THE ABBÉ DE L'EPÉE.

CHARES MICHAEL DE L'EPEE, the son of one of the royal architects, devoted himself at an early age to the church, and was appointed a prebendary of Troyes. His relationship to Soanen, the bishop of Senez, whose opinion he espoused, caused him to be deprived of his functions; but his zeal to do good soon found another channel to display itself. The Abbé de l'Epée met by accident two young females, deaf and dumb, in whose calamity he felt so much interested, that he formed the resolution of restoring, if possible, these unfortunate beings to society, from which an insurmountable barrier seemed for ever to separate them in the opinion of other men.

The interesting detail of the first conception of this idea, and the chain of thought which immediately ensued, have been displayed by the Abbé Sicard, in his course of instruction to a person deaf and dumb. "The idea," he observes, " of a great man is to be highly prized, and the consequence of this idea was, that a language of gesture and of actions might exist as well as a language of sounds." Experience soon confirmed the hopes which the Abbé de l'Epée had conceived; his efforts surmounted the numerous difficulties he met with, and he was himself surprised, in the end, at the result of his exertions.

The active charity of the Abbé de l'Epée did not confine itself to the instruction of these two females, which gave birth to his useful enterprize. He transformed his house into a school, where the children of the indigent deaf and dumb found in abundance all the necessaries of life. His fortune, without any assistance, was adequate to the support of this admirable institution, and his anxiety for these children surpassed that of parental fondness. In the severe winter of 1788, he denied himself wood and cloathing, and was induced by the importunity alone of his pupils to submit to a personal expence of 300 livres, (about 151. sterling) for which he often reproached himself.

His useful labours attracted the attention of foreign courts. Joseph II. admired him, and placed a disciple under his care, in order that he might carry into Germany the benefit of this institution. He received likewise from Catharine II. the most advantageous offers, which he refused to accept, requiring only as a mark of the esteem of this princess, that she would commit to his instruction a deaf and dumb patient, a native of her dominions.

Enthusiasm at length led this reputable character into an act of indiscretion. Affected by the abandonment of a deaf and dumb youth which a family disavowed, he suffered himself to be led away by prejudice, repaired to Toulouse to prosecute the affair, and attached the authority of his reputation to a falsehood, which was judicially recorded.

The Abbé L'Epée died at Paris, in the year 1790. His disciples lamented his loss, and his memory will long be honoured by posterity.