LOUIS BRAILLE.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20703, 29 April 1929, Page 14

LOUIS BRAILLE.

HfSGREAT BEQUEST TO THE , ' BLIND. ' And wisdom at one entrance quite shut out. '. ■ r-’ It was thus Milton referred to his blindness. How glad would the young daughters of the blind- poet have welcomed any method that would have relieved; them,of their everlasting task of’ writing ' from dictation and reading innumerable books in many languages to satisfy the omnivorous literary appetite of their exacting parent. Was it- any. wonder that the patience and temper of : those concerned were sorely tried. .It wa s not till two : centuries later, in 1784, that any attempt was made to give the blind a chance to read for themselves. M. Valentin Fatty had founded a school for the blind in Paris. .One day a little, lad brought him a card on which there were raised letters. Passing his fingers over them he read the letters to his master.' .This gave M. Hauy an idea which he lost no time in putting into ■ effect. He took for his characters the Italic or written form of the Roman letters.of type were cast and books were written in embossed type. They ere shown to the Academy of Science, and having been approved, the new art caused a great sensation. In 1820 James Gall, a printer and publisher of Ediiiburgh, was shown these Parisian books, whicn deeply impressed him. He took for • his characters a triangular modification of the common alphabet. • Later bn, in-order to lessen the cost and to, make it more tangible for the blind to read, He used serrated types, by which’ the- letters were formed by dots instead of fines. He printed the, Gospel of St. Luke and the Acts of the Apostles. . In the same year John Alston set up a printing press in the Blind Asylum at Glasgow, of which he was treasurer. He • printed the Gospel of St. Mark, and later on the New Testament. To, this enthnsiastic and energetic Scotsman belongs -the honour of giving the first complete-copy of the Bible to the blind. Mr Alston’s method was not entirely successful on account of using capital letters, the want of, legibility being its fatal objection. This failure; did .not damp his ardour; he was only anxious to give the blind some "system they could read with ease. The mantle of John Alston has fallen on the shoulders of his great-grandson, who shows the ‘ same interest in the blind as did his famous forbear. ■ His cheery presence l in always welcome at; the Braille library in South Yarra.' . M® n y ■ different systems' now sprang into use both in England and America, notably those of Howe, Lucas, Frerej and Dr Moon, but we have neither time nor space to' elaborate .upon them. The chief among these was that of Dr Moon, a blind man. Moon type resembles our own alphabet, and is best suited to the aged and to those, whose'fingers 'are-hardened by work. This, system is still , used in the present-day. Up to this time no satisfactory method of .writing for the blind had been invented, and the supreme achievement was yet to come. . , ■ N In the Institution Nationals of Paris a young teacher named Louis Braille vet himself to .examine all previous systems that had been, in use.' He became convinced that the one best adapted for read* mg and writing was M. Barbier’s. ■ His system consisted of 12 points or dots,'but it was too long vertically for th'e fingers • to compass. Braille worked upon it with arbitrary signs of varying combiaitions of six dots or points placed in an oblong of jT, lcb , the vertica l side contains three and the horizontal two points.* There are 02 possible combinations of these six points, so that after providing characters for the 26 letters of the English alphabet, there remains a. sufficient number .of signs for punctuation and contractions, etc. Jlraille also invented a musical notation, in which any music-can be written, the only drawback being that in instrumental music the.performer has to read with one hand- and play with the other until the' music is committed to memory. In vocil music this entirely I disappears.' - It is a Century since thisgreat invention was given to" the world,' and it is now universally adopted in many countries. Even, in- Egypt the - Koran is .written in Braille. -. : . • • • It is difficult for ■ sighted people' to realise how far-reaching and beneficent has been this wonderful invention. : ’ wirdom ■ is no longer: at one entrance quite shut out, for it has; opened up to the blihd books on art, music, science, and literature in great abundance by the many associatora-. of'.Braille ...writera .who transcribe No official biography of Louis Braille appears to have been ■written. A few & lea w - n translated from the French throw some light bn his character.;. He was born at Coupvray, near Pans m 1809. His father was. a 5“ maker.. One day when he . was . three years old, he wandered' into - the workshop, and taking up an awl, began to imitate his father at work. The tool slipped, and destroyed the sight of one of - Ins eyes, and a sympathetic inflammation set up in the other, rendering him quite blind The little tool which caused his* misfortune-was .adapted later on to prick the dots in his invention, and was called a stylus. .

tn A Am h ir. a ?-l ?•' 10 Jhc g a inod admission to the Institution Nationals in Paris. r r d , to b ® an „ ?Pt and intelligent pupil, he formed: a friendship with Gautier, who probably inspired in him the love of music. He was taught the vioimcello and the piano, at which lie excelled, and in playing the organ,-too, he became highly efficient. He held the post of organist un several Paris churches. When he was, .0, be. wag appointed professor -in tie school in which h* had been t S upll k He .t*Vght grammar, ssography. and arithmetic, and - later au ne taught history and geometry and algebra. He also wrote several tre.tiM* and boons which proved him to be an author. Hia treatise on arithmetic, fa a masterpiece ot clearness and precision. In hia sW e time ha gave himself up to oevfertina hia great invention. He was gliid" ulrlpsopher,. and ; friend to all who heeded niR iicipj iiis. doctriu** wts jpvg s^ r - Jw« to? 4“ mT* oi - “«• iiowows* shewn by Braille .resigning tiis post as organist ■ in ■ one of the city ■ churches in favour of a pupil--who had’ inw.-.ffiJtont means or hvelibooa. PVe. havd. touched. upon • Jus '• m'entol qualities, and his work; let us take's glance at hux poisonal appearance. Ho vvas ot .midd.e heißtit, and well built. Hia lieaa, with its light curly hair. w M slightly , bent forward. His comblei-ion indicated a we?.l;, constitution. bat -his'” features were tegular, and well formed and ac retained to the last hia beautiful boyish smile. ~ His .manner was both paey ana, fcracretui; he was active in ira movements, and shAwcd a confidence end determination in his walk. Braille was botu clever and. clear-beaded; and those two qualities combined gave him.an insight into coming events. ■ Many who knew him were glad of his advice, and tow ever, repented having followed it; inose qualities often served him in good stead as member of committees or societies : connected with the blind. ■ Since the age of 26 ,he had attacks of hemorrhage, but his regular habite of lue retarded the progress of the disease. In December .1851, after a neglected cold, hi 8 last illness commenced, which terminated his life a year later. that ia mortal of ajouis Braille is Jong crumbled to ashes hia gentle spirit still hovers over the institutions, of ■ thejilind, who reap the benefits of his unselfish labour, and the generations to come will stilt rise up and call aim blessed.