STAMMERING:
THE BEASLEY TREATMENT.
STAMMERING:
THE BEASLEY TREATMENT
BY
W. J. KETLEY
BIRMINGHAM ! Ml'DtON AND SOS, EDMUND tTRCtT AND UVStl JTXIIT
Mr. W. J. Ketley.
To face page v.
THE BEASLEY SYSTEM
Perfected 1876.
ESTABLISHMENT FOR THE CURE OF STAMMERING AND ALL DEFECTS OF SPEECH
« TARRANGOWER," Willesden Lane, Brondesbury, N.W.
For the reception of Resident and Non - Resident Pupils.
Trincipah Mr.W.J.KETLEY,
assisted by Mrs. Ketley [nee Beasley) and the Misses Winnie and Gladys Ketley.
" Tarrangower " is situated about 4 miles North West of Charing Cross and within five minutes' walk of Brondesbury Station.
In 1890 the late Mr. Beasley, in the course of an interview with Mr. Raymond Blathwayte, said : —
" My son-in-law, Mr. W. J. Ketley, who superintends my house in London, and has studied and taught my system for twenty years, is even more patient than I am, and I feel that whenever I am obliged to give the work up it will be carried on just as effectually, if not indeed more so, as ever it has been in my own time." — See p. 90.
'
Preface.
In presenting this book to those whom it may concern, I desire to point out that since the deaths of the late Mr. Benjamin Beasley and his son the conduct of the Beasley system of treatment for the cure of stammering has fallen upon myself.
Before the late Mr. Beasley made the dis- covery which eventually led to his cure, I was associated with him in business, and sym- pathetically watched the gradual process of his cure, aiding him with suggestions and talking over with him his difficulties until his impediment was entirely removed. I thus assisted him from the very first in the development of the system.
Having fully realised the value of that sys- tem, we disposed of our commercial enterprise
viii. STAMMERING.
and jointly took up the work of ministering to others in an establishment at Hall Green, Worcestershire. I was his constant companion, living in the same house, assisting in instructing the very first classes of pupils, aiding in the writing of his books, and helping in the elabora- tion of the exercises that were found necessary to meet the different forms of stammering and the different temperaments of stammerers who came to us for relief.
Later, when the growth of the business made extensions necessary, Brampton Park was taken for country pupils, and an establishment in London was opened, of which I have had sole charge for the past thirty years, and where I have given instruction to many hundreds of stammerers with complete success. Through- out the whole of this period the system has stood the test of trial, and has proved itself to be the best and most reliable one ever invented for the relief of stammerers, whether young or old.
PREFACE. ix
For the young, the treatment is concurrent where desired, with the combination of ordin- ary studies in science, art, languages, and music, as well as in all elementary subjects ; so that a pupil undergoing treatment for stam- mering may not fall back in his studies in other subjects. Students can also be coached for matriculation or other examinations.
Tarrangower has been specially equipped for the reception of pupils of all ages. It is in a delightful district, within easy reach of the West End, and contains facilities for outdoor recreation, including tennis, and indoor amuse- ments.
In conclusion, I wish to draw the attention of parents especially to the chapter on the Danger of Delay. The picture is by no means overdrawn ; the stories that have been poured into my ears and the obvious effects of their impediment on many of the pupils who have ultimately come to me for relief having been heartrending. While the child is young the
x. STAMMERING.
cure is easy ; with those of mature years it is none the less certain, though greater watch- fulness and care and more determination are necessary to obtain relief. And by that time great suffering has been endured.
In all cases the responsibility of parents is greater than they know, and for every one of those to whom this book may bring a fuller sense of that responsibility it will be some con- solation to the writer to feel that at least an effort will be made to rescue a sensitive soul from a purgatory of living torment.
W. J. KETLEY.
Tarrangower, 178 Willesden Lane, Brondesbury, N.W.
Contents.
CHAPTER I. page Stammering: Its Handicap and Cause i
CHAPTER II. The Danger of Delay 9
CHAPTER III. The Organs of Speech 20
CHAPTER IV.
Active Causes of Stammering: 28
CHAPTER V.
Forms of Stammering 34
CHAPTER VI. Stammering v. Natural Methods of Speech 40
CHAPTER VII. The Stammerer at School 47
CHAPTER VIII. The Beasleyi\ Other Systems 54
xii. CONTENTS.
CHAPTER IX. pAGE Advice to my Pupils 53
CHAPTER X.
A Product of Civilisation
CHAPTER XII.
Reminiscences of a Stammerer
Illustrations.
Mr. W. J. Ketley
Tarrangower
Tarrangower : Lecture Room Tarrangower : Drawing Room Mr. B. Beasley
69
CHAPTER XI. An Independent Witness ^g
98
facing page y. 9
72 „ 104
Chapter I.
Stammering : Its Handicap and Cause.
To those afflicted with stammering there is only one subject of importance — their per- manent cure. Their infirmity is an ever present torment, marring the happiness of the present, blurring the visions and destroy- ing the ideals of the future. Few except those who do stammer realise what an awful handi- cap in life the affliction imposes.
To the inveterate stammerer almost as many avenues of life are closed as to the deaf and dumb. The army, the navy, the civil service, public appointments, and public office of every kind, parliament, the pulpit, the bar and the scholastic professions are
2 STAMMERING.
sealed against them ; while in all the learned professions — the professions associated with the arts and sciences — the inability to give vocal expression to their thoughts and designs and discoveries is more or less a drawback and an impediment to progress.
In business it is the same. Bankers, merchants, stockbrokers, shippers and manu- facturers prefer to have in their business departments men of facile speech ; and even in commercial callings where stammering may not be an actual bar, it remains a fact that the stammerer is seriously handicapped by his impediment, both in obtaining employment and in the fulfilment of his every-day duties.
The stammering journalist dreads every interview he has to undertake, the stammering mechanic finds it difficult to give technical instructions or ask for details as to the work he has to do, the stammering shopkeeper is unable to explain the merits of his goods as he would wish to do and as he knows he could
ITS HANDICAP. 3
do but for the fatal lack of harmony between the nervous system and the mechanical organs of speech, which locks his tongue and makes eloquence impossible.
Even in the humbler walks of life the stam- merer is debarred from many callings. He can neither be railway porter, nor guard, nor engine driver, nor policeman, nor soldier, nor jack-tar. His unreadiness of speech haunts him even as a carter or checker, and only in the most humble callings where silence is golden, and physical work alone is required, can he be said to feel least the restraint of his affliction.
Should he be tempted to go abroad, he may find even the gates of foreign countries closed against him as an emigrant, the example in this direction having already been set by the United States, where inveterate stammering is held to be a sufficient cause for refusing to its victim admission at the ports.
Yet among all men in the world there are none as a class who are better equipped in
4 STAMMERING.
mental ability, in versatility, in depth ot penetration, in nervous force, than the stammerer.
Carlyle, one of the keenest observers of his day, when he said that he never knew a stam- merer who was a fool, gave expression to a truism that no one who has had experience of stammerers will ever care to gainsa}^. [It is the nervous force, the intense self-conscious- ness, the keen mental vitality of the patient, that in nine cases out of ten leads to the partial breakdown of the harmonious association be- tween the nervous and muscular mechanisms of speech, and gives rise to the impediment.
Where the dullard stammers, the cause is usually imitation of others, and with care his cure should be easily effected. With the stammerer in whom the affliction has arisen from complex congenital causes, the case is different ; but even for him there is the hope, nay, more than the hope, there is the certainty of cure, if the proper course be pursued.
THE CAUSE. 5
It must, however, be always remembered that articulate speech is in its physiological mechanism one of the most complicated of human achievements, requiring a series of nervous and muscular actions all of which must be executed with precision and in accordance.
It is necessary, for example, as a learned writer has explained in the Encyclopedia Britannica, " that the respiratory movements, more especially those of expiration, should occur regularly and with nice adjustment to the kind of articulate expression required ; that the vocal chords be approximated and tightened by the muscles of the larynx acting with delicate precision so as to produce the sound of the pitch desired ; that the rima glottidis (or aperture of the larynx) be opened so as to pro- duce prolonged sounds, or suddenly closed so as to cut off the currents of air ; that the move- ments of the muscles of the tongue, of the soft palate, of the jaws, of the cheeks, and of the lips occur precisely at the same time, and to the
6 STAMMERING.
requisite extent, and, finally, that all of these muscular adjustments take place with rapidity and smoothness, gliding into each other without effort and without loss of time. Exquisite co- ordination of muscular movement is therefore necessary, involving also complicated nervous actions. Hence is it that speech is acquired by long and laborious effort.
" A child possesses voice from the beginning ; it is born with the capacity for speech, but articulate expression is the result of education. In infancy, not only a knowledge acquired of external objects and signs attached in the form of words to the ideas thus awakened, but the nervous and muscular mechanisms by which these signs or words receive vocal expression are trained by long practice to work harmoni- ously.
' It is not surprising,therefore, that in certain cases, owing to some obscure congenital defect, the co-ordination is not effected with sufficient precision, and that stammering is the result.
THE CAUSE. 7
Even in severe cases no appreciable lesion can be detected either in the nervous or muscular mechanisms, and the condition is similar to what may affect all varieties of finely co- ordinated movements. The mechanism does not work smoothly, but the pathologist is unable to show any organised defects."
This is the baffling mystery of the affliction. It is not a disease. It is impossible for the physician to put his finger on any nerve or any part of the nervous system, or for the surgeon to point to any physical defect, and for either to suggest that by the stimulation of this nerve or the removal or amendment of that organ of speech a cure may be effected.
Neither drugs nor surgical treatment are of avail, and medical men who know no cure are therefore prone to tell parents that the child will grow out of his infirmity. How hopelessly wrong they are ten thousand stammerers could bitterly explain.
But in the following pages it is demonstrated
8 STAMMERING.
that no stammerer need remain the prisoner of his affliction. The history is given of an in- veterate stammerer, who, having borne his burden for over thirty years, Effected his own cure, and in doing so evolved a system which has been of incalculable benefit to thousands of stammerers, and is still at the services of those who, harassed by one of the most distressing afflictions known to man, may, by perfectly natural means, secure emancipation from the thraldom in which they are held.
Chapter II.
The Danger of Delay.
One of the poets has told us that the pain and suffering wrought by want of thought exceeds in infinite volume that inflicted by want of heart. And, so far as the stammering child is concerned, no truer sentiment was ever
penned.
If the mother and father of a stammering child only realised for one moment the possible life-long hell to which they were allowing their child to descend by neglecting the first symp- toms of stammering, or refraining from taking advantage of the best opportunity offered for its cure, or hesitating in seeking out a remedy, they would never forgive themselves.
Their distress on first noticing the hesitation
io STAMMERING.
or the distinct stammer is in most cases lulled by the suggestion of the friend or the family doctor that the child will grow out of it. Would to Heaven there were any probability of this. Then there might be some warrant, some justi- fication for the assurance. But in not one case out of a hundred is the assurance made good by subsequent fact.
