OBSERVATIONS On the CURE of William Taylor, THE BLIND BOY Of IGHTHAM.

SINCE our merciful Creator has condeſcended to render himſelf more viſible in his Operations, than his Eſſence, what an invaluable Bleſſing ought we to eſteem it, that he has aſſiſted our Reaſon, with ſuch an ad⯑mirable Senſe, as that of Sight, thro' ſuch curious [2] Organs as the Eyes! Whereby we may every Moment confirm ourſelves in the Omnipotence and Eternity of his Being, by the continual Wonders of his Works; whereby, all thoſe, who rationally behold the Miracles of his Creation, muſt be illuminated in their Souls, with thoſe Attri⯑butes of their Creator, tho' theſe Luminaries of the Body.

AND as it is a Satisfaction unexpreſſible, in Minds divinely exalted, to enjoy thoſe ocular Confirmations, what miſerable Darkneſs muſt it be, to be deprived of them? But to what Strait, what narrow Limits muſt their Knowledge and Ideas be contracted, who have been led about, in this State of Obſcurity, from the Time of their Birth, for the whole Night of their Lives? What a comfortleſs Condition, to think, that all Places and Things, are to them alike diſ⯑mal, and the whole Univerſe itſelf but a Dun⯑geon! But on the other hand, to conſider, what a Feaſt of Felicities muſt be ſpread before them, in having ſuch Loſs repair'd; ſuch Want ſup⯑ply'd, and that ineſtimable Benefit of Sight, from which the Eyes of the Blind, had been, by natural Defects, Diſeaſes, or Accidents, ſo long debarr'd, ſuddenly, by the ſkilful Hand of their Fellow-Creature, beſtow'd upon them! When he draws the Curtain of Darkneſs from before them, and opens at once, as it were a new Cre⯑ation of Images and Objects, in moving and ſtill Life; at once, a moſt ſpacious and opulent Proſpect, of all Varieties, on every Side, in this [3] lower World, and innumerable Worlds them⯑ſelves, glittering in the vaſt Expance above! For all which ſerviceable, delightful, glorious and marvellous Scenes, to be made Partaker, what Reward, what Recompence can be ade⯑quate? And yet of ſo much Happineſs, how long will ſome remain unpoſſeſs'd? becauſe their penurious and enthralled Souls cannot give them Liberty to make any reaſonable Return of Gratitude, but will rather conſtrain them to continue moping on, in perpetual Pain or Dark⯑neſs, than let them beſtow any thing for the Enjoyment of their Sight. Some again are de⯑terr'd from ſeeking any Redreſs, thro' a Pre⯑judice raiſed by Ignorance againſt it, under the diſtaſteful Notion of trying Practices, and dab⯑bling or tampering with their Eyes: So thro' their diffident, obſtinate, or indolent Delay, in ad⯑mitting timely and proper Applications to diſ⯑perſe, or aſſwage their Diſorder, at the Be⯑ginning of its firſt and unſettled Invaſion, or Encroachment upon them, ſubmit to, as what could not be prevented, the daily Depravation of their Sight; or perhaps at laſt, permit them⯑ſelves to be quite blinded, even by thoſe very ignorant People, who diſſuaded them from at⯑tempting to be reſtor'd, by ſuch as have the greateſt Skill, and are beſt qualified to relieve them. And laſtly, how long will others refrain from applying for ſuch Relief, thro' the fear of ſome little ſhort, or ſudden Smart, which the diſ⯑eaſed Organ may endure in the Recovery; ſo let [4] their Maladies grow ſtronger and more ſtub⯑born, as the Organ itſelf, its Spirits, Humours, or Muſcles grow weaker, and more decayed or corrupted, till by Inflamations, and other dangerous Conſequencies, they become incure⯑able; when the lighteſt Bruſhing over the Eye, with the Corner of an Handkerchief, a little Duſt, a Pinch of Snuff blown into it, or the bare waſhing it with any ſtrong Liquor, no leſs than the more violent Wounds, Blows, and Diſtempers, which blind it, ſhall often be more painful than the Operations by which the gentle and careful Hand of an experienc'd Oculiſt re⯑ſtores it to Sight.

