Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1884-03-13
SEEING WITHOUT HIS EYES.
Strange Experiences of a Young Man
Blind for Ten Years.

~ cannot pretend TO explain how 1t
is, or why, and people laugh and say
am hallucinated: but it is the sober fact
that ever since lost my eyes, more than
ten years ago, have seemed to see
with my brain. But only with Ger
tain region Of it, not the whole"
The speaker placed the tip of his
middle finger lightly on his forehead
as if locating nervous disturbance, and
slowly described with it the perimeter of
tract not larger than the palm of
hand, commencing at the slight depres-
sion in the frontal bone, just above and
between the inner margins Of the eye
brows, and drawing an irregularly oval
figure, the superior limit of which barely
turned the curvature beneath the roots of
the hair.
1T is this part Of my brain that seem
to see with, " he continued, placidly. '1t
is not merely that know what is going
on about me, and the relative direction
to myself of persons with whom l talk,
and of one thing to another, but have
in this part of the brain just as distinct
and vivid a picture of scenes, faces,
figures, and surroundings as / ever had
when in the full possession Of my senses.
And the oldest thing about it is that my
impressions generally prove to be correct.
You. for example, turning to one Of
the group-''are of light complexion,
tall and slender, slightly bald, with blue
eyes, pale yellow hair, and full beard
slightly darker You wear jaunty gray
sack coat, of minute plaid, with vest of
the same material, and gray trousers,
with narrow stripes of different shades.
Your scarf is red ribbed silk of the
Lord Stanley pattern, with diamond
pin.
The members of the group, four in all,
exclusive of the young man with two
glass eyes, stared at one another in blank
amazement The description could not
have been more accurate in its terms if
the blind man had been possessed of a
dozen pairs of perfect eyes with which
to make his observations. They were
gathered about the heater in a large drug
store hard by Printing House square,
and the speaker, who, Notwithstanding
his infrmity, has built up large bust
ness in cigars, had joined the party not
five minutes before. He was slender,
1.-THE, muscular man, dressed in perfect
taste, self possessed and natural in his
manner. He carried light walking
stick in his right hand, moved with the
easy grace of person In possession of
his senses, and without the least vestige
of the cropping uncertainty and caution
of blind man. On careful inspection
an ordinary observer would have noticed
that his eyes were unnatural, but he
turned his head so naturally and viva
ciously from one to another in speaking,
and withal behaved SO thoroughly like a
person with two good eyes in his head,
that one could hardly believe that both
orbs had been enucleated, leaving two
stumps only of the optic nerve
'sNow, describe me-" said one of the
party, doubter, of the medical profes-
sion, who believed in nothing but tissues
and functions, and did not deny that a
man might have soul, but averred tina
neither dissection or experiment had ever
furnished any evidence in support of the
hypothesis. Describe me, and I'll be-
lieve in your brain visionn
The blind man turned his glass eyes
toward the skeptic, and answered with
the prompitude and absence Of hest
fancy of one stating fact of direct OBJ
servation: ''You.are dark, with very
pale, translucent, delicate complexion
dark gray eyes; hair almost black, with
gray streaks about the temples; Greek
features cut like cameo; heavily bearded
on the upper lip, but elsewhere cleanly
shaven. You appear to be about thirty
five years old. You are of slight figure,
and you wear dark cutaway coat; gray
trousers, with stripes of different shades
and scarf of gold color, confined at the
throat by silver ring ornamented with
dogs head"
Unless some kind of cerebral image of
surrounding objects were formed, it was
absolutely impossible for the young man
to give in detail such an accurate descrip-
ton Of the medical man, with accesso-
ries Of dress, etc.
1T is inexplicable, z he said, musingly.
II have often heard men declare that
they could see with the anterior portion
of the brain, and persons under the full
influence of anesthesia often say that
they have seen every movement of the
surgeon during the operation, not with
their eyes, but with the middle part of
the forehead But I never took any
stock in such assertions, not even enough
to test them.
The blind man went on to tell his
story. Mere than ten years ago, in con
sequence Of an infammatory affection,
both eyes were enucleated- He was then
sixteen years Of age. At first he was
perfectly bewildered by the loss, but
gradually his remaining senses, tact, and
hearing in particular became marvellously
acute, and SO accurate that he could esti-
mate distances and the directions of for
sign bodies with the quickness and ex-
actitude of vision; while with the tips
of his fingers he could discriminate
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