ers upon the streets of Madrid in
the days of De l'Epee, and although rejected by him, it was adopted by
his pupils. This with slight modifications became the French manual
alphabet which was introduced at Hartford by Dr. Thomas Hopkins
Gallaudet. This alphabet is known in almost every hamlet in the land.
Slight changes in the form of certain letters, or in the position of the
hand, in the direction of greater perspicuity and capacity for rapid use,
have taken place gradually, though there is no absolute uniformity of
usage among instructors or pupils.

This "American" alphabet, as here presented, through the liberality of
Dr. A. Graham Bell, has been drawn and engraved from photographs, and
represents typical positions of the fingers, hand and fore-arm from a
uniform point of view in front of the person spelling, or as seen in a
large mirror by the user himself.[10]

[Footnote 10: See an interesting paper on figured manual alphabets by
H.H. Hollister, _Annals_, xv., 88-93.]

This alphabet can be learned in less than an hour, and many have learned
it by extraordinary application in ten minutes. It is recommended that
the arm be held in an easy position near the body, with the fore-arm as
in the plates. Each letter should be mastered before leaving it. Speed
will come with use; it should not be attempted nor permitted until the
forms of the letters and the appropriate positions of the hand are
thoroughly familiar. The forms as given are legible from the distant
parts of a public hall. In colloquial use the fingers need not be so
closely held nor firmly flexed, as represented, but sprawling should be
avoided. It is not necessary to move the arm, but a slight leverage at
the elbow is conducive to ease and is permissible, provided the hand
delivers the letters steadily within an imaginary immovable ring of, say,
ten inches in diameter.

[Illustration: THE ONE-HAND ALPHABET IN GENERAL USE.--FRONT VIEW.]

This adjunct to speech-reading is recommended for its convenience,
clearness, rapidity, and ease in colloquial use, as well as for its value
as an educational instrument in impressing words, phrases, and sentences
in their spelled form upon the mind, in testing the comprehension of
children, and in affording by easy steps a substitute for the
sign-language.

In the simultaneous instruction of large classes not able to follow
speech, finger-spelling "may take the place of signs to a great extent in
the definition, expl