who recovered his Sight when seven Tears of Age. 387 
Woodford, a clerk in his Majesty's Treasury. I held the ob- 
jects at different distances from his eye, and inquired very par- 
ticularly if he was sensible of any difference in their situation ; 
which he always said he was, informing me, on every change, 
whether they were brought nearer to, or carried further from 
him. I again inquired, both of his mother and himself, whether 
he had ever, before this time, distinguished by sight any sort of 
object ; and I was assured by both that he never had, on any oc- 
casion ; and that, when he wished to discover colours, which he 
could only do when they were very strong, he had always been 
obliged to hold the coloured object close to his eye, and a little 
on one side, to avoid the projection of the nose. No further ex- 
periments were made on that day. On the 1st of January, I 
found that his eye continued quite free both from pain and 
inflammation, and that he felt no uneasiness on the approach 
of light. I shewed him a table knife ; which at first he called a 
spoon, but soon rectified the mistake, giving it the right name, 
and distinguishing the blade from the handle, by pointing to 
each as he was desired. He afterwards called a yellow pocket- 
book by its name, taking notice of the silver lock in the cover. 
I held my hand before him ; which he knew, but could not at 
first tell the number of my fingers, nor distinguish one of them 
from another. I then held up his own hand, and desired him 
to remark the difference between his thumb and fingers ; after 
which, he readily pointed out the distinctions in mine also. 
Dark-coloured and smooth objects, were more agreeable to him 
than those which were bright and rough. On the 3d of January, 
he saw, from the drawing-room window, a dancing bear in the 
street ; and distinguished a number of boys that were standing 
round him, noticing particularly a bundle of clothes which 
3 D a 
