The Plymouth tribune. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1901-1911, 1904-07-14
A New.Found Sense.

III tne eyes or one VINO mad never
seen were suddenly opened, the world
would seem strange sight. We see
not only by means of the physical
powers of the eye, but by experience.
A blind man whose sight is restored
cannot recognize 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 Prob
lem. magazine for the blind, a re-
markable account of his experience
when the bandage was drawn from
his eyes in the hospital and he was, as
it we're, born again into the world:
What saw frightened me, it was
SO big and made such strange motions.
/ called out in terror and put out my
hand. Ny fingers touched my nurses
face. l knew she was there, for she
had just taken the bandage from my
eyes and I knew what 1 was touching:
but cid not know what it was / saw.
"For mercy's sake, what is it?" l
asked.
The nurse answered me soothinglv.
taking my fingers In her hand and
moving them from her mouth to her
eyes, to her nose, chin and forehead.
SIT is my face that you see. Look.
You know this is my mouth-nay chin
and these are my eyes"
So 1 knew that I was seeing what
was familiar to the touch Of my fin
gers-a human face. But the sensa-
tion was still one of terror. / Seemed
So small beside that expanse of human
features which was 50 familiar to my
fingers, so unnatural to my new sense.
When the nurse moved away from
my cot, felt a new sensation, which
was so agreeable that laughed aloud.
The nurse came back, but not so close
as before.
"What is that?" asked.
"You are looking at the blanket
which lies across your feet, she said.
BLANKETS must be very beautiful
things" 1 said.
1T is ared blanket, she explained.
Then thought l knew why people
spoke of the beauty or the red rose.
This was my first knowledge of colors.
saw, and yet did not know that /
saw. How could 1 know at first that
those new and wonderful sensations
meant the birth of sense of which 1
knew nothing except in theory? OF
course was expecting to see, but was
this sight-this tumble of extraordi-
nary sensations?
The dazzling light first convinced
me, for had always been able to dis
tinguish between night and day. But
l could not recognize objects withlmy
new-found sense until l had translated
into into 1t. speech the language of
the other senses.
! One lesson Of the blanket was Suffi.
cient to teach me the color, red. Vel
low was a different matter. The nurse
brought me cool drink. / could re-
cognize her by sight now. The thing
1 saw in her hands knew to be a tray
after / had felt Of 1t. Suddenly I felt
thrill of disgust.
"What is that thing on the tray?"
1 asked. "It makes me sick.''
''It is a lemon. You said you liked
lemonade.
"Then 1t is yellow. 1t IS the color
that nauseates me- -
Any object close to me looked tre-
mendously large. had often romp-
ed with children, yet when first set
eyes on baby it looked gigantic.
The first day l sat BY the window
1 put my hand out to feel the pave
ment.
"That must be the pavement" l
said. 81 am going to feel OF it to
make sure"
"My goodness" laughed the nurse.
1.-THE pavement is two stories below"
The first meal / ate was an odd ex.
perience. When / saw that great
hand with huge fork approaching my
mouth, the inclination to dodge was
almost Irresistible -Youth' s. Com nam