The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1904-12-07
4 NEW.FOUND N
ycpsatfons Of q Man When First he Saw
the Light.

ycnsatfons Of q Man When First he Saw
the Light.
If the eyes of one who had never
seen were suddenly opened the world
would be a strange sight. We see not
only by means of the physical powers
Of the eye, but by experience. A blind
nan whose sight is restored cannot rec
ognize his own wife until he touches
her face or hears her voice. A man
who had never seen until he was thirty
Years old has sent to the Problem. a
magazine for the blind, a remarkable
account of his experience when the
bandaee was drawn from his eyes in
the hospital, and he was, as it were,
born again into the world.
"What 1 saw frightened me. it was
| 80 big and made such strange emo
tons. I called out in terror and put
out my hand. My fingers touched my
nurses face. I knew she was there,
for she had just taken the bandage
from my eyes, and I knew what 1 was
touching. but 1 did not know what it
was 1 saw.
".For mercy's sake, what is it? /
asked.
"The nurse answered me soothingly,
taking my fingers in her hand and NOV.
ing them from her mouth to her eyes,
to her nose, chin and forehead.
cit is my face that you see. Look!
You know this is my %mouth-my chin
and these are my eyes
"Sooh I knew that 1 was seeing what
was familiar to the touch Of my fin
gers-a human face. But the sensa-
ton was still one Of terror: 1 seemed
so small beside that expanse of human
features, which was so familiar to my
fingers, so unnatural to my new sense.
when the nurse moved away from
my cot I felt a new sensation, which
was so agreeable that 1 laughed aloud.
The nurse came back, but not so close
as before.
What is that? I asked.
"'You are looking at the blanket
which lies across your feet she said.
BLANKETS must be very beautiful
things 1 said.
SIT is a red blanket she explained.
"Then 1 thought I knew why people
spoke of the beauty Of the red rose.
This was my first knowledge of colors.
81 saw, and yet did not know that l
saw. How could 1 know at first that
those new and wonderful sensations
meant the birth of a sense OF which
knew nothing except in theory? OF
course I was expecting to see, but was
this s%ight-this tumble of extraordin-
airy sensations?
"The dazzling light first convinced
me, for I had always been able to dis.
tinguish between night and day. But
1 could not recognize objects with my
new found sense until I had translated
into it's speech the language Of the 9th.
er senses.
"The one lesson Of the blanket was
sufficient to teach me the color red
Yellow was a different matter. The
nurse brought me q cool drink. 1 could
recognize her by sight now. The thing
I saw in her hands 1 know to be a,
tray after I had felt Of it. Suddenly.
1 felt a thrill of disgust.
What is that thing on the trayT
I asked. 1T makes me sick
"'It is a lemon. You said you liked
Lemonade
""Then it is yellow. 1t is the color
that nauseates me-
"Any object close to M looked ire
mendously large. I had often romped
with children. yet when I first set eyes
on a baby it looked gigantic.
"The first day I sat by the window
I put my hand out to feel the pave.
ment.
""That must be the pavement ]
said. I'm going to feel of it 10 make
sure
"'My goodness" laughed the nurse.
The pavement is two stories below
"The first meal I ate was an odd ex'
perience. When I saw the great hand
with Z huge fork. approaching my
mouth, the inclination to dodge was
almost Irresistible. "-Youth's Com
panion.