The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1902-11-02


the liver
published in the English language. It
had appeared in 1851, and was from
the pen of Prof. John H. Jellet of the
University of Dublin. But, try as hard
as could in this country and Europe,
1 could not secure copy of it. The
book seemed to have disappeared
There was nothing left for me to do
except to gather my necessary work.
ing material from all sorts of sources
here and abroad, so 1 set to work in
earnest. New York's libraries pos
sessed at that time scarcely any. of the
books that needed in my researches.
Therefore, 1 was compelled to send out
postal cards to the libraries at Yale
and Harvard and in Europe, asking if
they had certain mathematical books
and journals. When they replied in
the affirmative 1 then asked for the
loan of the books and papers, the Of
f1cials of Columbia University guar
anteeing the libraries that would take
good care of their precious and rare
documents. In this way 1 secured my
necessary working data. This took, all
told, about three years.
Problems Solved Gin the Head"
But after I had the books. how
could 1 make use of them, you will
ask. Well, my brothers, and one in
particular, Addison, were very good to
me. trained them how to read math-
ematics and once every two or three
days I'd get one of them to read for
about five minutes to me. If the book
were in q foreign tongue, as often it
was, I had first to translate it. Then
I'd tell him to stop, after which I'd
lHnx in ND Uyh
pacing up and down the floor think
over, arrange and rearrange hundreds
of times, and apply to the problems I
had in mind the matter that had been
read to me. Sometimes 1t would take
me week to secure complete under
standing of the few lines that I had
listened to. After had grasped 1t all
1 would have Addison read another
short passage, and once more I'd lock
myself up and think. In this way I
worked out my first book and my Sec
ond, except that, in the case of the
latter, I did not have to look up ma
terial, for had all that needed in my
first work.
Mr.. CARL paused and pointed to his
sightless eyes. "Of course, they kept
me from using pen and paper in my
tasks he said, $50 have had to carry
every intricate problem-and there are
problem / turned over in my head for
three years before 1 wrote it down in
the point system. 1t covers pages
upon pages in my first book, but as 1
solved 1t step by step, my memory
stored it away to bring 1t forth in all
it's completeness when at last had the
answer and was ready to write it all
down. And l believe that, if all the
copies of this book and the plates and
the manuscript were to be destroyed,
1 could produce the book again by
calling my memory into service. Once
these problems get into my head they
seem to stay there in all their minute
details.
"In such manner produced the copy
for both my books. AS the points sys-
tenn of writing is based on punctures
in paper made by a stylus and are SIM
liar to holes made by a pin point in pa
per, you can readily see how long
was about the task, especially when
you bear in mind that L had to create
in this writing all the many different
characters used in the Variations.
The Slate of the Blind Used.
"Of course, after had written down
the problems some one had to tran
scribe them in ordinary writing. My
brother Addison wrote the first book
for me, my wife has just finished this
task with the second. When the proofs
of my first book came, Addison read
them to me and made the correc-
lions that ordered. Only half dozen
mistakes have been found in the book
in all these years, and these are mis-
spelled words.
I'm addition to my memory l have
had recourse to the slate for the blind.
This slate is a square board cut up
into little Sunken squares and into
which are placed type-like affairs that
represent certain figures. For instance,
the numerals are made almost wholly
by the use of the letters 7 and V. In
it's proper position, 7 represents the
numeral one. Turned on it's side and
with the cross line down it is three
and with the cross line to the right 1t
is four. V in it's natural position Is
five; with the opening down, seven;
and with the opening to the right,
eight. L represents nine, and a blank
type naught. There also are characters
for simple algebra, but none higher
Therefore, / have had to develop sys-
tenn of my own, using the regular and
few types employed by the blind, for
I could get no one to cast me the va
rious queer characters that / needed.
This system is often complex, owing
to the fact that 1 have had to en-
ploy all the myriad characters known
to algebra, geometry, trigonometry and
calculus, which last branch includes
Greek alphabetical characters Here
again in my work memory plays a
large part, for it would never to do
forget the scores of names I have CIV
en- the ordinary types and the uses to
which 1 have nut them.
This is an example Of how ] use my
slate. 1 take a common algebraic
obaror4ar and nv turning IL as II and
V are intended the eight trigonometri-
cal functions, sine, cosine, versed sine,
coversed sine, tangent, co-tangent, Sc
cant and co-secant.
1T is only on rare occasions, how
ever, that use the slate. l much pre-
fer to solve problems while pacing my
room, and have to sit down when I
york with the slate"