Light For The Blind.

for sixty years to provide an alphabet for { he blind which Avas universally applicable , and the reasons from Avhich they failed to accomplish the object in vieAv . Upon losing his sight , our author mastered for himself the existing systems . He then

endeavoured to confer the same benefit upon other blind persons . With some he cither totally failed , or met Avith only partial success . This led him to seek the cause of failure . The conclusion Avas , that the Boman characters Avere too complicated

for the touch of the blind generally , and the systems Avhich possessed a simple character had a defective orthography , being based upon stenography .

We are thus introduced to the invention of reading for the blind by means of embossed letters , its introduction into England , and the author ' s OAVII hiA-ention as adapted to that means , together Avith the extraordinary success Avhich has attended

its use , and the authoi ' s efforts to extend its benefits to other countries . Tn his preface , Dr . Moon informs us that the Avork has been prepared " with a twofold object : firstly , that the kind contributors to the Embossing Fund may knoAv IIOAV

greatly the Lord has blessed our united efforts on behalf of the blind ; and , secondly , that others , Avhen they learn the blessing that has been vouchsafed to our labours , may be induced to co-operate in this Christian Avork . " Wo have had

frequent occasion to notice the simplicity which characterizes Dr . Moon ' s adaptation of the modified embossed letters to the use intended , and also the interesting character of the details of his continental

missionary tours , as related by him on various public occasions ; and Ave commend this little book to the notice of all AVIIO fool an interest in the Avork of enabling Wie blind to read by the fingers Avhat then "lore favoured brethren enjoy by the blessing of siht . A list is appended of the

g various books Avhich have been published ] u Moon ' s embossed type , comprising the various books of the Bible in English and some foreign languages , religious books , poetry , educational Avorks , tales , anecdotes , hieiuoirs & csome hundreds in number

, , ; together Avith some maps , for the construction of which the author has received the membershi p of the Eoyal Geographical Societ y . The volume is the interesting record of a movement Avhich is and - will

continue to be a blessing to thousands to Avhom the art of reading Avould , but for the invention it describes , be necessarily compelled to exist in literary destitution and darkness .

Some interesting facts are broug ht before us regarding the statistics of blindness , Avhich appeal forcibly to our sympathies and interests . It should be stated that the blind in the world number at least 3000000 . Of

, , these , according to our census returns , 30 , 000 are to be found in the United Kingdom alone . Thirty years ago , fVw of this latter number could read for themselves ; but the Avork of teaching the blind , and disseminating the books upon

this improved system , has progressed so rapidly that HOAV more than 5 , 000 of our sightless felloAV-creatures in Great Britain and Ireland alone , are possessed of the poAver of doing so . The earlier chapters of this volume give us a deeply moving account of the " Origin of Beading for the Blind , " and of Dr . Moon ' s OAVII simplified system .

Thirty years ago he lost his OAVII sight , but from that time he set to Avork to unfold to others Avhat , in the good Providence of God , he had himself happily achieved —the mastery of the system then in A ogue . When , in 1817 , Dr . Moon first introduced

his system of raised or embossed letters , Avith an alphabet of the simplest character , there Avere feAv adults Avho could read by the touch , though the idea of the system Avas 300 years old and is due to a Spaniard , Francesco Lucas , and though numerous

advances had been made in the art , especially by Valentine Hiiay , Avho , Dr . Moon tells us , appears to haA e been the first to emboss paper as a means of reading for the blind , about the year 1784 , and Avas instigated to it by seeing a band of blind musicians playing in the streets of Paris .

It is not too much to say , that the blind generally then Avere devoid of a scrap of reading Avhich they could decipher for themselves . Dr . Moon Avas destined to become the inventor of a neAV plan by Avhich all Avho Avere capable of learning to read by an embossed type might be able

to do so . We learn from the independent testimonies and extracts from reports of Societies , & c , recorded in this book , that children of even the tendcrest years , and D