The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1901-11-12

been in correspondence about bust
ness affair. AS he was stopping at the
Bingham House. went directly there
from the depot, and as l expected to
remain at least overnight 1 went to
the Office to register. l started to write
my name, but as the pen touched the
page my identity went from me as
quick as the snap of your finger. There
was no shock, no sudden giving away,
but could not for the life Of me recall
my own name.
Anything wrong?" asked the clerk
as he looked at me with a smile.
"Only that 1 have forgotten my
name" replied, with silly laugh.
'Well, most any name will do so that
you don't forget to pay your BILL"
1 sat down in the office and tried to
recall my name, but to my horror l
found that 1 had also forgotten the
name of the town 1 came from and the
name of all my friends. 1 could not
! tell who l came to see or the name Of
the city 1 was in. suppose l must
have looked pale and scared, for the
clerk came out to me and said:
SIT is one of the cases we read Of
now and then. The sense of memory is
dead for the moment. I'll send you up
to a room to lie down for an hour, and
you'll probably come out all right.
Where did you come from"
81 can't remember"
"You know you are in Philadelphia,
don't your
mo"
"You must have come here on some
sort of business. Can't you recall what
it was"
81 cannot. Philadelphia Philadel-
phia! Is it large or a small town,
and what state is it imp
You go and lie down and fall asleep
If you can. The more you puzzle over
it the worse you will get mixed up"
l went to a room and tumbled on to
the bed, but there was no such thing
as falling asleep. l was nervous and
frightened, and things became more
confused instead of clearer. l looked
for letters or cards, but found none. |
! had satchel with me. but neither that
nor my linen was marked. Before l
went back down stairs l realized that
/ had been blotted off the face Of the
earth. You may fail to appreciate the
situation, but 1 can assure you that it
was worse than if a doctor had told
me was lunatic. 1t was as If some
one had died and had been suddenly
called on to take his place without
knowing anything about him. l hadn't
lost my reason, and l could see, hear,
taste, smell and feel. / could also re-
member as far back as walking into
the hotel. Beyond that all was dark
ness. When went down to the clerk,
he saw that was still troubled. He
must have been a good natured man,
for he left his duties to say to me:
"Still cropping, eh? Well, don't get
furried Go out on the street and see
If the sight of some particular object
won't bring it all back"
AS a matter of fact, / had been in
Philadelphia dozen times, and there
was no sight had not seen twice over,
but when l stepped out on the street
things were as strange to me as if
had been set down in Picking. l read
the signs on the street corners, on the
cars and over the doors, but they re-
called nothing. l wandered up to
Wanamaker's, around the city hall and
over to the Chestnut street depot, but
it was as if l had never seen them be-
fore. A sort of panic seized me. l be-
came afraid of myself and broke into
a run and gave no heed to the pedes-
TRANS. AS a consequence l was ar
rested by patrolman and taken to the
police station.
The charge against me was disorder
ly conduct, and l was locked up for the
night, and it was owing to the police
surgeon that / was set at liberty by the
judge next morning. The surgeon came
down to the cells to see a man who
was ill, and 1 stated my case to him.
He came back at a later hour and
talked with me for a long time.
think he was perfectly satisfied that
was off in some manner, but the case
was beyond him and not in his prov
ince. He spoke to the judge in my
favor, however, and after a warning
was set at liberty. l had $27 in money
and was free to go where l willed, but
where should l go? One place was
the same as another to me, as / had
no name and no business. / finally de-
cided to go back to the clerk Of the
hotel and get his advice.
Don't try to rush things" he said
in a kindly way. Hang around the
office for a day or two, and perhaps
you'll see some face you'll remember"
For three long days | scanned the
face of every man who entered the
hotel, but all were strangers. Then the
clerk called in a reporter. who talked
to me for an hour. The result was
that my case was widely circulated
in the newspapers. That was before
the days of illustrated daily journal
ism, and no picture accompanied the
sketch. Friends who had known me
from childhood read the story, but did
not connect me with it. Several doc
tors came to see me, and it was gen.
orally agreed that 1 ought to go out
into the country for rest and quiet.
When l had but S. left and no hope Of
discovering my own identity, l set out
for the country and finally hired out
to a farmer 80 miles away to assist in
the haying. When the haying was
over, l staid on. l staid because did
not know where else to go or what
else to do. They gave me name, and
l answered to it because all names
were alike to me.
l had been with the farmer nearly
two months when memory came back,
and it came as suddenly as 1t depart
ed. We had been digging potatoes
during the day, and my mind had been
worried more than usual. When we
reached the house, half an hour before
sunset, we washed up and were about
to sit down to the table when my name
came to my tongue, and l shouted 1t
out and began dancing around the
room. No shock took it away, and no
shock brought 1t back. There was no
breaking Of dish or other accident,
but the steam was quietly turned on,
and the wheels of memory began to re-
volve again. In my exultation / ran
out and shouted my name to the cows
in the barnyard and the pigs in the
pen, and with chalk and pencil wrote
1t down wherever l could reach The
name came first, and then l remember
ed where l lived and my journey to
Philadelphia. could clearly recall
my arrival and everything up to the