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homme of Paris published an essay on the possibility of improving the condition of idiots; and in 1828 a few were instructed for a short time at the Bicêtre, one of the large insane hospitals of Paris. In 1831 M. Fabret attempted the same work at the Salpêtrière, another hospital for the insane in the same city. Neither of these efforts met with sufficient success to be continued. In 1833 Dr. Voisin, a French physiologist and phrenologist, organized a school for idiots in Paris, but it was not of long duration. In 1839, with the aid of Dr. Leuret, at that time one of the physicians of the Bicêtre, he revived the school for idiots in that hospital, and subsequently placed it under the charge of M. Vallée. In 1838 Dr. Séguin opened school for idiots in Paris, and was soon so successful that the school in the Bicêtre was placed under his charge; and within 3 years he received from the French academy, whose committee had carefully tested his system of instruction, a testimonial of their approval. The previous efforts for the instruction of idiots had been made with no definite ideas of their psychological condition, but in the vain hope that, somehow, knowledge might be imparted to them. We have seen that these efforts failed, or rather they were only successful in improving to some slight extent the personal habits of the idiots, and teaching them to do a few things by rote. Dr. Séguin proceeded on an entirely different plan; starting with the postulate that idiocy is only a prolonged infancy, he consulted nature as to the mode by which the physical powers are cultivated and the mind educated in the infant. He found in idiot children the infantile fondness for bright colors, and availed himself of it to teach them the distinctions of color and form; he noticed their liking for playthings, and furnished them with builders' blocks, cups and balls, and other toys, by which he could instruct them in number, form, and size; he next taught them words, not letters (these came later), and the meaning of words by pictures; the refractory organs of speech, not yet fully under the control of the will, were moulded and manipulated, until they could utter the sounds he desired; the eye, the foot, the hand, were educated by the use of steps, dumb bells, and other gymnastic exercises; as fast as they could comprehend them, ideas-at first only concrete, but afterward, as they attained to higher consciousness, those of an abstract character-were instilled into their minds. The moral nature was cultivated at times by simple instruction, but oftener by a pure example. The process was long, but in the end it triumphed. Dr. Séguin continued the instruction of idiots in Paris till 1848, a part of the time in a private establishment, and in 1846 published his treatise on the treatment of idiocy, which placed him at once in the front rank of living psychologists. In 1848 he visited the United States, and assisted in the organization and improvement of several institutions for idiot instruction; and since 1856 he has resided in Ohio. Two years, before Sé

guin commenced his school for idiots in Paris, Dr. Guggenbühl began his experiments in regard to the treatment of cretins in Switzerland, already detailed under GUGGENBÜHL and CRETINISM; and 4 years later, Sägert, a teacher of deaf mutes at Berlin, began to receive idiotic pupils, and devoted himself to the study of medicine in order the better to understand their physiological condition. We have already alluded to the difference between his views of the pathology of idiocy and those of Dr. Séguin. He relies to some extent upon medication in the treatment of idiotic children; and as many of those under his charge have some taint of cretinism, it is possible that it may be required there. In the methods of instruction he does not, so far as we can learn, differ materially from Séguin. In 1846 the results said to have followed Dr. Guggenbühl's labors on the Abendberg, the success of Dr. Séguin, and of M. Vallée, who had adopted his plans at Paris, and the publication of Dr. Séguin's work, roused some of the English philanthropists to attempt the instruction of idiots in that country. The first schools in England were small, and were sustained by some benevolent ladies, in the towns of Lancaster, Bath, Ipswich, and Brighton. In 1847 an effort was made to establish an institution in some degree commensurate with the wants of the class for whom it was intended. In this movement Dr. John Conolly, the Rev. Dr. Andrew Reed, the Rev. Edwin Sidney, and Sir S. Morton Peto distinguished themselves by their zeal and liberality. They first rented extensive buildings, formerly the residence of a nobleman, at Highgate, near London, and a railway hotel at Colchester, for the accommodation of idiotic pupils, and then, by great exertion, secured a sufficient subscription to enable them to erect an asylum with 400 beds for a permanent institution. This edifice, known as the royal idiot asylum, at Earlswood, Surrey, was completed in 1856, at a cost, including fixtures, of nearly $375,000. Their funds do not allow them to receive the full number they can accommodate. The establishment at Colchester, now known as Essex hall, is still maintained as a distinct institution, though under the same management. There are two idiot asylums in Scotland: one at Baldoran, near Dundee, on the estate of Sir John Ogilvie, founded in 1853, and supported by Sir John and Lady Ogilvie; the other at Edinburgh, founded in 1855 by Drs. Coldstream and J. Smith, and now under the charge of Dr. David Brodie. At the Hanwell insane asylum, England, there is a department for adult idiots, but they receive no instruction.-In the United States, the movement for the instruction of idiots commenced almost simultaneously in New York and Massachusetts. There had been efforts made, in isolated cases (apart from the attempts at the American asylum already referred to), to instruct idiot children, in the Perkins institution for the blind in Boston, and in the New York deaf and dumb institution, as early as 1838 or 1839; but the feasibility of

