An intelligent man gave me the following account of his experience as
a blind reader. He was poorly dressed, but clean, and had not a vulgar
look.
“My father died when I was ten years old, and my mother in the
coronation year, 1838. I am now in my thirty-eighth year. I was a
clerk in various offices. I was not born blind, but lost my sight
four years ago, in consequence of aneurism. I was a fortnight in the
Ophthalmic Hospital, and was an out-patient for three months. I am
a married man, with one child, and we did as well as we could, but
that was very badly, until every bit of furniture (and I had a house
full of good furniture up to that time) went. At last I thought I
might earn a little by reading in the street. The Society for the
Indigent Blind gave me the Gospel of St. John, after Mr. Freer’s
system, the price being 8_s._; and a brother-in-law supplied me with
the Gospel of St. Luke, which cost 9_s._ In Mr. Freer’s system the
regular alphabet letters are not used, but there are raised characters,
thirty-four in number, including long and short vowels; and these
characters express sounds, and a sound may comprise a short syllable.
I learned to read by this system in four lessons. I first read in
public in Mornington-crescent. For the first fortnight or three weeks
I took from 2_s._ 6_d._ to 2_s._ 9_d._ a-day--one day I took 3_s._
My receipts than fell to something less than 18_d._ a-day, and have
been gradually falling ever since. Since the 1st of January, this
year, I haven’t averaged more than 2_s._ 6_d._ a-week by my street
reading and writing. My wife earns 3_s._ or 4_s._ a-week with her
needle, slaving with a ‘sweater’ to a shirtmaker. I have never read
anywhere but in Euston-square and Mornington-crescent. On Whit-Monday
I made 2_s._ 0-1/2_d._, and that, I assure you, I reckon real good
holiday earnings; and I read until I was hoarse with it. Once I
counted at Mornington-crescent, as closely as I could, just out of
curiosity and to wile away the time, above 2000 persons, who passed
and re-passed without giving me a halfpenny. The working people are
my best friends, most decidedly. I am tired of the streets; besides,
being half-starved. There are now five or six blind men about London,
who read in the streets. We can read nothing but the Scriptures, as
‘blind printing,’--so it’s sometimes called--has only been used in
the Scriptures. I write also in the streets, as well as read. I use
Wedgwood’s manifold writer. I write verses from Scripture. There was no
teaching necessary for this. I trace the letters from my knowledge of
them when I could see. I believe I am the only blind man who writes in
the streets.”