This fall has one peculiarity which is a considerable improvement to its appearance, which is, that its water, except when swoln with rains, is pure and transparent, and its foam, instead of having a reddish tinge from moss or any earthy substance, is of a brilliant pearly whiteness, which is finely contrasted by the blackness of the surrounding rocks.

We next went to visit some of the caves we had heard of. Our guides, after muttering Gaelic to each other for some time, at last confessed, that they did not know where to find the entrance to any of them. We, however, had the good fortune to meet a man who dwelt near the head of the loch, and who undertook to conduct us. He led us a good way up a hill, near the top of which, he shewed us a small hole in the turf, which proved to be the entrance to a very large cavern, and which could be quite concealed by a small quantity of heath, It was so dark, that we could not see the whole of it, but from what we saw, we judged that it was of great extent. We found that there was another entrance to it in the face of a precipice, which was so steep as to render the cave almost inaccessible from that quarter. Our guide informed us that at no very remote period this cave was the haunt of a gang of robbers, but their retreat having been at last discovered, the cave was surrounded by soldiers, and a party entered by the opening from the top. The banditti, however, made their escape by the other opening, of which the soldiers were ignorant,

We were next conducted to another cave, close by the side of a river. The entrance to it was in the precipitous bank of the stream, and so near it, that we were obliged to walk through the water to get at it. The mouth of it was very narrow, but it appeared to be of considerable size within. Our guide informed us, that a man who had been outlawed for some crime, lived for several years in this cave, going out at night to procure provisions, and keeping concealed during the day. At last having turned too bold, he ventured out in daylight, and was apprehended and executed. Although our guide either would not, or could not tell, us any thing particular about him, I was led to suppose, from what information we procured,

that this had been Allan Breck Stuart, who was supposed to have murdered a Mr Campbell of Glenure. *

We now began to think of returning to Ballachelish, but were obliged again to wait for the tide. On this account it was very late before we got there. In the course of our excursion at the head of the loch, we saw large masses of marble, which might be wrought to great advantage. Great quantities of fine slates are quarried at Ballachelish and Glencoe, and sent to various parts of the kingdom. Porphyry and granite abound in this part of the country. Deer are frequently to be met with among the hills, and eagles build in some of the rocks. Upon the whole, we were highly gratified with what we had seen during this day, and I would recommend it to future travellers, by no means to pass Ballachelish, without paying a visit to Lochleven-Head. I am, &c.

J.

REMARKS ON THE DEAF AND DUMB.

THE Very unusual circumstance of a deaf and dumb woman appearing at the bar of our Supreme Criminal Court, accused of murder, and that too of her own child, having excited,

This murder happened soon after the rebellion in 1745, and excited much interest about that time, on account of a man being executed for it, who was generally believed to have been intirely innocent. The estate of Ardshiel, the property of a Mr Stewart, had been forfeited on account of his being engaged in the rebellion. Mr Colin Campbell of Glenure was appointed factor, and under him Mr James Stewart, a brother of the late possessor. For some time Campbell behaved with moderation, but afterwards, having turned out many of the tenants, he was shot when passing through the wood of Lettermore, on his way from Fort William, where he had been on some business. It was generally supposed that Allan Breck Stuart was the murderer. Mr James Stewart, however, was also suspected of having been an accomplice, and was apprehended, and tried he was at home when the murder happenat Inverary. Although it was proved that ed, and although little was proved against him, except that he had sent Allan some money, he was condemned and executed; but it was generally believed that he met with great injustice.

in no ordinary degree, the attention of the public, we beg leave to lay before our readers a few remarks, which have arisen from a consideration of that case, the history of which was shortly as follows: Jean Campbell, alias Bruce, a native of Argyllshire, born deaf and dumb, had long procured her subsistence as a wandering beggar. Cast upon the world without education and unprotected, it was naturally to be supposed she would fall an easy prey to any villain who might choose to take advantage of her helplessness; accordingly, we find her the mother of several natural children, and that her conduct in other respects was not the most proper. While leaning against the parapet of one of the bridges over the Clyde at Glasgow, on the 19th of November 1816, her youngest child, an infant about three years old, slipt from her back while asleep,-fell into the river, and was lost, and it was to account for this accident that she was brought to the bar of the Court of Justiciary, being indicted for murder. On calling the diet, it was stated in bar of trial, that the prisoner had been deaf and dumb from her birth ;-had never received any education;-and as having a mens sibi non conscia aut recti aut mali, she was literally without the pale of the law. As the case was not only novel, but highly important, the Judges ordered informations, and excellent papers were given in, both by the counsel for the Crown and for the prisoner. * The Lords decided that the woman, though deaf and dumb, was capable of pleading. The trial was proceeded in at Glasgow, and we rejoice to add, that the poor woman was acquitted, as it was proved that the loss of the child was altogether accidental.