WHEN we read among the many Volumes which have been written upon the Eyes, that there are above Two hundred and forty Diſeaſes, with their Complications, to which they, and their relative Parts are incident, we cannot but perceive, there are room and Buſineſs enough, for ſeveral ingenious Men to make this beauti⯑ful Orb, minute as it is, with the Preſervation, or Reſtoration of its moſt precious Senſe, their ſole Study and Practice: And as it may be Employment enough, to devote their whole Time to it, ſo there ought to be Encouragement enough in theſe, as in France and other Coun⯑tries, to engage them aſſiduouſly in the Attain⯑ment of a ſucceſsful Proficiency therein. If many, from the meaneſt Excreſcences, by keep⯑ing our Hair, our Corns, and Nails in due and convenient Retrenchment, have eſtabliſh'd very [5] comfortable Ocupations, and cut themſelves out very decent Livelyhoods, independent of Phyſic, Surgery, Anatomy, or Pharmacy, for the Eaſe chiefly of our Feet; how much more deſerve they, who, beſides the Merit of being acquaint⯑ed with the nobler, more conſiderable and im⯑portant Objects of their Practice, can by the Knowledge and Aid alſo of thoſe Sciences, join'd with their own Experience, preſerve or recover our Sight, by which thoſe very Feet are guided, and we are aſſiſted to exerciſe them? If many Hoſpitals and Infirmaries have been charitably erected, and endow'd, for the Lame, why none for the Blind? Since the Blind may be as well Lame as they, uncapable as they are, of uſing their Arms or Legs to any Effect; or as unable to walk without a Leader, as a Cripple without a Crutch; and ſince, the Cure of the Blind re⯑quires longer Experience, deeper Penetration into the Nature of its Object, and more deli⯑cate Operations than the Lame.

IT is leſs difficult to attain a ſuperficial Know⯑ledge of the Diſorders that affect the Body of Man in general, than a profound Knowledge of thoſe which diſtreſs ſome Parts in particular, whereof the Eye is the Chief; complicated as it is, of ſuch fine ſolid, as well as ſubtil and ſpi⯑ritous Matter; conſiſting of ſuch various Com⯑poſitions, ſuch different Subſtances, Teguments, Films, Fluids, Muſcles, Nerves, Veins, and Fibres; ſuch an elementary Labyrinth of con⯑cordant Parts, mutually reflecting all Images to [6] the Organ of Sight, and all in ſuch cloſe Com⯑pact and circular Confines: Yet is it alſo, of ſuch a refined Frame and Texture, of ſuch a tender and ſenſible Nature, that it is ſubject to numerous Defects, Diſtempers and Diſaſters, which often lie ſo intricately involved, or intern⯑ally conceal'd, as to be even undiſcernable to ordinary Inſpection, and ſometimes almoſt in⯑acceſſible to proper Applications for its Relief, without creating Diſorders, greater than are at⯑tempted to be cur'd. Upon the mature Con⯑ſideration hereof, we may well agree with that learned and ingenious Gentleman, who has ob⯑ſerv'd that, ‘"Thoſe Defects and Diſeaſes, ſo numerous, are more than ſufficient to employ the whole Study and Attention of any one Perſon, be his Abilities ever ſo great, or his Knowledge ever ſo extenſive. Hence it is, That Patients commonly meet with ſuch bad Succeſs, from their Application to Gentlemen whoſe Judgment and Skill, in other Parts of the human Body, may indeed be unexception⯑able, but whoſe Practice is too general, to permit them to make any conſiderable Im⯑provement in the Knowledge of this one Organ, the Structure of which is ſo delicate, and its Parts ſo exquiſitely fine and minute, that it will hardly bear any Miſtakes in the Treat⯑ment of its Diſeaſes, ſince the firſt falſe Step in theſe Caſes, is always of dangerous, and very often of fatal Conſequence."’

[7]BUT there are other Difficulties and Diſad⯑vantages, which are apt to divert, or deter a Student from practiſing with Succeſs, upon this moſt neceſſary, comprehenſive, and elegant Or⯑gan: For, beſides that the Tranſition of Studies and Experiments, from one ailing Part of the Body to another, external and internal, as well for healing as reſtoring of Health, is more engaging to the Curioſity of a Practitioner, thro' the Diverſity of Objects and Operations, than a conſtant and confined Attachment to any one Organ of Senſe, that contains a greater Variety, in a more contracted Compaſs, and requires Methods of Treatment more nice and curious, dexterous and difficult; there is this further Diſcouragement, attending the ſaid more par⯑ticular Attachment to the Relief of this, or any other Senſe, that, as there are fewer Patients, and more indigent Objects, there is leſs Proſpect of Profit from profeſſing to reſtore only one little Part, how uſeful or important ſoever, of the human Frame, than thoſe uſually meet with, who promiſe, and undertake to cure all Diſeaſes, in every Part of every Body.

