The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1899-11-26

above rsibies. yet many men hay.
achieved phenomenal SUCCESS II
spite Of memories abnorTnall,
poos-at least liz some directions
The late DR.. Mccssh. Of Princeton, mus:
have had a memory highly cultivated IL
soms ways, but for this life of him ne
couldn't remember faces. and on numberiess
occasions ne caused no end OF mortt1ca-
ton 10 himself and others by failure 10
recognize persons with whom De had been
on terms OF close intimacy for years. 1t
hiss been said OF the good doctor that BIS
inability TO remember names and faces
would have prevented him from making a
success In political lie. but that doesn't
follow. Many public men have possessed
aimos. perfect memory Of names and faees.
and this was true OF James G.. Blaine. but
other prominent men have managed 20
get along pretty well without tsat faculty.
Conkiing, for instance, forgot names End
faces often. He had wonderful mem1ry.
though, az hls opponents often discovered
when. speaking publicly, he recalled utter :
ances OF theirs they would fain forget. Nor
was his memory confined 20 political mat
ters. I. was stored abnndantiy with poetry.
not fragmentary lines or brief stanzas. but
entire epics, gage by page. He could repeat
nearly the whole OF Moore's s'Lalia R9okh
and acott's Lady Of The Lake" These
were his favorfte poems. bu. the odes Of
Horace. I'm the original. were almost enuai-
w familiar to him. and he Often amazed his
few intfmates By reciting the Latin poets
lines by the hundred With perfect fntona-
flor ana superb s,oeusion while he Anew
by hear, tho first book OF Homsr's
s.Odyssey." H.yants translation.
II ~ an interesting coincidence thar
Thomas Bracket Reed. who has gone 70
praci.cInx law after devcfing most Of his
lIfa TO tho public service. thus following
Conki,ng's footsteps, IL also able to fecife
Horace at great length. M. Heed has
menaor.zed long stretches OF the odes. In
translation az well as In the original His
liking for them has led ia his making .
collection o. transactions In English and
French. When he has for an auditor an
enthusiastic aduirer Of Horace who under
stands Latin ne delights to quote various
versions OF special passages by the half
hour sometimes commenting thereon In a
way that shows complete mastery or the
subject. Reed = memorizng II not confin-
ed to tho old-tinis classics either: he
knows the work OF some Of our native
poets. ard delights In nothing more than In
recitirg such bits "a the production by
"Ironauiil.' beginning:
''Ouce n Kansas zephyr esrnyed
Where a brass-eyed bird pup played"
Besides he memories prose with remark
able facility and almost without effort.
Thus he can rccite long passages from
Dickens and Thackeray. especially the
latter. To hear him repeat the passages
descriptive OF the meeting between Lord
steyae ard Rawtlon Crawley. in Vanity
Fai-," IL said 10 be as good as to see the
drama lied version enacted.
The late Edwin NJ. stanton. President
Lincoin's secretary Of war. astonishsd
Charles Dickens at a dinner party given TO
the novelist at Charles Summers houss by
recfting on suggestion. chapter after chap
ter of his works. IL didn't matt.r what
chapter OF what story the author called for
Stanton cosiid give the text froEl memory.
almost letter perfect. In answer 10 the
amazst Enyiishman's query. the wa- sec
retaiy said b, had done the memorizinS
aimcet TN consciously. While the war waI
forget for mosien. the heavy burdec he
WAS hearie.. arr had iish,ened the pref
sure regularly ut night by reading some
thing from Dickens before trying 10 sleep.
One night. rot having volume of Dickens
handy, he hid sought II recall a few ran
dom passages, whe,. 20 his delight. chap
ter after chapter came 10 him.
Con srning Mr.. Reed. II may be added
that though he can memorizc literary
gems without effort he is incapable OK
rem snlhering the correct spelling OF words.
Newspaper Ne was horcifiel on seeing the
Journal. for the editor had caused n part
of the manuscript 10 he engraved and
rad printed fac-simile Of the first page
Reeds fear tina, he had missp@llesi n lot
OF worda was acute and he didn't breathe
easily tn friend had gone over the fac
simile carefully and found ne errors
Entirely different from the memory ,ha.
assitnllsses literature Is that which stores
Tiideu had such a memory, and his Use
OF II ON ono occasion was heraided far
and wide In the newspapers II was Mt
Horace Greeiey's funeral Greeley and
1iiden were defeated candidates for the
presidency. and this moved Tilien to
speak ~ the circumstances attending
the death Of the presidents BEGINNING
with ashifg,on's. he gave the dat., Of
each with all the accompanying inci-
dents
Mr TsIleus chronological memory was
not marker. though. IN thar ~ Daniel
Mccartney Hts memory reached us fun
power when ~ WAS about rs and lasted
I'll his death at -. He could tell what
happened "a him ou any given slav NJ the
entire lapsed period of ffty-faur wears
He remembered what the weather h.a
been. what he had esten at each meal
and many other things most ~ ux forget
F7tatEfHtNfN CONSUMING ais own personal
life roOld nef ~ verified ef course hnt
other statements could Tie cotlt saff
what dav - the week any given date Ia
ans Near feli or Vet Mccartney ,xhaae
mathematical paWcrs were =. phenomenal
as hsa nltnAors. VIVA not success sn ltfe
The most Important work he Aver was
able 10 IL ~as 90 'urn hand g,reRp q, a
New England caWafrN uewsgsay..r ofsen
lie couldnt read even thrsfsh that was
mainly herau@e ~ sirfs. tfrs. svrsg,.h,
Almost 80 wWndsefu as Ncteavtnsx.-s
chrauoa git0i lnespory wa< tfaf Of N~S
Susan bFaaN, - Richmond Ira Al ss
she VAS able e. give tNe weather ae,a,ts
81 every year f0r rsora than hale cen
tury. besides maGy either circumstances
Her statements were fat3ad 20 he correct
hy reference a. new spsFeF Hfex truifkn
McCartusv. Mrs. nrady WAS clever "a
many ways, but generally the person ~lth
che phenomenal Chronological. memory
has no special ability sfenw atAe~ lines
II has been said ~ exclamation ~ tal~
thAs tie person who dpe-As Sufficiently. sn
the past n charge his rYslis8 wish ia details
Is net Gs - coTe with tas present Thsx -
the view held IN hts period % greatest a.
tiyity ny the venerable sesa / blair. wSa