New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1889-10-27
PLEASURES OF An ELASTIC MEMORY.

PLEASURES or IN ELASTIC MEMORf.
The Man with the Elastic Memory has appeared
at last lie halls from New-Jersey, and his name
is Benbrook Up to date he is not allied with the
glorious company of freaks of which Nurse
Donnelly is the chiefest and latest flower but is
living in modest retirement at the shy and hitherto
unpretcnding hamlet of Pluclamin, in Somerset
County, ~ j., where, from time to time, he en-
cages in the pleasant luxury of allowing his
memory TO span the chaSm of the days that have
interviewed since John Bunyan was poor tinker
at EstOw in Bedfordshire. CurlOusly enough, the
remarkable qualities of Benbrools mind were not
generally known until the other day when there
appeared in the Martnvlle letter to The
Chronicle" of Bound Brook, n. j., of the issue of
October IL, with headlines of Mosaic mee<ne>s,
and in language blushing in its modeSty, these
startling words:
PROGRESS OF BUNYAN'S DESCENDANTS.
Several descendants of John Bunyan are resi-
dents OF somerso5 County. The oldest OF these is
william BcnbrOOk, OF Washington Valley, age eighty
four. who distinctly remembers the NOTED author.
who was his great-great-uncle, and at whose home
he was in youth frequent visitor. Mr., Benbrook
came from Northampton. England, of which place
house east Of Pluckamin.
younger brother. 5. Norman Benbrook. born in
Northampton In l529. IS now retired business man
Of someryill> lie has accumulated considerable
property, but singular 10 relate. never found time or
opportunity 10 learn 10 read until two years ago.
since which time he has mastered the alphabet. and
through dhigent application Pilgrims Progress the
great work of his ancestor Is open book every
word OF which he has read. Mr. BenbrOok IS to be
congratulated upon the successful accomplishments
at his age, OF a wonderful feat.
Thus, in one paragraph of ordinary type is the
link between the sixteenth century and its young
est sister joined and made one with the chain Of
the ages, and this too without any observed
stress or strain on the India-rubber memory of Mr.
Benbrook The possibilities of the Benbrool< mem.
DRY, which puts TO ins gnilcance the brain of an
Admirable Crichton or Paul Morphy, compared
with which even the remembrance of n Boodler
Alderman on the witness stand is puerile and puny
are marvellous to contemplate and awe-inSpirno in
th, contemplation. At the ripe age Of eighty
four, Mr. Benbrook can call up at leisure. and
with about as much physical effort as an ordinary
clearinghouse mortal would require in po>sino
the butter, distinct actual and personal recol-
lections of the d" noted author" his gre,t-great
uncle, who Gourished from 162s to 6Ss With a
casual and perfunctOry scratch of the head in
the region of the rccollective lobe, and a gentle
Utilization Of the gray matter which stands for
memory Mr. BenbroOk can behold visions NJ tbc
centuries long ago, when he visited at the humble
home Of his poor great reat-uncle, not casually
as an unwelcome guest, but frequently, as be-
fitted the intimate blood-relations of John Bun
yam and William Benbrook.
II is hard 10 see how that queer twist wos
given to young Benbrooks powers of recollection.
but early in his youth he must have been in
aicted with peculiar and ineXplicable physio-
PSYCHOLOGICAL mania for anticipating the past,
as Mrs Malaprop would say, and, in this way, to
change the figure, the tentacles OF his memory
stretching into the dim past, seized upon the
revered person of the poor tinker of Elsow, and
thus the shock of reflective contact made the
great greatnephew aware that the claim of per-
| sonal acquaintance was no boyish fancy, but a
fact, sober as one of Bunyans parallels, which
should in future, enable him to cheer the PlucXa-