Show FREAKS OF FAILING FILING EYESIGHT A man with a safety safely safet razor shave was talking I i yI I shoUld the ic talk along tho the lines Into which it t had haQ drifted that In the case of ot Instantaneous obliteration of oC vision Islon f the he unfortunate person would not have ave much to tell about the experIence nce onee of becoming blind He Ho might attempt to portray portra the frightful rightful realization of or his calamity though lough It Is not probable that nn any person erson of ot those struck blind full fully comprehended comprehended com- com at att t once what had happened happen d. d Anyway he would have none of tho mho queer experiences that attend the tho gradual yet ct swift lo loss of Vision resulting resulting re- re from certain eye ee diseases When I was a a. young man I once went vent up In a balloon A reporter who saw the ascension wrote that the great yellow bag ascended rapidly with a majestic sweep toward tho the cast east and soon became a dot in tho the distant sk sky or something like that But BuL that Is not the way It looked from rom the basket of the b balloon U on As we saw It ever everybody body beneath us slipped away rapidly In a downward dip toward the west er I Ir and lower lowel- ower fell feU the earth until it looked lII like Ike e a great bowl beneath u us nov nov- roving ing ng westward with its rim on un a level Je with the balloon There a we c hung poised motionless as It ee seemed el to tous the only stationary r objects in the uni- uni uni uni- verse Some years rears ago when I was becoming becoming becoming be be- I coming blind the Illusions of that experience ex experience ex- ex reminded me of the aeronautic aeronautic aeronautic aero aero- illusion that tho the balloon was stationary and all other things were weN moving In a a. word tho the r fault seemed to be with the objects looked at and not with the e eyes es that were were looking My sight had always s 's been r remarkably remarkably remark remark- abl ably good I have seen with the naked e eye e what comparatively few huma beings have seen without C aid satellites aid satellites of ot Jupiter two 1 of hm tent almost In conjunction conjunct showing aj as 3 a single Ingle point of or light i For many mapy years my work was ex- ex exI I I trying to tho the e ey s 's s. s One day I noticed that the light J although about the tho same same as that in iii which I had tot foi years ears seemed insufficient an and upon making th the light stronger It seemed as If tho the fault must mUril be with the objects looked at This flits was the he beginning of or the Illusions ion ofa of or ofa ora a swiftly falling failing vision Islon I went wont to a specialist an and h he lie looked looked look look- okell ok- ok ed ell into m my eyes ces with his jn instrument nt You drink whisky h hu he asked IIA A little Smoke Z A lotWell lot Well Yell drop them both hoth wild said the oculist gravely ravel Dont work with your eyes eye and n b bo ho very careful of or them and you OU will be Jc less leas s likely mealy to lose los your vision entirely That's all nil I 1 cando can cando cando do for forr you ou at present In tho the next two weeks I experienced experienced the various stages stages' of or coming blindness up to the stage at It which I could stand b by m my south window at noon on a clear day and barely find the sun Not that I was quite or nearly stone blind but the tho noonday brightness blinded me and when I turned m my e eyes cs to where J d knew the sun must be I saw only a t. t black sIc sky Yet I could see seo tho the sun un I dis discovered ills- ills covered by accident b by glancing atit at atIt atIt It in a a. fashion or of out of or orthe the tho corners comers of the e eyes es I felt fell the slightest pain or disagreeable sensation sea gen In the eyes from gl glancing toward toward tow tow- oard o ard the sun and perhaps tho the absence absence absence ab ab- sence of ot pain or unnatural feeling there was what made it seem to meas me meas as J if tho the fault w was wa's was s with the objects seen een and nd not with my sight I ht I will tell you OU i some ome of or tho the queer things s I saw at nt various vailous stages of or my failing vision without attempting to put them in the order In which they came These There The e freaks of or vision were the results of or slowness of ot focusing or receiving tho the Impression and a sort of color blindness I r saw from