FORTUNE FORGOTTEN

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXII, Issue 22100, 4 May 1935, Page 2 (Supplement)

FORTUNE FORGOTTEN

MAN'S LOSS OF MEMORY 4 FIFTY YEARS BLOTTED OUT MUSIC BREAKS THE SPELL An unusual case of loss of memory which carried its victim back 52 years to the spot where he first found shelter when he landed in the United States as an Armenian immigrant youth, was disclosed on the return of Moses Gulesian to his home in Newton, Massachusetts, a suburb of Boston. In the interval Mr. Gulesian, now 71 years of age, through thrift and industry had amassed a fortune by dealing in Boston real estate and had become one of that city's important adopted sons. He had been threatened with abduction by extortionists, and when he disappeared after attending a dinner of a patriotic organisation at the University Club, it was feared that the threats had been carried out. The passage of time without ransom demands deepened the mystery, which did not end until his son-in-law, Mr. James L. Beck, received word that Mr. Gulesian had recovered his memory in a Bowery mission, New York. Appearing there and being unable to tell anything about himself, he was given food and shelter such as that institution has been dispensing to homeless derelicts for many years. It never seeks to pry into the identity of those it helps, and cared for Mr. Gulesian as a matter of courso. It was not until two days later that Mr. Gulesian's memory returned when he hoard a pianist playing a composition by his wife, Grace Gulesian, entitled ''Washington." Even then he did not disclose his identity, • but merely

asked permission to telephone to Boston. This was contrary to the mission rules, and he was referred to the Salvation Army, which notified his family of his safety. Mr. G ulesian recovered sufficiently to make the trip home alone, and except for his unkempt appearance, heightened by two days' growth of beard, appeared none the worse for his experience when he arrived in Boston. He was unable to remember anj'thing that had happened after he left the dinner in Boston. He had no idea what led him back to the spot in New York where he first found shelter in the United States so long before.