Theſe, among other Reaſons, render our Ob⯑ligations the greater, to thoſe few who have ſo circumſcribed their Experience, and ſo con⯑fined themſelves to this diſtinct and more un⯑beaten Path, as to acquire the moſt acurate Skill and Expertneſs, in the ſaid more difficult, and leſs advantageous Branch of the Practice; which [8] therefore, ſo much more deſerves the Encour⯑agement of the Publick, as the Patients are more unfrequent, and diſperſed, leſs acquainted, where they may repair for Aſſiſtance, and leſs able to recompence in any Proportion, of their own ſingle Subſtance, or Abilities, the whole Application, Time and Attendance, of an ex⯑pert Oculiſt, in his more private Situation. That this is a very ſeaſonable and promiſing Juncture, to ſolicit ſuch a needful Benefaction, may be preſum'd, in that there have been ſo many others of late Years eſtabliſh'd, which flouriſh with Succeſs, and however laudable, are not more neceſſary. Therefore it is to be hoped, that Charity will remain no longer liable to the Suſ⯑picion of being any ways defective in her own Eyes, by overlooking the moſt effectual Means of Relief to thoſe which are blind: Thoſe, whoſe moſt wretched Lives are lingering on, in the moſt helpleſs, deſtitute and deplorable Condi⯑tion, of Darkneſs, Beggary and Want: But that ſhe will alſo ſtretch her Hands, no leſs extenſively forth, as to many others, ſo to theſe moſt un⯑happy Objects of Compaſſion, who have hither⯑to ſo much eſcaped the bountiful and unanimous Contributions of her gracious and generous Vo⯑taries. ‘"The Imperfections however, of whoſe good Deſigns, in the Foundations they have encouraged, are not,"’ as a judicious Author has lately obſerv'd, ‘"more glaring in any In⯑ſtance, than in that great Number we con⯑tinually meet with, of poor People, who are [9] either totally blind, or elſe labour under ſuch Diſeaſes in the Eyes, as for want of pro⯑per Aſſiſtance, from ſuch, whoſe whole Study and Practice are confined to this one Organ, do, notwithſtanding general Application, ſtill continue in a State of Miſery, and muſt ever remain, unleſs relieved by Thoſe who are willing to encourage and promote their Re⯑covery, by commending them to ſuch par⯑ticular Practitioners, who are moſt likely to effect it".’ Wherefore we are aſſured, as the ſame Author continues, ‘"It is with this Con⯑ſideration, that ſeveral Perſons of Quality and Diſtinction, have agreed to contribute to the Relief of ſuch unhappy Sufferers, by a generous SUBSCRIPTION: whereby they who labour under any ocular Diſorder, may with⯑out the leaſt Expence, have the Aſſiſtance of Mr. JOHN TAYLOR, jun. Oculiſt, in Hatton Garden, and be ſupply'd with every Thing needful to their Cure, though their Caſes re⯑quire ever ſo much Time and Attendance, and their Circumſtances are too narrow to ſupport the Expence that would otherwiſe ne⯑ceſſarily attend Cures of this Nature".’

