The record-union., 1896-02-29


know of a single failure to cure
bring his metal faculties back to their
normal condition
| And so it proved. AS we came in
sight of the hotel he called me by my
right name and expressed his sorrow
that our days ride had been in vain.
l merely muttered a word or two of as
sent, wishing him to have a nights rest
| before making the truth known to
him.
| So much from the report of Mr.. CAL
| ton, with due acknowledgment of his
kindness in allowing me to make this
! portion public before his completion of
the full report and it's presentation to-
| the society. l now take up the story
again for myself, and shall bring it to al
| speedy conclusion.
! Of course, l was utterly amazed when
he told me what had happened. and had
not the mystery of my supposed pIagiar-
| ism prepared me to believe anything,
| should have impeached his word ON
the spot. AS it was, however, my sur
prise yielded at once to conviction that
we were at last at the root of the whols
problem, and we decided to follow i'm
mediately the clew given by the inscrip-
| ton mentioned in the report. If ie
meant anything for US, the IF F." must
be the initials of Mr.. Fairfield living
then, if not now, in Charleston.
To Charleston we went, arriving so
late at night that we did not expect to
make any discoveries before morning.
The city directory, however, helped US
1 a n ha Of or Er1f,
| field, attorney y-at-law," though wa
found no trace of any Roget, and among
the many Browns, with nothing but the
family name to guide us, it was inn
| possible to choose
| In the morning we found Mr.. Fair
| field and learned that he had been upon
| the mountain in question at the propeE
time, with a DR.. Roget, now dead and
a Mr.. Brown, whom they had employed
| as a servant; that man of perhaps 30
| years, giving a name which he could
not recall now and ostensibly working
/ UP material for a novel, had joined
| their party, and at the solicitation OF
Roget, who seemed much interested in
/ his work. had remained a week, after
which he had suddenly disappeared;
that Roget and the stranger read to-
gether much of the time from books in
! the formers possession, while he and
Brown engaged in hunting.
Did Roget read French?" we both
asked in one breath.
! "Oh. yes; he was born in Paris"
do you know whether he had with
him on this occasion an old romance
entitled Les Occurs ct les Mains sur
la Mer Meridionale'? ?"
Il cannot say as to that. took little
interest in his-But hold on, his library
is still intact, in the hands of his wife'S
sister You might find ont something
about it by inquiring there. Is il soma
rare work that you are anxious To ges
! hold OFF,
| Mr.. Galton stated the case 10 him as
briefly and rapidly as possible. and ha
went with us at once 70 the sister ok
the deceased Roget. The book was
| found, and furthermore there were en-
tries on the fly leaves proving beyond
question that the doctor had had it
with him in the mountains, among
others, rude sketch of the old log
cabin. and a dated description of a
flower which grew in profusion on the
mountain summit.
The chain of evidence was complete.
During a period of mental hallueination
brought on by the intense nervous
strain to which had subjected myself.
L had wandered into the company OF
these men, and while / was with them
Roget had read the fateful story in my
hearing. The hallucination had left
me while off by myself, and / had natu-
rally returned to the hotel When (
set myself to writing again, under the
abnormal nervous condition into which
l had brought myself, the impressions
made upon my brain by the reading OF
the French romance had come within
the realm of consciousness, but not the
circumstances under which those inn
pressions were made. Consequently the
story seemed the creation Of my own
brain, and as such l wrote it down in
good faith and secured its publication
with the results already described.
Such is the history of the peculiar
misfortune which, without the slightest
lapse from rectitude on my part. made
my name reproach among honorable
men. filed me with unspeakable mis-
cry, and blighted beyond hope of re-
covery all the noble ambitions of my
early manhood. / say blighted beyond
hope of recovery, for both physically
and mentally the strain has left me no
adequate basis upon which to build up
again All ask is that this explana-
ton, fortified by the report which Mr..
Galton will soon file for entry upon the
records of his society, may be received
in good faith. as it is given; that the
name of Arson Burkhold may be re-
lieved in the eyes of the public from the
undeserved stigma which it has borne.
John Hanson Williams, in New York
Evening Post.
Do not despair because you have tried
many medicines and have failed to re-
ceive benefit. Remember that Hoods
Sarsaparilla cures when all others fail
to do any good whatever.
Hoods Pills are the best family ca