The deaf and dumb form a very interesting part of the human species, and if we could succeed in drawing the attention of philosophers and men of science to a more minute investigation of their physical and moral defects, we are convinced that much of the former, and the whole of the latter, might be remedied; for, whether we examine the mechanical

structure of the human body, or attempt to unravel the more abstruse properties of mind ;-whether we consider man as a mere machine which is acted upon by external objects, and has a self-governing power, or look upon him as an intelligent being, possessing power and faculties superior to every other living thing, we shall still find that man is the noblest study of man, and that in this field there is enough to engage the attention of the most zealous inquirer, and more than sufficient to occupy him in every waking hour. It is not our intention, on the present occasion, to enter into any metaphysical discussion of the connection between mind and matter, or to canvass the opinions of men with regard to moral consciousness and innate or acquired ideas, though the subject, we must confess, is most inviting. Werather prefer dealing in facts, which every one has the power of verifying to himself.

All know that the mind is acted upon by means of the external senses, and that, when any one of these senses becomes diseased, or has never existed, one of the channels by which knowledge is communicated is shut up; and though every sense has its own particular modification, and no two individuals hear and see exactly alike, yet all in whom these senses are perfect, acquire their knowledge of external objects in a great measure by means of the eye and the

ear.

In man there is no proportion between the manifestations of his faculties and the perfection of his external senses; for though the acquisition of vocal speech in children depends almost entirely upon the sense of hearing, yet it does not follow that he who has the most acute ear is to be the most eloquent speaker. Nay, many persons possess a very acute sense of hearing, without being able to distinguish the harmony of sounds, or at least without being sensible to the beauty of music, whilst others who have rather a dull ear are alive to all the charms of melody. It is a work of labour to teach a child to speak even when all the senses are perfect, and, of course, is still more so when he is deprived of the power of distinguishing sounds. We have heard or read somewhere of an enthusiast who, anxious to ascertain what language a child would speak,

without being taught any, had his son, when a year old, shut up with a dumb nurse in a secluded house, which no one was allowed to approach who had the power of speaking. The child grew, and had attained his fourth year, without giving any signs of his being able to speak, when one day the father, while on a visit to him, was so much provoked by some occurrence as to utter an oath. The child caught the sound, and the words were recollected, and although the plan which had been so long persisted in was immediately abandoned, it was many months before the boy could be brought to repeat any other words than those of the abominable oath which he had first heard. We mention this anecdote merely to shew, that it is by practice we acquire the art of expressing our ideas in language, or vocal speech; and if the experiment was really made, it proves that language depends, in a great measure, upon imitation. Many individuals born deaf and dumb acquire the faculty of pronouncing every word of the language they are taught, but, from having no idea of sound, their accent is grating to our ears. They possess no means of regulating their tones, and, therefore, are not likely to make much progress in the art of speaking. Yet, though those born deaf will for ever remain dumb, unless instructed in speech, we are convinced that two children, with the senses perfect, if left to themselves, will form a language of their own, in which they would communicate with as much ease, though not perhaps to the same extent, as in any language they might be taught. Of this fact a remarkable instance has come within our own sphere of observation, which we are ready to authenticate by a more particular account of names and dates, of the place where, and the time when, if necessary. A small farmer in the south of Scotland had a son and daughter, who were nearly of the same age; they lived in a sequestered spot, and at a considerable distance from any other dwelling. As the father and mother of these children had the labours of their farm to attend to, they were, as soon as they were able to walk, left very much to themselves. They slept together during the night, and were accustomed to spend the day in pursuing their

childish amusements in the fields. Left, therefore, in a great measure, to their own resources, they had invented names for almost every object that came under their observation; and we have often listened for hours to their prattle, without being able to comprehend a single word they said. As they grew up, however, and mingled with the world, they soon lost every trace of the language of their childhood, though for many years they retained something of a foreign tone and accent.

