The Remarkable Case of Davidson's Eyes by H.G. Wells
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under and_the skin seemed to break and heal again about_my eyes . the moon gave a jump up in_the sky and grew green and dim, and fish, faintly glowing, came darting round me-- and things that seemed made of luminous glass; and I passed through a tangle of seaweeds that shone with an oily lustre . and so I drove down into_the sea, and_the stars went out one by one, and_the moon grew greener and darker, and_the seaweed became a luminous purple- red . it_was all very faint and mysterious, and everything seemed to quiver . and all the while I_could hear the wheels of_the bath- chair creaking, and_the footsteps of people going by, and a man in_the distance selling the special pall mall .

"I kept sinking down deeper and deeper into_the water . it became inky black about me, not a ray from above came down into that darkness, and_the phosphorescent things grew brighter and brighter . the snaky branches of_the deeper weeds flickered like the flames of spirit-lamps; but, after a time, there were no more weeds . the fishes came staring and gaping towards me, and into me and through me .I never imagined such fishes before . they had lines of fire along the sides of_them as_though they had_been outlined with a luminous pencil . and there_was a ghastly thing swimming backwards with alot of twining arms . and then I_saw, coming very slowly towards me through_the gloom, a hazy mass of light that resolved itself as it drew nearer into multitudes of fishes, struggling and darting round something that drifted .I drove on straight towards it, and presently I_saw in_the midst of_the tumult, and by_the light of_the fish, a bit of splintered spar looming over me, and a dark hull tilting over, and some glowing phosphorescent forms that were shaken and writhed as_the fish bit at them . then it_was I began to_try to attract Widgery's attention .a horror came upon me .Ugh ! i_should_have driven right into those half- eaten-- things . if your sister had_not come ! they had great holes in_them, bellows, and .. . never mind . but it_was ghastly ! "

IV .

for three weeks Davidson remained in_this singular state, seeing what at_the_time we imagined was an altogether phantasmal world, and stone blind to_the world around him . then, one Tuesday, when I called I met old Davidson in_the passage ." he can_see his thumb ! " the old gentleman said, in a perfect transport . he_was struggling into his overcoat ." he can_see his thumb, bellows ! " he_said, with_the tears in_his eyes ." the lad will_be all right yet ."

I rushed in to Davidson . he_was holding up a little book before his face, and looking at it and laughing in a weak kind of way .

" it's amazing," said he ." there's a kind of patch come there ." he pointed with_his finger ."I'm on_the rocks as usual, and_the penguins are staggering and flapping about as usual, and there's been a whale showing every now_and_then, but it's got too dark now to_make him out . but put something there_, and I_see it-- I_do see it . it's very dim and broken in places, but I_see it all the same, like a faint spectre of itself . I_found it out this_morning while they were dressing me . it's like a hole in_this infernal phantom world . just put your hand by mine . no-- not there .Ah ! yes ! I_see it . the base of your thumb and a bit of cuff ! it looks like the ghost of a bit of your hand sticking out_of_the darkling sky . just by_it there's a group of stars like a cross coming out ."

from_that_time Davidson began to mend . his account of_the change, like his account of_the vision, was oddly convincing . over patches of_his field of vision, the phantom world grew fainter, grew transparent, as it were, and through these translucent gaps he began to_see dimly the real world about him . the patches grew in size and number, ran together and spread until only here and there were blind spots left upon his eyes . he_was able to_get up and steer himself about, feed himself once more, read, smoke, and behave like an ordinary citizen again . at first it_was very confusing to him to_have these two pictures overlapping each_other like the changing views of a lantern, but in a little while he began to distinguish the real from_the illusory .

at first he_was unfeignedly glad, and seemed only too anxious to complete his cure by taking exercise and tonics . but as_that odd island of_his began to fade away from_him, he became queerly interested in_it . he_wanted particularly to_go down into_the deep sea again, and would spend half his time wandering about_the low-lying parts of London, trying to_find the water-logged wreck he had seen drifting . the glare of real daylight very_soon impressed him so vividly as_to blot out everything of_his shadowy world, but of a night- time, in adarkened room, he_could still see the white-splashed rocks of_the island, and_the clumsy penguins staggering to and fro . but even these grew fainter and fainter, and, at last, soon after he married my sister, he_saw them for_the_last time .

V .

and now to_tell of_the queerest thing of all . about two years after his cure I dined with_the Davidsons, and after dinner a man named Atkins called in . he_is a lieutenant in_the royal navy, and a pleasant, talkative man . he_was on friendly terms with my brother-in-law, and was soon on friendly terms with me . it came out that he_was engaged to Davidson's cousin, and incidentally he_took out a kind of pocket photograph case to show us a new rendering of_his fiance ." and, by- the- by," said he, " here's the old Fulmar ."

Davidson looked at it casually . then suddenly his face lit up ." good heavens ! " said he ." I_could almost swear----"

" what ? " said Atkins .

" that I had seen that ship before ."

"Don't see how you_can_have . she hasn't been out_of_the south Seas for six years, and before then----"

" but," began Davidson, and then, " yes-- that's the ship I dreamt of; I'm sure that's the ship I dreamt of . she was standing off an island that swarmed with penguins, and she fired a gun ."

" good lord ! " said Atkins, who had now heard the particulars of_the seizure ." how the deuce could you dream that ? "

and then, bit by bit, it came out that on_the very day Davidson was seized, H .M .S .Fulmar had actually been off a little rock to_the south of antipodes island .a boat had landed overnight to_get penguins' eggs, had_been delayed, and athunderstorm drifting up, the boat's crew had waited until the morning before rejoining the ship .Atkins had_been one_of_them, and he corroborated, word for word, the descriptions Davidson had given of_the island and_the boat . there_is not the slightest doubt in any of_our minds that Davidson has really seen the place . in some unaccountable way, while he moved hither and thither in London, his sight moved hither and thither in a manner that corresponded, about_this distant island . how is absolutely a mystery .

that completes the remarkable story of Davidson's eyes . it's perhaps the best authenticated case in existence of real vision at a distance . explanation there_is none forthcoming, except what professor wade has thrown out . but his explanation invokes the fourth dimension, and a dissertation on theoretical kinds of space . to_talk of there being "a kink in space" seems mere nonsense to_me; it may_be because I_am no mathematician . when I_said that nothing would alter the fact that_the place is eight thousand miles away, he answered that two points might_be a yard away on a sheet of paper, and yet be brought together by bending the paper round . the reader may grasp his argument, but I certainly do_not . his idea seems_to_be that Davidson, stooping between_the poles of_the big electro- magnet, had some extraordinary twist given to_his retinal elements through_the sudden change in_the field of force due to_the lightning .

he thinks, as a consequence of_this, that_it may_be possible to live visually in one part of_the world, while one lives bodily in another . he has even made some experiments in support of_his views; but, so_far, he has simply succeeded in blinding a few dogs .I believe that_is_the net result of_his work, though I_have_not seen him for some weeks .Latterly I_have_been so busy with my work in connection with_the saint Pancras installation that I_have_had little opportunity of calling to_see him . but the whole of_his theory seems fantastic to_me . the facts concerning Davidson stand on an altogether different footing, and I_can testify personally to_the accuracy of every detail I_have_given .

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