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.