Thomas County cat. [volume] (Colby, Kan.) 1885-1891, 1886-08-05

his statement was disputed, for the day
he named was not the same as that
given by the paper; but on further in
0uiry, it was found that the newspaper
was wrong. for the printer had made q
mistake. Shorthand notes of the con-
yersation were taken at subsequent in
terviews. The report of these is very
curious reading. Take the following
as a sample: "Question--October 8,
1928? Answer Gin two seconds)
nesdav. 1t was cloudy and drizzled
rain. l carried dinner to my father
where he was getting out coal. Cues
tion-February 81, 1929? Answer lin
two seconds) Saturday. 1t was cloudy
in the morning, and clear in the after
noon; there was little snow on the
ground. An uncle who lived near sold
a horse-beast for thirty-five dollars"
And SO the conversation ran on for
hours, ranging over forty years of NJ
Cartney's personal history. Mr.. Henkle
tells us that if he went over some of
the dates again, after few days in
terval. the answers, although given
in different terms, were essentially the
same, showing distinctly that he re-
membered the facts, and not the words
previously used" MCartney's memory
is not confined to dates and events: he
is rare calculator, can give the cube
root to such numbers as SO, 319; or
571, 1877, &C.; can repeat some two
hundred and fifty hymns. and start
about two hundred tunes; has a singu-
larry extensive and accurate knowl-
edge of geography, and never forgets
the name of person he has once seen
or read of. With all this singular
power of memory, however, he is not
man whose general grasp of mind is
at all noteworthy.
The same may be said of scores of
men whose one rich gift of memory
has brought them into prominence.
No one has claimed any high intellec-
tual rank for the renowned memory
Corner Thompson" who drew from
actual memory, in twenty-five hours,
at two sittings, in the presence of two
weil-known gentlemen. a correct plan
Of the parish of St. James, Westminster.
with parts of the parishes Of st. Mary
lebonc, St. Ann and ST. Martin; which
plan contained every square, street,
lane. court, alley, market, church,
chapel and all public buildings, with
all stables and other yards, and also
every public-house in the parish, and
the corners of all streets, with all
minutie, as pumps. posts, trees, houses
that project and inject, bow-windows.
Carlton House, st. James Palace and
the interior of the markets, without
scale or reference to any plan, book, or
paper whatever; who undertook to do
the same for the parishes of St. An
drew, Holburn, st. Giles-in- the-Fields,
st. PauPs, Convent Garden, St.
Mary-le-Strand, St. Clements and
St Georges; who could tell the corner
of any great leading throughfare from
Hyde Park corner or Oxford street to
st. Paul's; who could ''take an inven-
tory of a gentleman's house from attic
to ground floor and write it out after
wards. He did this at Lord Nelson's
at Merton, and at the Duke of Kent's,
in the presence of two noblemen."
Turning, now, from examples like
the foregoing, which have been given
to show that great memory does not
argue in al cases any unusual mental
power in other directions, let us look
at some OF the '.great people" whose
"great memories illustrate the cor
rectness of Sir Arthur Helps dictum.
Running over long list of examples,
which the writer has prepared for his
own use "a the study of this subject, he
has been struck with the fact, that the
last three or four centuries appear to
much greater advantage in this review
than any similar period which preceded
them. This. after all, is not surpris-
ing. when the circumstances of mod
ern life are carefully considered; but
it is not in accordance with common
opinion. There is a notion abroad
that the power of memory has declined
since the invention of writing, and
especially since the invention of print
ing and the universal spread of cheap
books and newspapers. Nothing could
be more mistaken than such a suppo-
sition. If we do not nowadays use the
memory as the only registry of facts
within our reach, We do use the men,
DRY even more than the ancients, for
| the simple reason that our knowledge
travels over an UNNECESSARILY wider
area, we have more to remember, and.
as civilization and culture advance, a
good memory becomes more and more
necdful for the work of life; the gener-
al level of intelligence is being raised,
and mental power is developed from
age to age. In this general advance
ment and growth, memory has its
share.
The verbal memory displayed by the
old Greek rhapsodists and bards, or
the 1celandie scalds, was undoubtedly
remarkable, and Is often held up to the
envy of these degenerate days. Yet
the modern Sbah-nama-Khans, Koran
Khans and other singers and
reciters of Persia, who will re-
cite for hours together without
staInmering," and the Calmuck ma
tional bards. whose songs and recita-
tons sometimes last whole day."
can not surely be whit behind, If in
deed they do not surpass the prodigies
of early ages. We are often reminded
of Greek gentlemen who knew their
Homer bv heart, in the DAYS when Ho-