The progress which we make in the acquirement of language is very slow, even with all our senses perfect; but in children, the gradation from simple sounds to compound sentences is little attended to. It is the frequent and varied repetition of the same word that first impresses it upon the tender memory of the infant, and the desire of imitation that leads him to articulate the sound which he has heard. Yet many months pass over before he makes use of any thing but simple syllables to express his wishes or his wants. It having been our lot, more than once, to be cast, as it were alone, among a strange people, whose language we were ignorant of, and without any means of acquiring it, except by the ear, we have felt what it was to study under such circumstances, and have studied what we conceive to have been the process we underwent in our infancy, and reflected on some of the difficulties which, even with the faculties matured, and the senses perfect, we had to undergo in bringing the organs of speech to give utterance to sounds so new to the ear. We can, therefore, form some idea of the labour of the instructor who at tempts to teach the deaf to speak. It is much easier to teach them writany ten language, which, in fact, is only a different version of the language of signs, and dependant altogether upon the memory; but, as we cannot pursue this subject at greater length, we can only recommend, to such of our readers as may have an opportunity, to visit the institution in this city, which is under the superintendance of Mr Kinniburgh, and which is open to the public every Wednes day, between the hours of twelve and one. This institution was formed, in 1810, by a few of our benevolent fellow-citizens, and has been liberally

supported by the voluntary contributions of several of the nobility and by annual subscriptions. There are now fifty pupils in the house; and the progress which many of them have made in every branch of useful education is truly astonishing. At the same time that their education is going on, several of the boys have been bound to trades, by which, in after life, they will be able to gain a livelihood; while the girls are instructed by Mrs Kinniburgh in sewing, knitting, and household affairs, so as to render them useful as well as intelligent members of society.

Every day adds something new to our stock of knowledge, which tends to shew, not only how little we know, but often how ill able we are to account for or explain even that little. The auditory nerve, which is the medium of communication between the mind and the external world, in as far as that communication depends upon the sense of hearing, is found in all animals, from man down to the lowest scale of fishes; and, even when an organ of hearing has not been distinguishable, it is evident that the animals are endowed with this sense. We may state it as a general law, that the apparatus of hearing becomes more complex in proportion as the organ approaches to perfection. This is the case with regard to the external as well as to the internal ear. Many animals hear better than man, and in them we find that the apparatus upon which the simple transmission of sound depends is also more perfect than it is in the human species. Newborn children are perfectly insensible to sound, for in them the sense of hearing is not yet active. It improves by degrees, and in proportion to the developement of the organs. But the deafness of old people does not depend so much upon the blunted sensibility of the nerve as on the general decay of the auditory apparatus. In young and healthy persons, anatomists tell us the auditory nerve is expanded in a humour which occupies the cavities of the internal ear; but in old people this humour is diminished, and the nerve itself becomes of a shrivelled and shrunk appearance.

These observations naturally lead us to inquire into the nature of perfeet deafness. This, we are told, de

VOL. I.

pends either upon a deranged or diseased state of the component parts of the external or of the internal ear, or (what we conceive will be found most frequently to be the case) of the auditory nerve in its connection with the brain, or in its passage to or expansion upon the parts which form the organ of hearing. It is very seldom that we can discover any difference between the external ear of those who are deaf and those who hear. In some cases deafness may depend upon a diseased state of the brain itself; but in such instances the other external senses are also blunted or deficient, and the individual belongs to the worst class of idiots. It is to be regretted that the pathology of the ear has not met with the degree of attention which it justly merits; for deafness, as a congenital affection, is very frequent in this country. Our labours hitherto have been chiefly directed to the procuring of a remedy for the dumbness, or that want of the faculty of speech which is the natural consequence of being born deaf; and the extent to which these labours have been success→ ful we have already endeavoured to point out, as well as to state some of the difficulties which those who have attended to it have had to overcome. Those who are dumb, merely because they are deaf, are observed in general to have the organs of the other senses in a very perfect state. They are endowed with a more than ordinary share of intellect, and hence the facility with which difficulties, in ordinary circumstances almost insurmountable, are overcome with regard to them.

