Year: 1871

Ihls was simple marble slab, near
" square, and set in a wooden
frame. The surface was honey
eombod with little square chambers,
repositories for holding type
When preparing to cipher, he drew
cut his little bag of type which he
always brought with him, and set
them up in the little receptacles Of
his slate, endwise. Upon the ex-
posed end Of each type was a raised
dot, or line, or cross, only two or
three in all, but sufficient, with
little change Of position. to indicate
to his sensitive touch the first nine
figures of the mathematical alpha
bet. With this simple contrivance
he used to cipher with marvellous
rapidity. We would open the book
and read the problem, and If we
read distinctly and deliberately, ne
were never under the necessity of
repeating it. He would put it down
upon his slate as rapidly as it drop
ped from our lips with the most un-
erring accuracy. Dollars and cents,
pounds, shillings and pence, were
disposed of with the utmost ease.
A vacant receptacle in a line of fig
ures would indicate decimal mark.
A vacant line would reveal the ser
aration of a product from its fac
tors. And so on. Fractions, mix
ed, complex, proper or improper,
produced no confusion; and we be-
came convinced that there was not a
boy Of similar age in the schools of
the country who could work the
same sum with the same rapidity,
accuracy and thorough comprehen-
sion of the principle involved. "But
how did he learn it, that is the
question? It is easy to under
stand how, sitter it was learned, he
would be able, with his sensitive
touch, to indicate the operations
upon his slate" Well, it is just
there where the most wonderful fea-
ture of his afliction reveals itself
We taught him his lesson simply by
reading them to him, generally once,
rarely twice, never oftener. A new
principle in arithmetic we would
read carefully, observing at the
same time the expression of his face,
which We soon found to be an infal-
lible index as 70 whether he under
stood its meaning or not. In fact,
he would invariably stop US when
ever an obscure passage was under
consideration and request an ex-
PLANTATION. In the same manner we
taught him geography, mental ar
ithmetic, spelling, DC. His familiar
ity with geography, especially, is
wonderful. The location Of the
most insignificant spot Of the hab-
liable globe, its inhabitants, soil,
climate, productions, and, in fact,
considerable other information for
eign to the study of geography,
which he drew from us by repeated
questions, driving US often to our
Encyclopedia, seemed to possess for
him as much interest and to be as
well remembered as information in
regard to the city of New York or
London.


The secret lies in the fact that,
since his blindness, every other
sense of the body and faculty of the
mind has come to the rescue to sup
ply his loss of sight. Memory has
increased to a wonderful extent
Especially has the organ Of atten-
tiveness become intensly developed.
The ear has become keenly attuned
and the whole combination of mind
and body sits before you as silent,
listening thinker.


The chief consolation, however,
which he seems to have in his blind
ness is derived from the constant
employment of his inventive facul-
ties. Working as he does with the
most persevering energy and rely
ing alone upon his reeollections of
what he once saw, together with a
naturally correct taste and a most
exquisitively sensitive touch, there
are scarcely any devices of mechan-
ical skill which he is not capable of
learning. Every kind Of ingenious
toy, trinkets, beads, rings Of gutta-
percha and jet, smoothly and beau
tifully set with gold and ivory as
any jeweler could do it, imitation
leaves made of shells perfectly
formed and delicately veined, mini
ature goblets Of caneI-coal, chains
with well-formed links, cut out of
solid wood, and a large collection of
picture frames, of all sizes, varied in
pattern and unique in design-these
are some Of the products Of the in
dustry and talent of this little boy
who has no sight TO govern his
movements or mathematical rule to
guide him.


Especially is it upon his picture
frames that he devotes much time
and skin. These are of all sizes
and designs; and yet there is not
one Of them in the whole collection