I was in an infirmary not long since, and a mother brought a little child in. She said, |Doctor, my little child's eyes have not been opened for several days, and I would just like you to do something for them.| The doctor got some ointment and put it first on one and then on the other, and just pulled them open. |Your child is blind,| said the doctor; |perfectly blind; it will never see again.| At first the mother couldn't take it in, but after a little she cast an appealing look upon that physician, and in a voice full of emotion, said, |Doctor, you don't mean to say that my child will never see again?| |Yes,| replied the doctor, |your child has lost its sight, and will never see again.| And that mother just gave a scream, and drew that child to her bosom. |O my darling child,| sobbed the woman, |are you never to see the mother that gave you birth? never to see the world again?| I could not keep back the tears when I saw the terrible agony of that woman when she realized the misfortune that had come upon her child. That was a terrible calamity, to grope in total darkness through this world; never to look upon the bright sky, the green fields; never to see the faces of loved ones; but what was it in comparison to the loss of a soul? I would rather have my eyes plucked out of my head and go down to my grave in total blindness than lose my soul.