organizing an institution for their treatment and training does not seem to have been thought of, till the attention of philanthropists was drawn to it by the eloquent letters of Mr. George Sumner, describing his visits to the schools of M. Vallée and Dr. Séguin in Paris. These letters were published in 1845, and Dr. S. B. Woodward, long known as the superintendent of the hospital for the insane at Worcester, Mass., and Dr. Frederic F. Backus of Rochester, N. Y., soon after corresponded upon the subject. Dr. Backus was elected a member of the N. Y. state senate in the autumn of 1845, and in Jan. 1846, read a report which he had drawn up on the subject of idiot instruction, and the necessity of an institution for the purpose. A few weeks later he reported a bill for such an institution. During the same month a bill passed the Massachusetts legislature, appointing a commission to investigate the condition of the idiots of Massachusetts, and report on the necessity of measures for their instruction. The result was the establishment of an experimental school in Oct. 1848, and subsequentÎy, in 1851, of a permanent institution under the name of the "Massachusetts school for idiotic and feeble-minded youth." Meantime, Dr. Hervey B. Wilbur, a young physician of Barre, Mass., had opened a school for idiot children in Barre, in July, 1848. In 1851 the institution whose organization Dr. Backus had sought in 1846, but which by adverse influences had been delayed, was finally established, first as an experimental school at Albany, and subsequently as a permanent state asylum at Syracuse. The state in 1855 erected a fine edifice for it at Syracuse, at a cost of between $80,000 and $90,000, with accommodations for 150 pupils. It has been from the first under the charge of Dr. Wilbur, who was called from Barre to organize the experimental school. It is now full. In 1852 a "training school for idiots" was established at Germantown, Penn., which received aid from the state. In 1857, having received a grant from the state, and liberal subscriptions from individuals, its trustees purchased a tract of land at Media, Penn., about 20 m. from Philadelphia, and commenced the erection of a building for a state asylum, which they now occupy. This institution is under the care of Dr. Parish. The legislature of Ohio in 1857 organized an experimental school, with a view to the establishment of a permanent institution for idiots, at Columbus, under the care of Dr. R. J. Patterson. There are also 3 private schools for idiots and imbeciles in the United States, viz: the original school at Barre, Mass., founded by Dr. Wilbur, and since 1851 under the care of Dr. George Brown; a school for idiot children at Harlem, N. Y., under the charge of Mr. J. B. Richards, formerly superintendent of the Pennsylvania training school; and a school for idiotic and feeble-minded children at Lakeville, Litchfield co., Conn., under the care of Dr. H. M. Knight. The American schools have generally adopted Dr. Séguin's methods of instruc

