The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-06-07
onD TRICKS OF MEMORY.
Instances of a Common and EN-
'H' harrassing Habit of Mind.

,be lapsas of memory one sometimes nieeI'
W. in persons whose powers OF mind, both
W. .,,rol and acquired. are considered to be
"a' W above the average 1t would be folly
NV avnect grapes from gooseberry bushes or
y 'T rom fir trees; and it would be as pre-
VI. . s to look for anything but uuwis-
from the wise; and above all we do an
.ao+e expertness from the really clever.
,-f vet what breakdowns do happen now
al ~ ogain in the senate, on the platform, in
~ nulpit, and even on the stage; and not
Ilor, the more skillful the person the moro
curious the catastrophe;
Gu " Ioa' recent published letter of Thackeray's
~ Lave a description of the sudden forget
We ' n@ he was subjected to at the literary
lT Inner He was one of the speakers,
uli'i ba describes the affair as an lawful
snu y OF the thread of his discourse he
' nl,ns TO have said, not in words, but in the
sai ,,l of an old dramatist:
IT'S lost;
,n.o what we think can never shun remem-
o of q sudden is gone beyond the clouds.
Dat +beexperience of the author Of Van
~ Fair1 was far from being singular to
siymsef Others have got their pearls of
I1,oht and illustration into the wrong
~ nav some have been so unfortunate as
= Tosa 10Th the pearls and their setting. 1t
. ~ ms 70 have been trying time for Thack-
w., and he sat down afterward and de-
tod TO n friend what a fool he had made
Y :. Lin7self but his mother, who had con-
~ rip raIi to be within hearing distance, came
.o +ba opposite conclusion.
Tho senate is not free from cases of sud
,o, e. forgetfulness, thought in the days when
h -, was considered out of place to use manu-
,orirt the lapses took place much more
oftan Noyaday q case seldom happens I'M
- The notes have been disarranged or mis-
ieid or when the paper gives out" But
ebo }bi3o does occur, and to front-bench
.noo and back-bonch men alike. Not loag
s;nce an ex-cabinet minister collapsed COM
rlatclv from failure Of memory, and he was
sbor+iy afterward translated, perhaps by
nav Of consolation, to tho honse OF peers
OnIv the other day, too, a member with
crisvance made an lawful smash, to the
5e;irht of the house, through not beng able
10 re- at his notes, but he has had no con-
ISOLATION and little peace since.
On the stage the Prompter Is the safety
from forgetfulness, but in the concert thea
Ter apses take place. Even great living
tenor has been known to retire III the mid
dlp of a song he had been singing every week
Tor almost lifetime, because all memory
Of the words be wanted was gone. Such
,osa of sudden forgetfulness took place in
eof the London theaters early IN the pres
ant century,. During the performance,
which seems to have been of mixed char
,cter the gods in the galleries called for
meir favorite song. THE Spring of Shille-
ogh though it was not announced in the
Eis. and Mr.. John Henry tombstone, a
wpll-kuown Irish actor and vocalist, came
forward with alacrity and good humor to
comfy with the wishes of the gods. Accord
.mgly the music played, but the singer stood
silent and apparently confused. The SYM
nbonv was repeated, but the same silence
and confusion on the part of the vocalist
took place in rather an increased degree.
Ire symphony was performed a third time,
INIT all to no purpose. At length Mr.. John
Stone came forward to the front Of the stage
and thus addressed the audience: Ladies
and gentlemen, | assure you that L have
sing this song so often that [ forget the
first lire A roar of laughter greeted
these words, and hundreds of good-humored
voices began to prompt the singer, who i'm
mediately rave the favorite song in good
style and gained increased applause.
Sudden forgetfulness is not an unusual
thing in the pulpit. Aubrey, the antiquary,
saws that when he was freshman at college
be heard DR.. Sanderson, bishop of Lincoln,
well known for his work, mine Cases of
Conscience" break down in the middle of
the Lords prayer. Even the great French
preacher, Massillion, once stopped in the
middle of bis sermon from defect of mem
orv. ond Massillion himself recorded that
the same thing happened through excess of
apprehension to two other preachers whom
be went to hear in different parts of the
same day. Another French preacher stopped
in the middle of a sermon and was unable
to proceed The pause, however, was got
over ingeniously. Friends" said he, II
had forgot to say that a person much
afflicted is recommended to your immediate
prayers" He meant himself. He fell on
his knees, and before he rose he had recov
cred the thread of his discourse, which he
concluded without his want of memory be-
ing perceived,
Tie late Rev. Henry Ware of Boston, was
oIce IN similar pedicament In the mid
de of a sermon his memory failed him and
he pped'abruptly. The pause seemed long
to the preacher before he regained his
thought, and he imagined the sermon to be
failure in consequence, but as he walked
quietly up the aisle different impression
was given to him. "How did you like
the sermonp asked one nearer of an
other. Like it, 1t is the best sermon Mr..
Ware has ever preached. That pause was
sublime"
A good illustration of this sudden forget
ILLNESS comes from the same district of Bos-
Ton. A wort Inv or fhara &c moi nr1lyy
a0sent-minded and has short memory, but
he breaks down as continually as he breaks
down suddenly. To counterfeit this it is a
ha0lt with him, when he forgets anything,
70 rise again and make few supplementary
remarks, which he always begins with the
phrase, BY the way" One Sunday he got
nan way through prayer from memory
Tnen he hesitated, forgot what he was
ABOUT, and sat down abruptly without pro-
louncmg the closing word. In monet or
Two he rose, and pointing his finger at the
amazed congregation, he exclaimed; "Oh,
Oy the way, Amenm
IL Is SAID of Father Taylor, a preacher to
@lors that once, when he got confused, he
CIled out: Boys, I've lost my nominative
gloryw
we can understand a lapse of memory
@k'ng place when the mind is overburdened
q qua unusual demands are being made upon
~ Out for failure to occur when there is
1aSS put upon the mental powers is singu-
on Here is a case in point: We are told
\. good authority that a prominent Har
r 'sru professor went into the old Cambridge
pGsOolhce and presented himself at the place
sneIe The delivery of letters was made. He
f,,ll there silent, but apparently very con-
USED used about something. The clerk in charge
,Iquired what he desired. my letters,
please" Name, sirg' asked the clerk. After
,,.Gi5lnmeerlng and suffering the learned man
sTSd; II have quite forgotten NV nameN