UNDER this Gentleman then, and ſuch other Co-operators, as ſhall be appointed with com⯑petent Salaries, we may hence hope to ſee the beneficent Foundation here propoſed, effectually purſued, and brought to an honourable Con⯑cluſion, by a Number of ſuch noble and gener⯑ous Subſcribers, as, in Conſequence of the wor⯑thy [10] Examples begun, will procure a Patent for the ſame, and elect ſuch Governors to form the Plan, proportion the Expence, and provide ſuch commodious Habitation, or ſettled Place of Abode, that, beſides even thoſe of better Rank, a Number of neglected and forlorn Pa⯑tients alſo, who are now led about half naked, and ſtarving, as Vagabonds, may know where to apply themſelves, and meet with the ſoundeſt Advice, moſt ſovereign Medicines, and other Adminiſtrations; or ſuch further humane Pro⯑viſion, Tendance and Aſſiſtance, as may be found requiſite, for their being admitted either within Doors, or ſupply'd with all proper Means of Redreſs without, as the Nature of their Con⯑ditions, Circumſtances, and Caſes, or the Ex⯑tent of the Charity will admit. Under ſuch Patronage, we hope to ſee ſuch a Benefaction eſtabliſhed, which has been ſo hopefully pro⯑poſed by Mr. Taylor, who has already, towards bringing the ſame to Perfection, met with the Encouragement of ſome noble Perſons, for his Knowledge and Succeſs in ocular Diſeaſes; as having had five Years Education in France, been regularly trained under the great Practice of his Father, and alſo had Experience of his own, for nine Years ſucceſſively in London. Among his many extraordinary Cures, that which he perform'd the laſt Year upon Wil⯑liam Taylor, the blind Boy of Ightham in Kent, being not the leaſt memorable, or worthy of Obſervation, I ſhall here, ſo far as good [11] Vouchers will authorize, be ſomewhat particular thereon.

As there was no Proſpect of procuring this Boy any Relief that might reſtore him to his Sight, in the Country, where he lived, he was recommended to the Care of the ſaid Mr. John Taylor, the Younger, at London; who ſoon found him ſo lively and active, that he would not ſuffer his Eyes to be even examined, without much ſtruggling: But after ſome ſerious and affect⯑ing Expoſtulations with him; after the ſtrongeſt Aſſurances given him, that if he did not patient⯑ly comply with the only Means that were to be uſed for his Cure, he would be deprived of all Ways to get his Livelihood; muſt be a Beggar⯑boy, in want of Cloaths and Victuals, and be led about, to ſeek his Bread, from Door to Door, like ſuch a one, of whom he had heard, and have nothing to depend upon, but the cold, ſcanty, and precarious Relief of an hard-hearted World; he thereupon conſented to undergo any Trial that ſhould be made upon him, at his Father's Houſe in the Country. Accordingly the Oculiſt went thither; but being apprehen⯑ſive that his Patient would not lie ſo ſtill on the Table, as ſuch a tender and ſteady Operation of his Hand required, he told him that he muſt be tied faſt down, from ſtirring or winching: But he, as he could ſee no Danger, felt no Fear; therefore abſolutely promis'd, he would, without any Conſtraint, lie unmov'd; which he did, with his Hands in his Pockets, till the Ob⯑ſtruction [12] in his right Eye, was, in little more than a Minute, entirely remov'd, without the leaſt ſtarting or Complaint. As ſoon as the in⯑ſide of his Eye was clear'd of its little thick, white, cloudy Spot, by that delicate Depreſſion of it, with the Needle, which is called Couching, ſo that it quite ſubſided, and did no longer in⯑tercept the Light, or Admiſſion of Objects to the Organs of Viſion, he, being aſk'd by ſome of the Company, for there were ſixteen of his Neighbours preſent. What he ſaw? Anſwer'd, with a Kind of wild Tranſport, and Wonder, at the ſtrange Shapes, Forms, and Colours of many Things, ſo incomprehenſible about him, that He beheld the Room full of Lights, and Moons. For, as I underſtand, his Eyes were not ſo totally dark'ned by the Cataracts, but that he had ſome faint Diſcernment, or glimmering Senſation of luminous Bodies, admitted round the Pupil; as in the moſt ordinary Eclipſes of the Sun, the Moon's Diſk does not ſo entirely over-ſhadow and obſcure it, but that ſome Edgings of its Light will irradiate, or break out at its Sides, or Circumference; the like of which, might help the Boy to deſcribe ſome ſhining Utenſils he now ſaw, by thoſe Names: For next Time, upon the Dreſſing of his Eye, he declared, as it is atteſted in a Letter of his Father's, That he ſaw the Pewter on the Shelf, with the Clock, and its Caſe; that all theſe Things the Boy knew before by Feeling, and, I dare ſay, adds he, that now he can ſee the above-mention'd Things.

