THE MIND'S EYE. 



3°3 



The importance of the mind's eye in ordinary vision is also well 

 illustrated in cases in which we see or seem to see what is not really 



r 



D 



Fig. 3. — Observe the appearance of these letters at a distance of ci^ht to twelve feet. An in- 

 teresting method of testing the activity of the mind's eye with these letters is described 

 in the text. 



present, but what for one cause or another it is natural to suppose is 

 present. A very familiar instance of this process is the constant over- 

 looking of misprints — false letters, transposed letters, and missing 

 letters — unless these happen to be particularly striking. We see only 



Fig. 3a. 



Fig. 36. 



the general physiognomy of the word and the detailed features are 

 supplied from within; in this case it is the expected that happens. 

 Reading is done largely by the mental eye; and entire words, obvi- 

 ously suggested by the context, are sometimes read in, when they 

 have been accidentally omitted. This is more apt to occur with the 



Fig. 4. — For description, see text. 



irregular characters used in manuscript than in the more distinct 

 forms of the printed alphabet, and is particularly frequent in reading 

 over what one has himself written. In reading proof, however, we 

 are eager to detect misprints, and this change in attitude helps to 



