But she gave a confused and strange account.

She must have been born far from here, not only because for these fifteen years I have not been able to find out anything of her parentage, but because she then spoke, and at times still speaks, of such singular things that such as we are cannot tell but that she may have dropped upon us from the moon.

She talks of golden castles, of crystal domes, and heaven knows what besides.

The story that she told with most distinctness was, that she was out in a boat with her mother on the great lake, and fell into the water, and that she only recovered her senses here under the trees where she felt herself quite happy on the merry shore.

We had still a great misgiving and perplexity weighing on our heart.