The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-10-11

spoke IN delirium continuously in Welsh.
On recovering health he again lost the
language.
Even at the very entrance of the VALLEY
OF the shadow the memory plays strange
tricks. Goethe told Eckermann that he
once knew an old man who, in his very last
moments. began to recite beautiful Greek
sentences. These he had been made as a
boy to learn by heart for a special purpose,
nut Tor fifty years had not uttered them.
1hey were there in his memory, though, all
the same, and some unexplainable cerebral
action suddenly gave them form and ex-
preston.
A dying peasant was heard by DR.. Stein
beck to pray in Greek and Hebrew Cues
that as boy he had often heard the parish
priest use the same words, without knowing
what they meant.
DINNEUs AND SCOTT.
As illustrating phenomena Of memory of
another sort, we may recall the case of
DinnRus, who, in the decay of his memory
IN old age, was delighted by the readil q Of
his own works without recognizing them.
Not to go so far away, there is the expert
ence of Sir Walter Scott as related by
Lockhart. THE Bride of Lammermoorn
was composed and published while Scott
was confined to a SICK bed, and he assured
ADdAldtlLfD6 tudD Wien IL was uTSG DuL lQLO
his hands in a complete shape he did not
recollect one single incident, character or
conversation it contained. He recollected
all the incidents of the story upon which
the romance was founded, but "he literally
recollected nothing else; not single char
acter woven by the romancer; not one of
the many see es and points of humor, nor
anything with which he was connected as
the writer of the work."
A still more remarkable case of lapse of
memory in another way is related by DR..
PrItchard. A man was engaged in splitting
wood with malIet and a wedge. Previous
to going home in the evening he hid his
tools in a hollow tree, and told his sons at
night to 60 for them in the morning. But
the same night be became insane. Several
years afterward his reason returned as sud
denly, and the first question was whether
his sons had brought home the tools. They
told him they had not been able to find
them, Whereupon he arose, went to the field
where he had been working years before,
and took out of their hiding place all that
was left of the tools-the iron parts, for the
wood had nodded away.
A soldier, during drunken bout, lost an
article belonging to an officer, with which
he was intrusted. He did not even know
where to look for IL; but during his next
bringing bout, recollection returned, and he
IOund Une missing OBJECT. A porter once,
when drunk, delivered a parcel at the
wrong house, and when sober forgot where
he had left it. But getting drunk again he
remembered the circumstances aud recov-
cred the parcel.
1t is worth noting, too, that DeQuincey,
IN his Confessions" says that when under
the influence of opium, scenes of his child
hood appeared which he had so completely
forgotten that when sober he would not
have recognized them as belonging to his
own past at all. Yet they were actual
recollections and reproductions.
1t is computed by scientists that, since
one-third of a seco d sutfices to produce an
imp ession," in 100 years man must have
collected in his brain 9, 467, $3.50. 900 copies of
impress ions; or, if we take off ole-third of
the time for sleep, 6,311. 81 900. This
would give 3, 155, $50, 900 separate waking
impressions to the man who lives to the
age of So Allowing a weight of four
pounds to the brain, and deducting one
fourth for blood and vessels and another
fourth for external integument, it is
further computed that each grain of brain
substance must contain 205,542 traces or
impressions.
Whatever impression the reader may
derive from these figures. be must at LEAST
feel that there is a great deal yet to be
learned about the faculty of memory.