# Ideatypics; or, an Art of Memory/Chapter 5

NATURAL POINTS.
To shew clearly what I mean by natural points, I have selected for illustration the Chronology of the Kings of England, and the History of England.
The constant division of every thing into nine places, as practised by some, whether the subject admits of it or not, tends to deprive them of the highest advantages of the local system, because it is carrying it to an extreme by points of unvarying uniformity that are less and less distinctive, not as points absolute, but as points relative, when encreased to any extent. I refer to the divisions of objects into places or parts, not to the divisions of squares. The square as in Pl. I. Fig, 2, is usually employed by all modern local Mnemonists, for History, Chronology, and other departments of knowledge. The constantly recurring square obliges them either to provide an arbitrary symbol or furniture, not in the least allied to the subject which the memory has to retain. The old division of the room contains the Kings of England, with only two spare places. My arrangement of the room secures two spare subsquares, and instead ​of having nine places filled, in each square I put something connected with the subject in each subsquare, that contains in two instances only three kings. The greatest number in any subsquare is eight, and the royal families are preserved distinct. This advantage does not belong to the nine divided square. There is another advantage belonging to the use of the natural points, which is very important, and that is, there is space furnished in connection with Chronology for the whole Ideatypic History of England.
The mode will now be described. First, draw symbols from the subject according to its nature. The initial letters of the first four families strike me as especially appropriate for the Kings of England, as three of them present the requisite number of points (vide Plate II. Fig. 1).
N contains four points for the four kings of the Norman line. P is divided into nine parts, as there are eight kings belonging to the Plantagenets. L presents three places for the house of Lancaster. Y three places for the house of York, n, p, l, y, with two vowels, is no play, which a boy’s fancy would lay hold of.
Without proceeding farther, we will suppose the N to be put in the first subsquare of a room. The O subsquare on the ceiling is occupied by the Saxons. P is put in the second subsquare, L in ​the third, Y in the fourth. Thus we have arranged for us localities stamped, as it were, in the very names of the families whose history is to be recorded.
So well do these arrangements answer, that many of my pupils have committed the whole of the dates of the kings to memory, and one or two historical facts associated with them, in half an hour.
To proceed: take the first square in L (vide PI. II. Fig. 1.) to combine Chronology and History, (vide Fig. 2.) and I will detail a mode of instructing pupils so as to produce astonishing results.
In Fig. 2, there is a boat and a wave. Put before these words the word enguard. Other words that have the same commencing sound and four consonants (the number required in this instance) would do as well.
ENGUARD, BOAT, WAVE (1399).
From the first syllable of enguard we get the initial sound of Henry, and by the four consonants in the same word, we are able to recollect that it is Henry the fourth. Then, boat, wave, the words associated with enguard, give us the date of the king’s accession, as above, 1399 (vide the scale of numbers). The sense is, that Hotspur, in the spur of the mo​ment, is giving up the cause of Henry, as represented in the man by the tree, trying to set adrift the boat.
This is an original mode of associating the name, order of succession, and date, with historical facts. This mode of managing the name of the king, I have adopted to exclude the nonsense that is frequently introduced. I have now words at my disposal, that will make sensible connection with the History, as will be seen in a further description of Fig. 2.
Henry the fourth's was a troublous reign, as the wave tossing the boat indicates. One of our poets has said, in reference to this king, “Uneasy is the head that wears a crown.” We may easily imagine some name for the boat, to remind us of Whittington and the ship in which he traded, call it the Cat. The boat was first fastened to the tree by a man, to shew that Hotspur first sustained Henry’s fortune, but now, in the spur of the moment, he intends to set the boat adrift upon a troublous sea.—The application of this is apparent. The man. Hotspur, has a saw in his hand, to saw down the tree, and cut off the boat’s security. Sawing the tree refers to Sawtree, the first English martyr. Behind the man is abuilding, which we may associate with the picture for Guildhall, that was built in this reign. At the ​side of this building is a gate, hung about with chains, referring to Newgate, founded by Whittington. A gauntlet fixed in the stern of the boat, refers to Henry’s family and position; that he was of John of Gaunt, and that there were others before him in the succession, etc.
We might introduce much more, e. g. a choice cow comes from the glen, to drink of the troubled waters; referring to Chaucer, Gower, and Glendower, who flourished in this reign. The rest the teacher or his pupil will supply and associate from his own reading. Numerous examples will be found in the Chronology of the Kings of England.