THE CURE OF BLINDNESS.

Auckland Chronicle and New Zealand Colonist, Volume 1, Issue 17, 25 January 1843, Page 4

THE CURE OF BLINDNESS.

(fiom the Literary Gazette.) It has -d'ten been the province of this j oUrna | during more than the quarter of' a centur of its existence, and dating a period >f unparalleled cultivation and pro* g res , •faironst every science, to lend its be? influence towards the knowledge and of disco vet ies which promised to tfoniote the well being of ma";kind Among other efforts of this description, the cure for stammering, by Mr, Hunt, obtained in warmest commendations; anil the result has at length ailived, when, af ter a few years' struggle, amid all the conflicting claims to mastery over this affliction, the simple ami natural system of that gentleman has been called into full practice; and his pupils from every part of the kingdom can bear viva voce testimony to the entire efficacy of ids instructions in removing the impediments to per feet speech. To have a faculty improved or restored i* of inapp'eciable value to man, and especially in all the principal professions ant pursuits -f civilised life; but even tfhroughollt ail the grades of sociely the most important events may hinge upon the possession or uoti possession o some common human power. Thus-, th otbei day, the very pieservatiou of on young and 1 interesting Queen did, to a certain extent,depend on the want of ready utterance in the boy Pearson, when aigUated By the threatened uei oi tu.e assts-.ui! And this has offered a remarkable iiius tration of the nature of the excellence ol Mr. Hunt's practice. Young Pearson Bas attended his lessons since the event alluded to; and with such effect, tht when produced to give evidence in the case of Francis, we have no doubt in saying he will be able to utter his testimony without the slightest hesitation oi any kind, 9 remaining disorder in the organs of speech. A % <dike this is preferable to volumes Je however high, and of arsupported; but — ——''% adduced here for the sake T E jt£o notice another moment- '- v *ty touching another sense, riments in which we last week u be-our duty to make ourselves jainted. Three weeks ago (Literary Gazette, •1542), in a notice to correspondents, we Rationed that we had heard of M r. Turnf> dl's Cute of Blindness by the Fumes of Acid, but had n<» personal knowledge of the process ; ,: which notice irtimediately procured for us an invitation from X)i\ Turnbull to witness the cases of several patients, from five or six to above - twenty years of age, who were tinder his treatment tor this sad calamity. We accordingly attended ; at:.' k is not easy loexpress our astonishment and gratifita nun at what w ; saw. The various stages of cure, HfJvuuced fy'our pre<«M>ee, by the simple application,for I ?.bout halt a minute, or until a little Warmth was felt by the patient, of the vapour of hydrocyanic acid, in a small phial, held up to the eye, with an aperture fitt&g that organ ; the various nature of the diseases so assailed—opaci ties of the cornea, inflammation, cataract,, 'amauroses, irntis, &c. Sec, the various atages„_of relief which the patients had readied, with sometimes one eye opened to sight and pleasurably to 100k v updn,&nd the other 'left nearly blind and in its"pristine deformity,to show what had been achieved; the various appearance* of "films removing*, cataracts breaking up and being gjadtially leabsorbed, pupils being redevt fther altogether extraordinary s~ymp|fcais of remedy and regeneration failed' u£J we repeat, with wonder and delight. Having witnes-ed and assured our selves of the reality of these things, we sought the rationale, the source of the discovery, and the causes of the effec is Dr.Turuuuh's answer was, that the, datum which had Suggested the experiments to him, was the evidence affoided in all eases of death from pdsoning iih prus sic acid ; ; it was teeorded in every instance,. '"-hat the eye of the corpse Was observed as erea." and lucid as it still 111 This led him to conceive that the acid exerted a specific action on the eye. He agued that any medicament which produced such a 1 symptom alter disease, must possess certain powers over the living, subject; and he ventures upon his I eonrse ofynvestigatiori aceoidingly. Tin principle was Sj;eeui : iy deveoped. The • ud al< around it soon dilated and ted lened. It v. is evident that the red aitenal x lood rushed into ihe minute fibres of the Nns, and excited a strong actiun through- ' the capillary processes. Not the

slightest arose ; a sedative influence appeared to be excercised on the nerves of sensation, and even, if inflammation existed, it was rapidly removed. The eye, however, presented all live symptoms of violent inflammation, which is the truly natural curative process, yet without the suffering of the struggle between nature and disease. The humours became quickly and singularly active ; by degrees the seat of the disease was assaulted,and a healthful tendency creased, either to supply deficiencies* or to remove obstructions. By repeating the applications, the Cures were completed. On inquiry what the results might be on old or short sights, Dr. Turnbull laughingly replied, that hydrocyanic acid would soon supercede spectacles ; it so altered and helped the vision in either case, that no doubt could exist of it's ap- • ieaoihtv to their relief and restoration. Be this a it nia'y, we hesitate not strongly !<> reco nmend the w.onderJul discovery of die ere foi b'in Iness.