ter an artist made him a
proposition to travel for the sale of chromos in the interest of a
gallery. He accepted it, and by that means soon became successful and
independent.

We do not feel it necessary to work for the sympathy of the public, for we
are already conscious of having that; but we do sincerely desire their
respect, and, if freely extended, their patronage, as do any other class
of people plying a legitimate vocation.

Among the throng with whom. I have come in contact in the course of
canvassing, the vexed question, paramount in the minds of the majority,
and one frequently addressed to me in person. It is: why I do not avail
myself of an Institution for the Blind, or--as they almost universally dub
it--an Asylum in which I will be taken care of for life, almost
invariably adding that they are taxed for this purpose.

I desire here to correct an impression which, in the main, is utterly
false. These institutions are (together with others) supported by the
States in which they are located, and in so far as every property holder
has a larger or smaller amount of State tax, they help to sustain the
Institutions for the Blind among others. These State institutions are
intended only for the education of the blind, and not for their support.
For the purpose of education there are a certain number of years allotted
to each pupil, according to their age at the time of admission. At the
expiration of this term they have no alternative but to go back to the
poor homes of their respective counties, more unfitted to endure their
privations than before they were permitted a taste of a better mode of
life, and no matter how sad their sacrifices, or how bitter their trials,
they are never looked after by the Institutions in which they graduate.

In their new life, however high may be their excellence in music or any
other accomplishment, or how great their effort to make them available,
their surroundings are all against them, consequently they lapse into a
condition even worse than before their education, because their
enlightenment renders them more keenly sensitive to their affliction.

But I am thankful there are so many who have courage to rise above all
these obstacles, and, with a heroism known only to those who have passed
through the crucible, to become noble men and women.

Another question so often arising is, can the blind distinguish colors by
the sense of feeling? To this my invariable answer has been,