One boy gave Jacob his old primary books. He taught him his letters and the meaning of words. Jacob’s defective eyesight prevented his making as much progress as he would otherwise have done because he read so slowly and had to hold the book within a few inches of his face. Then his home was crowded and no matter how eager to learn he might be, it was not easy to study. The only heated room in the house was the kitchen and there the whole family gathered. The younger children played and shouted and the only light came from a miserable little oil lamp. Jacob stuck to his lessons night after night. He did his best work after ten o’clock, when the others had gone to bed. He would sit up until his mother thumped on the floor and insisted that he “put those books away and get to bed.” Jacob got his first pair of glasses when he was nineteen. He was simply amazed at the great difference they made. He said: “I had no idea what I had been missing until I got those glasses. They literally changed earth into heaven. For days I went about in a daze of wonder, just looking and discovering new beauties.” From then on he made better progress with his studies and was soon able to read and write with comparative ease. When he was twenty-one he entered school, taking his place in the fourth grade. Most of his class-mates were about eleven or twelve years of age. He felt terribly awkward when he first took his place in the class. He was earning his living by acting as janitor and truant officer for the school, but for six hours each day he sat in the class. He did so well with his lessons that in four years he was able to enter Ohio Wesleyan University where he began to study for the Christian ministry. He had to pay his own way, of course, but this he did by working after classes and on Saturdays and vacations. He began by acting as a salesman for paper and did so well that before long he was earning more than he had ever done in his life. He had a hard time, however, at the university. His eyes gave him a great deal of trouble and he could never read for long at one time. His eyes were not equal to any prolonged strain. One day when he was in college the printed page before him suddenly became blank. After the lecture he went straight to a doctor who told him that if he did not leave college at once he would go blind.