Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1884-04-14
LOSS OF MEMORY.


that should never be neglected nor
thought light of. Remember, mag
point to ncipient softening of the
brain and utter collapse or dementia.
l do not mean to frighten any reader,
so purposely italicize the "Daay.o
What may be, may not be, and uice
versa. The symptoms of loss of
memory, more often than not, are the
result of over-tiredness, an undutiful
kidney, or liver that wants seeing
to. If, coupled with the loss of MEM
DRY, there were occasional attacks of |
swimming in the head, sleepiness,
WEAKNESS of sight, sensibly dimin-
ishing capability for accustomed
work, fits of irritability and lowness
of spirits, the case would, to say the
least of it, look more serious.
The loss of memory in middle age
is different from that of old age, as
far as my judgment goes. In the
latter stage of life there IS a gradual,
but the person himself not always
noticeable decline of the powers of
memory, just as there is in the power
of strength of muscle, eyesight and
hearing. For time at least the old
man hardly misses his retreating
memory he lives more in the past
than for the present, and has recol-
lections of bygone times-ere the tab
lets of memory got hard and unim-
pressionable-though he with difficult
ty, if al all, can trace the events of
yesterday. A merciful Providence
rules it should be so. And, as | said,
it is the same with eyeslght and hear
ing. 1t is Charles Lamb that tells
the anecdote of the old man pointing
up at the castle rookery and saying,
sit is very strange, but the crows be
all gone from out there these many
years but remember the time they
were thick enough, ay, and noisy
enough, too" | always thought that
very delightful anecdote, and SIN
cerely hope that no thoughtless being
took the trouble to undeceive the old
man totterlng thus pleasantly on the
graves brink, by telling him that as
he spoke the rocks darkened the air
and made noise enough to awaken
the Seven Sleepers.
But the loss of memory that points
| to disease or ailment of some kind in
middle age is generally transient and
periodic. The patient can remember
or recollect well enough sometimes,
not so we'll at others; memory is
brighter with him of a morning, or
after a period of rest, than when
working or when tired. Some people
while speaking fail suddenly for the
loss of word-men who had once
been brilliant orators-others while
writing suddenly stagger at the or
biography of a word with which they
are really familiar, or substitute one
letter of similar sound for another, a
sb" for ''p," for instance, OF sd
for ct" Either of the above may
all at once forget the name of per-
son with whom they are intimately
acquainted-yes, or their own cog
nomen.
Well, this loss of memory in mid
die age should always be treated as q
serious symptom, whether it be so OIL
not. People who suffer therefrom
should decrease their hours of labor,
work more Systematically, be careful
to take rest whenever they feel tired.
relaxation when the least low in spir-
its, abundant exercise in open air
whether they seem to need it or not
They should attend to the genera
health and regularity of the system
Take tonic, mild and non-consti
pating one-remembering, however
that tonics are dangerous tools, an(
too often wolves in sleeps clothing
OF stimulants in disguise. Temper
ance should be observed, wine mos
sparingly used. By observing sucl
rules as these failing memory ma,
be restored; then, and not till then
mnemonics may be had recourse t
in order to prevent relapse.