The record-union., 1895-04-18
MARVELLOUS MEMORIES.
Intellectual Feats of Persons Known
TO Readers of History.
An Account of Some of the Most Re-
markable Instances In Ancient
and Modern Times.

Tycho Brahe, the astronomer, had a
wonderful memory for figures. On one
occasion, finding himself Inconvenience
by the necessity of referring to the tables
of square and cube roots, he sat down
and committed them both to memory.
The feat implied the recollection of over
100000 figures and took him four hours.
Gottschalk, the pianist, claimed to be
able to play from memory over 5000
compositions. They comprised music OF
every school and included the whole OF
the preludes and fugues of Bach's we'll
tempered clavichord, forty-eight in num-
ber, and of almost unexampled intricacy
of composition and difficulty of execu-
ton.
Pericles had a memory so great that he
was able to greet every citizen of Athens
by name. he was thorough politician,
and several anecdotes are on record
showing how cleverly he Interested peo-
pie in his behalf by inquiries about their
ailments, families and private affairs, the
details of which he remem bered per-
fectly.
Zerah Colburn, when a child, had the
most wOnde rfuI memory for figures ever
known. De performed operations OF ad-
dition, subtraction, multiplication and
division on sums involving from eleven
to twenty places of figures without set
ting one down on paper. Being once
asked to raise TO its sixteenth power, he
almost instantly responded, The an
swer is 2Sl, Az, $40, 7l0,6 ,656."
The journal Of Speculative Philosophy
gives a remarkable instance of farmer
in Indiana who could reInem Dor what he
had done on every day for twenty years.
He was repeatedly tested by reference to
DO FVn.,
tions, and never failed both TO name the
day of the week and 10 tell what occurred
to him on that day. The words used in
his narratives often varied, bat he al
ways had the events as he had mentioned
them before.
Hortensius, the Roman orator, could
repeat word Tor word book he had just
read. On one occasion he made wager
with one Sienna, and to win 1t went 10 an
auction, remained all day, and in the
evening gave list of all the articles sold.
the prices paid for them and the names OF
the purchasers. The accuracy OF his mem
ory was, IN this case tested by the auc-
tioneer's clerk, who followed the recapitu-
lation with hls book, and found that in
no case had the man of wonderful MEM
ory made single mistake.
Mozart had memory for music and
for nothing else. On attending the Papal
Mass at the Sistine Chapel he was greatly
impressed with the musical service, and
asked Tor q copy, but was told that none
could be given him, as the music was not
allowed to go out. he went to the next
service, listened attentively, went away
and wrote down the whole from memory.
When Don Giovanni was first per-
formed there was not time to copy part
for the harpsichord, so Mozart conducted
the entire opera, about three hours long,
and played a harpsichord accompani-
ment to the songs and choruses without
note Of music TO assist his memory.
Vidocq, the great French detective,
had so excellent memory for names and
faces that after having seen a criminal
once and learned his name he never for
got him. but would identify him under
the most subtle DISCUSSES. a French
forger once escaped from custody, went
abroad and remained for years. In the
meantime he became quite bald and lost
an eye and part of his nose in a drunken
brawl. Fancying that no one could de-
tect him, be returned to Paris and went
boldly about the streets, but, being ar
rested on suspicion, be was brought be-
fore Vidocq, who at once recognized him
and sent him back to work out his term.