ear fine
playing: he will work it all out by himself after a while;
but he will do it sooner by hearing fine music.'

"It has been stated that Tom was born blind. In his infancy
and for years the pupils of his eyes were as white and
apparently as inanimate as those of a dead fish. But nature
pointed out to him a remedy which gradually relieved him
from total darkness, and in process of time conferred upon
him, to a limited extent, the blessings of vision.

"When he was three or four years of age, it was observed
that he passed most of his time with his face upturned to
the sun, as if gazing intently upon it, occasionally passing
his hand back and forth with a rapid motion before his eyes.
That was soon followed by thrusting his fingers into his
eyes with a force which appeared to be almost sufficient to
expel the eyeballs from their sockets. From this he
proceeded to digging into one of them with sticks, until the
blood would run down his face. All this must have been
pleasant to him, or he would not have done it; and there is
no doubt that he is indebted to the stimulus thus applied to
his eyes for the measure of sight he now enjoys. When five
or six years of age, a small, comparatively clear speck
appeared in one of his eyes; and it was discovered that
within a very small space he could see any bright object.
That eye has continued to clear, until he is now able to see
luminous bodies at a distance, and can distinguish small
bodies by bringing them close to his eye. Persons that he
knows well he can distinguish at the distance of a few feet;
and it is hoped that in process of time his sight will so
far improve as to relieve him from many of the difficulties
to which he is subject.

"The mere technicalities of music Tom learns without
difficulty. Its substance he seems to comprehend
intuitively. To teach him the notes, it was necessary only
to sound them, and tell him their names. With the elements
and principles of music he seemed to be familiar long before
he knew any of the names by which they were indicated; as a
man going into a strange country may be perfectly acquainted
with the appearance and nature of the material objects which
meet his view, without knowing the names applied to them by
the people.

"