Waterbury evening Democrat., 1895-06-13

own, but his attention seemed distracted by his hallucination about a beach and a ship. He kept interpolating observa- tions concerning some boat and the day its and sails filling with the wind. It made one feel queer, in the dusky labo- ratory, to hear him saying such things.
 Hewas blind and helpless. We had to walk him down the passage; one at each elbow, to Boyce's private room, and while Boyce talked to him there, and humored him about this ship idea, 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 lnits his 5rows-and then made him feel the couch, guiding his hands to it. That's 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.
 
 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 see; you can feel and hear, but not sec Do you fol low mefs'
 '' It seems to me that 1 see too much. 7" Davidson rubbed his knuckles into his eyes. ''Well?" he said.
 That's all Don't let it perplex you. Bellows here and will take you home in a cab" "
 Wait a bit Davidson thought. Help me to sit down." said he pres ently, "and now-I'm sorry to trouble you-but will you tell me all that over again:'
 Wade repeated it very patiently. Da- vidson shut his eyes, and pressed his hands upon his forehead "Yes," said he. Its quite right. Now my eyes are shut know you TO 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, is the sun just rising, and the yards of the ship, and n tumbled sea and a 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. Dark sea and sunrisel And yet I'm sitting on a sofa in old Boyce's room. God help mel"
 That was the beginning. For three weeks this strange affection of David sons eyes continued unahated. It was far worse than being blind. He was ab- sOlutely helpless, and had to be fed like a newly matched bird and led about and undrcsSed. 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 right through q saIsdhill-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 30 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 fla ther's consulting room and laid upon a couch that stood there.
 I remember one odd thing, and that was he wanted very badly to smoke We put pipe in his hands-he almost 1 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 don t know if it's the usual caSe-that I cannot enjoy tobacco at all unless can see the smoke.
 He described the island as being a bleak kind of place on the whole, with very little vegetation, except some pcaty 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 ill which the penguins used to wad- dle 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 a bath chair to get fresh air. The Davidsons hired q chair and got that deaf and ob- stinate dependent of theirs, Widgery, tC 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 thii horrible darknessy' he said, feeling fol her hand 1T must get out of it, or shall die" He was quite incapable ot explaining what was the matter, but my sister decided he must go home, ant presently, as they went up the hill, tht l horror scanned fn drnn fr0n,, hin, H1