tion, with some modifications. The gymnasium is relied upon for developing the physical system, and rousing and fixing the attention. The rudiments of arithmetic are taught, and a considerable number of the pupils are able to add, subtract, multiply, and divide, in numbers below 100; but, in most cases, they grasp the idea of numbers with great difficulty. In geography they make more progress. In penmanship and drawing many of them are very expert, and most of the girls and some of the boys exhibit considerable skill in needle-work. One boy at Syracuse has invented a machine for which a patent has been secured. In moral training they have generally exhibited a remarkable susceptibility for improvement. The American schools do not for the most part receive children above 16 years of age, and prefer those not over 12, as those who are older have become so fixed in awkward and sometimes vicious habits, that it is extremely difficult to overcome them. In the royal institution at Earlswood, England, on the contrary, pupils are taken at all ages, some even 30 years old, or more; they receive very little intellectual instruction, but are taught to sew, knit, make mats, shoes, &c., and enjoy careful religious training. A large proportion of the pupils in this institution are not truly idiots, but feebleminded persons, and of slow and imperfect development. The continental schools are mostly small; and while some of them, as for instance those at Berlin, Winterbach, Gohlis, Bendorf, and the Hague, are conducted with much ability, others have fallen into the practice of teaching the children to repeat a few things by rote, and pay small regard to awakening independent thought. It is estimated that of idiots not af fected by epilepsy, who are brought under instruction in childhood, from tomay be made capable of performing the ordinary duties of life with tolerable ability. They may learn to read and write, to understand the elementary facts of geography, history, and arithmetic, to labor in the mechanic arts under proper supervision, and to attain sufficient knowledge of gov ernment and morals to fulfil many of the duties of a citizen. A larger class, probably of the whole, will become cleanly, quiet, able perhaps to read and write imperfectly, and to perform under the direction of others many kinds of work requiring little thought. This class, if neglected after leaving school, will be likely to relapse into many of their early habits. A small number, perhaps the most promising at entering, will make little or no progress. Nor can the result in any particular case be predicted beforehand, and no methods of instruction yet adopted will invariably develop the slumbering intellect, and confirm and correct the enfeebled or depraved will.-In the following table we present a view, necessarily imperfect, but derived from the latest sources, of the schools for idiot instruction in Europe and the United States. The number of pupils is rather the average than the exact number attending at any one date.

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-The number of idiots and their proportion to the population cannot be ascertained with any satisfactory degree of accuracy. No census statistics are to be trusted; in a district where one census taker would report none, another might find 20. It is very difficult to persuade parents, from whom the returns are usually obtained, that their children are idiots. Some of the worst cases in idiot asylums were brought there by their friends, not as idiots, but as being a little peculiar in their habits. The effort has been made in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Ohio, to obtain returns from physicians, clergymen, and town officers, but with very moderate success. So far as these returns go, however, they show a much greater prevalence of idiocy than is generally supposed. Taking returns received from towns in different sections of these states, and averaging the results, we think it is considerably within the truth to estimate that 6 persons in every 1,000 are either idiots, or of such imperfect mental development as to be of little or no service to the community. In some portions of Great Britain, as for instance Lancashire in England, or the highlands of Scotland, the proportion is considerably larger than this; and in the mountainous districts of the continent, where cretinism abounds, it ranges from 3 to 10 per cent. of the population.-The enthusiasm of philanthropists has led to the expectation of higher results from the training and instruction of idiots than have yet been or are likely to be realized. A very considerable proportion of those under instruction will make little or no intellectual progress; the mind is too thickly

