The teacher introduced the visitors 
 to these pupils by the aid of signs, and suggested that some 
 questions should be propounded to bring out the powers of the pupils. 
 The reply was that the royal party were delighted to meet them, and 
 wished the pupils to write on the slates whatever they chose. They 
 turned to their slates, and while they were busy writing, the interim 
 was occupied by one of them — Miss Walter — in rendering into signs 
 the following piece of poetry, which had been composed for the occa- 
 sion by Mrs. Peet : — 
 
 WELCOME TO THE PRINCE. 
 
 BY MRS. MARY TOLES PEET. 
 
 Once from beyond the azure sea, 
 
 There came to us a welcome tone: 
 Men paused amid their strife and toil 
 
 To list the voice from England's throne. 
 
 And soon from out the ocean's depths, 
 Where master minds a chain had bound, 
 
 A strong pulsation shook the land, 
 
 And silence hushed the New World's sound. 
 
11 
 
 How breathlessly men stopped to count 
 The throbs that came with measured beat, 
 
 Till one by one with trembling joy 
 Beheld the mystic bond complete. 
 
 The strange, new thrill sped fast and far, 
 And waking joy throughout the land, 
 
 Went forth the greeting England sent, 
 " We'll evermore go hand in hand-" 
 
 Old ocean in his wild disma}-, 
 
 That man from him his power had won. 
 To part the nations, rent the bond; 
 
 But England sends us now her son. 
 
 Right loyally we greet him, too, 
 
 For every heart should bend, I ween, 
 
 In homage to such worth as that 
 
 Which sits enshrin'd in England's Queen. 
 
 And though no purples hang above 
 
 The brave young Briton here ; 
 Yet retinues of kindred hearts 
 
 Send up to Heaven this cheer : — 
 
 " God save the Queen — God save the Prince ! 
 
 And blessings on them shower, 
 And strengthen every rightful cause 
 
 That adds to England's power." 
 
 These verses were expressed in the language of signs, by Miss 
 Walter, in a truly wonderful and effective manner ; the eyes of every 
 one, all the while, being riveted, not upon the Prince, but on the 
 lady. When she had finished, a general sentiment of entire satisfac- 
 tion was distinctly visible in the faces of the illustrious guests. 
 
 The compositions were by this time completed, and the Vice- 
 Principal proceeded to read them from the slates. Mr. Henry A. 
 Rum rill wrote as follows : 
 
 " It is a high compliment to us to receive, this lovely afternoon, a 
 call from Lord Renfrew, the Duke of Newcastle. Mayor Wood. 
 
12 
 
 and a number of other distinguished personages, and we acknowledge 
 it a delightful task to tell how we feel to have the son of the " Wash- 
 ington of Queens " honor us with his presence. We hope he will 
 not find his call here unsatisfactory to himself. We have not the 
 least hope of giving him a suitable welcome, as we fear we are child- 
 ren, as compared to his high standing." 
 
 Mr. Willis Hubbard, expressed his feelings thus : 
 
 " It is with unbounded pleasure we welcome to our Institution the 
 Prince of Wales, or Baron Renfrew, under which hereditary title 
 he is traveling in this country, with his suite. As our silent tongues 
 will not permit us to welcome him by chanting national airs, we 
 hope that our giving Baron Renfrew a heartfelt welcome in writing 
 on these slates, the materials of which came from the province of 
 which he is styled the Prince, will be sufficient to express our true 
 feelings." 
 
 Mr. David R. Tillinghast's read as follows : 
 
 " It is with a full appreciation of the great honor which the 
 Prince of Wales has conferred upon us that we extend a cordial 
 welcome to him. We feel that our speaking fellow-men, who have 
 greeted him in every part of this country which he has passed through, 
 could not be more cordial than we in expressing our pleasure in see- 
 ing him. We see in the Prince a future King of the British Empire, 
 who will count among his subjects millions of free and Christian 
 men. For such a vast responsibility the Prince has been prepared, 
 by a mother whom I regard as the most Christian Queen I ever read 
 of in history." 
 
 Then came the sentiments of the two young ladies. 
 Miss E. Ida Montgomery gave form to her thoughts in the fol- 
 lowing manner i 
 
 "From the length and breadth of our land has tolled one glad 
 acclaim of welcome to the heir of England, and the son <>t" her peer- 
 levv Queen; and though we may not join our voices in the glad roll 
 
18 
 
 of sound, our pleasure is not the less heartfelt, nor our welcome the 
 less warm to him to whom the world looks as the future ruler of its 
 mightiest nation, and the proud retinue of England's and America's 
 noblemen who accompany him to-day. Others have expressed, far 
 better than it is given us to do, the objects of our Institution, and the 
 degree of success which has attended those who, in imitation of their 
 Divine Master, have sought to give ears to the deaf and a 
 tongue to the voiceless. And though the methods pursued in this 
 country and in England may be different, the spirit is the same ; and 
 when again the white cliffs of Albion, as they rise from the ocean's 
 blue, announce that " merrie England " is near, and the heart of our 
 guest beats high with the glad greetings of his own people, we would 
 wish him to remember that there are those among them who are 
 silent because God hath sealed their lips." 
 
