The Lake Charles echo. [volume] (Lake Charles, Parish of Calcasieu, La.) 1876-1898, 1888-10-26
Dlaerenees . seelna I.ower.


Longman's Magazine.
It Is possible that slight differences
may exist in the seeing powers of diff
ferent nations, due to the effect Of
physical conditions; thus the inhabit-
ants of mountainous districts and Of
dry, elevated table lands may have q
better sight than dwellers in low, hu,
mid and level regions, although just
the reverse may be the case. Among
European nations the Germans are
generally supposed to have weak eyes,
owing, some imagine, to their ex-
cessive indulgence in tobacco, while
others attribute the supposed decay
TO the form Of type used 10 their
books, which requires closer looking
at than ours in reading. That they
will deteriorate still further in this di-
rection, and from being specialized
people become blind one, to the Joy
of their enemies, is not likely to hap
pen, and probably the decadenee has
been great deal exaggerated, Ami
mails living in darkness become near
sighted, and then nearer-sighted still,
and so on progressively until the van
ishlng point Is reached. In q com.
munlty or nation a similar decline
might begin from much reading Of
German books, or perpetual smoking
of pipes with big china bowls, OF from
some other, unknown cause; but the
decay could not progress far because
there is nothing in man to take the
place of sight as there is in the blind
cave rats and fishes and insects. And
It we could survey mankind from Chi
ma to Peru with all the scientific ap-
pliances which are brought to bear on
boarding school children in London,
and on the nation generally, the diff
fereneos in the powers of vision in
tho various races, nations, and tribes
would probably appear very insigniti-
cant. The mistake which eye spec
ialists aud writers on the eye make is
that they think too much about the
eye. When they affirm that the con-
diLions of our civilization are highly
injurious to the sight, do they mean
all the million conditions or sets of
conditions, embraced by our system,
with the infinite variety Of occupations
and modes of living which men have,
from the lighthouse-keepor to the
worker underground, whose day is the
dim glimmer Of miners lamp? "An
organ exercised beyond its wont will
grow, and thus meet increase of de-
mand by increase ofsupply," Herbert
Spencer says; but, he adds, there is a
limit soon reached, beyond which IL is
impossible to go. This increase of
demand with us is eVerywhere-now
on this organ and now on that, ac'
GoTding to our work and way of life,
and the eye is in no worse case than
the other organs. There are among
US many cases of heart complaint;
civilization, in such cases, has put too
great a strain on that organ, and it
has reached the limit beyond which it
cannot go. And so with the eye,
The total number Of the defective
among us is no doubt very large, for
we know that our system Of life re-
tards-it cannot etfectually prevent
the healthy action ofnatuTal selection,
Nature pulls one way and VIC pull the
other, Compassionately trying TO save
the unfit from the consequences of
their unftnGss. The human instinct
compels us; but the cruel instinct of
the savage, who hates the sick and
the unfit as the inferior animals do, is
less painful to contemplate than the
mistakes or perverted compassion
which seeks to perpetnato unfitness,
and in the interest Of suffering indi.
viduals inficts a lasting injury on the
race. 1t is q beautiful and sacred
thing to minister to the blind and to
lead them, but a horrible thing to en-
courage them to marry and transmit
the miserable blind condition TO their
posterity. Yet this is very common.