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shrouded for the light to reach it. The condition of others, and especially those suffering from epilepsy, a very frequent concomitant of idiocy, is still more hopeless. The training school may slightly improve their physical condition, but that is all. There is however a large number, and those often apparently the worst cases when admitted, who will attain to a considerable degree of intelligence under judicious instruction, and will develop sufficient ability to be capable, under the direction of others, of acquiring a livelihood.-The following works on idiocy may be consulted: Dr. Richard Poole, "Essay on Education" (first published in the "Edinburgh Encyclopædia," 1819, afterward in a separate volume, 1825); Dr. Niepcé, "Goitre and Cretinism" (Paris, 1845); Dr. E. Séguin, Traitement moral, &c., des idiots (Paris, 1846); "Reports of the Royal Institution for Idiots" (London, 1847'60); "Reports of Commissioners on Idiocy in Massachusetts" (Boston, 1848-'9); Dr. Louis Guggenbühl, "Cretinism and its Treatment" (Bern, 1848); "Reports of the Massachusetts School for Idiotic and Feeble-Minded Youth" (1848-'60); "Report of the Commissioners created by the King of Sardinia for the Study of Cretinism" (Turin, 1850); Dr. Stolst, "Researches on Idiocy and Cretinism in Norway" (Christiania, 1851); M. Hubertz, Statistical Studies on Idiocy" (Copenhagen, 1851); Dr. Stark, "Mental Alienation and Idiocy in England, Scotland, and Ireland," 14th volume of statistical society's "Journal" (1851); "Reports of the New York State Asylum for Idiots" (1851-'60); Dr. Coldstream, "Essay on Idio

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cy" (Edinburgh, 1852); Dr. Eschricht, "On the Possibility of Educating Idiotic Children to become Useful Members of Society" (Copenhagen, 1854); Rev. Edwin Sidney, "Idiot Training, a Lecture" (London, 1855); Dr. W. Blackie, "Cretinism and Idiocy" (Edinburgh, 1855); "Report of Commissioners on Idiocy in Connecticut" (New Haven, 1856); Dr. L. P. Brockett, "Idiots and the Efforts for their Improvement" (Hartford, 1856); Dr. Ferd. Kern, "Essay on Idiot Instruction" in Allgemeine Zeitschrift für Psychiatrie (1857); James Abbot, "Handbook of Idiotcy" (London, 1857).

IDOCRASE, a mineral species of the garnet section of the silicates, named from Gr. edw, to see, and κparis, mixture, indicating resemblance to other species in its crystalline forms. It occurs variously colored, as brown, sulphur yellow, green, and blue; and of vitreous, frequently somewhat resinous lustre. Its hardness is 6.5; specific gravity, 3.35-3.45. It was first observed in the lavas of Vesuvius, and was called Vesuvian. Numerous localities of it are known in gneiss rocks, serpentine and granular limestone. It is particularly abundant at Parsonsfield and Phippsburg, Me., occurring in massive forms as well as in crystals.

IDRIA, a mining town of the circle of Adelsberg, duchy of Carniola, in Austrian Illyria, 32 m. N. N. E. from Trieste, and 35 m. W.S.W. from Laybach; pop. 4,400. The town is situated in a deep, narrow Alpine valley, on a small river of the same name. Its quicksilver mines are the second in importance in Europe, and now produce annually about 3,000 cwt., beside about 650 cwt. of artificial cinnabar. The rich hepatic mercurial ore is found in a formation of clay slate forming a bed in compact limestone. The excavations are horizontal galleries diverging from a shaft which has been sunk to a depth of more than 1,000 feet. The entrance is from the Schloss, a building within the town. Descent is accomplished partly by some 800 steps cut in the rock, and partly by ladders. The miners are a uniformed corps, 500 in number, and the service is eagerly sought for, the higher rate of wages and contingent advantages being balanced against the unhealthiness of the occupation. The mines were discovered in 1497, and are the property of the crown. Amsterdam was formerly the chief market for the quicksilver, for South American account, but it is now sent to Vienna for use in the gold and silver mines of Hungary and Transylvania.