[13]THESE are his Father's Words; and they have been conſtrued to ſignify, that the Boy diſtinctly named thoſe ſeveral Pieces of Furniture, upon his firſt beholding them, from the Knowledge he before had by Feeling them, without having felt them again, after the Uſe of his Sight. But ſuch a familiar Acquaintance inſtantly with Ob⯑jects never before ſeen, how frequently ſo ever before felt, has been much diſputed by ſome Oculiſts and Opticians, who have deeply conſidered the Properties and Powers of Sight, ſo long kept an utter Stranger to thoſe Objects. In⯑deed the Clock might be diſcoverable to him, by the Help of his Hearing; as from the Vi⯑brations of its Pendulum, ſtriking, and other Sounds; but the Diſhes, Plates, Shelves, and other Things, tho' perhaps often handled, could as it is thought, ſcarcely be named, upon the firſt Sight only of them; at leaſt, without Feeling again, and a better Knowledge of thoſe Parts and Places in the Room, where he might before feel them, than he could receive in his State of Blindneſs, or retain, and refer to, at firſt Sight.

HOWEVER, there is an ingenious Author, the Reverend Mr. Edward Synge, the ſame I take it, who was the late Archbiſhop of Tuam, in Ire⯑land, who has argued that, the Images of Things ſhall be ſo well known to the Senſe of Seeing, how newly ſoever brought to uſe, only by the Ideas conceived of them, thro' the Senſe of Feel⯑ing, that the Patient ſhall be able inſtantly to know, and name them, without feeling them [14] any more, to inform or confirm his Sight. His Arguments are drawn from a Problem, that was ſent by Mr. William Molyneux, to Mr. Locke, who has honour'd it with a Place in his Eſſay on Human Underſtanding ^*: The Caſe ſtands thus, in the ſaid Mr. Synge's Letter to Dr. Quayl ^‡. ‘"A Man born perfectly Blind, has a Globe and a Cube given into his Hands, and inſtructed, as much as he is capable of, in the Notion of each of theſe Figures, and the Difference be⯑tween them. Let us now ſuppoſe, this Man to be ſuddenly endowed with the Senſe of Seeing, and the Queſtion is, Whether the Globe and the Cube, being placed before his Eyes, he would be able, by his Sight alone, and without touching them, to tell which was the Globe, and which the Cube?"’ Then, one of his Arguments is,—‘"If immediately, upon the Sight of the Globe and the Cube, there be Grounds enough for ſuch a Perſon clearly to perceive the Agreement and the Difference, between his pre-concived Ideas, and newly conceived Images of thoſe Figures; then may he be able to know, which is the Globe, and which the Cube, without touch⯑ing them again, after he has ſeen them. For the Agreement which he may find between his Idea, and his Image of a Globe, and the Difference of the Idea of a Globe, from the Image of a Cube, et ſic vice verſâ, will be a [15] ſufficient Direction: If,"’ as he repeats again, ‘"there be a ſufficient Ground, immediately to perceive the ſaid Agreement and Difference".’ So, without clearing this Doubt, which he has twice ſuggeſted, he concludes, ſuch Diſtinction may be made by Sight alone, and the Patient be thereby rendered able to know, and name one Object from the other. But Mr. Molyneux, in a Letter of his to Mr. Locke, wherein he incloſes that of Mr. Synge, tells him; ‘"You will find thereby, that what I ſay, of its puzling ſome ingenious Men, is true; and you will eaſily diſcover, by what falſe Steps this Gentleman is led into his Error"^*.’ And in another ‘"Letter before, to Mr. Locke, wherein Mr. Molyneux firſt ſtates this Problem",’ he aſſures him that, ‘"He had propos'd it to divers inge⯑nious Men, and could hardly ever meet with one that, at firſt Daſh, would give me the Anſwer to it, which I think true, till by hear⯑ing my Reaſons, they were convinced."’ Then having deliver'd the Problem, to the Senſe above repeated, with the Queſtion, ‘"Whether by his Sight, before he touch'd them, he could now diſtinguiſh, and tell which is the Globe, which the Cube?"’ He anſwers himſelf, in the Ne⯑gative, and gives his own Reaſon in theſe Words: ‘"For, tho' he has obtain'd the Ex⯑perience, how a Globe, how a Cube affects his Touch; yet, he has not yet attain'd the Experience, that what affects my Touch, ſo [16] or ſo, muſt affect my Sight, ſo or ſo; or, that a protuberant Angle in the Cube, that preſs'd his Hand unequally, ſhall appear to his Eye, as it does in the Cube"^‡.’