On the other hand, the hesitancy increases, the stammering becomes more pronounced' and though at home the child may seem cheer- ful and happy and undisturbed, unconscious of its disability, no one except a stammerer knows how little truth there is in this seeming peace and indifference.
Let the parent watch the child and see how, when it is asking for a privilege or saying any- thing under conditions which do not favour self-forgetfulness, it begins to wince and get confused and troubled by its impediment, and they will get some dim and distant and very faint idea of what is really happening.
THE DANGER OF DELAY. H
They will never know. Only the stam- merer knows the suffering endured even as a child, although protected and patiently borne with by loving parents ; much less can anyone but a stammerer know the agony of being taken among strangers, or how soon the child learns to shrink from other children, how often he busies himself in looking out of win- dows or examining books when his heart is really at play with youngsters whom he fain would but dare not join because of heedless laugh and childish mockery.
From the first moment that the stammering child becomes self-conscious, and learns that it is not as other children, the iron begins to enter its soul. The apparent pinpricks of the mimicking playfellow, the sharply spoken word of parent or brother or sister or nurse or gover- ness for a fault the child cannot help and is not taught to avoid because the parent knows not the remedy, the estranging influences of inability to explain itself are all, to the sensitive
12 STAMMERING.
child, much deeper sorrows than either parents or brothers or sisters ever realise.
Day by day, hour by hour, the consciousness of inability to speak as other children speak is there, and the brighter and more intelligent and more sensitive the child may be, the deeper does its affliction wound.
In time the child becomes less sociable, more and more disinclined to meet other children, increasingly self-centred, and disposed to find its own joys in solitary games or in poring over books. Soon association with other children becomes an ordeal, and any proposal to invite friends a nightmare and the cause of intoler- able distress.
When at length school days come to be talked of, the poor child, though it may put on a bold front, writhes in agony of mind ; and when at last those school days materialise he learns to curse his halting tongue and to hate the dawn of every day because of the purgatory to which his fellows thoughtlessly condemn him.
THE DANGER OF DELAY. 13
This is no fanciful picture. It is the true story of nine out of every ten stammering chil- dren, whose sufferings sear their little souls each day.
Indeed could fathers and mothers fully realise what the life of a stammerer means, no child would ever grow up to be a stammering man or woman. For a child suffering from a painful illness, though of only a temporary nature, parents often deny themselves much ; for a child afflicted with a stammering tongue they unfortunately, because they do not under- stand the mental agony endured, trust to luck for a cure.
Could they but know how scurvily luck may treat their child, those in whom parental love is strongest would realise that it were perhaps better that their little one should be sleeping peacefully in its grave than left to the mercies of the wanton jade.
^Did they realise the ever present torment, the constant dread, the lost opportunities and
i4 STAMMERING.
mortifications that will make the child's life hideous, dog his every footstep, mock his every effort, there would be ten times the solicitude shown towards him that is manifested over the passing physical illness, however painful it might be, and no rest till the remedy was found and the halting tongue made fluent.
Once the child becomes nervous, self-con- scious, constrained, the hope that it will grow out of its affliction is vain, while the danger of delay remains, namely, that as it grows older the habit will become so ingrained that cure will be ten times more difficult.
The boy or girl taken in hand just before school age may be easily cured and sent to school free from the tyrant, and rejoicing in freedom of speech. The young man or young woman entering on the duties of life will find it more difficult to shake off the nervous dread of speech and change the conduct of their lives, and yet each is quite capable of cure, though greater perseverance may be
THE CERTAINTY OF CURE. 15
demanded. But they need have no fear of cure if they are steadfast, nor need either the man or woman of middle-age, even though they have been assiduously practising stammering for the greater part of a life-time.
It is indeed never too late to mend, as Mr. Beasley proved in his own case, and as has been demonstrated in hundreds of cases since he opened his first establishment nearly forty years ago. There is not merely the possibility, there is the certainty of cure for any one of them if they have sufficient determination to persist.
But undoubtedly the best time to tackle the affliction is in early youth before the stings and miseries of halting speech have wrecked the nerves, or self-consciousness or introspective habits have made the patient shrink within him- self—before, in fact, the iron has entered too deeply into the soul for him ever to forget.
Until the child has reached an age at which he may be allowed to go from home, parents
16 STAMMERING.
themselves can do much to help and may even effect a cure.
The wisest course for them to pursue, as Mr. Beasley himself taught, is to apparently take no notice of the impediment, but listen quietly and patiently, and themselves set an example by speaking slowly and thoughtfully. If kept unconscious of his difficulty, the child may be cured without his ever knowing that it existed.
Where the child is not constantly in the mother's charge much may be done to stop the fault in its incipient stages by taking care that the nurse or governess is of a calm and placid disposition, not likely to excite or hurry the child, but on the contrary, to set an example at every turn of quiet repose in speech and manner.
The child stammerer is always highly strung and intelligent, with thoughts flowing too quickly for its yet limited powers of utterance. Its intelligence, however, is obvious, and the result is that the nurse or governess is only too
THE IMITATIVE CHILD. 17
ready to show it off to admiring friends, when the child, knowing what is expected of it and being eager to please, acquires habits that quickly grow and develop to its life-long detriment.
I have known more than one mother so delighted with the pretty imperfections of her little prattler that she has imitated it in her own talk to the child. Did she but know how much pain and suffering she was, alas ! thus courting for her little one in after life, she would rather, one would hope, have cut the tongue from her own mouth than have done it.
Children are imitative, and in tender life no bad example in speech, as in anything else, should be set them, because whatever suffering other bad habits may entail,the suffering caused to the stammering child is an ever-present tor- ment that so gnaws into the soul that in many recorded cases it has in later life driven its victims to suicide.
In its very earliest stages, therefore, every
18 STAMMERING.
effort should be made to check the persistence of faulty speech, by avoiding hurry, keeping the child in as placid an atmosphere as possible, and when speaking to, or in the presence of it, articulating each word slowly, clearly, and with precision. Should such treatment fail to secure the consummation so devoutly to be wished, then, when the time comes at which the child may be put under tuition, no time should be lost in obtaining the best aid possible.
The parent in making selection should be on his guard, taking care to satisfy himself that the system has no tricks, no extraneous aids, no suggestions of hypnotism or psychical influences, no medicines or physical operations, but is one that by natural means shall help the child to acquire self-control, concentration of thought, confidence in himself, and which may, in its ultimate effect, make him a better speaker than the majority of those who have never suffered the disadvantages of such an impediment.
SUCCESSFUL TREATMENT. 19
These requirements the Beasley system fulfils in every detail, and it is because it does this that it has, during the past forty years, been so pre-eminently successful and so widely recognised, not only in the United Kingdom, but throughout the civilised world.
Chapter III. The Organs of Speech.
Before considering the causes of stammering, it may be well to explain the action of the organs of speech. In doing so, there will be no necessity to enter too minutely into detail. The different positions the organs take during the process of speech are as numerous as the different formations of words ; to endeavour to explain them would not only be an almost endless task, but would serve no useful purpose.
The organs of speech are ten in number. They consist of the lungs, glottis, soft palate, tongue, lower lip, lower jaw, hard palate, upper teeth, upper gum, and upper lip. The first six are active, the other four passive.
ORGANS OF SPEECH. 21
The lungs may be said to be the most important of all, as without breath vocal sound could not be produced, nor voice moulded into
words.
Respiration is principally assisted by the action of the diaphragm (a muscular tissue dividing the chest from the abdomen), which falls and rises ; and by the sides of the breast, which expand and contract when breath is inspired and expired.
The glottis is the organ of sound, and is situated in the larynx (or Adam's apple, as it is called) , above the vocal chords. It is here that the different sounds, acute or grave, are made, depending on the greater or less opening of the aperture, and consequent effect on the vocal
chords.
The soft palate is an organ which materially assists in forming quality of voice. It is situa- ted behind the hard palate (or roof of the mouth), and extends to the throat, where the communication with the nasal passages com-
22 STAMMERING.
mences. It opens these passages in all usual sounds.
The other organs it is unnecessary to describe ; they can be seen.
In speaking, the breath is emitted from the lungs, producing sound in the glottis, which sound is fashioned into words by the action of the other organs of speech.
Although there are nearly forty different formations, it will be sufficient to speak only of five, and those consonantal, and used at the beginning of words.
I do not mean that these five formations are exactly alike in the different words which I shall group together, but that for all practical purposes they may be considered the same. The few examples will, if carefully studied, show the difference which occurs in the position of the organs of speech during articulation.
Words beginning with B, P, or M are formed by pressure of the lips together, and then abrupt separation at the instant that the voice
ARTICULATION. 23
is made, as in bar, beg, bit, bother, but, by ; pack, pen, pig, pot, put, pike ; man, met, mix, mop, mud. The difference is caused by the various vowels which are used. The same remark will apply to other consonantal forma- tion.
D, T, S, Z, and N require the tip of the tongue to come in contact with the upper teeth, where the teeth and gums meet, and simul- taneously with vocal sound there must be cessa- tion of contact, in order to articulate the required word, as in dad,- deck, differ, doll, duck, dye ; tack, tempt, till, toll, turf, tie ; sack, send, sin, soft, suffer, sign ; zany, zeat, zinc, zodiak, zumic ; name, Nell, nib, not, nut.
C, G, J, K, L, Y, Sh, and Q, in the formation of a word, require the tongue to be placed against the hard palate. As in the former, quick separation is necessary at the moment the voice is made, as in cab, centre, cid, coffer; cut, cite ; gad, gem, gin, gone, gutter, gyve ;
24 STAMMERING.
jack, jet, jim, jog, just ; kaw, keg, kick ; lame, lend, limb, lost, lust, line ; yacht, yet, yon, yule ; shame, shed, shine, shot, shut ; queen, quick, quoth.
F and V are dental-labials, in which the lower lip comes into contact with the upper teeth, from which it is separated in commencing a word, as in fact, fed, fin, fog, fuss, fye ; vane, veer, vine, voice.
R, when trilled, requires the tip of the tongue to be placed very near to the palate, and the voice propelled with sufficient force to cause rapid contact and separation, as in "around the rugged rocks the ragged rascals ran their rural race."
As there are no fewer than five different sounds of the vowel A ; two of E ; three of I ; three of O ; and two of U ; as heard in the following words, far, mast, mare, fall, mate ; get, me ; fire, fir, fin ; for, home, move ; must, prude — besides their combinations in diphthongal and triphthongal sounds — the
ARTICULATION. 25
manner in which sounds are multiplied will be understood.
Consonants may be divided into three classes. First, those which have no initiatory sound whatever, as C, K, P, Q, T. Second, those which have but a slight initiatory sound, as B, D, F, G, J, S, V, Z. And, third, those which have a palpable initiatory sound, as L, M, N. In fact, L, M, N have sounds quite as plain as the vowels.
Stammerers find the most difficulty with words beginning with the first class, less with those of the second class, and least with those of the third class of letters. What I mean by the initiatory sound is that which immediately precedes articulation of any consonantal sound. The initiatory sound of L is produced by the tip of the tongue being placed in contact with the palate, close to the upper teeth, while the sound is allowed to pass over the tongue and out laterally by the teeth. This sound can be made with the nostrils closed. M and N can-
26 STAMMERING.
not be articulated with the nostrils closed; thus they are called nasal.
