A red

a number of flowers of the same kind; the blue-bottle for example, or the corn-poppy, or the marigold. It appears, however, that it is only the brighter colours he is capable of distinguishing; and of these red seems to be his favourite. object attracts his notice more, and he looks at it longer, than any other. Of the female parishioners who pass the manse on their road to church on Sunday, he is most apt to follow those who are dressed in red cloaks. Miss Mitchell is of opinion, that he rather dislikes darkness; for she has observed, that in moving from one part of the house to another after night has come on, his step is hurried; and that he seems happy in reaching an apartment where there is a candle or a fire.

I observed, that he judges of the direction of a body by sight, with invariable accuracy; but when an object whose real magnitude is not known to him, is placed before his eyes, he does not seem capable of estimating its distance, for the first time, with any degree of correctness. When I held a silver snuff-box about two feet from his face, he put out his hand exactly in the direction of the box, but moved it forwards very gradually until it came in contact with it. These circumstances are just what we should before-hand have expected to find; and such also, I imagine, as may be remarked of all persons who are nearly blind from a similar cause. The perception of the direction of bodies, which obviously depends on the particular part of the retina which is affected by the rays they emit, may be obtained equally (if the bodies be seen at all) from the weakest as from the most perfect vision. But Mitchell's vision is too obscure to enable him to perceive those minute differences in the colour and intensity of light, by which persons having perfect sight, judge of the relative distance of luminous bodies.

On the whole, it appears obvious, that his sight, although yet far too imperfect for any attempt to address him in a visible language, is considerably improved within these last twelve months. Did the boy's dispositions admit of it, I should now be inclined to recommend still more earnestly than before, that another attempt should be made to remove the cateracts from his eyes, and I am much less disposed than formerly to fear that there is any radical imperfection in the optic nerves. Here it may not be improper to mention, that his sister is convinced, that he sees some objects better by moon-light than during the day; a circumstance which seems to show, that the opacity in his eyes is, as in other cases of cataract, merely local; so that when the pupil is much dilated, some rays of light reach the

retina, through those more transparent parts of the humours which are farther distant from the axis of vision than the portion that is opaque.

His powers of Hearing remain as imperfect as ever. He still continues the practice of striking hard bodies against his teeth; but on further reflection, I think it not unlikely, that he may have another object in view in this experiment, besides that of procuring a sensation of sound. It is not at all improbable, that he discovers differences in the hardness of bodies in this manner. For there is a very distinct sensation felt towards the roots of the teeth themselves, when they are struck with a hard substance, resulting probably from an affection of the nerves of the membrane lining their inner cavity, and this sensation is different according to the hardness of the body. I have little doubt that he could, by this kind of feeling alone, very easily discover that lead was softer than steel, and steel harder than ivory; although all these substances would feel equally hard to his proper organs of touch. But even supposing that he does not avail himself of this sensation in the teeth themselves, it is probable that he strikes bodies against these organs, not so much to try whether they will cause sound at all, as to observe what kind of sounds they will emit; from which he may infer various other properties, which experience has taught him are invariably connected with the particular sounds emitted.

His manner of examining any object that is new to him, is precisely the same now that it was four years ago, when I first saw him. When it is put into his hand, he runs it over with the points of his fingers; then applies it to his mouth, and insinuates his tongue into all its inequalities, thus using it as an organ of Touch as well as Taste; and, lastly, if it is a body that admits of it, he rattles it between his teeth. All this is done with singular rapidity. In fact, he loses but little time, in discovering, by the actual use of his organs of touch, taste, and smell, those qualities of bodies which we are content to infer from their visible appearance alone.

His sense of smell is unquestionably extremely acute. But I have not been able to learn any fact which could lead me to believe, that he could, in a room at least, discover a person by this sense alone, at the distance of twelve feet. It has been said, that he could follow the footsteps of another person for two miles, guided merely by smelling. But his sister assures me, that there is no foundation for this report. As to a power of determining the direction of an object, by some distinct quality in its odour, like that quality in sound by which we disco

'ver the direction of a sounding body, I could not perceive that he enjoyed any such power more than other persons. Indeed it is not likely that his faculties should differ in kind from our own, however much they may in number and degree.*

Since his sight has begun to improve, his excursions have become bolder and more extensive. He has sometimes wandered upwards of three miles from home. In all these expeditions, he proceeds in a great measure without a guide. But a boy is appointed to follow him, and keep him constantly in view; and Mitchell has the good sense, when he perceives any thing which he imagines to be a serious obstacle in his way, to wait until his little follower comes up to his assistance.

Lately, on the road near the manse, he met a person, riding on a horse which had been bought a few weeks before from his mother; and on coming up to the animal, and feeling it, he seemed instantly to recognize it. The person immediately dis-. mounted, in order to see how Mitchell would behave; and he was much amused to find, that he led the horse to his mother's stable, took off his saddle and bridle, put corn before him, and then withdrew, locking the door, and putting the key in his pocket.

When he wishes to communicate his ideas to any one near him, he uses natural signs; and it is curious to observe, that most of these signs are addressed to the sight of those with whom he converses. This fact, it appears to me, shows very clearly, that he is aware that the powers of vision enjoyed by others are superior to his own; and hence it is not unreasonable to hope, that his reflecting on his inferiority in this respect, when his reason has become more matured, may be the means of inducing him to submit, more placidly than he has hitherto done, to any endeavours for the improvement of his sight.

