Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1884-12-12
IDEAS OF THE BLIND.
ERRORS END SUGGESTIONS CON.
CLRNlNG The SlGliTLESs.
Some ct Their observation-disclosures
About smoking ysashruI Biiud Folks
Advance iu Teaching the Blind
Mctluds of instruction.



"Thc belief that blind people don't care
about smoking is all nonsense, said VIII
lam Chaplin. the principal of the pcnnsyl-
vania Institution for the instruction of
the Blind. to reporter, "although it is
one that has been largely INDUCED in. 1t
is part of theory that the pleasure of
smoking depends On the satisfaction de.
rived from seeing the smoke and the fire
As q matter of fact. we have inmates here
who enjoy nothing SO much as tobacco.
In some cases we nave had trouble i'll
curing patient, addicted 10 the Use of the
weed. and, altogether. think ,hcrc is suf
ticieut evidence to disproyc the fire and
smoke theory. 'coplc ar4uirc the art OF
smoking after the cyrsighl has been de
sroyed.
Nj Chaplin on being aSkc, 10 define
the idioSyncras!cs Of the blind said with
a smile:
"There is very little difference between
the blind and those with sight and there
is no mystery whatever about the sightlcsS.
The general makeup of tie blind and those
9hat can sec is the same. y great number
of blind people have lost The use Of their
eyes before they were :; wears old.
When they grow up they develop char
actcristics that one might suppose would
only come ron the ability to
see ana compare The little blind girls,
who have not much recollection of what
things in the world look like, ret some
where or other love of dress an they
display all the vanity of the every day
child, who can sec and admire itself in the
looking class They learn to know what
colois suit them, and insist on being at
their best. GU will, perhaps, think ii
strange that they who can not see appre-
4
TO them, must he incXplicablc and incon-
ceivahle, but it is so, and | can not pre-
tend to account for it.
1T is strange. too, that blind person
should be ba>hful, he went on. You
would think that on their appearance in a
public place they would impcrfeCtlv real
lie that other people could know what they
were doing without touching them Yet
when our pupils give exhibitions of calls
themes aud gymnastics, they display be
fore going before the spectators every
symptom Of stage fright It is easy to sup
pose that they would be timid at the
thought Of making speech, because they
can hear what they are saying and know
exactly what the sense of hearing is in
their audience; but they can never com
prchcnd sight except in very imperfect
way. and they can not, OF course, be con
luNcu ny HteluS "hal lhty themselves arr
doing
- 1t is a mistake to suppose that nature
compcnsateS for blindness by making the
other senses more acute. he continued.
There is a superstition that blind man
can attain nicer sense of hearing and of
touch than man who is blessed with the
use Of his eyes. There have been many
pretty things said about the bcncticcncc of
a system that divided the energy that be
longed 10 a lost sense among the senses
that remained. 1t is true that a blind per
son learns 10 tell good deal that is going
on by his sense of hearing. He can tell
people by their footsteps; but any one car
learn TO do this if he will take the trouble
that a blind man is willing to take in &C
quiring it, have tried it myself and
nave succeeded At one time. after | haC
devoted some attention to the matter.
could tell Il large number Of the pupils by
their knock at my door, and even now
recognize the taps of many OF them.
The teaching of the blind is advancing
every year We have taught them to dc
problems in geometry. They fix the line
in their brains as perfectly as the would
draw them on paper, and then they demon
strate have no doubt that the impres
sion of an object on the mind of blint
person when it got there. would be yer,
strong, stronger than mind picture wit
any one else There would be nothing t.
inie -fcrc with it. If IA man who can Sc
tries to think continually of fie
ure or object il cannot fail to b
continually blurred out by the az
pCarance of some other of tn
thousand aud one things his eye
encountered during the prev
Gus few minutes. In our instruction c
81, D. 4 e, .1,1,
specimens Of thc things we wish to call I
for instance, the manufacture of cotton
we place in their hands samples of cotto
pods, and then pieces of the cotton
every phase Of lis passage, from the plaI
to'thc article Of clothing. We do II
same in silk, COcoons and silk in ever
stage Of manufacture. They absorb goo
ideas from their sense OF touch. of what I'll
thing IS like, but il is rather doubtful if the
could tell cocoon from peanut wit
their fingers. Then they study anatomy
and learn about the human frame with II
tonishing ease.
Just now we are teaching them VIII,
has never before been attempted. 1t is
musket drill. We commenced in Scpten
Der. You know, | suppose that Il
blind pupils have learned to march and {
through cyolutions with military accurac
Well, although at marching they CT
never succeed quite as well as childrt
with sight, al the musket exercises thu
are just rs good. 1t is an excellent thin
for them. They take an interest in it, al
ii develops them wonderfully"
Tho Queens PiperS.
London Letter
But the most picturesqc feature Of all
the Band of the Queens Fipers.
consists Of twelve bag pipes, under the {
rectiOn of Mr. Willie Donald lint is