The initiatory sound in the second class letters is varied in each of them, and may be under- stood by placing the articulative organs in their right position for the letter which begins a word, and endeavouring to articulate that word with- out allowing them to move. In B, D, G, J a stifled sound will be produced ; and in F, S, V, Z a kind of hissing sound will be made ; while in the first class, when the organs are placed in right contact for a word, no possible sound can be uttered in trying to say that word so long as the organs are not separated,
To make enunciation perfect, a light trippant action of the tongue and lower lip, and a free downward, almost involuntary, action of the lower jaw, are necessary. There must be no hard pressure at the time of contact, but every articulation must be made entirely without effort. Where this is not observed, an impeded articulation will ensue.
A WARNING. 27
Defective articulation is frequently the result of imperfect physical formation, such as hare- lip, cleft palate, undeveloped jaws, too large tongue, or defective growth of the teeth. Stammering rarely, if ever, proceeds from such cases, although it may accompany them.
In some of the cases just mentioned the aid of the surgeon may be necessary, but in cases of stammering the knife should never be used. Many unfortunates have had bitterly to deplore the result of a surgical operation for the cure of stammering, when they have found to their cost that their condition has been made infinitely worse than it was before.
Thanks to the intelligence of the present age, few surgeons could now be found who would countenance operations for stammering.
Chapter IV. Active Causes of Stammering.
In our opening chapter an attempt has been made to explain the underlying cause — the primary cause — of the affliction, and it is there pointed out that scientists have been quite unable to trace the impediment to any defect in the organs of speech.
My own experience fully confirms this, because during my intercourse with hundreds of stammerers I have never met with one whose impediment was so caused ; and on the other hand I have witnessed it in its greatest intensity where there has been the most perfect physical organisation, mental vigour and capacity, strength of will, force of charac- ter and abundance of health — in fact, where there has been every qualification necessary for the perfect outward man.
IMPOSSIBLE METHODS. 29
But in addition to the great underlying cause there are four principal active causes. First, not opening the glottis so as to produce sound ; second, not allowing the lower jaw to have free play ; third, pressing the lips tightly together ; and fourth (a habit most difficult to get rid of), pressing the tongue tightly against the teeth or gums. In other words, stammering is caused by trying to speak in an impossible manner.
Let anyone try to articulate a word begin- ning with one of the letters B, P, or M without separating the lips ; or one beginning with either C, G, J, K, or Q without separating the tongue from the palate ; or words beginning with the letters F or V without separating the lower lip from the upper teeth, and he will find his efforts are vain.
In explaining their cause, it may be as well to state what I mean by stammering as distinguished from stuttering. Stammering is an inability to articulate sentences, words,
3o STAMMERING.
or parts of words, and may occur in any part of a sentence, in any part of a word, or at the beginning of a word. Stuttering is a rapid repetition of the initial or beginning part of a word, and a difficulty or inability to finish it.
Stammering is not confined to any letters or words ; but words beginning with conso- nants present the greatest difficulties,especially with double or treble consonants,such as bl, br, ch, cl, cr, dr, fl, fr, gl, gr, pi, pr, sc, sh, sk, si, sm, sp, sq, st, sw, th, scr, shr, spr, and str.
As, however, the two forms are so nearly allied to each other, when I speak of stammer- ing my remarks will generally apply to stuttering also. Nervousness exercises a very predominant influence over stammerers, but it is not, as many suppose, the cause of stam- mering. Stammering is the cause of nervous- ness. If a cure be effected, all nervousness w disappear. Besides, it cannot be traced in its earlier stages to nervousness, as children are seldom nervous, and it is generally during
ACTIVE CAUSES. 31
the period of childhood that the affliction has its origin. Even those who have been troubled with an impediment for many years are often found to be anything but nervous, except in regard to their misfortune.
There are many causes which first conduce to stammering, the diseases incidental to child- hood being the principal, such as measles, scarlatina, whooping-cough, low fever, or any thing which reduces the physical condition. Sometimes it is acquired by imitation. As a general rule it commences when children are between the ages of four and twelve years, and usually makes its appearance after recovery from some child-ailment. At first it is only slight, but does not take long to develop itself, and is often aggravated by the injudicious treatment of those having charge of children.
The temperament of children who acquire the habit are of two kinds — either highly excitable and vivacious, or secretive and ruminative — and the form it will take will be
32 STAMMERING.
different. As a rule the excitable child will both stutter and stammer, while the quiet one will stammer only.
It is erroneous to suppose that stammering is confined to consonantal formations ; no doubt consonants present the greatest diffi- culty to stammerers, but they also stam- mer at vowels. The most easy of all the vowel sounds is a, pronounced as in la of the Italian method of sol-fa-ing in music. This is formed with the whole of the active organs entirely at rest, and requires, when the organs are in the right position, only the propulsion of the breath to cause the vocal chords to vibrate and produce the sound ; and yet the stammerer often finds difficulty with this formation, owing to lack of control over his glottis, or the adoption of an impossible method of articulation.
The absurd notion, which once had a few disciples, that stammering is a disease, has nearly become obsolete ; although there may
NOT A DISEASE. 33
be some few who still entertain the idea that it comes within the province of the physician, and will succumb to medical treatment.
To characterise as a disease an improper use of the lips, tongue, breath, and lower jaw seems quite as ridiculous as if speaking un- grammatically or biting one's nails were so called. Stammering is an affliction of highly complex origin, in which neither disease nor physical deformity has any part or share.
Chapter V.
Forms of Stammering.
The phenomena of stammering are unaccount- ably numerous and variable in form. Re- markable as the statement may appear, it is perhaps not too much to say that no two victims of the affliction stammer alike. The bad habits into which the lack of co-ordination in the mechanism of speech has driven the stammerer differ in every individual case ; therefore individual treatment is essential.
Many cases that have come under my own observation, either at Brampton Park or Brondesbury, could be quoted in proof of this ; and it may not be amiss to refer to a few of them. One gentleman, who finally came to me as a pupil and went away cured of his impediment,was often several minutes, making great efforts all the time, before he could utter a sound. When at last the sound came ten
CHARACTERISTICS. 35
or twelve words would be uttered with in- articulate rapidity until his breath was utterly spent, whereupon he would be as long in trying to begin again. On one occasion, being asked a question by a friend with whom he was walking, he walked several hundred yards before replying, and when he did so the delay had been so long that his friend had forgotten what he had asked.
Another remarkable case, laughter-provok- ing were it not so heartrendingly piteous, was that of a young lady who, in her endeavours to speak, frequently gave herself violent kicks, and had carried this so far, on her own telling, that on one or two occasions when out walking- she had kicked or tripped herself into the gutter.
These are extreme cases, but nearly all stammerers distort their faces when attempt- ing to speak, and hundreds get hold of bad mechanical habits ; tapping with hand or foot or arm at every word, or adopting other
36 STAMMERING.
methods which they have been told may help them in their difficulty.
The majority of stammerers find great difficulty in travelling, the little window in the booking office of a railway station pre- senting a terrible ordeal, especially when other travellers are awaiting their turn and the stammerer becomes nervous lest he should keep them too long ; while the giving of instructions to taxi or cab drivers, and the inquiring of one's way, often presents almost unsurmountable difficulties. Many on this account never travel alone, unless compelled by force of cir- cumstances ; and it is no uncommon thing for boys who stammer to get their companions to execute commissions for them where speech is necessary. Entering a shop to ask for commodities is always an ordeal which every stammerer shirks on all possible occasions.
Nor are these the only anomalies of the affliction. Some who are able to speak fairly to equals and superiors utterly fail to make
CHARACTERISTICS. 37
themselves intelligible when speaking to ser- vants. Usually the contrary is the case ; but with stammerers there is no common ground except the obvious one that every stammerer stammers. The majority can at least speak passably in the family circle, and not at all in public. But at the present moment there is in the House of Lords an elderly nobleman who frequently inaugurates debates and enters into discussion with perfect fluency, while in private conversation he stammers rather badly ; and in a northern town the recent holder of the office of Mayor was a gentleman who, as a major in the volunteer force, and as a public speaker, was perfectly free of speech, while in private con- versation he still hesitates, stammers, and occasionally relapses into silence because of his infirmity.
Opposite circumstances in other ways also have distinct effects. Some stammerers can speak with comparative fluency when con-
38 STAMMERING.
versing with strangers, but amongst their own friends experience considerable difficulty; while others find their troubles begin immediately they talk to anyone with whom they are unacquainted.
Stammerers are also greatly influenced by the manner of the persons to whom they are speaking. For instance, if they enter into conversation with anyone who shows im- patience or watches them very acutely, the result is that they get more confused, and ultimately come to utter grief. Sometimes, on the other hand, sympathy, by way of kind looks and words of help or encouragement, has the opposite effect to that for which it is meant, and makes the stammerer worse than he would be if no notice were taken of him.
It would take volumes to enumerate all these differences, and, therefore, only one or two more must suffice. It is very common for a stammerer to speak and read perfectly when alone, and to break down immediately anyone
CHARACTERISTICS. 39
comes into his presence ; or he may be talking to one person, with little or no hesitation, and be rendered completely dumb by the appearance of another auditor. It is no easy matter for a stammerer to speak through a tele- phone or through a tube, as the knowledge that someone is listening at the other end is quite sufficient to upset him ; while there are other stammerers who can use the telephone quite freely, and yet be almost dumb when they meet face to face the person to whom they have spoken. It is often very trying to a stammerer to have to give his own name, or to be called upon to repeat anything he may have said, even though he had spoken it just before with perfect freedom.
Boys sometimes lose their impediment while at play, in their excitement altogether forgetting their infirmity ; but immediately they are summoned to quieter work again, or simply accosted by anyone out of their play, will at once begin to stammer.
Chapter VI.
Stammering v. Natural Methods of Speech.
Whatever may be the primary cause of stammering — and many volumes have been, and further volumes might be, written upon the subject without getting any nearer the truth— the active cause is evidently an attempt to speak in an impossible manner. In the invention of such impossible methods each stammerer is an adept.
Efforts to speak with clenched teeth, with tongue hard pressed against the gums orro of of the mouth, with rigid jaw, with pursed or protruded lips or other facial contortions, are habits which every stammerer adopts in turn
A CONTRAST. 41
with equally disastrous results. Trick after trick is acquired, made use of, cast aside, and some new contortion adopted.
One by one the whole of the letters in the alphabet in turn prove stumbling blocks. M's, B's, P's, T's, D's present special diffi- culties, but a stammerer will frequently over- come these only to fall a victim to some other letter, consonant, or vowel, in regard to which there ought to be no difficulty at all, and will go to the extreme lengths in physical effort to frame or force the word, the initial letter of which is the particular bete noir of the moment.
The ordinary man speaks without effort at all. His lower jaw is loose, his tongue and cheeks and lips are free and flexible, and his words flow easily and without exertion.
What the Beasley system teaches is the right, the natural, method of speech.
