The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1895-09-11
LOSS OF IDENTITY.
PEOPLE WHO MYsTERlousLY DlsAP-
+. PEAR OR LOSE THEMSELVES.

tion of Mind One OF the Causcs-Stranse
Cases of This Character.
In Il community of 1000, 600 souls u
man must be great indeed to command
general notice The young man who
comes from the country, leaving behind
him a happy fireside filled with loved
ones and bringing with him only his
fond mothers Bible and Il few neces-
sarics, to try his luck i'll the city, comes
nnheralded, to be quickly swallowed up
In y whirlpool of uninterestcd, selfish
humanity. Humanitarians are the ex-
ception here. He docs not fill the ocean,
and the simple drop he represents will
not be missed when he vanishcs.
There are thousands of dark corners
nm great city, and i'll one of these no
may be found dead, with marks of VIC
lence upon him. The coroner's jury may
Eind a verdict of killed by some person
unknown" and, unidentified, the poor
hoy finds final rest i'll the paupor's grave,
while tSe loved ones ut home wonder ut
his silence that is never broken. Tho
merclless waters surrounding the town
wash INCREASINGLY III and ont of dread.
dark hooks i'll black, Shiny places under
piers and ferry slips, and objects are of
ten found there which loving mothers
and tender sisters should not look upon
There are resorts i'll the great city from
whence the innocent, unsuspectinS
young man is followed by the assassin.
There are open places where dcspcradocs
lie i'll wait for victims and kill without
either mercy or remorso. and for such
Il pittance of plumber that one wonders
that they make tho venture. A great
event is but ga ninc days wonder in
great city, for what length of time will
tho people bear i'll mind the murder Of
an unknown man?
Tho scenes i'll the thoroughfarcs are
Kaleidoscope, with instant changes.
Tho stories of the disappearance and
wanderings Of the people are sometimes
sad, but they arc frequently amusing
IN many cases alteration OF mind is the
cause Of disappearance, and while the
whole city is alarmed tho object of
search is innocently wandering among
the searcherS after him and contributing
to the hue and Cry.
Only yesterday heard of man who
came from the west nino years ago and
found himself i'll Providence so dazed
TINT he lost his identity, and under the
first name that came TO his mind stilrt-
ed 4 business which he continued with
success there for six years. One day, at
the end of that time, he went to Paw
tucket Oh business and acain lost his
identity. Again he started now bust
ness and made u success of it for three
years when ho remembered his Provi
clcnce name and returned there recently
TO resume his former occupation.
1t was six years ago, while l was liv-
ing i'll fiat with my aged parents, that
n strange case of alteration of mind
camo under my personal notice. 1t illus
trated that tho cause may be grief, while
other cases show that business troubles
lead up to it. III the first flat lived Il
physician and his wife, very cstimablo
lady Of some 80 years. who was also Il
practicing physician. Both were grad
mates of medical colleges and they had
their own patients. 1t may be granted
that the lady was of sound mind and
fair reasoning power. The husband died
very suddenly and for three days the
widow remained inconsolable, lament
ing his unexpected death
AT tho end of that timo she went ont
alone for q walk. She walked sovera
miles mp town, as nearly as she after
ward remembered, and then turned tC
so home. But everything seemed strange
40 her and she could not decide what
direction to take. She thought Of tn,
recourse that comes To every mystifiot
person in great city and decided to asl
81 policeman to set her right But aftel
arriving at this conclusion she could no
remember the street or the number o.
tho street where her homo was, ant
worse than all she could not recall hel
name. She was not addicted to tire ust
of liquor, as this state Of affairs would
indicate, nor was she Of Il constitution
ally weak intellect
In this dilemma, as sho afterwart
told me, she wanted TO tall, TO some
body, just to hear her own voice, ant
she stopped the first policeman VIII,
came i'll view. She recognized the fac
that the officer might think her either
drunk or crazy, but while she had en-
tirely lost both her name and address
from her mind She was perfectly sane
ON all other subjects She asked him
first, if he knew where she lived He
stared at her quizzically at first, seem
ing TO want to suggest IN insane asy
lum, but her elegant attire and common
sense face refutcd that idea. Ho simply
remarked that he was as ignorant as
herself of her address, but was non
piused when she followed up her first
inquiry by asking him to tell her name.
1t was too much for tho officer He
laughingly suggested that she should
accompany him to the station house,