s the index of her overwrought
brain. Her memory had been swept away by some unknown horror--so the
doctors had declared. And yet she seemed to remember distinctly what
Doctor Moroni had alleged against me in Florence!

Therefore I questioned her further concerning the Italian, and found
that she recollected quite a lot about him.

"He has been very kind to you--has he not?" I asked.

"Yes. He is an exceedingly kind friend. He took me to see several
doctors in Florence and Rome. All of them said I had lost my memory,"
and she smiled sweetly.

"And haven't you lost your memory?"

"A little--perhaps--but not much."

Here Mrs. Alford interrupted.

"But you don't recollect what happened to you when you were away,
until you were found wandering near Petersfield. Tell us, dear."

"No--no, not exactly," the girl answered. "All I recollect is that it
was all red, green and gold--oh! such bright dazzling colours--red,
green and gold! At first they were glorious--until--until sight of
them blinded me--they seemed to burn into my brain--eh!" And she drew
back and placed her right arm across her eyes as though to shut out
from her gaze something that appalled her. "There they are!" she
shrieked. "I see them again--always the same, day and night--red,
green and gold!--red, green and gold!"

I exchanged glances with the woman Alford. It was apparent that the
shock the girl had sustained had been somehow connected with the
colours red, green and gold.

I tried to obtain from her some faint idea of the nature of what she
had witnessed, but she was quite unable to explain. That she had
fallen victim to some deep-laid plot was evident.

She remembered much of her visit to Florence, I found, for when I
recalled the great Duomo, where I had first seen her with Moroni, she
became quite talkative and told me how much she admired the
magnificent monuments--the Battistero, the Bigallo, Giotto's campanile
and the magnificent pictures in the Pitti and Uffizi.

Moroni had apparently also taken her to Rome, presumably to consult
another Italian professor, for she spoke vaguely of the Corso and St.
Peter's and described the Forum in such a manner that she must have
visited it.

While I sat chatting with her it struck me that in the blank state of
her mind certain things stood out very prominently--a mental state
well known to alienists--while others were entirely blotted out.

I referred to the millionaire who lived in Stretton St