The age-herald., 1898-02-03
CULTIvATINa THE MEMORY.

V sE 
 Probably nothing differentiates the edu- cated from the ignorant man so thoroughly as the art of memory. The man of knowl- edge, in the common phrase, has a mind well stored. brain well furnished--in other words, he remembers what he has learned. The boor sees and forgets. Mod ern study of the functions of the brain have disclosed the fact that the process of remembering is carried on in a certain small and well defined region in the gray matter, injury to which means the par tial or total loss of memory, as the dam age done is small or large. Lieut. Brady, an officer in the English army serving in Assam, was shot through the head. Upon recovery, he found that, though he could recall the facts concerning all the Eng lishmen he knew, his knowledge of the natives, with whom he had been on inti- mate terms, was entirely gone. This, to the student of the brain, means that the tract devoted to memory had been grazed by the bullet. It has also been remarked that under conditions of extreme fatigue words cannot be brought into the mind in direct relation with the time they were learned. Proper names acquired in later life are usually the first to depart under such circumstances. And every one must have noticed how much more readily the Christiani name comes into mind than the surname, or the initial of the family name before the name itself. Some good ad- vice to those who wish to cultivate this faculty is given in a pamphlet published lately by MT J. M. Guilfoyle, under the name, 'How to Remember"
 
 The fundamental principle of this system lies in exercise. Just as the arm grows stronger by judicious use, so may the mental faculty be strengthened by proper training. A great memory is not in the least dependent upon great mental abili- ties in other directions. Blind Tom, the musician, was hardly so much, as half witted outside of his astonishing power for storing his mind with melodies. There is a well authenticated case cited by MT. Guilfoyle of an idiot in, an English poor house who could give the name and date of every funeral in the parish for period of thirty-fve years. This would go to show that memory may be cultivated in minds that are exceedingly slender
 Such a mental review of the events of the day as Marcus Aureus recommends for moral reason is here offered as an exercise for strengthening the mind in this particular. It is to be conJoined with more extended reviews of self-examina- tions,s weekly, monthly and yearly. In passing shop windows the powers of ob- servation may be quickened and made to aid in this by catching as many of the objects as possible with single glance of the eye and bringing their names and appearances into the mental vision as you go along. This will lead to paying at- tention and to concentration. It was this latter quality that enabled William Nor ris to master and excel in no less than twenty handicrafts in addition to several professions, including architecture, paint ing and beles lettres. Association is no less desirable. To remember the thing desired bring it into contact with as many other things as possible. It may thus be brought from the -ealms of the unknown into a. locality entirely familiar. ssis . Some practical system of menmonics will be found of great assistance. By 1t fig ures and words are iIiterwoven in the mind, in what amounts to a reversal of the pro- cess adopted by tho ancient Kabbalists. .'T'' which is made with single down stroke, stands for the figure 1; "N,'' which has two, stands for 2; m" with three, stands for 8; 'r' the last letter of four. stands for 4; 'I,'' which is fifty in the Ro- man notation, stands, with the of 50 off, for 5; "J,' looking something like a six backward. is for 6; .k.'' is for '; ''f'' for 8; '.p" nine reversed, is for g, and 'sz,' the initial of the word zero for O. Other sounds are associated with these: "D' and 'th'' go with 't' and stand for 1; "ch,'' in church; "g," in ginger and "sh,' in she, go with "j'' and stand for 6; ''g,'' as in gag "c,' as in cat; "ch.'' as in chos- en, go with "k'' for T; 'v'' is a vocalized "f," and helps out with g. "b" and .p'' are similarly associated for g, and ''s'' and "c," when they sound like "s,'' are like "z' and stand for O.
 With this you csn turn date Into a word, as "trepan'' for 1492, or an easily for gotten name, like ..salol," into a combna- ton number, like 045, which will aid in fixing it. You are introduced to man named Chorengel, say, whose face pleases you, and whom you hope to meet again. Hard ''ch' is 2, ''r'' is 4, "n' is always omitted before E." and 'g'' is again. while "l'is omitted before "g'' ond "g" is seven again, while '.l'' is 5-7475. almost inn possible to forget. You hear word you mean to look up as soon as you get home -"sesamoid," for instance and turn it into 0031. You are invited to call at 63I9 Wharton avenue-"gem-ruby fixes the number forever. And so on, with never varying and inexhaustible combinations. This ingenious contrivance is the inven- tion, practically of Gourad, who lectured on it in America in 1S44