To this end three things are essential. That the stammerer be in good health, that he realises the necessity for both mental and
42 STAMMERING.
physical repose, and that he has faith in himself.
There is an old proverb which tells us that if money be lost naught is lost, if honour be lost much is lost, but that if courage be lost all is lost. It is undoubtedly so with the stam- merer. If he loses courage and makes no effort to regain it, his case is hopeless.
But no stammerer with a spark of grit in his composition would permit himself to get into such a condition, and if he did, the sight of a class of stammerers — young, middle-aged and elderly, including some, maybe, who have been much worse than himself — would surely help him to regain it, and would show him that if he is willing to try, and is ready to keep a watch on himself, and to endeavour to speak "on rule" — that is, according to the methods of the Beasley system — his perfect cure is a matter of certainty.
First, then, the stammerer is taught to school himself to mental calm, to make no effort to
REPOSE NECESSARY. 43
speak until he feels in perfect mental and physical repose, and then, as Kingsley so aptly put it, to " speak calmly, with self-respect, as a man who does not talk at random, and has a right to a courteous answer."
Secondly, it is pointed out to him how utterly foreign to free speech is all effort, and how impossible it is for him to speak with clenched teeth, rigid jaw, or strained cheek and lips. The mechanism of speech permits of no such hard running ; it should work smoothly and softly, and, in a cultivated speaker, run like a well-oiled machine.
Indeed, that to exert effort is to create impediment every stammerer who has suf- fered from accident or serious illness can, on reflection, convince himself ; for when utterly exhausted from loss of blood or sickness, and thus rendered incapable of effort, he will have found himself speaking much more freely than when in perfect health he has tried to force the utterance he desired.
44 STAMMERING.
The Beasley system is designed to help stammerers to " learn again the art of speak- ing " and to adopt only natural methods— to unlearn the bad habit of years, to discrimin- ate between the impossible method and the possible, and so learn to speak naturally as men should.
The pity is that stammerers cannot be taught by printed instructions or correspondence. Each has his own peculiarities, and therefore requires to be dealt with individually.
But more than that, he needs oral demon- stration. In one oral and vocal lesson more can be taught than by days of reading and nights of study.
Indeed, the habit of speaking wrongly has be- come so much a part of the stammerer's nature that he is liable to wrongly interpret any in- struction given in printed folio or written letter, and when he attempts to put into practice in every-day life the lessons he has learned or attempted to learn in his chamber, he will, in
TREATMENT. 45
nine cases out of ten, find himself worse than when he attempted to speak before ever the lesson was scanned.
Moreover, the highly sensitive stammerer, without the stimulus of seeing the progress made by others who have been every whit as bad as he is, would find himself lacking the courage and self-control necessary to success. Con- tact with teachers and pupils whose cure seems assured gives encouragement and engenders such hope and confidence that one may count the battle already half won.
The meeting together in class helps also to break through the reserve with which the stammering boy and girl so often surround themselves, and encourages the sang froid that is an essential part of the cure.
The sensitive girl needs other treatment — kindly mothering, a gradual introduction to class, and freedom from vocal exercises even among those similarly affected until she has gained sufficient courage to attempt it herself
46 STAMMERING.
without prompting. In a little time, being talked to without answer expected, she learns to forget her impediment ; begins to make attempts to speak ; is reassured by the fact that no one apparently takes notice of her failures ; and so gains such confidence that lessons may be begun with every hope of success.
In brief, the system is a kindly, patient, watchful system of teaching the stammerer the true art of speaking ; and because it is a natural system, built up by one who himself stammered, it contains such elements of success as cannot fail the pupil who is in earnest concerning his future welfare.
Chapter VII.
The Stammerer at School.
In a previous chapter passing allusion has been made to the painful position, so far as the care- less conduct of their fellow pupils is concerned, of the boy who is a stammerer — and it is safe to say that no greater act of cruelty can be inflicted on such a lad than to send him to a large public school without first attempting the amelioration of his difficulties. It is kinder to send him to a private coach, where the boy can have individual attention, and it is infinitely kinder to the boy and much more thoughtful of his future to send him to an establishment like my own, where his education can be carried on in a thoroughly efficient maimer during the time that he is being treated for his impediment.
48 STAMMERING.
In a large public school he has no opportunity of oral examination ; at Tarrangower exam- ination in class is one of the chief features of the curriculum, so that the boy (or girl) is not only obtaining scholastic tuition, but such tuition is itself made a vehicle for instruction in the art of speaking.
Boys at a large school who stammer are heavily handicapped, and their lives made unbearable by the thoughtless or wanton behaviour of their companions. In every school boys will be found who take a delight in laughing at the affliction of others, and stammering seems to afford them special opportunities for ridicule and offensive imitation.
I have seen boys worked into ungovernable passion through such heartless behaviour, and others of a different temperament so hurt as to be almost broken-hearted. That boys so treated should have a distaste amounting to hatred of school is no matter of surprise, nor
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SCHOOL HANDICAPS. 49
can it be wondered at that many an amiable lad has had his temper spoiled and his dis- position ruined under such conditions.
Parents are often utterly ignorant of the existence of such a condition of things, or of the suffering to which their child is subjected, because the boy of the right mettle is unwilling to " peach " or complain.
And not only is the stammering boy's social life made miserable, but his scholastic career is impeded, for at every turn his difficulty of speech blocks the way. He is often at the bottom of his class, not because he does not know his lessons, but because of his inability to say them, a condition which becomes terribly galling, and not unfrequently has the effect of making him careless and causing him to lose all ambition to excel — all interest in studies, which, work he never so laboriously, secure for him no recognition.
If he be of an indolent nature, he can easily shirk his work, well knowing that his hesitation
50 STAMMERING.
will cause him to be ignored. Many a stam- mering boy has been given credit for knowing his work when he has not ; and many another has been considered a dullard, although perfect in every line. Tutors cannot be blamed for passing such boys, as the work of the whole class cannot be delayed by waiting for one, though no excuse can possibly be offered for those who show impatience or lose their tempers, which, unfortunately, some do with stammering boys.
Having regard to these various considera- tions, I employ efficient tutors, so that a boy's education may be either commenced or car- ried on or completed, or, if desired, he may be prepared for university matriculation or degrees.
" The pen " may, it is true, " be mightier than the sword," but the art of speech is beyond all doubt the greatest human power. Is it not, then, an amazing fact that not only is this great power absolutely uncultivated at
SCHOOL HANDICAPS. 51
the majority of schools, but that in most of them bad habits of speech are positively in- duced by the present system of cramming and high pressure ? Those children who show more than average intelligence and aptitude are pushed forward and overworked in order that theymay be made examples of the proficiency of this or that scholastic establishment, to the lifelong injury of the little pupil.
Legislation, which forbids the bodily over- working of children, might well interfere to save this abuse of their mental powers. The theory of many eminent physicians that the great increase in stammering at the present day is due to these causes is no doubt correct, since it is invariably the quick, intelligent, highly strung and nervous boy, and not the slow or dull subject, who falls the readiest victim.
How then can the extraordinary apathy of parents in regard to stammering children be accounted for? They have probably con- sulted the family doctor, and, as has been
52 STAMMERING.
intimated in a previous chapter, are only too ready to accept his comforting formula that the " boy will grow out of it." I do not say that all medical men treat the matter in this cavalier-like manner — far from it. Many are fully alive to the vast growth and to the terrible significance to the individual of the imperfection ; but, unfortunately, there are others who do not like to admit their ignorance of a subject which in truth does not come within the province of their profession, and therefore dismiss it in this off-hand and reprehensible manner.
If any proof of the fallacy of their theory be needed, it is to be found in the thousands of stammerers of mature age who have lived and live now to reproach their parents for neglect of an ever-present trouble which might easily have been eradicated during their education.
With the increase of population competition for the different professions becomes keener, and it is not to be wondered at that the author-
ITS CURE. 53
ities are growing correspondingly stricter, and are refusing to pass candidates whose speech-education has been neglected.
Therefore the coaches and tutors engaged in connection with the educational facilities offered at Tarrangower are specially chosen and instructed as to their treatment of the pupils, whose difficulties of speech are made the special care of the principals.
Chapter VIII.
The Beasley v. Other Systems.
The great advantage of the Beasley system, and the one which gives it a pre-eminent claim to attention over all others, is that it was evolved by a gentleman who himself stammered for five and thirty years, who had tried other systems without result, and who, feeling with increased intensity as the years passed the seriousness of the handicap under which he laboured, determined to put all else aside and wrestle with his infirmity to a finish. His determination had its reward. Inventing new vocal exercises and new expedients, un- wearyingly analysing his every emotion, he continued casting about for a cure until a chance intonation in a vocal exercise gave him a hint, the full force of which, when he came
DIFFICULTIES. 55
to study the matter, flashed upon him like an inspired revelation. On that hint and inspira- tion he laboriously constructed his system and cured himself, to the wonderment of business acquaintances and the surprise and delight of his friends.
Of no other system can the same be said. Others may have been evolved as the result of much sympathetic study of stammerers, by question and cross question and observation ; but it is safe to say that no one except a stammerer who has been taught by personal experience and cruel suffering can enter into the emotions, the difficulties, and the terrors that the stammerer has to suffer and combat, or fully realise the essential cause of the afflic- tion , And to attempt to cure stammering without sympathetic understanding of the root cause, without full knowledge of the fact that nervousness is both cause and effect, is to aggravate the affliction and condemn the sufferer to almost hopeless doom. Buoyed up
56 STAMMERING.
for a time by promises made to the ear, the sufferer, when he finds they are broken to the hope, is flung into fathomless depths of des- pondency, which, reacting on his nervous system, intensifies his impediment, and, to his mental vision, darkens the whole abyss of his future.
Because stammering, unlike most other afflictions, feeds upon itself and contributes to its own intensification. Even as a child the stammerer becomes sensitive, and that sensi- tiveness reacts upon and further interferes with harmonious co-ordination of the mechanism of speech. As the stammerer grows older, and his sensitiveness increases, the nervous system becomes less resistant under the everlasting strain — the dread of speech and the ordeals of everyday life — and, as year by year passes, phase after phase of nervousness occurs, until self-conscious, introspective, made more morbid by the dumb devil of his halting tongue than the dumb man is by the affliction which
FALSE MOVES. 57
from the first he knows to be hopeless, the stammerer withdraws himself from his fellow men on every possible occasion, and so makes worse his affliction and increases the misery of his life.
By Mr. Beasley — who had himself sustained heavy business losses because of his inability to present his views plainly to those with whom he was dealing, and had suffered for thirty years all the mental agonies of the stammerer — this phase of the affliction was fully realised. In the workshop he had with- drawn from management because of the diffi- culty of giving clear instructions to the men ; in the office he had withdrawn from all speaking parts from the same overwhelming sensitiveness, though knowing that in hundreds of business transactions he could have done infinitely better than those on whom the duty fell ; and when at last he let all else go in order that he might know and study and cure him- self, he found that these withdrawals of his
58 STAMMERING.
had been among the errors that added to his infirmity, and realised that the building up of the nervous system, and the putting aside of the dread of association with other people, were two essentials necessary to success in overcoming the difficulties of his impediment. In this his teaching is diametrically opposed to those whose instruction con- sists in insisting upon lengthened periods of silence, to be broken only in class or to the instructor, or in that much more insidious teaching which relies on hypnotic suggestion for the cure. In the one case the mechanism of speech — to secure the harmonious working of which every effort should be made — is left idle instead of being usefully exercised ; in the other the will power is being sapped, the nervous system weakened day by day, until the patient becomes but the puppet and the creature of the operator — the automaton, robbed of individuality and will power, in the hands of the strong man.
