1805.] Method of Strengthening the Sight hy Concave Glei(fes. 451 



friiall ireafure of honeft (lifplei^fure in my 

 niiaJ, trom whicli jhowever, I am relieved 

 by recolle^Hng the I'ayin? of the Rev. 

 A. Blackwal!, author of'" Tl>e Sacred 

 CJaffics Hefended," who, when quefcioned 

 conreming his literary attainmenis bv one 

 who fho'i.j have (topped a: Jer-cho till hi* 

 beard had growii, anfV-ercd, bcComitiT'ly 

 indign.int, "Boy! I have forgotten more 

 than you hPve ever leain-." J will not, 

 Sir, jTc'cnd to fay, that Mr. Bu P. does 

 not underiiand Peri'sn ; his lieial tranf 

 la; ion oi' the OupncJi'hat is an ample proof 

 of the contrary 5 ror can I join ifl'ue with 

 <erlain critic.', whj alfcit " he does not 

 iindtr/tand Siiifc ee', though he has pro- 

 mifid ;o eurch thi repubix of Ltters 

 with a Sanfcreet Lex:c-n." Their pirobfs 

 do not convince me ; and the alf-.riion I 

 think difingenuous, aiid uuiuthorized by 

 the fuhjeft of their cri icifm. I Irave 

 him, there'oie. in tull jK;(re(rion of all his 

 honours, and of thai medfure of literiry 

 fame which he has fo diarly earned ; an>l 

 heartily l?menr that his condufl fhould 

 have prcuoked oihers to cmp.re him 

 v.'ifh Sir W Jones, to who/e firlt rate ta- 

 lents, elegant accomplidii-riciKs, virious, 

 extenfive, and recondite li erature, he can 

 have few juilitiible pretenlions. His 

 friends will regret that he had not recol- 

 lefted the fable of " The Frog and the 

 Ox," as then this exceptionable pa^t of 

 the Supp'ement to 'he OupneH'hat had ne- 

 ver appeared, aud the iranflitor of the 

 ^end-Avefta had not ovcrfi rained hia)fe!f, 

 by endeavouring to equal the firft prefident 

 of the Ailatic Society. 



It is but juft to add, that his country- 

 men have (hewn a '"ecoming difapp-oba- 

 tion of his unquililied cenfure of difitrent 

 literary characters. If I mlftake not, his 

 treatment of the Afiaric Society is glanc- 

 e<l at in tl;e following p.iflige in tlie Z)f- 

 cade Philofophique ior OcL 12, 1802: — 

 " Environner de tout Tappareil de I'eru- 

 tliiion des ct.ntes tres interieurs aux Mille 

 et un Nuits, «tde raifonnenientsqtii valent 

 encore moi. s ; tVn prevaloir pr.ur traiter 

 avec une morofitc dedaigneuli: des ecri- 

 vains qui ont dit eloquemment des chofes 

 f:nlccs ; en prendre occafion de taxer 

 d'ignoraiice et de barbarie une generation 

 q;ii cherche a s'eclairer, et une ccmpagnie 

 /ava«/#juftimcnt honori-edans toute I'Eu- 

 rope i voila ce qu'on n'auroit attendu de 

 jierionne, et ce qu'a fait Mr. Anquetil 

 dans Ics notes qui accoinpagnent /a tra'- 

 ddff ion," 



As the charafter and memory of Sir 

 W. Jmcs are dear, and defervedly fo, to 

 eveiy Englilhman, and a? the infult offer- 



ed to both is of confidrr.ble m-sgnitiide, 

 I hope. Sir, thele coiifi.itrHtions will plead 

 my excul'e for trefjiaiTing fo much on your 

 paper, and fo long on the time of your 

 readers. I am, Sir, your's, Sec. 



Manchejier, ■ A. C. 



February 24, 1804. 



Ta the Editor of the Monthly Magazine. 



SIR, 



THE late Mr. Ba'divln, of Prefcot, m 

 this county, well known from his 

 aerml ex-Turfion from Chelter, ufrd gene- 

 rally, w irn wdlking cr a ing on h:s ordi- 

 nary bufiiKfi, to wear concrive fpeiSl.Tcles, 

 which he always removed when he read, 

 wrote, or did any thing which requ red 

 diitinil vifi-n. The rea(b:i he .^Hi^ned 

 for a cullom io iin::ular appeared to me 

 fo mgen.ous and well ti.unded, that I often 

 urged him to pool fh the oifcovery, wliich 

 1 btrlievc he lu'end.;.! to hdve d.one, but at 

 I do n:)t rec lletl to have fecn it in any 

 periodical work, and conceive that the 

 idea delerves f ri us attention, I (hall en- 

 de:)vuur to communicate it in as concife a 

 m.inner as p> (Tibie. 



1 1 IS well ki.own that the eye grows 

 flattti as a per'im advances in life, in con- 

 leq.ieTce of which the focus falls paft the 

 reiina, and produces confufed vi'ion. To 

 reraed/ this evil convex gaffes are ap. 

 plied, which, by converging the rays, 

 throw tire ima^je m'Me diili.ift y on the re- 

 tina. Mr. Baldwin's fight v.aj hatuially 

 weak^and ht had lormrrly, like other per- 

 fons in a llnujar fituation, wom convex 

 glaffei, tfll ir occurred to him, that, if he 

 accmlomed himself to the u'e of concave 

 ghffes, the flatnefs of the eyes would he 

 gradually counter'.fled. Oo making the 

 experiment, he found that it anl'wered his 

 expeffations fo fully, that he foon wa« 

 enabled to f^e very well with glafi'cs of a 

 iliijht ctincavity, and in removing them 

 could read tlie fmalleft print, or merd a 

 pen, with great eafe. 



I repeated the experiment, and am fully 

 convinced that very bcneticial efFeils may 

 be derived from the habit. I began with 

 No. 1, and afterwards vifed No. 2, through 

 which in a fhort time I could fee veiy 

 well, and always found my light cvide.itly 

 refrefli-d ;ind /Irenjthened. 



Many fafts which d:iiiy prefent them* 

 felves render Mr. Baldwin's theoiy very 

 probable. 



Short or long fight, though often tiatu- 

 lal dtfeils in the torm of the eye idelf, 

 may he materially aggravated hy habit ; 

 thus watcHmakers, cnt^ravers, &c., vvhj 

 work with the eye near the b<;iich, alu 

 leaules 



