B L I N D. 



599 



Blind. debility, either by retaliation or defence ; can the 

 v*~"* blind be real objects of resentment or contempt, even 

 when they seem p.evish or vindictive I" 



The blind, however, are not without sources of 

 consolation peculiar to themselves ; of which, no one 

 was more conscious than the amiable Blacklock, or 

 more capable of forcibly detailing. " Their beha- 

 viour," says he, "is often highly expressive, not only 

 of resignation, but even of chearfulness ; and though 

 they are often coldly, and even inhumanly treated by 

 men ; yet are they rarely, if ever, forsaken of heaven. 

 The common Parent of nature, whose benignity is 

 permanent as his existence, and boundless as his em- 

 pire, has neither left his afflicted creatures without 

 consolation or resource. Even from their loss, how- 

 ever oppressive and irretrievable, they derive advan- 

 tages ; not, indeed, adequate to recompense, but suf- 

 ficient to alleviate their misery. The attention of 

 the soul, confined to those avenues of perception 

 which she can command, is neither dissipated nor 

 confounded by the immense multiplicity, nor the ra- 

 pid succession of surrounding objects. Hence her 

 contemplations are more uniformly fixed upon her- 

 self, and the revolutions of her own internal frame. 

 Hence her perceptions of such external things as are 

 contiguous and obvious to her observation, become 

 more lively and exquisite. Hence, even her instru- 

 ments of corporeal sensation are more assiduously 

 cultivated and improved ; so that from them she de- 

 rives such notices and presages of approaching plea- 

 sure or impending danger, as entirely escape the at- 

 tention of those who depend for security on the 

 reports of their eyes. A blind man, when walking 

 swiftly, or running, is kindly and effectually checked 

 by nature from rudely encountering such hard and 

 extended objects as might hurt or bruise him. When 

 he approaches bodies of this kind, he feels the atmo- 

 sphere more sensibly resist his progress ; and, in 

 proportion as his motion is accelerated, or his dis- 

 tance from the object diminished, the resistance is 

 increased. He distinguishes the approach of his 

 friend from far, by the sound of his steps, by his 

 manner of breathing, and almost by every audible 

 token which he can exhibit. Prepared for the dan- 

 gers wh;ch he may encounter from the surface of the 

 f round upon which he walks, his step is habitually 

 rm and cautious. Hence, he not only avoid* those 

 falls which might be occasioned by its less formidable 

 inequalities ; but, from its general bias, he collects 

 some ideas how far his safety is immediately con- 

 cerned ; and though these conjectures may be some- 

 times fallacious, yet they are generally so true, as to 

 preserve him from such accidents as are not incurred 

 by his own temerity. The rapid torrent and the 

 deep cascade, not only warn him to keep at a proper 

 distance, but inform him in what direction he moves ; 

 and are a kind of audible cynosures to regulate his 

 course. In places to which he has been accustomed, 

 he, as it were, recognises his latitude and longitude 

 from every breath of varied fragrance that tinges the 

 gale ; from every ascent or declivity in the road ; 

 from every natural or artificial sound that strikes his 

 ear : if these indications be stationary, and confined 

 to particular places. Regulated by these signs, the 

 blind have not only been known to perform long 



Blind. 



journeys themselves, but to conduct others through 

 dangerous paths, at the dark and silent hour of mid- 

 night, with the utmost security and exactness." 



The perfection to which the blind are capable of Advan- 

 arriving in the use of those senses of which they re- tages pos- 

 main in possession, is indeed truly admirable ; and 'f SS L| in J 

 strongly manifests the bounty of nature, in providing 

 new resources and enjoyments to compensate for any 

 accidental deficiency. In the delicacy of their hear- 

 ing and touch, the blind excel those who see, to 

 a degree which is almost incredible ; and renders 

 them, in some respects, objects of envy. Their deli- 

 cacy of ear renders them particularly susceptible of 

 the enjoyment of music, and capable of attaining to 

 the most consummate excellence in the practice of 

 that delightful art. Of this, every age has afforded 

 abundant proofs ; from the rude period when blind- 

 ness and minstrelsy were usually conjoined, to the 

 present time. In the 16th century, Franciscus Sa- 

 linas, a native of Burgos in Spain, who was afflicted 

 with incurable blindness, obtained the greatest cele- 

 brity for his skill, not only in the practice, but also 

 in the theory of music. His treatise on the scientific 

 principles of harmony, according to Sir John Haw- 

 kins, is equal in value to any that is yet extant. 

 Caspar Crumbhorn, a native of Silesia, and Martini 

 Pesenti of Venice, who flourished not long after, 

 were also blind musicians that excelled all their co- 

 temporaries in their exquisite performance ; and in 

 their compositions both for instruments and the voice. 

 To these we may add the well-known English or- 

 ganist, Stanley ; who obtained the greatest celebrity 

 in his day, both for his performance and his compo- 

 sitions. So delicate and susceptible was this gentle- 

 man's ear, that he was able to accompany any lesson 

 with a thorough bass, though he had never heard it 

 before ; thus anticipating the harmony before the 

 chords were sounded, and accompanying it in a man- 

 ner suitable to its nature. 



In the sense of touch, the blind have a no less 

 striking superiority over those that see, than in the 

 sense of hearing. Many of them have been able to 

 distinguish the various colours of cloths and other 

 substances, by the delicacy of their fingers alone, 

 without any assistance from their eyes. This was 

 the case with Stanley, already mentioned ; as well as 

 with a French lady, blind from her infancy, whose 

 accomplishments are particularly detailed in the An- 

 nual Register for 176*2. Dr Blacklock, however, 

 says of himself, that though " he tried repeated ex- 

 periments, by touching the surfaces of different bo- 

 dies ; and examining whether any such diversities 

 could be found in them, as might enable him to dis- 

 tinguish colours ; yet no such diversity could he ever 

 ascertain. Sometimes, indeed, he imagined that ob- 

 jects which had no colour ; or, in other words, such 

 as were black, were somewhat different and peculiar 

 in their surfaces ; but this experiment did not always 

 nor universally hold." Stanley was an expert player 

 at cards, by means of packs which he previously pre- 



pared, by pricking them in several parts ; yet so im- 

 perceptibly, that the closest inspection could scarcely 

 discern his marks. The blind French lady likewise 

 played at cards in this manner ; she played also on 

 the guitar ; and contrived a way of pricking down 



