Hot Springs weekly star. (Hot Springs, S.D.) 1892-1917, 1893-03-17
specrAcLEs ON THE STREET.
Every Other rcrson One Meets Seem. TO
Have Imperfect Vision.

Every Other Person One Meets seems TO
Havc Imperfect Vision.
Comparatively few persons nowadays
are blessed with normal or perfect
eycstght. The Opticiansa are authority
for this statement 1t is to he pre-
sumcd they know what they are talS-
ing about. Children wearing spec
taclcs in the streets. in the schools
and IN public places are almost as
numerous as the members Of that
large class who have been compelled
to resort to the artificial aid of glasses
because of sight made dim hy years.
You often hear persons of your ac-
quaintilncc say: II sec so many
young men and Young women wear
ing eyeglasses with snowy little gold
chains Attachments or gold-bowcd
spcctaclcs every time go down town.
Why is 1t: Has it become tho
fashion? Is it considered stylish?
AT the thcatcr, when go to church.
or To the restaurant or club, or to Il
swell reception l novicc the same
tendency among young people and
those in the prime OF lite to wear
glasses"
For every person, young or old,
who rcsortcd to spcctaclcs IL few years
ago there are ten now. Spcctacles
used TO he the signals of advancing
age and the companion OF gray hairs
and wrinkled faces liza young man
ina country village put on glasses be-
cause 0f some defect in his vision Il
few years ago, he was an object of
curiosity and was loukcd upon us IL
coNcomb by all the yokcls. To wear
spcctaclcs was To open a way for ridi-
culc as surely as when he appeared
on the village street with his first
chimncy-pot hat. So the young miss
i'm her teens. who. because of near
SiEhtcdness, could not see the stars
at night, was the innocent cause of
gossip about her pcdantry as soon as
sh. put on glasses. These ideas
about nature supplying everything
nccdful for the Young have suffered a
revolution.
''Thirty years ago" said AN opti-
clan. ''wc made only about eighty diff
fcrcnt combinations with ground
glasses for defects of sight. We now
make over 400, 900 different comhina-
tions. All this has been accomplished
through the study of astigmatism and
the grinding of astigmatic glasses
This defect is described by opticians
as II condition in which there is II diff
ference in the refractory power (and
hence focal distancc) of the diametcrs
of tho mctlia(cornca and lens)through
which light passes while entering the
eye. Instead OF rays OF light being
focused to Il point on the retina there
is an oval or Il line formed. Astigma-
tism may occur not only in an cnlMc-
trapfc or normal eve, buu also in those
in which nearsightcdmcss or farsight-
cdncss exists. So, you see, it has IL
very wide sweep, and requires many
thousands of different combinations
in glasses.
''Rcading the intlistiEct print of
cheap novels Injuries many eyes i'm
young people. In former years when
persons suffering from astigmatism in
some form OF other which caused head
ache, nervousness or iassitudc. called
on an occulist he would prescribe
blue, green or smoked glasses to give
them relief. But they went home and
got no relief. AT present we correct
nitcty-nnc in every hundred OF these
cases with plain glasses properly
ground and in proper combinations.
Another thing that occulists have
learned is that any defect Of vision
will manifest itself quicker in II per-
son weakened by disease than in an
ordinary strong and healthy one. Up
to the aye of forty II strong constitu-
tion, have noticed. may continue to
overcome almost any defect in the
eyes. But us soon as the bodily
strength begins to fail the defect
comes to the front and the sight be.
gins to weaken. If you strain the
optic nerve by forcing it to do whatit
should not do you arc certain some
dav to paw the penalty. The sight
may not only bc permanently injured,
but the nervous system may become
dcrangcd and the brain affected.
Most young persons who wear glasses
are afflicted, find, with myopia or
ncarsightedncss and with astigma-
tism. The reason then why more
glasses are worn than formerly, is be.
cause more defects can now bc rcnlc-
died by them and more people are be.
ginning to lind out that their vision
is not what nature intended it should
bc.--Chicago Herald.