The Daily times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1886-1889, 1889-01-28
VA. Je OF A GOOD MEMORY.
Men Who Never Forget a Tale or Fact.
Wonderful Memorizing.


Phil Armour, tho great Chicago pork
packer. Ia said TO have remarked that o good
memory Is necessary 10 one who wishes 10
mccaed There Is no lack Of evidence 10 sup
pori tho statement Armour himself Is an
example Of what good memory can do.
He is as wonderful in his line a. Cardinal
Mczzofanti was in his. He Is SAID TO carry
the smallest detail Of his immense business Ia
his head. He can remember the date as Wei
as OF small business transactions He knows
The names Of pretty nearly all u his army 81
employees. After the building Of the adj.
ton to his great establishment in Chicago be
astonished circle Of friends by rafting OF
hand the number Of bricks, car loads Of sand,
feet Of timber. etc. that were used De- the
construction Armours gift Is a natural
one. fle has never cultivated it, but tho de-
uands Of his business have unqucst0nably
kept bis powers Of memory in active training.
"Old Hutch, as the imperturbableC Chicago
wheat manipulation is called, Is another man
gifted with an extraordinary memory lie
needs no books to carry bis transactions in,
although, Of course, he Uses them. With
him, too, retentiveness is a natural gift He
remembers everything that he wants 10 re-
member, but says frankly be doesn't know
how he does it. lie also pOssesses the gift of
not remembering things he docs not wish o.
remember. But then that gift Is not rare.
The professional memory men say that
among public men and speakers for good al
around retentiveness james G.. Blaine leads
all the rest, for he can not only remember
dates, figures and authorities when debating,
-. -, 10. l.a fartrftrs e. O.
bering names and faces that is little short Of
the marvellous, and many are the stories told
Of bis exploits in this line
In the domain Of figures Samuel j. Ran
dali, when we'll stood almost pre-eminent
His long service on those committees IN con
yress that controlled the finances Of the nation
cave him an immense knowledge Of such mat
tiers, which he retained without an effort 10
was no uncommon thing for him TO make
long speeches without using notes he jug
gled figures running at one time into millions
Of dollars and then into fractions Of O. cent
without tripping as moss men, however al'.,
would have done II was the same faculu
TIM made Gladstone 50 successful chancel-
lor Of tho English exchequer.
Roscoe Conkling was man Of wonderful
memory Whether dealing in figures ia
legal argument or quoting from the early
English poets, he called forth, seemingly with
ont effort and without previous thought, the
right thing at the right time.
Congressman Sam Cox has also "a renarka
ble memory, especially for things literary
and this has stood him in good stead IN dc
bate in congress for his opponents never
know when the genial jester IS not about 90
double them up with something from Shake
speare, the Koran, Burns the Bible or some
old hymn book 1t IS 10 his memory alone 10
is due, and Of course his wise study, that be
is able 70 do this in IA running impromptu DE-
BATE
Among actors a retentivo memory or
good study is, Of course, important But
It "a not 50 necessary now In the time 81 com
binatiOn, when the same company plays the
same piece for a season. In The old days of
stock companies IL was common 10 present
farce, a comedy and q tragedy all in one
night and 70 change the bin nightly Ago0d
memory was an absolute necessity No actor
can succeed without il, for 10 was no uncom
mon thing for play 20 be put on at few
hours notice Lester Waliack, mo bis rcc0.-
lections Of the stage. attributes much 81 DDS
success to the fact that ho possessed remark
able memory
Edwin Forrest was a wonder in his prime.
He would read over page Of "a book and at
once recite il OFF hand lie did 10 frequently
for amusement as well as practice ln hls
later years ho lost this faculty 90 some extent
The elder Booth studied everything and re-.
membercd everything that be studied The
only language that no was unable % conquer
was Russian The great actor did learn
French well enough to play in the French
tragedy "Oreszi, ~ in New Orleans some time
In 1851, and to do it in French, too-Phila-
delphia Times