The following are a few examples of his signs. As soon as I began to examine his eyes, opposite to a window, he turned towards his sister, and stretched out his arm to its full extent laterally from his body. This, his sister informed me, is his usual sign for London. It is obviously the natural expression

Hic Adolescens, annum nunc agens xviii, et optimâ semper usus valetudine, vegetus est, et admodum robustus; quin et solitâ ætate pubescere visus est, partibus genitalibus ut in viris se habentibus: neque dubitari potest quin brevi futurus sit suwywv, labiis et mento densà jam inumbratis lanugine. Curiosè autem precontanti famuli et amici (masculini scilicet sexûs, quos solos de his rebus interrogare fas erat) omnes mihi testabantur nihil se observâsse, unde colligerent illum Veneris stimulum unquam sensisse, vel differentiæ sexûs notionem habuisse.

The reader may compare this paragraph with a Latin note of Dr. Hibbert's in his Account of David Tait.

of distance; and there is no need of pointing out the associa tion which must have led him to use it on this occasion. When he would express that he has been on horseback, he raises his foot, and brings the fingers of each hand together under the sole, in imitation of a stirrup. He places his hand on his mouth to signify his wish for food; and when he would go to bed, he inclines his head sideways, as if to lay it on a pillow. When I arrived at Ardelach, young Mitchell was not at home; he had wandered to the shoemaker's, several hundred yards distant, where he was sitting in anxious expectation of a pair of new shoes. He was brought to the manse; but after he had remained with us contentedly in the dining-room for about half-an-hour, he showed an anxiety to get away; and as he moved towards the door, he made use of a sign, from which no one could fail to discover whither he was going. It was an exact imitation with his arms, of a shoemaker's motion when he pulls his thread.

All the signs employed by others in order to convey ideas to him, are addressed to his organs of touch. The most important, certainly, of these signs, are those which his sister has invented, to express her approbation or disapprobation, her assent or dissent. Miss Mitchell's explanation of them is extremely satisfactory. Her brother has always been particularly attached to her, and she has always had most influence over him. He courts her good opinion. When she would signify to him her highest approbation of his conduct, she pats him much and cordially on the head, back, hand, or any other part of the body. This expression more sparingly and less fervently bestowed, signifies simple assent; and she has only to refuse him these signs of her approbation entirely, and to repel him gently, to convey to him in the most effectual manner the notice of her displeasure.

When I suggested to Miss Mitchell that it would be a highly interesting task, though doubtless a difficult and tedious one, to teach her brother the meaning of written words, and mentioned briefly the outlines of a plan for that purpose; she expressed the utmost willingness to undertake any attempt of this kind, but anticipated the chief obstacle to the design from his want of application. Still I cannot help thinking, that this obstacle would probably diminish, as soon as he felt the magic power of a few words. Perhaps a trial might be made according to some such plan as the following.

First, young Mitchell might be provided with a horn-book, on which the letters of the alphabet have been cut in relief.

His sister might then begin, by tempting him with the prospect of some article of luxury, a piece of sugar for example, or a toy; but before gratifying him with the possession of it, she might take hold of his fore-finger, and conduct the point of it. over all the letters composing the name of the article. This being frequently repeated, I have little doubt that he would soon point to the same letters when the same object was held in prospect; and at last, use the sign to procure the luxury. Were one step of this kind gained, it is not unreasonable to expect, that he might in time be made to understand the meaning of every word in our language, whether expressive of one or many ideas. Such words are of course excepted, as express ideas which he cannot possibly have experienced, from the imperfections of his sight and hearing. An advantage would attend the use of the horn-book proposed, that if the letters were painted black, Mitchell might communicate by means of it with persons at a considerable distance. Supposing him to have acquired a language of this kind, two others, if necessary, might afterwards be connected with it. The first would consist in tracing the letters of words on the palm of his hand, with the point of one's finger; and the second, of the common speech on the fingers. But how great an acquisition would the principal language alone be, without any such auxiliaries!

Several circumstances occurred, during my visit, which show, how perfectly susceptible he is of pleasure from joking, or playing with him, or from any thing ludicrous in the ideas communicated to him. Twice or thrice when his sister perceived that he was crossing the room to go away, she stepped to the door unperceived by him, to prevent his escape. When he found her there before him, he stepped back smiling, and seemed to take this sort of teazing in perfect good humour. ~ 'I had given him my whip, with which he seemed pleased; and once or twice his sister took him by surprise, and pulled it smartly out of his hand. He immediately showed by his smiles that he knew who had robbed him; and quickly catching his sister, he endeavoured to wrest the whip from her. The joke obvivously amused him very much; but Miss Mitchell assured me, that it would have given him offence to have repeated it more frequently. An uncommonly large Newfoundland dog, belonging to a gentleman who accompanied me, had got into the room; and nothing could be more expressive of surprise than young Mitchell's countenance, when he first felt this animal. His sister observing this, immediately, with great quickness, took hold of his arm, and stretched it above his head, a sign which, it seems, he uses to denote mounting a horse. He instantly un