THE ZDTWA.171)N OF THE BLIND. * TECE little hook on blindness
written by the late Dr. Bull after the loss of his sight is, we believe, the only one which dwells distinctively on the condition of the -most numerous class of the 'blind—those, namely, whose-affliction has befallen them in adult Bfe. He himself could not find any work which took a compre- hensive view of this branch of the subject, all of them, so far as he knew, treating only of those who have lost their sight in childhood. The institutions for the relief of the blind for the moat part confine their charitable efforts to that class and to adolescents, -whilst the adult poor are left to the mercy of .chance. In other respects also the condition of these sufferers is peculiarly pitiable, because- " The age at which blindness occurs has a -most important influence over the future history of the individual. The born blind, who have-never seen the light, the infairt, who has not -yet had time to learn to see, and the ehild scarcely to observe, becoming blind, are dependent for knowledge on the remaining senses, which will be largely developed. The adolescent, deprived of sight, will have gathered much already during the few years of vision they have enjoyed ; and their bodies, being still in a state of youth- lid vigour and growth, their remaining senses will also share in this natural development. Not so with those who lose their sight at adult age, and per- haps when the body is on the decay, and no such amount of compensation is afforded. The power of the remaining senses will in some cases be much 'heightened, but with a large majority afford but little additional aid."
It is computed that in Great Britain and Ireland there are ;nearly thirty thousand blind persons ; that of these less than one- -fifth are under twenty years of age ; and that the majority of the -remaining four-fifths have become blind at a later period of life. furthermore, it is evident that juvenile blindness is yearly dimi- nishing in-proportion to the advance of science and general intelli- puce, whilst the amount of adult blindness is continuallyincreas- mg because the accelerated movements of social life are continu- lily multiplying and intensifying its causes, such as accidents in mines and manufactories, trades directly injurious to sight, and the wear and tear of the constitution in the pursuits of business. The oases resulting from the pernicious influences last named are very numerous, and among them was that of Dr. Bull himself. He was a physician in extensive practice, and eight years before his death he suffered total loss of sight from too assiduous use of the microscope, his calamity being subsequently aggravated by -nearly total loss of limb. Deeply sympathizing with his fellows in affliction, he found occupation in harmony with his professional bent in collecting from published and private sources the valuable and interesting materials of the posthumous book which has been 'published by his widow, and -edited by his friend the chaplain of 'the largest Blind School in Europe, that of St. George's Fields. The work was left somewhat incomplete by its author, but it is • The Sense Denied mai Zan. By Thomas Bull, M.D., Author of "Dints to Mothers,' &c. Edited by the Reverend B. G. Johns. Published by Longman and Co.
agreeably written, and may dud upon its positive merits in- dependently of any extenuating plea. In the extract we have given above, the degree in which the loss of sight is compensated by the increased energy and acute- ness of the other senses is shown to differ greatly aoeording to the stage of life at which the eyes become darkened. The health of the individual has also a considerable influence in this respect. In another passage this matter is more pointedly explained in its bearing upon the cultivation of the sense of touch.
" The born blind and those that become so before their twentieth year, when the growth of their body ceases, will obtain this sense of touch in the highest degree, not simply from its more active exercise, but because there will be an actually larger amount of nervous fibre deposited in the organ it- self. Blindness, however, taking place at adult age, there will be no such increase in the structure of the organ, though from its more active use the keenness of its sensibility will be heightened in some cases to a great degree. In the majority, however, the blindness having been the consequence of broken health and an exhausted nervous system, the sense of touch, far from its sensibility being increased, will demand a cautions expenditure of its power."
keeping this explanation in view, we can account for the op- posite opinions entertained by Dr. Bull and his editor with regard to the merits of the different systems which have been devised for enabling the blind to read. The former, having tried them all, is a strenuous advocate for Moon's system ; the latter as strong condemns it in favour of the Roman letter. Having become blin says Dr. Bull,
". I now naturally sought means to relieve the solitary sadness of my new Notation. I was most anxious again to be able to read. I knew but little of the embossed systems, and investigated them with great interest. One friend brought me Frere's system, another Lucas's, and a third two volumes in the Roman letter. I diligently tried them all, but completely
and thought I must give up the attempt in despair, when Mr. Moon was introduced to me : I gained a perfect knowledge of the letters of his alpha- bet in this the only lesson which I ever received, and was soon able to read the 14th chapter of John. From that day to this I have sought out the blind wherever I could find them."
He then relates several cases parallel to his own in which per- sons, who had vainly laboured at the Roman letter, were induced. by him to try Moons system and mastered it with great facility. He describes it as consisting of the Roman letter simplified, with the substitution of the ,simplest symbol where this could not be done.
"Thus, instead of the many lines of the Roman alphabet, each letter is reduced to a single line, either straight, bent at an acute or right angle, or crescent, which, with the addition of the common 0 and a dot for H, con-, stitute the twenty-six letters of the alphabet. Formed by a single con- tinuous line, every portion of the letter is instantly felt. The letters thus easily felt are as quickly learnt by the scholar, and if he has a previous ac- quaintance with the Roman letter are more readily learnt, from the resem- blance to their original. It gives a great advantage also to the teacher, who with a copy sheet of the alphabet may in one half hour qualify himself for an instructor. With the educated blind one lesson often suffices."
The systems of Frere and Lucas appear to have few advocates. Dr. Bull states that their symbols are clear to the touch, but very difficult to interpret, both of them being stenographic, and Frere's being moreover phonetic. They perplex and harass the scholar, 4' and are therefore most unfit for the adult blind, whose nervous system should be rather soothed than unnecessarily irritated." It is scarcely conceivable that human ingenuity should fail, if strenuously directed to that end, to produce a system less costly than that of Moon's brass letters, and equally easy of compre- hension, but at present the choice seems -to lie between it and Alston's, or the Roman letter system. Now the grounds on which Mr. Johns declares his preference for the latter appear to us by no means conclusive. When he says that " more than 600 blind children have passed through the Blind School, nine-tenths of whom learned to read the Roman letter with ease," he states .a very gratifying fact ; but what of the fifteen thousand adult blind or thereabouts who cannot learn it with ease, or learn it at all? Mr. Johns, however, appears to be at variance with his author not only on a question of opinion but on one of fact, for he says, " The majority of the blind DO read by the Roman letter." Now we can hardly believe that in this phrase Mr. Johns expresses what he really means, which we take to be this, that of the blind who do read, the majority read by the Roman letter. He goes on to say, " It is to be hoped on every ground they will continue to do so. The adoption of any arbitrary system will do much to cut them off from communion with their fellow-men, and render their isolation more complete." Here is a dogmatic assertion unsup- ported by a shadow of proof, and also, we venture to assert, in- capable of proof. It is not by touching letters formed like those familiar to persons who can see, but by reading the same thoughts through the forms best suited to convey them, that the blind will be brought into closer " communion with their fellow-men:" If the continuance of their " isolation " depends upon any dif- ference in form between their books and those printed for the mass of the community, it must remain complete so long as they can only read raised letters of whatever shape, whether these be em-
bossed on paper or made of brass.
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