NEAR AND DISTANT SIGHT. 
213 
lie sight of others, or if the experiment were not made of 
joking through a concave glass. Among persons in the in- The lower 
jrior stations of societ)’, means are rarely resorted to for [,'^e'^^iasse*' tor 
orrecting slight defects of this nature ! and, indeed, I have uiai-siglit ; 
eason to believe the imperfection in such people is not unfre- 
[uently overcome by the increased exertions that are made 
ly the eye to distinguish distant objects. This, however, is 
lot the case, in the present day, with persons in the higher 
auks of life. When thc.se discover that their discernment of 
listant objects is less quick or less correct tlian that of otliers, 
hough the ditTerence may be very slight, inHuenred, perhaps, 
)y fashion more than by necessity, they immediately have 
ecourse to a concave glass j the natural consequence of w hich 
3, that tlieir eyes, in a short time, become so fixed in tlie state 
■equiring its assistance, that the recovery of distant vision is 
endered afterwards extremely difficult, if not quite impos- 
Sble. Wi h regard to the proportion between the number of 
aear-sighted persons in the deferent ranks of society, I have 
aking pains to obtain satisfactory information, by making in- 
juiries in those places where a large number in these several 
lasses are associated together. 1 have inquired, for instance, ^^^^1 
ff the surgeons of the three regiments of foot guards, which h s> subject to 
lonsist of nearly ten thousand men ; and the result has been, 
Uiat near-sightedness, amongst the privates, is almost 'utterly 
nknown. Not half a dozen men have been discharged, nor 
naif a dozen recruits rejected, ou account of this imjx'rfection, 
; 1 the space of nearly twenty yc.ars ; and yet many parts of 
I soldier’s duty require him to have a tolerably correct view 
Iff distant objects ; as of the movements of the fuglem n in 
' xercise, and of the bull’s eye when shooting at the target ; 
fhe want of which might furnish a plausible apology for a 
ilkulker to skreeu himself from duty, or to get his discharge 
^fom the service. I pursued my inquiries at the military school youth in the 
;t Chcl'ea, where there are thirteen hundred children, and I nuiitary ho-pi- 
jund that the complaint of near-sightediTess had never been,io[art‘^eUafi 
made among them until I me.ntioned it ; and i here were then 
>:nly three who experienced the least inconvenience from it. 
After 
