or, I can't think of those little stories. It isn't because I
haven't brains enough; it's because I'm so poor a scholar at reciting.
I always was." "What happened to the captain?" "That I can't
recollect, neither." "What happened to the ship?"

Here, instead of answering my question, he said: "Doctor, I suppose you
have heard about the big wreck that happened out on the ocean." (This
was when the terrible _Titanic_ disaster was on everybody's lips and the
papers were full of the tragedy.) The patient regularly read the papers.
"Tell me about this wreck."

"Well, the steamer was 1200 miles from the land--north-northerly
course. It was first reported that 1800 lives were lost; afterwards
they found out for certain, through the communication with General
Wood, that it was only 1300. Mrs. Zelia Smith, she was on the vessel."
(Patient's name is Smith.) "She is Commissioner Hodges's daughter. She
was counted lost, for instance, and was found alive. I knew her well;
I knew a good many other people on that boat." "About how many people
did you know?" "Well, I just only remember some. For instance, Major
B----; I knew him well, of course. I dare say I knew all the others,
but I knew him best. The boat was in charge of E. C. Smith." "Did you
know Captain Smith?" "Yes, sir; I knew him. I didn't know him
personally; I only made one voyage with him from Angel Island." "When
was that?" "In 1907." "What was the name of the wrecked ship?" "I
can't recall that, neither; _Tripoli_, I think it was; she is close on
1500 feet long." "How much money was she supposed to be worth?" "I
don't know, sir; there were several heirs who had charge of the ship.
She was called the sister-ship _Trinic_ and was worth about $25,000.
That, perhaps, may not cover her upper-deck cabins." "Did you ever
travel on her?" "No, sir; I never was on her. I was on the _Trinic_,
the sister-ship. The White Star people own these boats. I used to run
a transport between the White Star Line and the Yellow Star Line."
Here he was told that the examiner did not know of the existence of a
Yellow Star Line, and he replied: "Oh yes, doctor; you heard of the
Flying Squadron that reports all these disasters and signals the other
ships."

Thus we see that with partial truths, with facts only partially and
imperfectly recalled as a framework, he builds his fantastic tales. He
read the newspapers regularly, but could not eve