IT may be conſider'd, whether this Opinion upon that Problem, might not receive ſome further Confirmation, from the Miſtake of a certain blind Man, who, as it is reported, upon his being firſt brought to Sight, could not di⯑ſtinguiſh, by that Senſe, a plain Superficies, from a prominent Body; or the Figures of Men painted in Colours, all even, upon a Canvas, or Wainſcot Picture, from thoſe of living Perſons; but was greatly ſurpriz'd at his Diſappointment, that he could not find thoſe Figures, as Men, by feeling, no leſs than he though he had found them ſuch, by his Sight: And being told they were only the artificial Imitations of Men, in their Size, Shapes and Proportions, by the well-diſpoſed Lights, and Shades of Colours, he aſked, Why then, which of the Two is the lying Senſe? He meant, the deceived Senſe, not yet having had the Experience of knowing the Proverb, That Seeing is believing, but Feeling, the Truth. And it may ſtill be further conſider'd, whether external Objects, when render'd viſible, by the Cure of a blind Perſon, may not contradict, or at leaſt confound the internal Conceptions he had of them, before he could ſee; and whether they may not, to the Eye, which is firſt brought to the Sight of them, become thereby rather leſs [17] known; more incomprehenſible and confuſing, thro' the vaſt Variety of their new, and ſtrange Forms, Dimenſions, and Complexions, without any Aſſiſtance from any other Senſe; and con⯑ſequently, leſs able to be nam'd, than ſome of them might have been, by the Intelligence of ſome other Senſe, during the former Privation of Sight? Therefore the Boy of Ightham, as he diſ⯑covered much Conſternation upon the firſt Sight of the various Objects about him, might, if he felt not the Things mentioned in his Father's Letter, above-cited, before he named them, have them inadvertently named to him, in the very Queſtions that were put to him, Whether he ſaw them? As thus,—What do you ſee? Can you ſee the Pewter Diſhes here, on this Shelf? The Plates on that? The Clock there, its Caſe, Glaſs? &c. The Enquirer pointing to the Places where they ſtood; and the Boy might anſwer yes, name thoſe ſeveral Things, as he heard them named, and ſaw them; and alſo point out the Places where they ſtood, as he had been led the Way. Which may be a truer Interpre⯑tation of his Father's Words, That he declared he ſaw the Pewter on the Shelf, &c. than that he firſt named the Pewter, and other Things him⯑ſelf, as ſoon as he firſt ſaw them.

THIS being preſumed the Caſe, it may render his Nomination of thoſe Things accountable, and clear him from the Objection that was made to the Beggar of St. Albans; who pretending to have been miraculouſly endow'd with perfect [18] Sight, tho' blind from his Birth, upon offering up his Prayers at the Shrine of that Saint, was brought before the ſagacious Duke Humphrey, and aſked by him, of what Colours the Gowns of ſeveral Perſons preſent, and other Things were, that were pointed out to him; which, he naming truly, was juſtly, as an Impoſtor, ſent to the Stocks; for he could no more know the Names of all Colours, by barely once ſeeing them, than he could thoſe, of all the Men pre⯑ſent, only at firſt Sight; as Sir Thomas More has very judiciouſly obſerved^*. Indeed had that Beggar, while he was blind, if he was ever ſo, been taught to name the Colours of Things, with the Things themſelves, he might, after he was brought to Sight, upon having thoſe Things produc'd, and named to him, name, by the Help of his Memory, the Colours alſo, whoſe Names had been combined with, or annexed to them; and from thence likewiſe, the ſame Colours in different Things. For Example, had he heard, in the State of Blindneſs, ſome Things called Blood-red, others Sky-blue, or Graſs-green; ſome Coal-black, and others Milk-white; he probably, when he was brought to the Senſe of ſeeing, upon being ſhewed ſome Milk, and told its Name, and aſked what elſe it was called, would anſwer, it was White; tho' the Meaning of the [19] Word, he could not explain; but being told it was its Colour, which diſtinguiſh'd it from others to the Eye, and from thence being re⯑ferr'd to a Piece of clean Linnen, or ſome white Paper, he would ſay it was of the ſame Colour; and ſo of the reſt: Otherwiſe, for a Man to name all Colours, which he had never before ſeen, is a greater Miracle, than that of being brought to the Sight of them, only by the In⯑terceſſion, here, in that Cure, at the Shrine of St. Alban pretended. But to return:

At the next opening of the Boy's Eye, the Perſons attending to dreſs it, ſaid it appear'd very clear; and then, beſides the Things with⯑in Doors, he took Notice of the Barn, and other Out-houſes; and, in the Letter of his Father's aforeſaid, I find it atteſted that, He had never felt any Pain, ſince the firſt Operation. A few Days after, he was ſet before a Looking-glaſs, and was greatly delighted with the little Man he ſaw in it, whom he would have to be his own Man, becauſe he ſo obediently imitated, or re⯑peated all the Motions and Geſtures, which he made, with his Head, Mouth, and Hands; but ſaid, He would not cloſe his Eyes, till he himſelf did firſt; and whenever he went abroad, he wanted, and aſk'd for his little Man, to go along with him. 'Tis in this View or Proſpect, of that ſurpriſing and agreeable Figure, that his Sculp⯑ture was prefer'd to be repreſented, with an oval Glaſs in his Hand, by that ingenious Artiſt, Mr. Thomas Worlige, who lately publiſh'd a Print [20] of him, which he has etch'd upon Copper, in a ſmall Octavo Size. But to many other Images he could not ſo ſoon reconcile himſelf: For, when he ſaw any large Utenſil, Piece of Fur⯑niture, or Apparel, that ſtood, or lay near him, he diſcover'd himſelf ſo perplex'd to go forward, that he would not ſtir, till he was told what it was, how far off, and how to avoid, or paſs by it; herein agreeing exactly with the Behaviour of the blind Youth of Newington, when he was firſt brought to Sight by Mr. Grant, in the lat⯑ter Part of Queen Anne's Reign, as the ingenious Author of the Tatler, among other curious Cir⯑cumſtances, has remark'd^*; where we are in⯑form'd that, ‘"When he offer'd to move, he ſeem'd afraid of every Thing around him".’ Yet, one Evening, this young Patient of Ighth⯑am, then reſiding, for ſome time at Mr. Taylor's, in Hatton Garden, ſtole up to the Top of the Houſe, and clamber'd out at Window, along the leaden Gutter, without any Apprehenſion of Danger; but being diſcover'd, brought down, and aſked, what induc'd him to hazard his Life, if by a Slip of his Foot, he had tumbled to the Ground? He reply'd that, He only went thither to catch the Moon. When I ſaw him, ſome Weeks after he had received this new Senſe, I obſerved, the Eye which was brought to Light, was, in all due Motion and Symetry, very clear, lively, and briſk; but it ſeemed more infantine, or as if it belonged to a Body, younger than one even [21] of his Years; not looking methought, ſo ſtrong, bold, and ample in the Pupil, as if it had been longer exercis'd in the Reception of various Objects. He is a Lad of a pleaſant Aſpect, fair Complexion, with Features ſoft, and agreeable; alſo of a ſprightly and chearful Temper; and has a quick or ready Ear for Muſic; inſomuch that, to ſeveral Tunes play'd before him, on the Ger⯑man Flute, he would join in Concert with his Hands, by drumming them over, at the ſame Time, upon the Table.

WHETHER he was, as yet, but ſhort-ſighted, thro' the Want of ſome tranſparent Humour, in the room of that which was depreſs'd, or he only appear'd ſo, thro' his Ignorance of the proper Space, at which he might diſtinguiſh his Ob⯑jects, I will not decide; but it was remark'd that, when ſome Money was laid on the Table; Gold, Silver, and Copper; and he was bid to take up a Guinea, or a Shilling, he would look, as it were, firſt for the Table; then, upon ſeveral Parts of it, before he found where the Money lay; and when he perceiv'd it, by hold⯑ing his Head down very near it, he would offer to ſnatch at the Piece he aim'd at, two or three Times before he could reach it, becauſe he could have no Notion of Diſtances; which made him before ſo little afraid of being at the Top of the Houſe, and think, from thence, of catching the Moon.