A CONTRAST. 59
It is not the sapping of individuality, of ner- vous force, of will power, that is necessary in the cure of the stammerer, but the contrary. By hypnotic suggestion temporary good may possibly be secured ; but at what price ? The abnegation of will and individual conscience, the enslavement of the sub-conscious self by another, the absolute surrender of the patient to the professor. Who that has dabbled with hyp- notism or mesmerism at all has failed to note the class of persons that most easily come under the power of the hypnotist ? Weak, anaemic, inanimate, feeble creatures in physique, or if not this, then mentally dull, they represent the precise opposite of the ideal man or woman, and it were a sin against high Heaven to so sap the mental or physical health of even the most inveterate stammerer to effect what can at best be but a temporary cure of his one affliction at so great a cost in every other direction.
The Beasley system is founded on the
60 STAMMERING.
opposite view. A sound mind in a sound body are its first essentials. In Mr. Beasley's case nothing so much as a robust, healthy, self-reliant spirit helped to bring about his cure ; and one of the first lessons his system teaches is that no one can cure a stammerer but himself. Once the subject realises this, and decides to profit by the instruction given, his cure is assured. Robbed of such self-confidence as he may possess by surrender of his will power to another, the last state of the patient, once the controlling personality of his preceptor is withdrawn, must surely be worse than the first.
In both systems it will be seen suggestion plays its part. In the Beasley system it is conscience suggestion — the suggestion of living mind to living mind, encouragement, the suggestion of hope, belief in one's self, certainty of ability to talk as other men if one but for a little while exercises patience,
A CONTRAST. 61
keeps on one's guard, speaks according to the rules laid down for him, and lives in the con- fident hope of the future. In the other case it is the suggestion of the vital mind that has been subdued, brought under control, and, as it were, harnessed in servile chains. What greater contrast could be drawn ? What stronger.condemnation marshalled in evidence ?
In no set phrase or polished paragraph can the Beasley system be better described than in the noble words of Charles Kingsley — himself a victim of the affliction — who said : —
" Let. him (the stammerer) learn again the art of speaking, and having learned, think before he speaks, and say his say calmly, with self-respect, as a man who does not talk at random and has a right to a courteous answer. Let him fix in his mind that there is nothing on earth to be ashamed of save doing wrong, and no being to be feared save Almighty God, and go on making the best of the body and soul which heaven has given him, and I will
62 STAMMERING.
warrant that in a few months his old misery of stammering will lie behind him as an ugly and all but impossible dream when one awakes in the morning/ '
This is the Beasley system ; it teaches the art of speaking, it induces self-respect, calm- ness, self-confidence, and, where the patient himself is in earnest, it secures to him that free- dom of speech which is to the stammerer above and beyond the gifts or the praises of Kings.
Chapter IX.
Advice to my Pupils.
In conclusion, I cannot give better advice to my pupils than that contained in this extract from an article by the late Charles Kingsley in Fraser's Magazine. They already know my system ; let them supplement it by the follow- ing advice : —
" Stammerers need above all men to keep up that mentem sanam in cor pore sano, which is nowadays called somewhat offensively mus- cular Christianity — a term worthy of a puling and enervated generation of thinkers who prove their own unhealthiness by their con-
64 STAMMERING.
temptuous surprise at any praise of that health which ought to be the normal condition of the whole human race.
" But whosoever can afford an enervated body and an abject character, the stammerer cannot. With him it is a question of life and death. He must make a man of himself, or be liable to his tormentor to the last.
" Let him, therefore, eschew all base per- turbations of mind ; all cowardice, servility, meanness, vanity, and hankering after admira- tion ; for these all will make many a man, by a just judgment, stammer on the spot. Let him, for the same reason, eschew all anger, peevishness, haste, or even pardonable eager- ness. In a word, let him eschew the root of all evil — selfishness and self-seeking ; for he will surely find that whosoever begins thinking about himself, there is the dumb devil of stammering at his elbow. Let him eschew, too, all superstition, whether of that abject kind which fancies that it can please
THE SOUND BODY. 65
God by a starved body and a hang-dog visage, which pretends to be afraid to look mankind in the face, or of that more openly self-con- ceited kind which upsets the balance of the reason by hysterical raptures and self-glorifying assumptions. Let him eschew, lastly, all which can weaken either nerves or digestion ; all intemperance in drink or in food, whether gross or effeminate, remembering that it is as easy to be unwholesomely gluttonous over hot slops and cold ices as over beef and beer. " Let him avoid those same hot slops (to go on with the corpus sanum), and all else which will injure his wind and his digestion, and let him betake himself to all manly exer- cises which will put him into wind, and keep him in it. Let him, if hecan, ride, andridehard, remembering that (so does horse exercise expand the lungs and oxygenate the blood) there has been at least one frightful stammerer ere now who spoke perfectly plain as long as he was in the saddle.
66 STAMMERING.
" Let him play rackets and fives, row, and box ; for all these amusements strengthen those muscles of the chest and abdomen which are certain to be in his case weak. Above all, let him box ; for so will ' the noble art of self- defence ' become to him over and above a healing art.
" If he doubt this assertion, let him (or, indeed, any narrow chested porer over desks) hit out right and left for five minutes at a point on the wall as high as his own face (hitting, of course, not from the elbow like a woman, but from the loin, like a man, and keeping his breath during the exercise as long as he can), and he will soon become aware of his weak point by a severe pain in the epi- gastric region in the same spot which pains him after a convulsion of stammering. Then let him try boxing regularly, daily, and he will find that it teaches him to look a man, not merely in the face, but in the very eye's core ; to keep his chest expanded, his lungs full of
THE SOUND BODY. 67
air : to be calm and steady under excitement ; and, lastly, to use all those muscles of the torso on which deep and healthy respiration depend.
" And let him now, in these very days, join a rifle club, and learn in it to carry himself with the erect and noble port which is all but peculiar to the soldier, but ought to be the common habit of every man ! Let him learn to march ; and more, to trot under arms without losing breath ; and by such means make himself an active, healthy, and valiant man."
Thus, physically fit, the stammerer is able to tackle his infirmity under fair conditions. His body and mind vigorous and clear he can fight the enemy that has so long oppressed him, with every prospect of success, and if he is really in earnest, will come out the victor and no longer suffer the numbing restraints which Martin Tupper, the poetic theologian and philosopher, himself a stammerer, so well described when he wrote : —
68 STAMMERING.
" Come, I will show thee an affliction unnumbered among the world's
sorrows, Yet real and wearisome and constant, embittering the cup of life. There be whom think within themselves, and the fire burneth at
their heart, And eloquence waiteth at their lips, yet they speak not with their
tongue ; There be whom zeal quickeneth, or slander stirreth to reply, Or need constraineth to ask, or pity sendeth as her messengers, But nervous dread and sensitive shame freeze the current of their
speech ; The mouth is sealed as with lead, a cold weight presses on the heart, The mocking promise of power is once more broken in performance, And they stand impotent of words, travailing with unborn thoughts, Courage is cowed at the portal, wisdom is widowed of utterance : He that went to comfort is pitied, he that should rebuke is silent. And fools, who might listen and learn, stand by to look and laugh : While friends, with kinder eyes, wound deeper by compassion : And thought, finding not a vent, smouldereth gnawing at the heart, And the man sinketh in his sphere for lack of empty sounds. There may be cares and sorrows thou hast not yet considered, And well may thy soul rejoice at the fair privilege of speech, For at every turn to want a word — thou canst not guess that want : It is as lack of breath or bread, life hath no grief more galling."
Chapter X.
A Product of Civilisation.
Since speech in its higher forms — in its heights of eloquence, its powers of persuasion for good or evil, its poetic flights, and its brilliant word painting — is one of the most obvious finished products of civilisation, it is not surprising to learn that until they too were brought under the influence of civilised communities, stammering was unknown among the aborigines of Central Africa, the Indians of North America, and the bushmen of Australia.
So far as Central Africa is concerned, it is on record that Dr. Livingstone during the long period he spent in the interior never once saw a native who stammered, an observation
7o STAMMERING.
which has been confirmed by Commander Cameron, R.N., C.B., and by many other African travellers, all of whom affirm that where stammering does exist at all it is only among natives who have been subjected more or less to the enervating influences of civilised life. Similar evidence is forthcoming in regard to the Redmen of North America and the degenerate blacks of the Australian Continent. None have been known to stammer unless and until they have been touched by civilisation.
A curious feature about this fact is, however, that the stammering among these aborigines where it is manifest at all does not arise from the greater complexities, the wider range, or the vaster number of words in the vocabulary of the civilised peoples with whom they have come in contact compared with the linguistic poverty of their native tongue, but rather from the causes that have played their part in the encourage-
A DOUBTFUL POINT.
7*
ment of the higher civilisation of which the scientific and poetic vocabulary is the hall- mark. In other words, there is little or no language difficulty in the way of, or to account for, the stammerer.
We use the word little in qualification of the above remark, because it is just possible that there may be some slight connection between the two. In Spain and Italy, for instance, stammerers are few ; and this, it has been argued, may arise from the soft, mellifluous, easy flow of the Latin tongue. In Great Britain and its Colonies, Austria, Germany, and North America, stammering is, on the other hand, widespread, so that colour may, perhaps, be given to the suggestion that languages of Teutonic origin, in comparison with the Latin, present greater difficulties to those in whom already exists the obscure con- genital defect to which the affliction is due, and who are, therefore, predisposed to stammer.
The suggestion, however, is hard of belief
72 STAMMERING.
in view of the fact that in France, where the language of the people also owes much to the Latin tongue, stammering is quite as common as in Great Britain — a fact which seems to indicate that we must look elsewhere than to the spoken language for the raison d'etre of the stammerer.
The key to the situation is, perhaps, to be found near home. In Ireland, we are told on the authority of the late Sir William Wilde, that stammering is much more common in the north than in the south ; and this fact, taken in conjunction with the comparative immunity of Spain and Italy, raises a further question, namely : Is stammer- ing due in any great measure to the strenuous character of modern industrial life ?
The north of Ireland is noted for its indus- trial activity, while in the south the pastoral habits of the people have much in common with the every-day existence of the ease- loving Spaniard and Italian. M (mafia !
VICTIMS OF INDUSTRIALISM. 73
Manafia I — To-morrow ! to-morrow ! — is as much the ejaculation of the man of the south of Ireland as it is of the Spaniard ; he takes to-day for recreation ; to-morrow is to be devoted to work and the fulfilment of obligations. And to-morrow is often long in coming.
