MOST of the boys I know seem to take a great interest in ships; indeed it was a boy friend of mine who taught me how to distinguish a brig from a schooner or frigate. On a summer evening I have often seen large sheets of water in one or two of our London parks dotted over with white-sailed toy-ships, each carrying a tiny flag and guided in its movements by its owner, who, standing on the bank, or more often ankle-deep in the water, drew his craft to shore or pushed it into deep water by means of a long stick with a hook at one end.
“But would there be much in such a scene as the one I have described to interest a blind boy?" some young reader may ask.
Yes, I think there would, if some seeing friend, who did not mind taking a very little trouble to give a very large amount of pleasure, would tell him what was going on, taking care to give such details as the names of the ships and the colors floating from their masts. And any of us who have begun to taste the joy and sweetness of seeking in our everyday lives to serve and please the Lord Jesus Christ, our Master in heaven, will, I feel sure, be cheered and encouraged by remembering that no service is too small, no kindness shown for His sake and in His name to His little ones too trifling, for His grace to own and bless.
Some of us will, perhaps, be surprised to learn what was done in the way of toy-ship building many years ago by a blind boy, whose only tools were an old knife, a chisel, and a hammer.
Sidney, who thinks a small chest of real tools one of his most precious possessions, says he wonders how it was done: that he would like to hear the whole story; and as I know Fred and Harold will join in asking for it, I may as well begin by telling you that the subject of my story, James Wilson, from a brief account of whose life and work I think we may all learn some lessons of courage and patience, as well as higher ones of simple trust in the love and care of God, was born nearly a hundred and twenty years ago in Virginia, North America. He could see quite well until between four and five years of age, blindness being, in his case, caused by a very severe attack of small-pox.
But as the total loss of sight was only one of several troubles, I must tell you the story of a voyage from America to Ireland, which Mr. Wilson, the father of James, determined to undertake with his wife and little son when the latter was about four years old.
A war having broken out in America, Mr. Wilson lost all his property and became quite a poor man. He had been for some time in failing health, and was advised by the doctor to try a sea voyage. He took passages in a sailing vessel bound for Belfast; but, day by day, Mr. Wilson grew weaker, and died before they had been long at sea. Mrs. Wilson, who had suffered much from sickness and other causes, was very ill at the time of her husband's death. The shock must indeed have been very great, as she only outlived him by about half an hour.
So James was an orphan, having lost both his parents in one day. He was too young fully to understand his loss; but, although he lived to be more than seventy years of age, he never forgot, and often spoke of, that funeral at sea, when the bodies of his father and mother, after being sewn up in hammocks, were lowered over the side of the ship, while the captain, who seems to have been a kind-hearted man, and really sorry for the poor little boy, read some portions of the burial service.
Only a few days later, small-pox broke out on board ship, and James was one of the first attacked. The sailors were very kind to him, moving him with much care. Still, when the disease began to abate, it was found to have destroyed the sight of both eyes. Blind and an orphan, the poor child was much to be pitied. God, "in whom the fatherless findeth mercy" (Hos. 14:33Asshur shall not save us; we will not ride upon horses: neither will we say any more to the work of our hands, Ye are our gods: for in thee the fatherless findeth mercy. (Hosea 14:3)), did not forget little James, but in His own gracious way raised up friends for him. The captain, who must have felt more than a passing interest in his young passenger, placed a sum of money for his benefit in the hands of a friend living at Belfast. James, having been taken on shore, was soon after placed under the care of an old woman living in one of the back streets of the town, who, though poor and ignorant, being unable to read or write, proved faithful to her trust and treated the lonely child with great kindness.
Schools for the blind had not at the time of which I am writing been opened, and as the friends of James did not think it would be of any use to send him to one attended by children who enjoyed the blessing of sight, he was allowed to spend his time much as he liked, and soon learned to find his way not only about the house, but out into the street.
When about nine years of age, a friend gave him a toy model of the Royal George a large ship of war, whose loss off Spithead excited much interest and attention. James was delighted with his present, and never seemed tired of playing with it, passing his fingers lightly over every spar and thread in the rigging. How he longed to make one, and at last made up his mind to try. A neighbor gave him some wood, and he set to work. He did not get on very well at first: sometimes he cut his fingers, or gave them such hard knocks with his hammer that he could not help crying out with the pain.
But he kept on trying, and in time his first ship was ready for her trial trip. She proved such a good sailer, and was so much admired by the boys of the neighborhood, that for some time her builder was kept quite busy making toy ships, often for boys much older than himself. They supplied the wood, &c., and would willingly engage to read or tell stories to their sightless friend while he worked for them.
Many, perhaps most, of the stories to which the blind boy listened so eagerly were foolish and untrue. In after years, when "the grace of God that bringeth salvation" (Titus 2:1111For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, (Titus 2:11)) had appeared to James Wilson, he often said few things gave him greater pain than the remembrance of precious time wasted in listening-to such stories. All through life he took a great interest in books of history, travel, and the memoirs of christian men and women, and his memory, being remarkably retentive, enabled him to remember and repeat a great part of every book read to him. In this way he acquired quite a stock of useful knowledge.
His friends would often amuse themselves by testing his powers of memory.
A gentleman once asked him to tell him the names of as many ships as he could remember. James began at once, saying in every case whether the vessel named belonged to the Royal Navy or not, and giving the names of most of their commanders. When he had repeated the names of six hundred and twenty he was told he might stop.
As he grew older he learned, by the aid of a stick, to grope his way, not only through the streets and lanes of Belfast, but to and from all the villages for miles round, and was often employed by tradesmen and others to deliver letters and parcels for them. He proved himself a faithful and often a swift messenger. Many interesting stories are told in his memoir of the way in which the Lord graciously watched over and took care of him, once in a most wonderful way preserving him from death by drowning.
His whole life was one marked by patient industry and hard work. But it is cheering to know that he not only heard but obeyed the Savior's call (Matt. 11:2828Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28)), and as a lost guilty sinner came to Him for pardon and peace.
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MAP OF STARS FOR THE BLIND.
Though obliged to work hard for dailybread, and at times very poor, he found time to compose, and induced his friends to write down for him quite a number of papers in poetry and prose, some of which were printed in magazines and newspapers. But by far his most important work was one published under the title of "Remarkable Blind Persons," in the pages of which he tells his readers many interesting facts about the blind, collected with great patience from books written in several languages and at different times.