In the sense of touch, the blind have a no less striking superiority over those that see, than in the sense of hearing. Many of them have been able to distinguish the various colours of cloths and other substances, by the delicacy of their fingers alone, without any assistance from their eyes.. This was the case with Stanley, already mentioned ; as well as with a French lady, blind from 'her infancy, whose accomplishments are particularly detailed in the An nual Register for 1762. Dr Blacklock, however, says of himself, that though " he tried repeated ex periments, by touching the surfaces of different bo dies ; and examining whether any such diversities could be found in them, as might enable him to dis tinguish colours ; yet no such diversity could lie ever ascertain. Sometimes, indeed, lie imagined that ob jects which had no colour ; or, in other words, such as were black, were somewhat different and peculiar in their surfaces ; but this experiment did not always nor universally hold." Stanley was an expert player at cards, by means of packs which he previously pre pared, by pricking them in several parts ; yet so im perceptibly, that the closest inspection could scarcely discern his marks. The blind French lady likewise played at cards in this manner ; she played also on the guitar ;.and contrived a of pricking down the tunes, as an assistance to her memory. " So deli .cate are her organs," says the account, " that in singing a tune, though new to her, she is able to Paine the notes. In figured dances, she acquits her self extremely well ; and in a minuet, with inimitable ease and gracefulness. As for the works of her Sex, she has a masterly hand : she sews and hems perfect ly well ; and in all her works she threads the needles for herself, however small." A still more extraordinary example of acquired dexterity, in .spite of the most•aillicting natural pri vations, was in the case of a lady, who, in conse quence of a violent attack of the confluent smallpox, was completely deprived both of her sight and hear ing, as well as of her speech, notwithstanding the medical aid of Sir Hans Sloane. In this deplorable concliiion, her touch and her smell became so exquisite, that she could distinguish the different colours of silk and flowers ; and was sensible when any stranger was in the room with her. After she became blind, and deaf and dumb, it was not easy to contrive any me thod by which a question could be,asked her, and an answer received. This, however, was at last effec ted by talking with the, fingers ;-at which she was uncommonly ready. But those who conversed with her in this manner, were obliged to express .them selves by touching her hand and fingers instead of their own. She generally distinguished her friends by feeling their hands ; which they presented to her, when they came in, as a means of making themselves known : the make and warmth of the hand pro duced, in general, the differences that she distin .guished ; but she sometimes used to span the wrist, and measure the fingers. To amuse herself, in the mournful and perpetual solitude and darkness to which her disorders had reduced her, she used to 'work much at her needle ; and it is remarkable, that her needle-work was uncommonly neat and exact. She used also sometimes to write ; and her writing was .yet more extraordinary than her needle-work : the character was handsome, the lines were all even, and the letters placed at equal distances.from each other : but the most astonishing particular of all, with re spect to her writing, was, that she could by some means discover when a letter had by mistake been omitted ; and would place it over that part of the word where it should have been inserted, with a caret under it. It was her custom to sit up in bed at any hour of the night, either to write or to work, when she was kept awake by pain, or.any other cause.
These circumstances were so very extraordinary, that it was long doubted whether she had not some faint remains both of hearing and sight, and many experiments were made to ascertain the fact ; some of which, when she accidentally discovered them, gave her prodigious uneasiness, on account of her being suspected of insincerity. At length Sir Hans Sloane, after being permitted to satisfy himself by such experiments and observations as he thought proper, pronounced that she, was absolutely blind and deaf.
If we may credit Leo Africanus, (1. 6.), there was a blind man who used to exercise the surprising office of conducting merchants through the sands and desarts of Arabia. His relation, however, is
rendered far from improbable, by what Or Bow com municates in the first volume of the Transactions of the Manchester Society respecting John Metcalf, commonly known by the name of Blind Jack, whose death has been recently announced in the newspapers. Though this man had become blind at a very early age, he followed the profession of a waggoner, and occasionally of a guide in intricate roads during the •night, or when the tracks were covered with snow. At length he became a projector and surveyor of highways, in difficult and mountainous districts ; an occupation that we should suppose, would be the last to which a blind man would ever turn his atten. Sion. His abilities, however, in this respect, were so great as to procure him constant employment ; and most of the roads over the Peak in Derbyshire, were altered by his directions. " With the assist ance only of a long staff," says Dr Bew, " I have several times met this man, traversing the roads, -ascending precipices, exploring valleys, and investi gating their several extents, forms, and situations, so 'as to answer his designs in the best manner." In respect of intellectual advancement, and exten sive proficiency in the various departments of science and literature, there are many remarkable instances on record in the annals of the blind. Dr Blacklock, -already mentioned, was an excellent classical scholar, a learned divine, and a pleasing poet. The cele. -brated Saunderson, it is well known, though totally -destitute of sight, was able to make such proficiency -in mathematics. that he discharged the duties of pro 'lessor of that science, in the university of Cambridge, with great applause. The- smallpox had so com pletely destroyed his eye-sight in early infancy, that he had no perception of light ; yet so delicate was his feeling, that he was sensible of the slightest sreis situdes of the atmosphere ; and while he assisted in the open air, at astronomical observations, he dis. 'tinguished the times at which a cloud obscured the sun, by the impression of the air on his face. In passing over with his hands a cabinet of medals, he -could detect the counterfeits, even though so well executed as to deceive the eyes of a connoisseur ; and he judged of the exactness of a mathematical instrument, by passing his fingers over its divisions.
No less remarkable for his scientific attainments, was Dr Henry Mayes, a native of Fifeshire ; of whom the world has been but lately deprived. He also lost his sight by the smallpon. at so early a period, that he never recollected to have seen. Possessed, however, of a lively genius and an ardent application, he made great proficiency in almost every branch of liberal knowledge ; and particularly in the various departments of chemistry, natural history, and natu ral philosophy. Mechanical 'pursuits• were the fa vourite employment of his early years ; and even when a boy, he was expert at the use of edged tools. When he afterwards became a lecturer on various branches of natural philosophy Sand chemistry, he 'performed most of the experiments which his course required, with his own hands, and with great neat. ness. He lectured also with the greatest precision and accuracy on the laws of optics, and the pheno mena of light and colours ; although it does not appear that his eyes had any proper perception of 41 either. " The rays refracted through a prism," says Dr Bew (in the Manchester Memoirs), " when suf ficiently vivid, pr,:duced certain distinguishable effects on his eyes. The red gave him a disagreeable sen sation, which he compared to the touch of a saw. As the colours declined in violence, the harshness lessened, until the green afforded a sensation that was highly pleasing to him, and which he described as conveying an idea similar to what he felt in run ning his hand over smooth polished surfaces. Po lished surfaces, meandering streams, and gentle de clivities, were the figures by which he expressed his ideas of beauty : rugged rocks, irregular points, and boisterous elements, furnished him with expressions for terror and disgust." Dr Moyes had long ab stained from the use of animal food and fermented liquors ; nevertheless, he was remarkable for the chearfulness or equanimity of his temper ; and great ly excelled in the charms of conversation.