In the great mills and workshops and ship- yards of Belfast, however, as also in the industrial districts of Lancashire and West Yorkshire, the workshops of the Black Country, and the factories of Birmingham, there are no yesterdays and no to-morrows.
Life is just one perpetual Now, and the rush and wear and tear of industrial strife is responsible for the neurosis which pre- disposes so many more people to stammering — as also to other nervous ills — in these particular districts than in the less strenuous pastoral areas of the country. Indeed it is noticeable that everywhere fewer country- bred people stammer than town bred, because
74 STAMMERING.
as a rule they are brought up under more natural conditions, and, where the parents are connected with agricultural or other outdoor pursuits, being slower in speech, and more deliberate in action, their children learn to speak slowly too.
Nor is this all. Civilisation carries with it in the upbringing of children many other factors predisposing to neurotic affections when regarded in comparison with the lives of children of savages or uncivilised races who are brought up amid surroundings and con- ditions of perfect freedom.
Some philosophic soul has said that " when the monkey blushed man was born." Whether this be true or not, it undoubtedly is true that when man first blushed the stammerer came into being. Blushing, nervous dread, hesitation, are all steps towards stammering, and all are due to the repressive influences of civilisation, aggravated by the wear and tear of modern life, with all its erotic and neurotic tendencies.
RESULT OF REPRESSION. 75
The child of the savage is brought up like a healthy little animal, with all the facts of life exposed to him, and knowing nothing what- ever of the repressions which count so much in the decencies and refinements of conduct among civilised peoples. Were his skin fair as that of the fairest Dane, he would recognise naught in the crudities of life that would bring even the faintest blush to his cheek, or cause him the slightest personal concern.
How different, when compared with this, is the every-day training of the child brought up in a civilised environment. From the very first day on which he can by word of mouth make his wants known he is taught to whisper of the most intimate things, to disguise his real instincts, to ask for what he wants as a privilege instead of taking it as a right ; to be quiet and orderly, to learn lessons instead of gambolling in the fields, or indulging his animal spirits, or working off his superfluous energy in games such as the
-o STAMMERING.
healthy young animal that he is would be sure, under natural conditions, to engage in.
And so his animal spirits and vitality being suppressed, kept in check, forced back upon him, neurotic conditions are engendered. He learns to be ashamed of his natural instincts ; afraid of being told that he is greedy or selfish ; timorous of giving offence by doing anything which he has been told it is wrong to do ; and so when any little contretemps occurs, he blushes, feels ashamed of himself, becomes neurotic and nervous ; hesitates in making his wants known, blushes when asking favours, and finally, where the temperament is especi- ally highly strung, and the predisposing causes exist, becomes a stammerer — a victim of civilisation.
We are told that industrialism wears out a family in three generations, and those who know anything of our great industrial centres, with their thousands of under-sized men and women, will be the last to dispute this state-
THE CURE. 77
ment. If the conditions under which we live thus destroy the physical frame, how much more likely are they to play havoc with the vastly finer and more sensitive nervous system, and give rise to stammering as one among the thousand sequelae that nervous- ness carries in its train ?
Stammering is thus undoubtedly one of the penalties that civilised people have to pay for their luxuries and refinements ; and it rests with those who realise this, as the writer does, to shew that civilisation can come to the rescue of its own victims, and restore them to the full measure of the power of the inheritance to which they were born.
Chapter XL
An Independent Witness.
A cloud of independent witnesses could be summoned to bear testimony to the thorough- ness of the system, but perhaps the following reprint from Cassell's Magazine of a visit paid by Mr. Raymond Blathwayt to headquarters will suffice : —
The evening shadows were lengthening over the broad swards and green lawns of Brampton Park as I drove up the long entrance to the beautiful old house, with its quaint gables and elaborately carved chimneys outlined clear against the red of the sunset sky. A flight of water fowl winged their way to some distant mere, the lowing of cows was in the air, and a charming rural quietude greeted me, fresh from the roar and bustle of Piccadilly Circus.
A PEN PORTRAIT. 7g
My host, genial and sportsmanlike to his finger tips, came forward to meet me, and I caught a glimpse of some well-set-up young fellows with guns upon their shoulders dis- appearing in the direction of the stables. The whole place breathed that atmosphere of sport so delightful to the healthy, well-regulated English gentleman ; " nothing scholastic, nothing of the pedant here," I thought to myself, as I entered the great hall, in which two or three good-looking girls and a man or two were knocking about billiard balls.
' We don't go in veiy much for the ordinary scholastic life here," said Mr. Beasley, as we sat down in his study and lit our cigars. r< I like my young people of both sexes to feel that they are at home. They are mostly of the upper classes, and life here is very much what it would be in any well-regulated English home, with the addition of careful tuition. At the same time the course of study here is very strict, and the hours are fully as long as they
80 STAMMERING.
are at Eton or Harrow. Those young people whom you saw enjoying themselves in the hall just now have had a good hard day's work. I have, too, a number of boys, all of them stam- merers, who come here not only to be cured of stammering, but also to go through exactly the same course of study that they have to undergo in any English public school.
" I like to catch the stammerer young," humorously continued Mr. Beasley, " although stammering is a thing that can be cured at any age. I am myself a remarkable instance of the possibility of stammering — a fixed, lifelong habit of stammering — being cured late in life, for till I was forty years of age my existence was rendered quite unbearable by this unfor- tunate habit.
" It was an accidental discovery that enabled me in one moment to set about curing myself, and from that year to the present day I have never stammered, either in private or upon the platform, where I have been lecturing to
CLASSIC VICTIMS. 81
audiences all over the kingdom. But despite my own case, I like to catch the stammerer when he is young, and devote two or three years to curing his habit. It is a curious fact that, as a rule, stammerers are more intelligent than those not so afflicted. I always hold that it is because, being cut off to a certain extent from conversation with their fellows, they have more time to cultivate the habit of thinking and reading, I have known — and, indeed, I will give you an instance of it this very evening — many boys from twelve to fifteen years of age who, after having gained the power of speech, have been able to give addresses in a manner which wrould do credit to much older people. Demosthenes and St. Paul, to mention two classic instances, were great stammerers ; and to come down to modern times, Charles Kingsley himself was sadly afflicted in this way.
" I use the word ' sadly ' advisedly, for it is a terrible curse to labour under. Martin
82 STAMMERING.
Tupper, who wrote from bitter experience, called it ' an affliction unnumbered among the world's sorrows, yet real and wearisome and constant, embittering the cup of life, which hath no grief more galling ! ' So that you will readily understand how it is that, although I have people here of all ages — country vicars, staid elderly barristers, smart young cavalry officers — yet I prefer to get them at the earliest pos- sible age. For only thereby can I save them vast misery, and often real practical incon- venience.
" Let me give you some instances of the truth of what I say. Some time ago a young officer in a Hussar regiment came to me for advice. He said, ' In a few months I expect to get my troop. Well, if it only meant giving orders, I could perhaps manage well enough. You can shout out anything almost in a loud, indistinct voice, as you know if you have seen a regiment on parade. But a captain has many other duties. What can a stammerer like
A GREAT GIFT. 83
myself do when he is sitting on a court-martial, and the president asks him for his opinion on the case ? What can he do when it is his turn to preside at the mess table ? Why, I couldn't even stand up and say ' The Queen ' when I proposed the first toast. If I can't get cured within the next few months, I must send in my papers.' ' Don't you trouble/ I replied ; 1 I'll soon put you right. Come and stay here a few weeks. ' He came and devoted himself to my system. He got to his troop, and about a year after he called in one afternoon to tell me how he was getting on. ' Why, do you know,' he said, ' that I often make long speeches in public now, thanks to you ? But what I am most deeply grateful to you for is for giving me the best wife man ever had.' I thought he had gone crazy. ' Given you a wife,' I said. ' What on earth do you mean ? ' ' Absolutely what I say,' he replied. ' For years I had loved a very charming girl, but I had never mustered up sufficient courage to tell her so. Indeed, I
84 STAMMERING.
couldn't, for I knew I should never be able to get the words out ; but, when I left you, I went to her and quietly proposed, and was immediately accepted. So I owe my wife as well as my troop to you, and I can never thank you enough/
" On another occasion a poor mechanic came to me in great distress. ' I could do well enough if I could get rid of my beastly stam- mer/ said he ; ' but at present I feel a ruined man.' ' Well/ said I, ' you come up here every evening,and I'll see what I can do/ for although, of course, he could not pay my fees, which are necessarily rather high, I make a point of giving at least one-tenth of my time to gratu- itous helping of poor people. In a few weeks he had completely and entirely lost his stam- mer, which was of a peculiarly painful nature ; and three months later he was made a foreman, and is now doing prosperously for himself. I could mention many other cases, but it is always a special delight to me/' continued my
FAILURE ? 85
host, his face alight with pleasure, " to be able to help poor people whose lives would other- wise be ruined by their affliction."
" Do you never fail ?*" I asked.
" I consider that I never have failure when there is a willingness and determination to follow out my system ; only, if I am to help them, they must help themselves. Some, of course, do better than others, but I never meet with absolute failure. At the same time I never undertake a case where there is a marked physical or mental deformation. My endeavour is to help the really capable people to overcome a habit, which, if not strenuously fought and overcome, would ruin a man's life.
r< I know from my own personal experience how a stammer can darken one's whole career. Do you know that my stammer once cost me £50,000 ? It is too long a story to tell you now, but I once lost — to put it briefly — a big Government contract for 100,000 Enfield rifles, out of which I should have made the
86 STAMMERING.
sum I mentioned. But there's the dinner bell ; and you must come and be introduced to my wife and my pupils. For it is mainly due to my dear wife that I have been so successful. No one, not even myself, has benefited my pupils so much in every respect as she has."
A little while after dinner — which was very much like the festive meal at an ordinary big country house — we all assembled in the music room for the evening's entertainment.
The first item in the programme was a recita- tion charmingly delivered by a young fellow fresh from Eton. " Now, there," whispered my host to me, " there is a young fellow who, six weeks ago, could scarcely speak. He has gone in for my system heart and soul, with the result that he now speaks almost perfectly."
" Yes," I replied, " but what a splendid elocutionist he is." " Ah ! that is part of my system," answered Mr. Beasley. " I make a point not only of curing the stammer, but also of perfecting speech."
SELF-CONTROL. 87
Then a young man got up and gave us a short, bright dissertation on dreams. He did it admirably and humorously, standing upon an elevated platform, Mr. Beasley himself seated opposite him in the centre of the audi- ence, gathered round him in a circle. " Slowly, slowly," cried the master of the house. " Now, Edwards," he continued, " remember what I said this morning : ' keep cool and cultivate repose.' You will think and speak the better if you are perfectly at rest. You know," he went on, as the young fellow came down from the dais amidst much laughter and well-earned applause, " you know that I consider self- control to be the very basis of my system. Repose in action I take to be somewhat of the nature of the ' line of beauty,' as Hogarth terms it, in painting and sculpture. In riding, rowing, running, billiards, gymnastics — in fact, in all action, the most perfect movements should give an idea of repose. The same surely with speech."
