The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1894-05-22
AMADMAN'S MYSTERY

/ have seen q newborn baby In its
crib, with its eyes wide open, peering
into the life just opened to it have
heard persons wonder what the little
brain is thinking about, what il sees
and how its new surroundings affect it
I know what life seems to a newborn
child, for / was but as q newborn child
when I awoke to life, and opening my
mouth cried out involuntarily to attract
the attention of the woman at the win
dow.
She arose from her chair and came
hur~iedly to me.
"Ah," said she in a sweet, low voice.
"At last you live. Rest now. Try to
sleep. You will get we'll"
I did not understand her words at the
time, but they filed me with q satisfied
feeling, a desire to close my eyes and
sleep. / lay half unconscious for some
time, teaching myself object lessons,
and soon I could name the various arti-
cles ! saw about me. But, try as /
would, I could not remember my name
OF anything about myself.
! became strong enough to get up from
my bed, and to sit at the window, and to
look out upon the snow covered ground,
and to watch the gray and the blue in
the ocean, and to walk about the room.
One morning / determined to see
whether the nurse knew anything about
me, SO / called her to my bedside.
do you know my name?' I asked
her.
She looked at me in surprise and
wonder.
mo-" she said.
"Well, do you know anything about
me?"
She looked ven mor surprised.
Nothing" she said, nothing, ex-
cept that two months ago some of our
people found you ON the beach apparent
ly dead. We have nursed you back to
life. Don't you remember anything
about yourself at alp,
/ had to admit that I did not.
"Well, will you tell me where I amp
/ asked her.
"You are in the town of Astine, ON
the coast Of Nova Scotia, +" she replied.
"Astine, the word seemed familiar
to me-'Nova Scotia also familiar,
but I could not tell when or where I
had heard the words before.
About a week after this occurred my
nurse came to me and told me that the
village doctor had said that i could 90
out for a walk. She offered to go with
me. I gladly accepted her companion
ship, and together we walked ont into
the cold, fresh, life giving air and down
toward the ocean.
We came upon an old ruined build
ing. -"
What is this?" I asked her. -"AI
'"The ruins of the house where the
Ayraults lived.
''The Ayraults-have you ever men
toned that name to me before?" I asked
her suddenly.
mo" she answered. why do you
ask?'
"Oh, / do not know, except that the
name sounded familiar to me, as if /
had heard it many, many times. Why,
even when you spoke it / thought-how
foolish Of me-that You had spoken my
name. Who were they?''
They lived here for many years in
this old house. The son and mother
were drowned years ago. The father, /
believe, is still alive. He lost his mind,
and every now and then is seen wander
ing about here looking for his son, who,
he says, will return to him some day.
Why, look therel There he is nowin
But / heard no more that the woman
said. I but saw an old man, white
haired, with wild eyes, staggering to-
ward me.
/ looked at the sea.
Once more the world became. dark
And then-maybe I dreamed, maybe
it was apicture / saw, maybe 1t was my
memory come back to me.
81 stood at the window looking ont
upon the sea, partly hidden from my
sight by a fine white mist, which I could
plainly see coming in, sweeping along
before the wind Owe the water up the
hill toward the house. The sea roared
sullenly, and the waves dashed angrily
up over the rocky beach, occasionally
the spray leaping higher than the mist,
suspended for q second above it, spar
king in the moonlight.
II opened the window, and Is I did
so the thick mist, which had now come
up over the hill, came pouring into the
room. Despite the cold I stood eutranced,
amazed, looking out upon the wonderful
beauty Of the night. The wind grew
fiercer, the sea dashed the foam from it's
lips mp above the blanket of the white
mist The moon for q moment shone
down upon it, Transforming it into so
much fiery silver. Then the foam sank
again down deep into the mist.
Suddenly there came a boom, fol-
lowed by D glare across the heavens.
ssI knew what that meant.
"a vessel ashore, i cried, in that
snrf, on those rocks. God have mercy ON
lthose on board