 Miss Augusta S. Eastman's slate contained the following : — 
 
 " The event which has led to our introduction to the stage, this 
 auspicious afternoon, is one which stands rivaled in honor and glory 
 by none in the annals of this Institution, viz., the call of his Royal 
 Highness the Prince of Wales, with some of the most distinguished 
 nobility of England. We had for quite a period looked forward 
 anxiously and yet hopefully to the hour in which we should behold 
 the son of the universally honored Queen of one of the greatest of 
 empires, in speaking of the power of which, it has as justly as beauti- 
 fully been remarked, "She has dotted the surface of the whole world 
 with her possessions and military posts, whose morning drum-beat, 
 following the sun and keeping company with the hours, circles the 
 earth daily with one continuous and unbroken strain of the martial 
 airs of England." 
 
 The greatest satisfaction was expressed with these compositions. 
 Here the Prince was requested to indicate " a few subjects for the 
 pupils to write upon." His Royal Highness suggested " Music," 
 " The Atlantic Cable ;" one of the members of his suite mentioned the 
 " Great Eastern," and somebody added " The Clouds." Now, music 
 was the most difficult subject that could be suggested for deaf mutes, 
 who never heard a soul-inspiring strain, to write upon. Here is what 
 Miss Montgomery wrote about it : — 
 
14 
 
 " I have been asked to express my idea of music, that all-powerful 
 influence, which holds the hearts of men in such a mysterious thrall, 
 which has power to disarm the savage, and cause the wild beast to 
 forget its fierceness, creating, while it lasts, a brief but ecstatic millen- 
 ium — that incomprehensible something which gushed from the flow- 
 ing heart of David, heralded the birth of the Savior, and now floats 
 around the throne of God. What it may be in its bodily shape, if I 
 may so express it, I know not, but I know its spirit to be harmony ; 
 and it is not alone through the medium of music that this divine spirit 
 can make its influence felt, for we can see it in the ceaseless beat of the 
 ocean, the dark flow of the river, and even in the waving arms and 
 blended colors of the trees that crown our own Palisades. Nor is 
 music alone found in inanimate nature, in things perishable, for there 
 are those whose lives are but one grand pean, which at last merges 
 in the perfect harmony of the perfected of God." 
 
 Mr. Hubbard wrote about the Atlantic cable : — 
 
 " Since Professor Morse applied electricity to wires, for the pur- 
 pose of conveying messages from one place to another with lightning 
 rapidity, it has been the object of many scientific gentlemen, to estab- 
 lish a cable across the Atlantic Ocean, between the United States and 
 Great Britain. A trial was made, and messages were conveyed across 
 the wide Atlantic. Holidays were given in honor of the triumph, 
 and all the true citizens of England and America rejoiced at the new 
 tie that bound us to our mother country. But all these were destined 
 to be disappointed, for after working a few weeks, the cable refused to 
 carry messages across the ocean." 
 
 Miss Eastman wrote this paragraph upon the same subject : — 
 
 " One of the proudest and noblest triumphs of American genius 
 we esteem that of the Submarine Telegraph, which forms one of the 
 mosl important links in the great chain of national interests which 
 connect this with the mother country ; and though it prove a failure 
 — which it is universally hoped it will not — the fame of its inventor 
 will in no wise be diminished, nor, we believe, the deep and mutual 
 interests which unite the two greatesl nations on the surface of the 
 earth one atom lessened." 
 
15 
 
 Mr. Tillinghast thus briefly spoke of the mammoth vessel : — 
 
 " The Great Eastern is a grand specimen of what English genius 
 could achieve. This achievement in mechanical science is ranked 
 among the proudest triumphs of which the British boast. This great 
 ship may be one of the signs that ' the sword will soon be turned into 
 the ploughshare, and the spear into the pruning-hook.'" 
 
 Miss Eastman said only this about the clouds : — 
 
 " I have been requested to give my ideas in connection with clouds, 
 the exact nature of which I do not profess to be a good naturalist 
 enough to explain, yet I know that they are filled with that indispens- 
 able beverage to both nwn and nature, without which no amount of 
 gold and jewels could purchase life, and that they constitute one of 
 the chief beauties of the firmament." 
 
 It is almost impossible to give an adequate idea of the pleasure 
 which the Prince and party felt at this interesting entertainment. 
 After those compositions had been read, Mr. Gamage rendered in 
 pantomime the scene of Christ stilling the tempest, which was executed 
 in a highly artistic manner. The Prince of Wales and his suite then 
 ascended the platform, when the Principal introduced them to the 
 company. A shower of boquets almost deluged his Royal High- 
 ness, who smiled and appeared particularly pleased. He gave his 
 autograph to Mrs. Peet, the authoress of the poem, to whom, together 
 with Miss Walter, he was personally presented. It was expected 
 that the visit would be limited to fifteen minutes, but when that time 
 had expired the Prince expressed his desire to remain longer, and accord- 
 ingly the exercises were protracted for nearly an hour. He, together 
 with the Duke of Newcastle and other members of the party, repeated 
 that they had been gratified far beyond their expectations. At last they 
 proceeded from the chapel, and, re-entering their carriages, drove off 
 towards High Bridge. The visit to the Deaf and Dumb Asylum 
 formed an interesting passage in the tour of the Prince, and the occa- 
 sion will be a memorable one in the annals of the Institution.