88 STAMMERING.
A little boy of twelve then gave an address in a manner which rendered it difficult to believe that only a few months before he had come to Brampton Park unable even to answer a question of the most simple nature, and yet on the present occasion his articulation was far more perfect than that of many public speakers I have heard.
Mr. Beasley himself wound up the evening's performances with a recitation from Tennyson, and so charming was his elocution, and so smooth and gliding and unhesitating his delivery of the melodious lines, that I found it impossible to believe that he was the self-same man who, up to forty years of age, had been absolutely incapable of conducting a brief business interview, even when it dealt with a matter which he had clearly and concisely conceived in his own mind.
On the following morning Mr. Beasley took me over the beeutiful house and wide- spreading Park. The house itself is about 300
STUDIES. 89
years old, and belongs to the Duke of Man- chester. It is situated about a mile and a half from Huntingdon, and close to the River Ouse, where good fishing and boating are easily obtainable. There is everything that the heart of Englishman can desire for the enjoyment of a pleasant country life, and I remarked to my host how much I envied the pupils such a life.
'Yes/' he replied, "it is a delightful place, but they have plenty of work to get through. The younger boys have just the same hours that they would have at any ordinary school ; they are kept to themselves ; they have their own rooms, so that both in as well as out of doors they can play by themselves. Their tutors are all Oxford and Cambridge men, and are specially adapted for their peculiar kind of work. After their own special morn- ing studies the boys come to me or to my son for instruction in relation to stammering. In this class, which lasts for two hours, all my
go STAMMERING.
pupils, old and young, are present ; and here they undergo a course of drilling in what may be termed vocal gymnastics, and here they are taught and made to carry out the system I have devised, with abundant practice in con- versation, reading, mock trials, and speech- making, in the presence of the whole class. "My son, and my son-in-law, Mr. W. J. Ketley, who superintends my house in London, and who have each studied and taught my system for twenty years, are even more patient than I am, and I feel that whenever I am obliged to give the work up it will be carried on just as effectually, if not indeed more so, as ever it has been in my own time. Ah ! here is my son," he continued, as a tall, fine-looking and very athletic man rode up the beautiful cedar drive, across which the morning sunshine fell in great golden splashes. I was much interested in my conversation with the younger man. He is full of capital ideas in the carrying out of his work.
A TRYING ORDEAL. 91
" I remember once," said he, " we had a young fellow who was going up for Sandhurst. He was in great funk of his viva-voce exam., because he felt sure he would stammer. One morning, when he was bemoaning his possible fate, I said, ' Leave the room, Roberts, and when you return in five minutes you'll find a board of examiners, who will put you through your facings/ Whilst he was gone my father and I and one of the tutors prepared the table as an examination table, took our seats in great ceremony, and Roberts was ushered in. We received him brusquely, put him through his work very sharply, behaved exactly as though we had never seen him before, and he passed with flying colours. The following week he went through his real exam., and wrote us that he had given satisfaction in every par- ticular, specially in his viva-voce exam.
" Some pupils you must treat very firmly, others with the greatest consideration and tenderness. It all depends upon their special
92 STAMMERING.
form of stammering." At this moment a young lady came up to Mr. Beasley and began to speak to him very quickly and, consequently, with a very considerable stammer. " Now, my dear young lady, keep cool, and speak slowly, as I told you last night."
When she had gone, I commented upon the real wisdom, as it has always appeared to me, of not pretending to ignore a person's stammer. " Quite so," replied Mr. Beasley ; " one of my great difficulties is to drive it into the heads of my pupils that stammering is a thing not to be ashamed of, any more than is a broken leg or arm. People should always take it as a matter of course." " And don't you think it's a kindness to help a stammerer now and again with a word or two ? " I asked, as we entered the great class-room, where the pupils were all assembled awaiting our entry. " It all depends upon the stammerer," replied Mr. Beasley ; " but put your question to the ladies and gentlemen you see before you."
VOCAL GYMNASTICS. 93
I did so, and they all replied that they would infinitely prefer to be so helped.
I was keenly interested in the exercise which followed. It was a thorough course of vocal gymnastics. I cannot divulge the system — it would not be fair to Mr. Beasley, although, as a matter of fact, it would be impossible for any outsider, not thoroughly acquainted with the inner meaning of the system, to attempt to teach it.
Several of the pupils stammered painfully. Mr. Beasley always took them easily and coolly. " Abandon yourself to being perfectly at rest," said he. " Every time you allow yourselves to stammer you are practising stammering. You can do yourself more harm in five minutes than you can do yourself good in an hour of class work. Speak slowly, but you must learn how to speak slowly, otherwise slow speech may only increase your stammer. Never let anyone attempt to hurry you. Be stubbornly cool. Many of you have the idea
94 STAMMERING.
that it seems peculiar to speak slowly, and that people are tired of it. You may take my word for it that they are twenty times more tired of hearing you stammer. Take people into your confidence ; you can't hide stammering ; don't be ashamed of it, and they will sym- pathise with you, you may be sure."
I was very much interested in an exercise book, which was used in the class, in which the whole of the elementary formations of the English language are embodied in one chapter, so that every day the pupils are put through a thorough course, scientifically adapted to help them to overcome their unfortunate affliction.
" What I cannot understand," said my host, as we returned to the library, " is the extraordinary apathy of parents concerning this habit in their children. With very young children, kindness and gentleness, and an apparent unconsciousness of their impediment, are the only treatments. Try to keep them
ELOCUTION. 95
unconscious of their difficulty, and endeavour to cure them without their knowing it ; but should this treatment not succeed, no time should be lost in obtaining the best possible advice."
" Well, Mr. Beasley," I said, " suppose you had a son who stammered, what would you do with him ? " " I would make a barrister of him," he unhesitatingly replied. " If he had ability, as almost all stammerers have, I would let him follow an occupation where he must talk. I will engage to make any boy able to stand up and read in his class better than any boy of his own age, and, indeed, better than most grown-up people.
" Remember this, that the study and practice of elocution will materially help the stammerer, but, before he can practise it, he must learn how to use and exercise his vocal organs, other- wise his study of elocution will benefit him but little ; and he will not know how to open his mouth and read blank verse. Although he
96 STAMMERING.
himself may be quite unconscious of it, there is generally one leading feature in every stam- merer's infirmity. This must be the first point to attack, as, in dealing with it, minor difficulties hitherto but partially developed are either swept away or made to stand out more clearly, when they can in turn be the more readily eradicated.
" Stammering, you know, can be acquired through imitation. I constantly impress upon my pupils the absolute necessity for abandoning all those extraneous aids, efforts, tricks, mannerisms, and queer dodges by which so many people hope to overcome stammering. They must throw over every- thing which is absolutely not necessary for perfect speech/'
Nothing but personal contact with his many and exceedingly varied types of stammerers has helped Mr. Beasley to his success in this novel career. He adapts his system individu- ally, feeling that the method which might be
FIRMNESS NECESSARY. 97
successful with one person would utterly fail with another. But stammerers may rest assured that a few weeks' personal aid from him, backed up by willingness and firmness on their part, will inevitably result in their complete cure.
Chapter XII.
Reminiscences of a Stammerer.
Some years before his death, in response to the request of many of those who, having bene- fited by the Beasley treatment, wanted to know more of the man than they had learned while under instruction, Mr. Beasley wrote and published his reminiscences as a stammerer.
It is, unfortunately, impossible for me within the covers of this book to re-issue all the chapters in which Mr. Beasley gave what must be to every stammerer so engrossing a human document.
But a few extracts may serve to help and encourage others who are, to their sorrow, afflicted as he was for the major part of his life, to cultivate the same spirit of determina- tion, and so overcome their difficulties. They
MR BEASLEY'S TASK. 99
have, at any rate, this in their favour, that they can be taught in a few lessons what it took him years of study and work and concentration to discover and perfect for his own cure.
In his case he groped in the dark, as thous- ands of stammerers have done before him, and as thousands are doing at this day, until he had almost reached middle age ; and, never once, despite rebuffs and repulses, relaxing his efforts, a ray of light finally illuminated the darkness and gave him renewed courage and hope, lightening his path until he reached the broad light of day, and could speak as a man to other men, looking all boldly in the face, " speaking with self-respect/' knowing " there was no being to be feared save Almighty God."
These reminiscences show Mr. Beasley as he was ; a man of vigorous frame, strong will, iron determination, a man of great intellectual capacity who would have made the business in which he was engaged in early manhood a
ioo STAMMERING.
huge success but for the unfortunate impedi- ment which crippled and handicapped him at every turn, and who, having cured himself, turned to account the discovery he had made and established the greatest school for the cure of stammerers that has ever been known, to the incalculable benefit of thousands.
His story is plainly told, and it is perhaps as well that without paraphrase or condensation I should, in a series of short extracts, give such parts of it here as may be of most immediate interest to my readers : —
EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
I do not recollect when first I began to stammer, but I believe it was when about five years of age, and after some child-ailment ; but I remember perfectly the first time I became painfully conscious of my defect. When about eight or nine years of age I went with my sisters to a children's party. Before we returned home, I was requested by our hostess to call with some boarding- school young ladies with a message to the mistress, apologising for having kept them rather late. No doubt
EARLY DIFFICULTIES. 101
I was immensely gratified at being made so important a cavalier, but my vanity soon received a very severe shock.
During our short walk I kept saying the message over again to myself, not however without some misgivings as to being able to deliver it without difficulty. My misgivings were certainly not without foundation, for I shall never forget so long as I live the utter misery that simple message cost me. I was unable to say a single word for a considerable time, and when I found utterance, what I said was almost unintelligible, by reason of my nervous confusion.
I was simply as bad as if I were dumb. I don't think I should have felt it so much had it not been for the presence of the young ladies, who I could see were giggling at what seemed to them so funny. It was no fun for me, for the misery I experienced during those few minutes had so impressed itself on my mind, that at a distance of fifty years it is as vivid to me as it was at that moment.
After that, whenever I saw in the distance either the lady who kept the school or any of her pupils, I would turn back or go a mile out of my way to avoid them ; nothing could induce me to face them again.
Ever afterwards I was conscious of my infirmity, and it would not be difficult for me to fill a volume with the
102 STAMMERING.
bitter mortifications which from that time I have since suffered. Whether others feel the same amount of shame and painful emotions I cannot say, but to me, even in my early life, it was sometimes absolute torture.
SCHOOL DAYS.
My parents did all they could to get me cured, but, unfortunately, many of their plans were not only unsuccessful but injurious. I was sent to different schools where the masters had an idea they could cure me, but in several of these trials I was made worse. I was sent to schools where there were only a few boys, as it was thought that I should be better looked after ; but whether I went to a large or a small school the result was the same.
Most, if not all, of my masters, after trying to aid me, found that it took up too much of their time, and interfered too much with the work of the whole class ; and, besides, having but a vague notion as to what to do or advise, they generally abandoned the attempt after a few weeks' trial.
A stammering boy is very heavily handicapped at school, and I was handicapped in two ways. First, by
SCHOOL DAYS. 103
my impediment, and, secondly, by neglect of study. In construing, I found the greatest difficulty, and the long time that the class was kept waiting for me caused my tutors to pass me over and give me credit for knowing what I often did not know.