IT is credibly atteſted that, the ingenious Mr. King, who reads Lectures upon Optics, and [22] other Parts of Philoſophy, has aſſerted that, all Objects, to a Perſon who is firſt brought from Blindneſs to Sight, do appear inverted; and that, he confirm'd himſelf in the ſame Opinion, by ſome Experiments which he made upon this Boy; who having a Pin held up before him, of which he had been taught to diſtinguiſh the Point from the Head, and being bid to touch the Head, he laid his Finger upon the Point of it. The ſame Miſtake he committed in three ſeveral Attempts; upon which, the Gentleman who made the Experiments ſmil'd, and ſaid, He knew it would be ſo. Thoſe who have ſeem'd unwilling this Miſtake ſhould be aſcrib'd to the Objects appearing to the Boy inverted, are not ſatisfied belike in ſome Doubts; as Firſt, Whe⯑ther the Boy's Miſtake was not owing, in this Trial, no leſs to his Ignorance of Situations, as to higher and lower, or right and left, than it was in others before, to his Ignorance in the Di⯑ſtances of Things, further or nearer? And Se⯑condly, they thought it very extraordinary, that the Eye, fram'd, and intended by Nature, moſt exactly and conſtantly, to reflect and report, the true unperverted, Poſitions of Objects, ſhould, as in Submiſſion to one of her moſt capricious Operations, be at firſt, ſo unnaturally diſpos'd, as to behold thoſe Objects in the moſt falſe, un⯑faithful, and prepoſterous Poſitions; and yet, ſo change to the utmoſt Extream, as to reverſe, rather than ratify the Habit, by further Practice of the ſame Organs, in the ſame Manner, upon [23] the ſame Objects; ſo that thoſe Things which appear'd to the ſame Eye, one while upſide down, ſhall appear at other Times, or at all Times after, upright, and on their proper Baſis! Whether ſuch Appearances of Objects in the Reverſe, might be owing to any Inſufficiency in one of the Humours, upon the Vacancy made by the Removal of the opaque and phlegmatic Obſtruction; whether to ſome Irregularity, ſome Indiſpoſition in the Retina, or in any other Mediums to the Senſory in the Brain, which were not yet ſettled in their due Place or Proportion, by Exerciſe, and Experience in proper Diſtances, for a true Reflection of Objects, we need not here ſo much conſider, as whether ſome Light into the Cauſe, might not be reflected from the uſual Experiments, with an ordinary Convex Glaſs; which being held to any Characters or Images near at hand, ſhall only magnify, but not re⯑verſe them; and yet the ſame Glaſs, held almoſt at Arms Length, towards thoſe Objects, at a further Diſtance, ſhall both diminiſh, and turn them all topſy-turvy.

So that to ſee Things firſt in this Manner, how much ſoever it may have of Truth or Fact in it, and therefore may be leſs rare and uncom⯑mon; yet is it no leſs remarkable, in this Boy, and all in his Caſe, to have been endow'd with that Faculty really, which was long ſince obſerv'd ap⯑parently, in another Boy, mention'd by old Dr. William Bulleyn ^*, who tells us, He had two Sights [24] in one Eye. And if ſuch the Property be, or Ob⯑jects do after that Manner, appear inverted, at their firſt Admiſſion to the ſo long obſtructed Organ of Sight, it may poſſibly illuſtrate the blind Man's Similitude in the Goſpel; who being brought to the Uſe of that Senſe, and aſked, if he could ſee any Thing, anſwered that, He ſaw Men like Trees, walking. ^† For, however he knew the Trees at firſt Sight, enough to name them, Men revers'd, or ſtanding upon their Heads, with their Arms and Legs, as it were, branching uppermoſt, are more like Trees, and in that ſup⯑poſed Poſture have oftner of old been compared to them, than when they ſtand upon their Feet. And what makes it more credible, that this Man was at firſt confus'd with the Sight of thoſe Men in ſuch perverted Attitudes, is, that in the very next Verſe, it is ſaid, after he had been touch'd again, by the ſame all-healing Hand, that He was restor'd, and ſaw every Man clearly: That is, di⯑ſtinctly and perfectly, in his real, and proper Poſture.

OTHER, and more remarkable Obſervations might perhaps have been made, had any Thoughts of preſerving and recommending them to pub⯑lic Application or Intelligence, been deſign'd at the firſt bringing of this Boy to Sight; and ſeveral philoſophical Elucidations in the Doctrine of Viſion, might alſo perhaps be further made, from the Particulars above, were it neceſſary or convenient to be more extenſive and circumſtan⯑tial in this Place thereon.

A SPECIMEN OF REMARKABLE CURES.