my mr window one of or the most beautiful views In a large park parl 4 ij J i t. t t only tho the June grass was of ot the color colo of ripe wheat straw and the tho foliage was t o colored The lawns looked like gleaned grain field The Tte flower beds were Impressionist pictures pictures banks banks of oC yellow splashed with patches of flame and of blue and antl green and odd unnatural tints t I sat by th the driveways and saw the afternoon rivers ers go past and such a procession I had hall never seen before It was all In silhouette All All the tho persons out driving We were IC solemn looking ne negroes lOes riding in carriages carriages carriages car car- with cles wheels drawn by jy legless horses The rhe bodies of the horses looked queer enough moving along at the right distance distance- from the ground with only a glimmer gUmmer beneath l them hem hemI I 11 l saw my wife as I had never ne seen seen her lor before beCort and antl as I hope no one I else ever saw her her her-an an images image's face of or dull d ul brass with glassy class e eyes s yellow yellow yel yel- ol 10 low teeth and amI the soft of or fuzzy arches for e eyebrows that the they glue on masks Her Fier complexion Is Ix olive there Is plenty of or color in her cheeks checks but there was no color but bull that o of dull brass bras In tho the face faco of or the tite image imago Into which she sho had been transformed I add addressed as nc friends strangers who resembled them only In general contour of or features and anti I failed to I recognize old friends until I h heard ar l their heir voices olce All this time I was able to fo o go about without assistance and I when I made mistakes as to the Identity Identity Identity Iden Iden- of acquaintances who had hall not been aware of m my infirmity ono one of them remarked In answer to lo m my apology apology apol apol- 01 ogy Why your our eyes look perfectly well Ye Yes I said to one of them the they look 1001 better hetter than they see lie He lau laughed he and said Bald Id Your lour of ot humor humo Is sense sharpened sharpened sharpened sharp sharp- ened by your our partial loss Joss of sight Then It dawned upon pon mo me that I Ima Imade Imado ma made mado o a Joke unawares unawares I Tho The inability to see sO tho the One flue lines JInes lh lit faces and ami t to distinguish between 1 white while and amI the red reddish shades of hair made mado it Impossible for me to estimate estimate estimate esti esti- mate th the ages iges of persons For example ex example example ex- ex ample after raising m my hat as my wife wIre nodded etl to a passing feminine figure fig ure I 1 would a ask ash k who was that white whit haired woman and would be he told that it wn was the school girl daughter of oC a neighbor At one period flame Plante unless quite dense dens was invisible to me me and many times limes I held helcl a match mutch to 10 a gas Jet until until un un- til m my lingers fingers were burned burnell because because- I could see It neither r the faint flame from Crom rein tho the pai partly artly lly opened jet nor nul the thin blaze blazo of or the thc match At another period all tho the street t lamps that burned burn bUnt bUntell burned ed ell gus gas to mo me saffron colored as ns were the lights shining through windows of rooms gas lighted while all 11 the tho arc electric lI lights were wee blue and amid andas as 1 I walked out in the evening the streets looked as Wi if iC some sonic sort sorl of oC Chinese celebration worn werd going guing on Here Heie the man with Willi the safety razor shave Q scratched a n match with his lili right hand and brought that hand against his left in which he held a cigar The 1 proper ends o of the Uw match snatch and ciC cigar l- l were brought brough t neat near together and with his hands in it that position he raised tho time cigar char to his lips and antI be began an pulling vi vigorously an odd habit I 1 got when I first began to allow my myself a cigar once In a a. while tile I couldn't see seo the llamo flamo and used to 10 get t the he match and antI cigar Into position partly h by the sense of or feeling reeling he explained as he noticed a smile nut But you didn't lose 1050 your sight after all a listener remarked cd j jOh Oh no said ald the titan man it has been cO coming coining back very cry slowly for a along along long lor-go time and now nosy I 1 can see seo to shave 4 I Im m myself V Ne New York Sun J |