vy
J
Kaspar Hauser.
men ; his dislike of noise and startling sounds ; his difficulty in
understanding what he sees and hears, and in making his own
impressions understood ; his poverty of language, and his habit
of speaking only in short, broken sentences—all these peculiarities
form a convincing proof that he has been for many years im-
prisoned and shut out entirely from intercourse with other human
beings.
On the other hand, his clear, open glance ; his high broad
forehead ; his perfect innocence of soul, which knows no differ-
ance of sex and distinguishes persons only by their clothing ; his
wonderful gentleness ; his attractive warmth of heart and unfailing
amiability ; his affection for those who take care of him and
teach him ; his childlike confidence in all who approach him ; his
tenderness towards even the smallest insect; his horror of every-
thing which could give pain to man or beast; his unquestioning
sbedience to authority; his inclination towards all that is good,
and his absolute freedom from faults and vices ; and, finally, his
remarkable eagerness to learn (as shown in the rapidity with
which, assisted by a quick comprehension and retentive memory,
he increases his knowledge of words and objects) ; his great love
of music and drawing, and his ability in acquiring those accom-
plishments ; his uncommon love of order and neatness, in full
harmony with his simplicity and purity of soul—all these traits
show conclusively that he was endowed by nature with the noblest
capacities of mind and heart, and lead inevitably to the suspicion
that the inhuman treatment he has received is founded upon a
criminal suppression of his family rights, whereby he has been
robbed of parents, fortune, and high social position. In any case,
he has been deprived of the joys of childhood and of the natural
development of his mental and physical powers.
“ His present readiness in absorbing knowledge inclines the
observer to believe that his imprisonment did not begin until the
second or third year of his life, when the ground had already been
prepared for a suitable education, so that the impressions thus
early received bestowed a faint glimmer of intelligence throughout
the ensuing years of mental darkness.