Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1879-07-19
THE EVENING STAR.
SATuRDAY......... 10, 1879.



A Maine Boys Memory.
EXTRAORDINARY POWERS OF LAD OF TEN
YEARS REMARkABLE APTITUDE IN GIVING
DATEs-HIs FAMILIARITY WITH THE BIBLE.
here is In this city one OF the most rem ark
able boys In the world, probably. He is a son or
Col. Fuller, ex-postmaster OF Bangor and is
now 10 years Of age. His intellect Is perfectly
nIst that his friends noticed OF his precoclty
Vas aoout year ago, when they accidentally
discovered that he was almost infalIible on am
west with his parents at the time. and as he
was Was Maiking In company with some
teat he IN Mou1o ce% nns they Observed
read the date Of a death recorded. and
the exact age OF the person buried there. and
t men, glance ,h up ana tell what day OF the
week the dead person was born on This
happened on several occasions, and but little at
tention was paid to it. Finally however one OF
nsc cnVa,,n tcSH nT oSR INTO an OLD alma
toned, and found that the day of the week had
been given correctly in every instance. This
discovered that he could almost Instantly tell
the day Of the week on which any date within
the last IS years fell. Only yesterday tn
in every case Charles (that is his name) gave
the day of the week corresponding to that date
and gave it correctly. The longest time occu-
shortest was three seconds, the aver age being
about five seconds. 1t should be remembered
that while he answered. there was no book or
any other article near him from which he could
If he has once heard the date Of birth, marrI-
age, or death OF any OF his friends he remem-
above: knows On what day OF the week the date
fell. III one calls his attention to any person
ana informs him that the individual was born
on certain day OF the week and month, he viii
on seeing that person months after wards speak
up and say that that mans birthday falls on a
certain day, which is the date he was casually
fllld CO nnfr hnf Mot
walked up to one OF his relatives and Informed
him that it was So-and-Sos birthday. the date
OF the persons birth having been told him long
ago. For curiosity, the relative took Charlie by
the hand and walked to the place of business OF
the friend mentioned. "Charlie," rem rked the
GaR to the friend says this is your birth
replied the friend, "but he is right; this is my
birthday"
He never forgets date that he has once fixed
IN his memory, and Is almost invaluable as a
statistican. He remembers when every Presi-
dent OF the United States was born and inaug-
urated as President, and how long he served,
and when he died. Any OF these dates he gives
with scarcely seconds thought, as well as
hundreds OF others OF a like nature. once In a
Whlle he makes momentary mistake, but cor
reefs himself almost instantly, never proceed
ing till he is absolutely certain OF what he has
already said
A still more remarkable fact is that he recol
| lects everything that he does, remembers on
what day he did 1t, where he was at the time.
and what were the circumstances that led him
to do IT. For instance, he will tell where he
was on any day within the past two years. AMI
what he was doing. Further, he remembers
and can tell everything that his friends have
done, providing he has seen them do it. and tell
on what date and on what day OF the week they
did it.
IL mathematics. it would be difficult to find
boy CT nearly twice his age that can equal him.
He computes the most difficult fractions In his
| head and will add, subtract, multiply or divide
| theln without difficulty. This Is all the more
WONDERFUL, considering that he has never been
taught anything except how to read One even
| Ing about tea time he was informed that the
| double of two is four. He was informed that
the process OF getting that result was called
multiplication, and that 1t was all given in the
arithmetic. He Immediately got an arithmetic
| into his hands found the multiplication table,
and had all of 1t by heart at the breakfast table
| next morning.
The most remarkable test to which his men,
DRY has yet been put is on the Bible. He re-
peats the name OF every book In the Old and
| New Testaments, In regular order, beginning
| book contains and how many verses In each
chapter IN several OF the books; and on any
portion OF the Bible he has read-and he has
read nearly If not quite all-will tell the sub
stance OF any particular verse In any chapter OF
| any particular book. He tells at once where
| any particular event is described In the Bible,
also where the name OF any character men,
toned In the Scriptures can be found. he not
| only knows the Bible thoroughly, but can tell
| without hesitation on what page any particu-
lar hymn In Watts or Moody and Sankey's
| hymn books can be found.
| Not long ago he greatly amused some of his
| niends by correcting an almanac. A lady
| which certain dates, many years ago, fell She
| gave Date and asked him on what day ft fell
ne promptly Informed her. She looked at the
almanac Tor that year, month and day. Alas
| for Charlie. thought she, as his answer did not
| agree with the almanac. Charlie wouldn't give
up, nowever, but declared that he knew the
almanac OF that year," inquired one of Charles
| confident friends. 81 have" replied the lady,
and produced 1t. On comparing the two alma
| macs IL was discovered that the first one was
| wrong, and that Charlie was right, q mistake
having been made by the party who compiled
the almanac.
His habits are peculiar He never PLAYS with
other boys, but Is continually busy In reading.
| Ohen-t1mes he takes an unabridged dictionary
and studies 1t hour after hour, never seeming to
CONSIDER It anything but a pleasure to do it. 10
fact, he takes no comfort unless busying his
| brain about something II there is anything he
does not understand he keeps at 1t till he does
| Tor MIN 10 forget It, One would naturally sup
| pose that child with such unusual powers
would gradually fail and fade away, butt sim
| stronger and more healthy.
Very many VIII think, perhaps, that his ability
In giving the day OF the week, &C, on which a
date falls, Is an act OF memory merely, and that
be has learned what day OF the week each date
| LOT several years past has fallen on. This is
not SO, however. He does it by some mathe-
| mat1cal process, as he as readily answers about
| dates the days of the weekof which he has
never seen. What this process is he himself
| cannot explain.
Scarcely any Of the above will seem credible
but we assure the readers OF the Commercial
that 1T Is true In every particular, as scores OF
| those acquainted with the circumstances can
| testify. The lad is, we repeat, one of the most
wonderful In the world, and his career will be
| watched with lnterest.-Bangor (Me) CONNER
| ciat, july 18th.
SIGNPAINTER'S INTENTIONAL woman who
| opened small millinery store In the western
part or the city, says the Detroit Free Press en-
! gagged painter to paint her sign. When it
"Mrss. j. Blank" etc., and she called out, sYou
| have got an extra 50 in Mrs. and you must
paint the sign over again." The painter saw
recting 1t, and he replied: Madam, haven't you
| had two husbands?' "Yes, sir" ''You were a
| Mrs when YOU lost the frSt?n 81 was Sand do