New Britain herald., 1922-06-26
Why Madge Was Able to Astonish
 Allen Drake

Allen Drake
 With fingers that l could not keey steady, l picked up the third pile o papers which Allen Drake had left ran them through. then returning tc the topmost one, studied it intently
 With the scrutiny, time and locality vanished. and l was back in the days when, first as a student of ancen; history. and then as teacher, I had been intensely, almost uncannily in- terested in those wonderful records or fragments Of bone and rock, which tell Of the history of races vanished before counted time began.
 could not explain even to myself my joy in studying about those in- scriptions. some of them in characters that resolved themselves into primi- tive language, others simply rude pie lures such as very young children might draw But 1t had been explained to me-once-in dramatic fashion,
 Years Roll Backward.
 At Mrs, Stewards boarding house where l had lived for so many years with my mother, there had also lived | very old man, a retired professor of phllology-indeed, he was more than a philologist. if ever any one de- served the rare title of lnguister II was he-who, in addition to his other acquire ments, had delved deep into the beginnings of language He was . singularly lonely old man, and when by an accident, he found out my in- terest, untutored and amateurish as it was. in his pursuits his pleasure was pathetic. From him learned mank things grafted upon very or dinary trunk of lingual achievement some branches of unusual and credit able knowledge of his hobby. And il was he. a devout believer in reincar- nation-when once I had supplied for him an obscure meaning of an in scription, who had exclaimed dramati- caly.
 My child. it is because you have lived many lives that this comes te you so readily You once drew these symbols when you had no other way of recording things"
 Even the amusement. hidden from him. with which I had received his words, had been tinged with an eerie feeling which l could not understand which had returned to me whenever I thought of that years-past study and my old friend, long since gone to study the eternal beginnings of things.
 "Cuneiforn1. of Course !''
 That eerie feeling returned to me now as l scanned the odd markings on the third pile of papers, which Allen Drake had copied-with absolute fidel- lty, I was sure-from the originals concealed in Smiths ostensible eye glass case. For the markings, while I could not recognize them, yet had a character which linked them in my mind with the notebooks of my own, and some of the rare technical vol un1es which my old friend had be- queathed to me.
 They had been packed in trunk ever since my marriage, and 1t was | my secret liking for their perusal Early in my acquaintanceshlp With Dicky I had realized that he would have only good -humored ridicule for so odd a pursuit, and so I had kept from him everything but cursory knowledge of It. Even that gave him the opportunity for jocular references to me as a history shark and a Thigh brow'-references which in my early married life caused much dis comfort. but which troubled me little now, especially since the years had taught me that though Dicky scoffed, yet he was secretly proud of my his torical knowledge.
 But years of matrimony had taught me something else, that my husband s pride in me would not offset his bore dom were I to talk much concerning my absorbing interest in ancient things. Therefore l had locked away my studies, looking at them only oc- casionally, but on one of those rare occasions, my father by accident had learned my interest, and evidently had remembered 1t. ..-.... .... .
  tently, I realized, as at last, raised my eyes from the papers before me I saw, too. that Allen Drake's eyes were also fixed upon me, and that a faint spark of interest had replaced the absolute apathy which they had held when I entered the room.
 What do you think. daughter o' My fathers voice broke the stiffness of the room.
 "I am not sure, myself" l said smiling. T believe, however, that they are Samaritan, but that only half of | symbol has been used at once,
 There was a smothered exclana tion from Allen Drake, and then, with | mighty effort, he rose to his feet walked unsteadily to the table, gripped 1t for support and looked down at me.
 "Cuneiform. of course l see now, he said But I'm no shark at that