.354 HISTOKY OF 



horror. He had, as was said, no idea of I'orms ; and was unable 

 to distinguish one object from another, tliough never so different. 

 When those things were shown him, which he had been formerly 

 familiarized to by his feeling, he beheld them with earnestness, 

 in order to remember them a second time ; but as he had too 

 many to recollect at once, he forgot the greatest number ; and 

 for one he could tell, after seeing, there was a thousand he was 

 totally unacquainted with. He was veiymuch sui'prised to find, 

 that those things and persons he loved best, were not the most 

 beautiful to be seen ; and even testified displeasure in not find- 

 ing his parents so handsome as he conceived them to be. It 

 was near two months before he could find that a picture resem- 

 bled a solid body. Till then he only considered it as a Hat sur- 

 face variously shadowed ; but uhen he began to perceive that 

 these kind of shadings actually rei)resented human beings, he 

 then began to examine, by his touch whether they had not the 

 usual qualities of such bodies, and was greatly surprised to find, 

 wliat he expected a very unequal surface, to be smooth and even. 

 He was then shown a miniature-picture of his father, which was 

 contained in his mother's watch-case, and he readily perceived 

 the resemblance; but asked with gi-eat astonishment, how so 

 large a face could be contained in so small a compass ? It 

 seemed as strange to him, as if a bushel was contained in a pint 

 vessel. At first he could bear but a very small quantity of 

 light, and he saw every object much greater than the life ; but 

 in proportion as he saw objects that were really large, he 

 seemed to think the former were diminished ; and although he 

 knew the chamber where he was contained in the house, yet, 

 until he saw the latter, he could not be brought to conceive how 

 a house could be larger than a chamber. Before the operation, 

 he had no great expectations from the pleasure he should re- 

 ceive from a new sense; he was only excited by the hopes of 

 being able to read and write ; he said, for instance, that he could 

 have no greater pleasure in walking in the garden with liis sight, 

 than he liad without it, for he walked there at his ease, and was 

 accjuainted with all the walks. He remarked also, with great 

 justice, that his former blindness gave him one advantage over 

 the rest of mankind, which was that of being able to walk in the 

 night Avith confidence and security. But when he began to make 

 use of his new sense, he seemed transported beyond meusureb 