IDUMEA (the Greek form of the Semitic name Edom), the country around Mt. Seir, extending N. and E. from Mt. Horeb to the southern border of Canaan. Its more ancient name was Seir, which it derived from a patriarch of its early inhabitants, the Horims (Deut. ii. 12, 22). It was peopled by the descendants of Esau, and was added to the Israelitish monarchy by David. The Edomites recovered their independence during the reign of Joram over Judah, and avenged themselves on the Jews by their cruelties at the capture of Jerusalem by

Nebuchadnezzar. They were able to extend their power as far north as Hebron, while their ancient seats were invaded and occupied by the Nabathæan Arabs. The Idumæa of Roman and the later Jewish writers, therefore, embraces parts of southern Palestine and northern Arabia Petræa. The Maccabees subjected the Idumæans, and an Idumæan dynasty was subsequently established on the Jewish throne. (See HEROD.) In the Augustan age, Idumæa and Judæa were often used indiscriminately by Roman writers, but the former disappears from history after the destruction of Jerusalem.

IFFLAND, AUGUST WILHELM, a German actor and dramatist, born in Hanover, April 19, 1759, died in Berlin, Sept. 22, 1814. At the age of 18 he eloped from home and made his début upon the stage at Gotha, in one of Engel's comedies, in which he took the part of an old Jew. In 1779 he joined the theatrical company at Mannheim, and was the leading actor in this city when in the latter part of 1781 Schiller put into his hands the manuscript of the "Robbers." The play was produced in the succeeding January, with Iffland in the part of Franz Moor, and the success which attended the representation at once brought Schiller into notice, and confirmed the rising reputation of Iffland. The latter remained in Mannheim until 1796, when he was invited to Berlin to assume the direction of the national theatre of that city. In 1811 he was appointed general director of all the royal plays, and about the same time made an extended professional tour through Germany. From the commencement of his career Iffland cultivated dramatic composition, and in time became not less celebrated as a playwright than as an actor. His plays, chiefly of the class known as the domestic drama, were very successful in their day, and are still occasionally performed on the German stage; but the vein of lachrymose sentiment which pervades them is less palatable to the present than to former generations. Among the best of his works are Die Jäger, Der Spieler, Die Hagestolzen, &c. A collection of 47 of them was published in 16 vols. in Leipsic in 1798-1802, including a memoir of his theatrical career. Subsequent volumes containing other pieces were published in 1807-'9 and in 1827; and in 1844 his select works appeared.

IGLAU, a town of Moravia, Austria, on the right bank of the Iglawa, 49 m. W. N. W. from Brünn; pop. about 14,000. It consists of the town proper, which is walled, and 3 suburbs, and contains a military school.

IGNATIUS, SAINT, surnamed Theophorus, one of the primitive fathers of the church, lived in the latter part of the 1st and early part of the 2d century. He was a native of Syria or Asia Minor, and succeeded Evodius as bishop of Antioch about A. D. 69. Ignatius was & contemporary of the apostles, and, according to Theodoret, was consecrated by St. Peter himself. He had been a hearer, and was probably a convert of the apostle John. On the outbreak

of the persecution under Trajan, he was brought before that emperor at Antioch, and, after examination, was condemned to be taken to Rome and there thrown to wild beasts. This sentence was carried into execution, Dec. 20, 107, or 116. His remains are said to have been collected by the faithful and reconveyed to Antioch, where they were interred. During the journey of Ignatius to Rome, he addressed various epistles to the churches of Asia and to individuals, and one to the Christians of the city whither he was going to be martyred. Fifteen of these letters have come down to us, but in so corrupt a state that many critics have pronounced the greater number of them spurious. The best edition of the epistles ascribed to Ignatius is that of Cotelerius (Amsterdam, 1724). There are two English translations of them, one by Archbishop Wake, the other by Cureton.

