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The evils of deafness -- we speak of it when it is from infancy, and total -- are, the cutting off the person so afflicted from the thoughts and speech of other men, and as a consequence, leaving his mind uninformed and blank. True, a child born thus into a family, will differ widely from an idiot. There is an inward force of nature in him, by which, all untaught, as he is, he will contrive to make his wants known, and will hold with his parents and brothers and sisters some meagre communication. Suppose, now, that another deaf child is born into the family, a case which sometimes happens; will the evils endured by the first be increased? Will his ability or disposition to talk with his parents, in his poor way, be at all lessened? Certainly not. And while experiencing no evil himself, he will prove an invaluable assistant to the family, in interpreting the wants of the younger deaf child. He will talk with this younger child in a language invented by himself, or by the two jointly, and thus these two minds, acting and reacting upon each other, will have more knowledge and strength, than either would have had if left alone in its infirmity. Children of educated deaf-mute parents are greatly in advance of other deaf-mute children. Not that they have been taught words, but because they could have the inquiries of their active minds concerning the mysteries of their existence, and of the world about them, intelligibly answered. But, it may be asked, do they learn written language as rapidly as those who have never been associated with other deaf mutes? Yes, far more rapidly. Why should they not? They have developed, discriminating minds to work with, while the others are almost in the feebleness and blankness of infancy. Children with faculties unimpaired, are more dependent upon each other for that general intelligence, and mental development which precedes and attends school instruction, than they are upon their parents. It is always regarded, and with reason, as a great misfortune to be an only child. No amount of parental culture and instruction, can make up that healthy growth and development which the society of other children gives. Deaf-mute children are as much benefited by the society of other deaf-mute children, as speaking children by that of other speaking children. The necessity being in each case, not that there should be deafness or hearing, but that those who associate should be children, and that they should be able to understand each other. As might be expected, then, in a Deaf and Dumb Institution, but a small part of the actual knowledge gained, is received from the instructors. It is a vast hive, where each is busy imparting knowledge to others. With minds so newly awakened, there is no end to the questions which are asked and answered. Passing events in the world without, are picked up from the newspapers and communicated to those who cannot yet read. Facts of Scripture history, prominent characters and events in the history of the country, and the various experiences and adventures of the children at their homes, are the topics of daily and hourly converse. To cut off all this intercourse, to shut out all the knowledge thus gained, would be an act little short of madness, by whomsoever it may be proposed. It has often been observed by our most intelligent instructors, that even in the case of those who, from mental weakness, gain but little knowledge of written language, the mental stimulus and knowledge gained by associating with the other pupils, has amply paid for the time they have spent in the Institution. But, it may be said, admitting all this, does not a residence of five or six years at the Institution, disincline and unfit the mute for intercourse with speaking people? Quite the contrary. When he came to the Institution he was an outcast from society; he could hold intelligent and extended intercourse with no one. At the end of the first year, he goes home to spend a vacation of three months. He is able to ask and answer many questions in written language, and he circulates through the neighborhood, eager to display his accomplishments. Each succeeding vacation of three months enlarges the circle of his acquaintances, and increases his power of intelligent communication, until at the end of his course he goes home, finally and gladly, to take his place in society, to which, by his education, he has been restored.

The writer of the Report and of the pamphlet, carries the impression, and the chief force of his reasoning rests on this impression, that in the method of instruction pursued at Hartford, the mutes are "permanently" associated together; "closely and persistently" associated: -- "There should be no attempt to establish permanent institutions for them," &c., (p. 53.) Now, all well informed persons know that the deaf-mute children are retained at Hartford on an average, not more than five years, and that nearly one-fourth of each year is spent by each pupil at home, in the bosom of his family. It might possibly be well to make the vacations still longer. It is to be considered, also, that after the period of his instruction at the Asylum is completed, he returns to his home, where he is of necessity separated for the most part from the society of other mutes, and passes the remainder of his life, laboring with and associating with speaking people. It is a fact, too, of which the writer of the Report seems to be ignorant, that the farther we carry the mute in knowledge and culture, the more dissatisfied he is with the society of other deaf mutes. He feels that they are childish and narrow, and he seeks the society of those who know more than he does, and can satisfy his thirst for knowledge, and at every stage of his instruction this principle is operating to draw him to those who hear and speak.