foreign trade, not extensive, carried on. Three steamboats form a daily line between here and New-York. The manufactures of this city, by a late return made to the secretary of the treasury, exceed $900,000 per annum; among these are various manufactures of tin, copper, and sheet iron; block tin and pewter ware; printing presses and ink; a manufactory of iron machinery; iron foundries, saddlery, carriages, joiners' tools, paper-hangings, looking-glasses, umbrellas, stone ware, a brewery, a web manufactory, cabinet furniture, boots and shoes, hats, clothing for exportation, soap and candles, 2 manufactories of machine and other wire cards, operated by dogs, &c, &c. More than twice as many books are published here, annually, as are manufactured in any other place of equal population in the United States. There are 15 periodicals; 12 weekly newspapers, (5 sectarian,) 2 semi-monthly, and 1 monthly. The city is well built, and contains many elegant public and private edifices. The state house, in which are the public offices of the state, is surmounted by a cupola, and is a very handsome and spacious building. The city hall, built for city purposes, is also spacious and elegant; it has two fronts, with porticoes, supported each by six massy columns. In the city are 12 places of public worship-5 for Congregationalists, 1 Episcopal, 2 Baptist, 1 Methodist, 1 Universalist, 1 Roman Catholic, and 1 African; several of these are very handsome, and the Episcopal, a Gothic edifice, is much admired for its elegance. There are 5 banks, a bank for savings; 3 fire and marine insurance offices, an arsenal, museum, 2 markets, &c. The American Asylum for the deaf and dumb, the Retreat for the insane, and Washington College, are all beautifully located, in the immediate vicinity of the city. The population within the city limits in September, 1835, was nine thousand and eight hundred.

"The American Asylum for the education and instruction of deaf and dumb persons, was founded by an association of gentlemen in Hartford, Conn., in 1815. Their attention was called to this important charity by a case of deafness in the family of one of their number. An interesting child of the late Dr. Cogswell, who had lost her hearing at the age of two years, and her speech soon after, was, under Providence, the cause of its establishment. Her father, ever ready to sympathize with the afflicted, and prompt to relieve human suffering, embraced in his plans for the education of his own daughter, all who might be similarly unfortunate. The co-operation of the benevolent was easily secured, and measures were taken to obtain from Europe a knowledge of the difficult art, unknown in this country, of teaching written language through the medium of signs, to the deaf and dumb. For this purpose, the Rev. Thomas H. Gallaudet visited England and Scotland, and applied at the institutions in those countries for instruction in their system; but meeting with unexpected difficulties, he repaired to France, and obtained at the Royal Institution at Paris, those qualifications for an instructor of the deaf and dumb, which a selfish and mistaken policy had refused him in Great Britain. Accompanied

Darby and Dwight's Gazetteer of the United States, 1833.

by Mr. Laurent Clerc, himself deaf and dumb, and for several years a successful teacher under the Abbe Sicard, Mr. Gallaudet returned to this country in August, 1816. The Asylum had, in May preceding, been incorporated by the state legislature. Some months were spent by Messrs. Gallaudet and Clerc in obtaining funds for the benefit of the institution, and in the spring of 1817, the Asylum was opened for the reception of those for whom it was designed, and the course of instruction commenced with seven pupils.

View of the American Asylum for the Deaf and Dumb. "As the knowledge of the institution extended, and the facilities for obtaining its advantages were multiplied, the number of pupils increased from seven to one hundred and forty, which for several years past has not been much above the average number; and since its commencement in 1817, instruction has been imparted to four hundred and seventy-seven deaf and dumb persons, including its present inmates.

"In 1819, Congress granted the institution a township of land in Alabama, the proceeds of which have been invested as a permanent fund. The principal building, of which the above is a front view, was erected in 1820, and the pupils removed to it in the spring of the following year. It is one hundred and thirty feet long, fifty feet wide, and, including the basement, four stories high. Other buildings have been subsequently erected, as the increasing number of pupils made it necessary; the principal of which is a dining hall and workshops for the male pupils. Attached to the institution are eight or ten acres of land, which afford ample room for exercise and the cultivation of vegetables and fruits for the pupils.

"The system of instruction adopted at this institution is substantially the same as that of the French school at Paris. It has however been materially improved and modified by Mr. Gallaudet and his associates. This system, and indeed every other rational system of teaching the deaf and dumb, is based upon the natural language of signs. By this we mean those gestures which a deaf and dumb person will naturally

use to express his ideas, and to make known his wants previous to instruction. These gestures and signs are rather pictorial, that is, an exact outline of the object, delineated by the hands in the air; or descriptive, giving an idea of an object by presenting some of its prominent and striking features; or conventional, such as may have been agreed upon by a deaf and dumb person and his associates. As there are very few objects which can be expressed with sufficient clearness by the delineation of its outline alone, a descriptive sign is usually connected with it. Thus, in making the sign for a book, the outline is first delineated by the fore finger of both hands. To this is added the descriptive signs of opening the book, placing it before the eyes, and moving the lips as in reading. It may therefore simplify the classification of natural signs if the first two divisions be united; and it will be sufficiently accurate to say that all the signs used by the deaf and dumb, are either descriptive or conventional. By far the greater part of these signs belong to the former class; as it includes the signs for most common objects, actions, and emotions. A deaf and dumb child constructs his language upon the same principle as the child who can hear-that of imitation.

