The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1871-11-15
Feat- Of Memory.

Feats of Memory.
Memory is nearly as much q puzzle as ever.
Why in some men memory should be strong and
IN others weak, Why the memory should be at
one time stronger than at another why the same
man should have 8 strong memory for some sub
jects. and . weak one for Others; why Illness
should obIiterate some subjects completely from
the niud--are problems siill undergoing patient
and attentive scrutiny.
The memory for figures, or power for mental
calculations, IS vel known to all Of u.s. either by
its presence or its absence. Jedeiah Buxton,
George Parker Bidder and Zerah Colburn, are
instances too Familiarity known to need detail.
George Watson the Sussex calculator, could tell
the dates Of every day since be was child, and
what be was doing CD that day be could show
many other strange freaks Of memory, but was a
heavy, ignorant fellow generally, very vain Of his
one requirement
The memory Of languages is quite distinct
faculty, 50 far as can be judged from recorded
instances Mitbridates, we are told, could con-
verse IN their own languages 70 the natives Of
tEeuiy-three countries which we're under his
sway Cardinal Merchant appears to have had
tins faculty in . stronger degree than any other
person that ever lived. While educating Cor the
priesthood be learned Latin, Greek. Hebrew, Ara
BIC, Spanish. French German and Swedish. As
professor at some Of the Italian universities, he
constantly added 70 bis store, until at the age Of
f0rty-three he could read in twenty languages and
converse IN eighteen. In lS4l, when he was
L.. al
with Portuguese. English, Dutch, Danish, Rus
san, Polish, Bohemian, Servisn, Magyar, Turk
isb. Irish, Welsh, Wallachian, Albanian, Bulgari-
an, nyTiAn, Lettish, Lappisb, as with the lang
uHges which he had first learned while to the |
Arabic be added Persian, Sanscrit, Koordish /
Georgian, Syrisc, Chaldee. Samaritan, Coptic
Ethiopie, Abyssnian and other Asiaiic and Afri-
can tongues At the time Of his death in 1s49, |
MezzOfanti could write eloquently and converse
fuently in more than seventy languages.
Al the other accounts of memory for words
are poor compared with this; nevertheless, many
Of them are Sufficiently remarkable. John KEN
bic used 10 say that he could learn a whole num-
Der Of the M9Taf'.g Pos il four days; and Gen.
Christie made similar assertion, but it is not
known how Ear either Of them verified this state
meut. Robert Dillon could repeat in the morn
inc, SIX columns OF newspaper that be had read
over night During the repeal debates in the
House Of Commons, thirty-seven years ago, one
Of the members wrote out his speech, sent it TO
the newspapers, and repeated it to the House in
the evening it was found to be the same, GER
balm as that which be had written out. John
Fuller. land agent in Norfolk, could remember
every word Of a sermon and write it out correct
" after going home this was tested by compar-
ing his written account with the clergymen's man
uscript. Scaliger could repeat hundred verses
or more Efter having read them a single time, and
Senecs could repeat two thousand words after
hearing them once MagLabechi, who had
q prodigious memory, was once put TO a Sc
we're test A gentleman lent him manuscript,
which was read and returned the owner some
time Afterwards, pretending that be had lost it,
begged Magiiabechi to write out as much as he
could remember. whereupon the latter appealing
10 bis memory, wrote out the whole essay. Cy-
rus if some OF the old historians are to be credit
ed could remember the name Of every soldier in
his immense army. There was Corsican boy
who could rehesrse forty thousand words, wheth-
er sense or nonsense, as they were dictated and
then repeat them in the reversed order without
making single mistake. A physician OF Massa-
cbusetts about half century ago, could repeat
the whole Of Paradise Lost without mistake, al
though be bad not read il for twenty years. Eu-
Der, the great mathematician, when he became
blind. could repeat the whole Of Virgil's Eueid,
and could remember the first and last line in ev-
cry page Of the particular edition which be had
been accustomed to read before be became blind.
One kind Of retentive memory may be consid-
cred as the result Of sheer bard work. determi-
nation towards one particular achievement, with
ont reference either TO cultivation or to memory
on other subjects This is frequently shown by
persons IN humble life in regard 70 the bible. An
old beggar mau at Stirling, known some forty
years ago as Blind Aliek afforded an instance Of
this he knew the whole Of the bible by heart
iusomuch that If q sentence we're read 10 him, be
could name book chapter and verse, or if the
beck. chapter and verse were named, he could
give the exact words. A gentleman, to test him,
repeated verse. purposely making one verbal
insccgrscy Alick hesitated, named the place
where the passage was to be found, but at the
same tine pointed out the verbal error. The same
gentleman asked him to repeat the ninetieth
verse Of the seventh chapter Of the book Of
Numbers Alick instantly replied, There is
no such verse; Chat chapter has only eighty-nine
verses.-AR de Year Round