Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: BOOK III. The Blind Woman Herself Ct. I. Appearance, Tastes and Disposition " "" KNOW of nothing more touching and ex- I pressive than those calm faces," says de Vogue, JL speaking of the blind. "With us, all the light of the human physiognomy is concentrated in the eyes, in them it is diffused over all the other features; each muscle expresses attention, but with something of infinite gentleness and purity. As you watch them, their faces convey the same impression of rest which you receive on entering a dark room after a long walk through the streets on a hot summer's day." A blind girl's face may be quite agreeable without even possessing beauty. Her manners and attitude may be quite easy, unconstrained and graceful. I say they "may be," but I do not mean in the least to assert that they always are: far from it; but this is supposed never to be possible. Is it not true that to most people the idea of a blind woman calls up a poor disfigured girl, groping along with outstretched hands, her head thrown back for fear of hitting it against something, never knowing where she is, unable to get from one place to another without some kindly arm to guide her, always passive (at any rate physically), and incapable of any initiative or effort in life? This, of course, is why a celebrated contemporary preacher says of the blind that they are "reduced to an exceptionally painful and humiliating position." The orator was thinkingof the blind beggar, determined to shew his affliction under its most lamentable aspect; he had never seen what is quite common, an active and handy blind woman, moving about easily, helping her parents, sharing the household work, useful and agreeable in the home circle. Such women exist, and it is of them that I wish to speak here. Vogite, "A Travers 1'Imposit...