The Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1???-1928, 1906-08-06
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A Lingual Mystery
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OF Greek in America, huntsman, nsll-
ernman. canoest, was spending his sum
mer vacation in IL canoe ana tent.
He was lying one afternoon on MS
back smoking his pipe on the bank OF
"a stream, his canoe moored to Tree
on the margin, enjoying the delightful
rustic of the leaves and the occasional
lowing Of distant cow or the tWltter
of n bird, when he was startled AT near
inc near by Il womans voice repeating
one Of the odes of Horace. AT first he
thought it must come from some stu
dent from a neighborlng college. Dut
he remembered that there was no col
lege. except the one he hailed IRON,
within many miles. He had no time
to wonder further, for young girl not
more than sixteen years old suddenly
came into view. She was strollihg
aimlessly, plucking low hanging lear
or STOPPING to pluck Il wild Hover evil
IDENTITY unconscious of his presence III
within a few yards of him, Then she
started and stared at him, lie rose
and took off his hat.
II confess" he said, that | am sur
prised to find n girl in these woods so
far from any habtaton.
The girl stood looking, dazed ut the
rencontre. but said nothing,
Perhaps you 60 studying botany,
the professor added. and have wan
dered away from your class
~ don't know what that Is, replied
the girl.
singular" he said, partly to him
self. partly to her. that you should
know Latin and not know me meaning
of the word botany.
II don't know what that is either.
The professor looked at her incredu-
louslv. Not know LatinE why YOU
have been repeating my fayorite ooe
Of the poet Horace
II never heard of him"
Here was puzzle. The girl spoke
with evident sincerity. and there was
no apparent reason why she should
speak an untruth
"Well." he said presently. be that
as it may, you are certainly far from
any house. Where do you belongF
The girl knit her brows aud seemed
TO try to recall something Then she
said plaintiyely, Il don't remember
Something was wrong with her men
tai equipment, and she must be taken
TO her friends If they could he found
and, If not, somewhere where she would
be cared for. Swain catechlsed hef
till he made up his mind that she could
tell him nothing. then put her into ms
canoe, pointed II down stream ana ne
gan to paddle for home. Had he mol
been curious to discover how a girl
who did not know the meaning of me
word Latin could repeat poetry In that
language he might have left her with
some farmer on his way. As It was,
| he designed taking her 10 the uniVer-
| slty town where he lived and call a
| conference of his colleagues to sit on
the case with view of learning II
she were lngual prodigy,
He padded forty miles and Mt sun
| set tying his canoe 10 It's accustomed
landing took the girl home and put
| her in charge of his mother,
During the night he heard a voice
and. going to his door listened. The
girl was repeating In the original
Greek passages which, he recognized,
were from Anabasis Of Nenephon.
Great was the young professors as
tonlshment. but 1t was greater when
she suddenly turned to repeating
( words which he knew TO be Hebrew
We'll" he SID to himself, with Il
gasp, Il had better resign my chair In
I her favor"
The next morning he sent for several
| Of the professors who were at home
to meet him at his house. He intro
duced the girl and asked her TO repeat
what he had heard the night before,
but she was apparently not conscious
that she had repeated anything. The
men who had been summoned went
away. but during the afternoon Swain,
hearing the girl repeating lines In san
skirt. called one Of them, who happened
10 be passing. and proved what he had
claimed. There was II meeting OF lln-
GUSTS AT SWANS home that evening
to talk the matter over. but with no
satisfactory result
An advertisement was inserted IN
several local papers describing the
case. and Ia a few days the physician
OF hospital near where the girl had
been found appeared and Identified her
as "A patient who had wandered away
, from the institution. But he gave no
explanation OF her ability to recite in
the ancient languages. She had been
brought to the hospital 10y one who
had found her wandering as Swain
had found her. The doctor took
her back with him. but Swain never
lost sight Of her for two years, when
suddenly her memory returned 10 her
and he got his explanation. She had
lost her parents when a child and had
been taken In by a clergyman. pro
/ found !inguist, who was accustomed to
walk the floor Of bis study repeating
1 his favorite authors In the original
text The girl. having remarkable
memory. had learned them from hear
/ ing them often repeated. After the
clergyman's death she had had q long
/ illness that bad unsettled her brain.
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