IGNATIUS, SAINT, patriarch of Constantinople, born in 798, died Oct. 23, 878. He was the youngest son of the emperor Michael I., and his original name was Nicetas; but on the deposition of his father by Leo the Armenian, he was made a eunuch by Leo and entered a monastery, assuming the name of Ignatius. He was raised to the patriarchate in 846. He was an enemy of the iconoclasts, and would not suffer Gregorius Asbestus, bishop of Syracuse, to be present at his consecration, because of his heterodoxy. Having in 857 refused to admit Bardas, brother of the empress Theodora, as a communicant, on account of the reported immorality of his life, the offender caused him to be deposed, and Photius to be elected patriarch in his place. After his deposition he was treated with the greatest cruelty, and banished to Mytilene; but when Basil the Macedonian ascended the throne in 867, he was recalled from exile. IGNIS FATUUS, a flickering light seen at night over the surface of marshy grounds or graveyards. Sometimes it moves quietly along, resembling the light of a lantern carried in the hand; and again it appears not alone, but two or three together dancing merrily up and down. In the night mists it seems like the light from some neighboring house; and many a traveller has been enticed by its false promise, and led into dangerous bogs, from which he found no escape till the appearance of the morning light. It is not strange that a character of mystery should have attached to this luminous appearance, and that the ignorant should have ascribed its occurrence to some evil spirit. They called it "Will o' the wisp," and "Jack with a lantern," and this imaginary person is often alluded to by the old English poets; thus Parnell, in his "Fairy Tale":

Then Will, who bears the wispy fire, To trail the swains among the mire. It is commonly believed that the light retires before one who pursues it; and this notion is confirmed by the statements of some observers, and disproved by those of others. In vol. xvi. of the "American Journal of Science," p. 246, instances are noticed, in a paper by the Rev.

John Mitchell of Connecticut, of persons coming up with the light, one man catching it in his hat, but finding nothing there. In Milner's "Gallery of Nature," p. 544, is recorded a statement of Mr. Blesson, who carefully investigated the phenomena in the forest of Gorbitz, in Brandenburg. On a marshy spot he observed bluish purple flames at night, where bubbles of air issued during the day. These flames retired as he approached, in consequence, he supposed, of the air being agitated by his movement. On standing perfectly still they soon appeared within reach; and then, carefully guarding against disturbing the air by his breath, he succeeded in singeing a piece of paper, which became covered with a viscous moisture. At last, using a narrow slip of paper, he had the pleasure of seeing it take fire. By disturbing the air over the spot he caused the flames to disappear entirely, but in a few minutes after quiet was restored they appeared again over the air bubbles, apparently without having communication with any known source of flame. On suddenly introducing a torch after extinguishing the flames, a kind of explosion was heard, and a red light was seen over 8 or 9 square feet of the marsh, which diminished to a small blue flame from 2 to 3 feet in height. He concluded that the cause of the ignis fatuus was the evolution of inflammable gas from the marsh, and that the flames existed by day as well as at night, though not then visible. The lights seen occasionally over churchyards are of similar appearance to those described. These meteors are supposed to be the result of the spontaneous combustion of inflammable gases generated by the decomposition of vege table or animal bodies. Phosphuretted hydrogen, it is well known, bursts into flame as it is allowed to escape into the air from the vessels in which it is prepared. It is produced by the decay of animal matters, and, if thinly diffused here and there over the surface of a marsh, may present the changing, flickering light of the ignis fatuus, as difficult to locate as the illumination of the fireflies, for which it has been mistaken by several eminent naturalists. What is known as marsh gas is a highly inflammable carburetted hydrogen, which bubbles up through the water that covers boggy places, and may be inflamed on the surface. (See GAs.) This may be ignited by phosphuretted hydrogen, and add to the extent and permanency of the flames. The small quantity of these combustible matters present in the air will account for the feebleness of the flames, which have rarely been known to set fire to other substances; and the varying quantity and purity of that exhaled would explain the constantly shifting brightness of the light. In the account of this phenomenon in the "Gallery of Nature" referred to, it is stated that in the middle of the last century the snow on the summit of the Apennines appeared enveloped in flame; and in the winter of 1693 hay ricks in Wales were set on fire by burning gaseous exhalations.

IGUANA, a lizard constituting the type of

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