IO2 Literary and Philosophical Society. 



arranged his ideas and acquired his information. When- 

 ever he was introduced into company, I remarked that he 

 continued some time silent. The sound directed him to 

 judge of the dimensions of the room, and the different 

 voices, of the number of persons that were present. His 

 distinction, in these respects, was very accurate, and his 

 memory so retentive that he seldom was mistaken. I have 

 known him instantly recognise a person, on first hearing 

 him speak, though more than two years had elapsed since 

 the time of their last meeting. He determined, pretty 

 nearly, the stature of those he was speaking with, by the 

 direction of their voices ; and he made tolerable conjectures, 

 respecting their tempers and dispositions, by the manner in 

 which they conducted their conversation.' 



In the same paper we are told of another blind man. 



' This is one John Metcalf, who, like the gentleman 

 already mentioned, became blind at a very early age, so as 

 to be entirely unconscious of light and its various effects. 

 This man passed the younger part of his life as a waggoner, 

 and, occasionally, as a guide in intricate roads during the 

 night, or when the tracks were covered with snow. Strange 

 as this may appear to those who can see, the employment 

 he has since undertaken is still more extraordinary ; it is 

 one of the last to which we could suppose a blind man 

 would ever turn his attention. His present occupation is 

 that of a projector and surveyor of highways in difficult and 

 mountainous parts. With the assistance only of a long 

 staff, I have several times met this man traversing the roads, 

 ascending precipices, exploring valleys, and investigating 

 their several extents, forms, and situations, so as to answer 

 his designs in the best manner. The plans which he 

 designs, and the estimates he makes, are done in a method 



