In the preface to a poem entitled Genius of the Blind, by E. H. White, a blind man, he speaks of the great amount of labour and money which have been spent in attempts to educate the blind; of the comparatively small result, and of the bad effects of bringing up the blind in asylums, and thus estranging them from their families. It seems to me, however, that some such plan is necessary for those who cannot be educated at home; though perhaps in the case of pupils whose homes are in the town in which the institution is situated, the evil complained of might in a measure be remedied by their being admitted as day scholars, as I once remember Mr. Bird suggesting. But even here in London and other large towns, distance might be a great difficulty; and for those pupils not residing in the town itself, I see nothing to prevent this evil except holidays, and perhaps in many cases even this might not be practicable. There is also this to be said, that among the poor it is by no means the blind only who become estranged from their homes: I think this may be said of the majority with more or less truth; and it has often struck me that in all the different plans for improving the condition of the people, this very evil is too little thought of and guarded against. Indeed, I think that in all classes this is hardly recognised to be as great an evil as I believe it really to be. No doubt it was always intended that families should separate and disperse; but much more might be done than is done, to keep the home affections fresh and living, in the hearts of their members. Certainly the blind have, if anything, greater need of receiving and exercising the social affections than others. And here I would lay particular stress on the necessity of their exercising those affections towards others, as I am sure that the necessity of their being the objects of affection is often too exclusively dwelt upon, and that sufficient opportunity for showing their gratitude towards their fellow-creatures is not afforded them. I believe this to be the cause of much apathy or irritability, as the case may be, among them. One remedy for this result of the school system would be the multiplying of schools; as then a greater number of the blind would have opportunities of attending as day scholars. From all I can learn from others, and from the little I have seen myself, I believe there is one great evil at the root of the system of education in blind schools, which is, that each institution wishes to take rank as the first in importance, and is therefore more bent on making such an appearance before the public as will secure its own reputation, than upon practically benefiting the pupils, so far as lies in its power.