One way in which I was sorely tried was when I knew my lessons thoroughly, but was unable to say them, and was called dunce, blockhead, or other impolite names, which I felt were unjust ; for although I generally met with kindness and consideration from my tutors, I have met with those who showed neither.
The happiest of my school days were those I spent at a grammar school in a small country town, where the master took only a few boarders, and, having sons of his own, and also some of his nephews, we formed a very happy little party. There were a good many day boys, so we had plenty of games ; and, as there were several good families in the neighbourhood whose boys attended, we had good games. The head master, an Oxford M.A., was a splendid old fellow, kind and genial, who would do anything in reason in the way of relaxation, provided we worked well ; but woe betide the lazy lad — the cane and he were sure to become intimately acquainted, and for him extra holidays were few and far between.
104 STAMMERING.
But even here, with everything pleasant around me, my stammering caused me much pain. The son of the head master, though a capital fellow generally, and very kind to me, could not always refrain from reminding me, not in the pleasantest way possible, of my difficulty ; and if he did help me in my work, I used to think it would have been more pleasant if he had been less inclined to humour, and sometimes to slight sarcasm, at my expense.
He once greatly offended me. He was several years older than I, and, of course, being in the position of a second master, the boys were always willing to do any- thing for him. He sent me to get some article for him from the ironmongers', and gave me half-a-crown to pay the cost. Now, going on errands was most distasteful to me on account of my impediment, but, as I could get no one else to go for me, I was compelled to go myself. With fear and trembling, I went into the shop, and managed to stammer out what I wanted to say.
Whether the shopman had ever heard a stammerer before I do not know, but I felt he was looking at me ; and, fancying he was smiling at my ineffectual attempts to speak, I became so extremety uneasy and nervous, that as soon as I got the article I wanted I rushed out of the shop without waiting for the change or even thinking at all about it. I heard the young man running
Mr. B. Beasley.
To facte page 104.
A PAINFUL EPISODE. C05
after me and calling me back, but shame and confusion lent speed to my legs, and, although he was bigger than I, he was soon outstripped. On taking the thing I had bought to my tutor, he asked me for the change, which should have been two shillings. I stammered out that they had not given me any.
When a day or two afterwards he learned what had happened, he was anything but complimentary, and told me before a lot of boys that he had been asked if I was not daft, and that I was a great fool, and only fit to be taken out by a nurse. I could not brook this, and retaliated by calling him a bully and anything but a gentleman, at which he threatened to box my ears. I told him if he did I should take my ears' part, and openly defied him. Had not the head master put in an appearance, I do not know what might have happened. Most likely I should have been dismissed for turning on my tutor.
Happily, the master was a man of very sound sense, and, thinking it strange that there should be a rupture between myself and his son (as we had always been such friends), took me into his study, where he elicited from me the whole of the story as well as I could tell it. He was very kind and evidently understood me ; and while at the same time he gave me a lecture on proper
io6 STAMMERING.
behaviour to tutors, I have no doubt he had something to say to his son, for not long after we were good friends again, and I never from that time had occasion to feel hurt on account of my infirmity, for I believe he always took care to smooth matters in every way.
IN BUSINESS.
Until I was seventeen my stammering did not give me the constant trouble and vexation it subsequently did. In business my occupation was such that I could do pretty well as I liked. Being in my father's works, I was not so trammelled as I might have been in those of a stranger. My duties called me both into the office and the mills, but I always chose to do that which did not bring me into contact with strangers or require any talking.
Although this was a great trouble to me, I never let my relatives know how much I felt it, as I was always very sensitive on the subject ; so they never knew to how great an extent I was incapable of conducting business properly.
When at the age of about three or four-and-twenty, a circumstance occurred which was afterwards destined to bring before me in its true light the immense difficulty
BUSINESS DISABILITIES.
I had to contend with. Our firm, besides carrying on large iron and steel works, supplied a number of gun- makers with gun-barrels and sword-makers with steel.
One of our customers, a gun-maker, had got very heavily into our debt, and being also otherwise largely involved, laid his affairs before us. The result was that our firm took his affairs in hand, paid off his debts, and gave him a good salary as foreman. The management of the whole business was given to me, and in this position I soon began to find how heavily handicapped I was through my infirmity.
Constant talk to workpeople and strangers, instead of giving me confidence, made me infinitely worse ; and although I argued with myself, and strove to conquer my difficulty by force of will, I at last gave in. I avoided all business matters which needed talking, leaving that to be done by others.
There were some people to whom I could scarcely utter a word, and many times have I gone out of my way to avoid meeting them. I would frequently go out when I knew certain persons were going to call, so greatly did I dread exposing my infirmity, and although much business was lost in consequence, I could not summon up the courage to conquer my extreme shame and ner- vousness.
108 STAMMERING.
All this may seem very strange to those who do not know what it is to suffer thus, but I know there will be many who will entirely endorse all I say. The feeling of shame, the sense of demoralisation, will be thoroughly understood by those who do suffer.
This condition of things continued for about five years, when a great change occurred in the military gun trade. The Government were anxious to break up a combination of gun-makers, and the obstructions of their men, which militated to a considerable extent against the satisfactory execution of orders. They therefore invited tenders from the whole of the trade.
I was successful in obtaining an immense contract, but this was much against the wish of our old firm (whose interests were altogether bound up in the ring), and they refused to enter into the matter or find capital for me to execute the contract.
Requiring a very large amount of money to carry out my plans, I mentioned the matter to a friend, who was a partner in a very large mercantile and finance company.
My friend, knowing my qualifications as a manu- facturer, was very willing and anxious to go into the matter and find the required capital ; but before any- thing definite could be arranged his partners had to be
A HEAVY LOSS. 109
consulted, and an appointment with them was made that I might explain my views.
In the week before the interview I unconsciously worked myself up to a pitch of intense excitement, knowing the difficulties I should have to contend with through my impediment.
On the appointed day I was introduced by my friend to his partners, but I might as well have been dumb, for my inability to speak was so great that it caused them absolute pain, I could see, even to listen to my abortive attempts to make myself understood.
The gentlemen did not know me intimately, and naturally considered me incapable of managing an affair of such great moment. Of course they did not tell me so, but I afterwards learned that my stammering was the sole cause of their abandoning the idea.
This was the most terrible blow that I had ever experienced, as, had I been able to carry the matter through, I should have made a very substantial fortune out of that one transaction.
For some weeks I was in a state of utter despon- dency. But it had one good effect, that of arousing a determination to conquer my enemy ; though it was many, many years before I accomplished my desire.
no STAMMERING.
A DISCOVERY.
For many years I had been seeking relief from my difficulty, when, strange as it may seem, it dawned on me suddenly.
Walking through one of our lovely Worcestershire lanes, and, as was my custom, talking aloud to myself and carefully watching every trip of tongue, I suddenly became conscious of one action in speech which is imperative before freedom of utterance can be obtained.
This of itself opened to me a wide field of thought, and became the basis upon which I have built my system — a system from which I have never deviated nor gone back. In fact, I may say from that time all has been plain sailing.
When I returned home I talked to my people, I read to them, I recited poetry ; indeed, I scarcely knew what I did, I was so overjoyed. I was like a child with a new toy, and I felt like a new being. So great was the pleasure of being able to speak with freedom "that I never missed an opportunity of holding conversation with anyone I could enlist, and I fear I must often have been a great nuisance ; certainly no one could then complain of my silence, nor accuse me of being uncom- municative.
Soon, however, I had to guard myself against a
THE FIRST PUPIL. in
danger — that of becoming careless. My freedom was so great that I almost forgot I was a stammerer, and I thought little of the warning an occasional trip some- times gave me. After a time these warnings were so frequent that I became alarmed, but when I found that, by strictly adhering to the rule, I could under all circum- stances and in the presence of anyone — relatives, friends, or strangers — speak perfectly, I made a resolve that I would try my hardest to always observe strict rule.
By this course in a few months I had so perfected my system that I became unconscious of using any system, and my old habit of stammering had been changed for the natural method of speaking.
My friends and intimates were much surprised, and could not help expressing their pleasure at so great a change, while many of them strongly advised me to make my system known for the benefit of others.
But before doing so I thought it wise to try it further on someone else. I was not long in finding a subject, that of a bright little lad, about twelve years of age, employed as errand boy by a chemist living near me. The poor little fellow was very bad, in fact his employer told me that he should be obliged to discharge him, as he was getting much worse, and altogether unable to follow his occupation.
ii2 STAMMERING.
I took the boy in hand, had him for an hour in the evening, and in the course of a few months he was free of speech. My next case was that of a working man, a relative of an old man-servant of mine, and although he was middle-aged, I found no more difficulty with him than with the boy.
My reputation soon began to spread, and I had many applications, with all of which I was more or less suc- cessful. At last I thought it wise to undertake cases professionally, and the hundreds of grateful letters from pupils and their friends that I now possess are of themselves sufficient testimony to the wisdom of my course.
No stammerer need despair ; if he have an earnest desire — which will take the form of earnest work — to be cured, it is a certainty that he will succeed.
"3
TERMS
Mr. Ketley wishes it to be clearly understood that the scale of fees charged and the arrangements made for giving instruction are such as to bring the system of treatment within the reach of all classes of society.
No charge is made for consultation, and it is eminently desirable, in the best interests of the prospective pupil, that a personal interview should be arranged when information as to terms is being sought. Much depends on the temperament of the individual and the character of the impediment, and the consequent probabilities concerning the time necessary to effect a cure in each case.
Many artizans and tradesmen have been treated at evening classes with the most satisfactory results. Having realised the terrible drawback and hindrance to success due to their infirmity, they have sought a cure, and their ambition to rise in the world has proved a great incentive to effort which has resulted in complete success. For such pupils apartments near by are recommended as tending to a considerable reduction in expense.
Stammerers are treated either with or without scholastic instruction, but where the latter is desired,
ii4 STAMMERING.
parents are assured that the pupil will receive a thoroughly sound education in such subjects as may be desired.
Public School Boys received during their holidays.
Undergraduates can study and be coached during vacation while being treated for their stammering.
Stammerers past middle life have been treated with unqualified success, and many cases of long standing, which have defied all previous attempts at cure, have succumbed to the Beasley system.
It is erroneous to suppose that cases of long standing cannot be cured. Many pupils of mature age who, before consulting Mr. Ketley, have thought their malady almost hopeless, have in an incredibly short time obtained relief. These eminently satisfactory results can only be traced to the Extreme Simplicity of the system, which in itself compels perfect action of speech, and makes the pupil a Better Speaker than the majority of those who have never stammered.
The daily opportunities afforded of speaking before a number of listeners form a great feature in the treatment, as by this course pupils learn their powers, the nervous- ness which generally accompanies stammering gradually subsides, and those who before could scarcely articulate are thus able to speak perfectly before a large audience.
H5
TESTIMONIALS.
For obvious reasons these are not printed in this volume, but many hundreds of letters from old pupils may be seen at Tarrangower, and lists of up-to-date references will be sent on application.
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