"In the school-room, the instructor makes use of natural signs to communicate ideas to his pupils, of systematic signs to enable them to translate their own into written language; of the manual alphabet, or signs of the hand corresponding to the letters of the alphabet; and of written symbols to express the grammatical relations of words. A more particular account of the mode of instruction would be inconsistent with the limits assigned to this article. Indeed, it can hardly be necessary to enlarge on this topic, as visitors can at all times have access to two of the classes, and on Wednesday afternoon to all the classes, when they are permitted to witness the process of imparting instruction by signs, and to make such inquiries as will enable them to understand the subject.

"The pupils usually remain at the Asylum four or five years, in which time an intelligent child will acquire a knowledge of the common operations of arithmetic, of geography, grammar, history, biography, and of written language, so as to enable him to understand the Scriptures, and books written in a familiar style. He will of course be able to converse with others by writing, and to manage his own affairs as a farmer or mechanic. There are workshops connected with the institution, in which the boys have the opportunity of learning a trade, and many of them, by devoting four hours each day to this object, become skilful workmen, and when they leave the Asylum, find no difficulty in supporting themselves. The annual charge to each pupil is one hundred dollars.

"The department of instruction is under the control of the principal of the institution, who has also a general oversight of the other departments. The pupils are distributed into eight or nine classes, the immediate care of which is committed to the same number of assistant instructors. When out of school, the pupils are under the care of a steward and matron.

"Five or six similar institutions have been established in different parts of the country, all of which have obtained their system of instruction, and some of their teachers, from the American Asylum. Nearly one half of the states afford the means of obtaining an education at some one of these schools, to their own indigent deaf and dumb; and it is greatly to be desired that the legislatures of all the other states should furnish the same assistance to these children of misfortune."*

"This institution is situated on a commanding eminence, at the distance of a mile and a quarter, in a southwesterly direction, from the State House in Hartford. The elevation overlooks an ample range of fertile country, presenting on every side a most interesting landscape, adorned with every beauty of rural scenery, that can be found in rich and cultivated fields, and meadows of unrivalled verdure; in extensive groves and picturesque groups of forest, fruit, and ornamental trees; and above all, in the charming diversity of level, sloping, and undulating surfaces, terminating by distant hills, and more distant mountains. "The city of Hartford is conspicuously seen on the left, and in different directions, five flourishing villages, rendered nearly continuous by numerous intervening farm-houses. On the east, the prospect is enlivened by the perpetual passing and repassing of carriages and travellers, on the two principal thoroughfares of the country, that extend along the front of the building, one at the distance of fifty or sixty rods, the other within three-fourths of a mile. Still farther eastward, but within a mile and a half, the prospect is frequently enlivened by the splendid show of passing steamboats, and the white sails of various water craft, plying up and down the Connecticut river, which is distinctly seen in many long windings.

"This site was selected as one pre-eminently calculated to attract and engage the attention, and soothe and appease the morbid fancies and feelings of the patient, whose faculties are not sunk below or raised

*American Magazine, Vol. I, 1835.

above the sphere of relations that originally existed. And if he is not beyond the reach of genial sensations, connected with external objects, he will undoubtedly feel the conscious evidence that this situation most happily unites the tranquilizing influence of seclusion and retirement, with the cheering effect of an animated picture of active life, continually passing in review before his eyes, while himself is remote, and secure from the annoyance of its bustle and noise.

"The edifice for the accommodation of the patients, and those who have the care of them, is constructed of unhewn freestone, covered with a smooth white water-proof cement. Its style of architecture is perfectly plain and simple, and interests only by its symmetrical beauty, and perhaps by the idea it impresses of durability and strength, derived from the massive solidity of its materials-yet notwithstanding these, its general aspect is remarkably airy and cheerful, from the amplitude of its lights, and the brilliant whiteness of its exterior. The whole building is divided into commodious and spacious apartments, adapted to various descriptions of cases, according to their sex, nature and disease, habits of life, and the wishes of their friends. The male and female apartments are entirely separated, and either sex is completely secluded from the view of the other. Rooms are provided in both male and female apartments for the accommodation of the sick, where they are removed from any annoyance, and can continually receive the kind attentions of their immediate relations and friends. Attached to the building are about seventeen acres of excellent land, the principal part of which is laid out in walks, ornamental grounds and extensive gardens. With each wing and block of the building is connected a court-yard, encompassed by high fences, and handsomely laid out, designed to afford the benefit of exercise, pastime and fresh air, to those who cannot safely be allowed to range abroad.

"Connected with the institution, there are horses and carriages, which are appropriated exclusively to the benefit of the patients, and which afford them much pleasant exercise and amusement. The male patients frequently employ themselves in the garden, and amuse themselves at the backgammon board, draughts, and the like. The female patients employ themselves in sewing, knitting, drawing, painting, playing on the piano, and other amusements. The various exercises and amusements are adapted to the age, sex, and former habits of the patients, and in all cases the two sexes are kept entirely separate. There is a library in the retreat, composed of light and agreeable works, and several periodicals and newspapers are constantly taken, for the perusal of which the inmates manifest much fondness. On the Sabbath, those that are in a proper condition, are taken to church, and unite in religious worship. Every thing connected with the institution, is designed to make it a pleasant and agreeable residence for all the inmates. "This institution commenced its operations on the 1st of April, 1824, under the immediate charge of the late Eli Todd, M. D. He pursued a course of medical and moral treatment which has been crowned with • a success, second to no other similar public institution of which we have any knowledge. The same system of management has been