Page:Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Vol 1.djvu/78

Rh in the least possible portion of muriatic acid, equal parts of the white oxide of antimony and phosphate of lime; after which, pouring this solution gradually into distilled water previously alkalizated by a sufficient quantity of ammonia, a white and abundant precipitate will be produced, which, being well washed and dried, is the substitute he proposes for James's powder. A few observations are added on the theory of this combination; as also an assertion, that this powder, administered as a medicine, perfectly agreed in its general effects with James's powder, and the pulvis antimonialis, often prescribed in lieu of it, with this advantage, that being more mild, it may be given in larger doses, without producing the nausea or other stimu- lating symptoms that usually attend it.

The subject of this case was the son of a clergyman in Somerset- shire, who in his early infancy had every appearance of being a healthy, perfect child; but, when about a year old, was accidentally observed to be deprived of sight. A surgeon in the country pro- nounced that he had a complete cataract in each eye; and Mr. Ware, on being consulted, did not hesitate to decide that the only cure would be the removal of the opaque crystalline humour; but he added, that he did not think the child would be fit for the operation until he was at least thirteen or fourteen years of age. At the age of seven, however, the child's parents brought him to London, in order to enable Mr. Ware to form an opinion from his own obser- vation. A recent case, in which this eminent operator had succeeded to restore sight to a youth about fourteen years of age, without ex- tracting the cataract, but merely by making a large puncture in the capsule, so as to bring the opake crystalline into free contact with the aqueous and vitreous humours, having induced him to retract his opinion concerning the necessity of extracting the cataract, he pro- posed to perform the above operation immediately on one of the eyes of this new patient. This he effected without giving much pain; and in a few days the child described without hesitation all the objects that were set before him.

The author now draws a comparison between this case of restored sight and those described by Mr. Cheselden in the 35th volume of the Philosophical Transactions; and finding a considerable deviation in the results, he is induced to form several conclusions, which differ materially from those of his predecessors. These are briefly, That when children are born blind, in consequence of having cataracts in their eyes, they are never so totally deprived of sight as not to be able to distinguish colours :-that they have likewise some perception of distances; and that hence, when they recover their sight,