Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1895-06-19

went along the corridor and asked old
Wade to come and look at him. The
voice of our dean sobered him little,
but not very much. He asked where his
hands were, and why he had to walk
about up to his waist in the ground
Wade thought over him long time
you know how he knits his brows-and
then made him feel the couch, guiding
his hands to it. "That' q COUCH" said
Wade. "The couch in the private room
of Professor Boyce. Horsehair stuff
ing"
Davidson felt about, and puzzled over
it, and answered presently that he could
feel it all right, but he couldn't see it.
"What do you see?" asked Wade.
Davidson said he could see nothing but
lot of sand and broken up shells.
Wade gave him some other things to
feel, telling him what they were and
watching him keenly.
'The ship is almost hull down." said
Davidson presently, apropos of nothing
"Never mind the Ship" said Wade.
"Listen to me, Davidson. Do you know
what hallucination means?"
Rather" said Davidson.
''Well, everything you see is hallu-
cinatory.'
Bishop Berkeley" said Davidson.
"Don't mistake me-" said Wade.
"You are alive, and in this room OF
Boyce's. But something has happened
to your eyes. You cannot Gee you can
feel and hear, but not see. Do you fol-
low me?"
''It seems to me that I see too much. "
Davidson rubbed his knucEles into his
eyes. "Well?' he said.
''That's all Don't let it perplex you.
Bellows here and will take you home
in cab. -
"Wait a bit.'' Davidson thought
"Help me to sit down." said he pres
emily, "and now-I'm sorry to trouble
you-but will you tell me all that over
again?''
Wade repeated it very patiently. Da-
wilson shut his eyes, and pressed his
hands upon his forehead. Eyes" said
he. ''It's quite right. Now my eyes are
shut know you're right That's you,
Bellows, sitting by me on the couch
I'm in England again. And we're in
the dark -
Then he opened his eyes. ''And
there" said he, sis the sun just rising,
and the yards Of the ship, and tumbled
sea and couple Of birds flying. never
saw anything so real And I'm sitting
up to my neck in bank of sand. -
He bent forward and covered his face
with his hands Then he opened his eyes
again. Ozark sea and sunrise! And yet
I'm sitting on sofa in old Boyce's
room. God help meP'
That was the beginning For three
weeks this strange affection of David
sons eyes continued unabated. 1t was
far worse than being blind. He was alb
solutely helpless, and had to be fed like
newly Matched bird and led about and
undressed. If he attempted to move, he
fell over things or struck himself against
walls or doors After day or SO he got
used to hearing our voices without see
ing us, and willingly admitted he was
at home and that Wade was right in
what he told him. My sister, to whom
he was engaged, insisted on coming in
to see him, and would sit for hours ev-
cry day while he talked about this beach
of his. Holding her hand seemed to
comfort him immensely He explained
that when we left the college and drove
home it appeared to him as if we drove
rirht .thronph sandhill-it was per-
fectly black until he emerged again
and through rocks and trees and solid
obstacles, and when he was taken to his
own room it made him giddy and al
most frantic with the fear of falling,
because going up stairs seemed to lift
him 80 or 40 feet above the rocks of his
imaginary island. He kept saying he
should smash all the eggs. The end was
that he had to be taken down to his IA
theirs consulting room and laid upon a
couch that stood there.
remember one odd thing, and that
was he wanted very badly to smoke.
We put pipe in his hands-he almost
poked his eye out with it-and lit it.
But he couldn't taste anything. I've
since found it's the same with mel
dom know if it's the usual case-that l
cannot enjoy tobacco at all unless can
see the smoke.
He described the island as being d
bleak kind of place on the whole, with
very little vegetation, except some
peaty stuff and lot of bare rock. There
were multitudes of penguins, and they
made the rocks white and disagreeable
to see The sea was often rough and
once there was a thunderstorm, and he
lay and shouted at the silent flashes.
Once or twice seals pulled upon the
beach, but only on the first two or three
days. He said it was very funny the
way in which the penguins used to wad-
die right through him, and how he
seemed to lie among them without dis
turbing them.
But the queerest part of his vision
came when Wade sent him out in bath
chair to get fresh air. The Davidsons
| hired chair and got that deaf and OBJ
stinate dependent of theirs, Widgery, to
attend to it. My sister met them in the
lower town, Widgery trotting along
complacently, and Davidson evidently
most distressed trying in his feeble,
blind way to attract Widgery's atten-
tion.
He positively wept when my sister
spoke to him. ''Oh, get me out of this
horrible darkness!'' he said, feeling for
her hand 81 must get out of it, or l
shall die :" He was quite incapable of
explaining what was the matter, but
my sister decided he must go home, and
presently, as they went up the hill, the
horror seemed to drop from him. He
said it was good to see the stars again,
though it was then about noon and q
blazing day
''It seemed" he told me afterward,
"as if was being carried irresistibly
toward the water. I was not very much
alarmed at first. Of course, it was night
there-a lovely night. %
''Of course?" asked, for that struck
me as odd.
"Of course, :" said he. "It's always
night there when it is day here. Well,
we went right into the water, which