St. Paul daily globe., 1895-06-02


ing observations concerning some
boat and davits and sails filling with
the wind. 1t made one feel queer, in
the dusky laboratory, to hear him
saying these things.
He was 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 with this ship idea,
I 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
a little time-you know how he knits
his brows-and then made him feel
the couch, guiding his hands to it.
That's a couch,' said Wade. "The
couch in the private room of Prof.
Boyce. Horse-hair stufing.'
/ Davidson felt about, and puzzled
over it, and answered presently that
he could feel it all right, but ne
couldn't see it.
What do you see?" asked Wade.
Davidson said he could see nothing
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 hap
pened to your eyes. You cannot see;
you can feel and hear, but not see.
Do you follow me?''
'It seems to me that I see too
much.' Davidson rubbed his knuc-
kles into his eyes. "Well?" he said.
That's ALL Don't let it perplex
you. Bellows, here, and I will take
you home in cab"
Help me to sit down. said he, pres
emily; land now-I am sorry to trou-
BILE you-but will you tell me all that
over again?'
Wade repeated it very patiently.
Davidson shut his eyes, and pressed
his hands upon his forehead. YES"
said he Its quite right. Now my
eyes are Shut, I know you are quite
right That's you, Bellows, sitting
dby me on the couch. I'm in England
"a gain. And you're in the dark"
Then ne opened his, eyes. "And
there said ne, sis the sun just rising
and the yards of the ship, and a tum-
bied sea, and a couple of birds flying.
Il never saw anything so real. And
I'm sitting up to my neck in a bank
of sand.''
He bent forward and covered his
face with his hands. Then he opened
his eyes again. Ozark sea and sun
risel And yet I'm sitting on sofa
in old Boyce's room. God help me!'
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
absolutely helpless, and had to be fed
like newly Matched bird, and led
about and lndressed. If he attempted
to move he fell over things or struck
himself against walls or doors. After
a day or so he got used to hearing our
voices without seeing us, and willing
ly admitted he was at home, and that
Wade was right in what he told him.
My sister, to whom he was engaged, in
sisted on coming to see him, and
would sit for hours every 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 a Sandhill-it was
perfectly 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 almost frantic with the fear
of falling, because going up stairs
seemed to lift him thirty or forty
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 fathers
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
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 I
can see the smoke.
He described the island as being a
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 dis
agreeable to see. The sea was often
rough, and once there was a thunder
storm, and he lay and shouted at
the silent flashes. Once or twice seals
first two or three days. He said it
was very funny the way in which the
penguins used to waddle right through
him, and how he seemed to lie among
them without disturbing them.
But the queerest part of his vision
came when Wade sent him out in
bath chair to get fresh air. The David
sons hired a chair, and got that deaf
and obstinate dependent of theirs, Wild
gerry, to attend to it. My sister met
them in the lower town, Widgery trot-
ting along complacently, and Davidson
evidently most distressed, trying, in
his feeble, bland way, to attract Widg-
ery's attention.
He positively wept when my sister
spoke to him. 1'Oh, get me out of this
horrible darkness he said, feeling for
her hand. 81 must get out of it, or
L shall Gle" 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
non r6 n