So far back as the 16th century, one Pedro de Ponce, a Spanish Benedictine Monk, is celebrated for having instructed the deaf and dumb, and for having taught them to speak. But we read no where of any great effort that has been made, either in ancient or modern times, to cure deafness. In this country, the earliest instructor of the deaf and dumb was Mr Thomas Braidwood, and he is said to be the first person in Great Britain who opened a regular academy for that purpose; but such were the prejudices of parents and guardians, it we are to believe the report of the times, that he found more difficulty in convincing them of the possibility of instructing the deaf and dumb, than in

ΓΥ

communicating knowledge to the individuals themselves.

We know it is the opinion of some, that deafness, like many other diseases, is hereditary; but if we are to judge from the facts which have come to our knowledge, we should be in clined to give a different verdict. We are aware, that there is one distinguished family in this kingdom, in which it has been traced to something like an hereditary descent, generally passing over one generation, and ap pearing in the second; but this is a solitary instance, while we can produce hundreds of families in the kingdom, in which there are one or more deaf children, and with regard to whom there is not the smallest trace of any of their ancestors having laboured under a similar defect. Our own decided opinion is, that the occurrence of deafness is altogether accidental, and owing to the position or state of the fœtus in utero. Some say it is owing to the effect of impressions upon the mind of the mother during the period of gestation, and we know that many mothers are decidedly of this opinion. We will allow that such impressions may have a mediate effect upon the state or condition of the child, in altering its position, or in the change of relative parts. But it is too absurd to suppose, that they can have any imme diate effect, or tend in any other way to produce the complaint. To those who are inclined to pursue this subject, we would mention, that there is something peculiar in the form of the heads of deaf and dumb persons. They are all more or less elongated and compressed at the sides. In some this conformation is more evident than in others; but in so far as we have had an opportunity of observing, it prevails universally in all cases where the external car is perfect. From the information which we at present possess, we believe there are several hundreds of individuals in Scotland who were born deaf, consequently dumb; but on this subject we shall have accurate information as soon as the valuable report on the state of the poor, which was ordered by the last General Assembly, is completed. Of upwards of two thousand idiots in the kingdom, not more than thirty or forty are deaf and dumb; and what is rather singular, there are more idiots

dumb without being deaf, that what may be considered dumb from being deaf. We would also mention another fact which seems pretty well as certained, namely, that if the first child of a family is born deaf, one or more of the succeeding children will have the same defect; and although there are instances where a deaf and dumb father has had a deaf and dumb child, yet it more frequently happens that there are two, three, four, and even five children in the same family born deaf and dumb, without there being the least reason to suspect that it had ever occurred in any of their progenitors. We will only mention the poor woman whose case gave rise to these rather heterogeneous remarks. She was the mother of three children, who were born with all their senses perfect. Her sister, who is also deaf and dumb, is the mother of two, yet none of them have any defect in the organs of hearing; indeed, we do not know of a single instance where a deaf and dumb mother has produced a deaf and dumb child, though we do not hesitate to say, that they are just as likely to have children with this defect as other women; they are as liable to be of that form and make which prevents the developement of the head of the fœtus, in a lateral direction, as other females.

It was long, and still is, a prevailing opinion among the common people of this country, that dumb persons possess the power of seeing into futu rity, and can foretell, with much certainty, the fate of individuals. This knowledge of "coming events" is to be ascribed altogether, we imagine, to the unusual degree of intelligence which, as children, they possess, and to that superstition which is natural to the uninformed mind. We once knew a dumb sybil, who was supposed to be wonderfully gifted with the art of divination; and shall conclude this paper with an account of the circumstance upon which her celebrity was founded. Though only a child of seven years of age, she was sitting at supper with her father and mother, and a few friends, who had spent the "fore-sipper" in "cracking with the gude man," as was customary for neighbours some fifty or sixty years ago, when two honest farmers called in, on their way home from the market, where they had been