Smyrna times., 1899-02-22
FREAKS OF MEMORY.
QUEER FRANKS FOR WHICH THERE
is NO ACCOUNTING.

Some Instances of the Singular Eff
fects Produced Upon the Mind by
Gazing Steadily at u CrystaI-For-
gotten Incidents Recalled.
The queer freaks of memory are a
constant puzzle to those who study
"sychical phenomena. Who has not
zen driven to the verge of distraction
) the total inability to recall name
"hcn an effort was made to do so and
0hen the occasion for such remem-
rance was past had the missing name
lash into the mind apparently of its
own volition?
Great minds have wrestled to find an
'yrlanatiOn for the pranks that memory
lays and have had to give up the
Hort In the course of a systematic at
!. lnpt to arrive at some understanding
with regard to the wonders of memory
very valuable and unique body of
testimony has been obtained The fol-
lowing questions have been put to 200
American university students and pro
ieSSional persons, 151 being men and
- being women. The answers are here
given with the questions
Question When you cannot recall
Il name you want. does it seem to come
back spontaneously without being sug-
gested by any perceived association of
IdeasY To this IL per cent answered
No and 81 per cent ''Yes.
Question 2.-Does such recovery ever
come during sleep? To this II per cent
answered mo" and % per cent Eyes. "
Some examples given
This morning / tried to recall the
name of a character l had read of the
night before in one of Scott s novels and
failed | taught a class, and walking
home in the afternoon all the names re-
CURED to me without effort
2. | tried to recall the name of a
book Gave it up Half an hour later,
while talking of something else. blurted
1t out without conscious volition.
Question 3.-On seeing a sight or
hearing a sound for the first time, have
you ever felt that you had seen (or
heard) the same before2 Fifty-nine per
cent answered Eyes. -
The action of unconscious memory
during sleep is illustrated by further
queries
Question 4.-Do you dreamP Ninety
four per cent answered Eyes
Question 5.-Can you wake at given
hour determined before going to sleep
without waking up many times before
tlfty-nine per cent answered Eyes.
Thirty-one per cent answered ''No."
Question eff you can, how about
failureP Sixty-nine per cent seldom
failed; % per cent often.
Question do you come direct from
oblivion into consciousnessP Sixty-four
per cent answered Eyes" and 16 per
cent Gradually"
Examples.
l. l had to give medicine every two
hours exactly to my wife. l am very
sound sleeper, but for six weeks l woke
up every two hours and never missed
giving the medicine.
2. am always awake five minutes
before the hour set the alarm.
3. had had little sleep for ten days
and went to bed at 8, asking to be
called at midnight l fell asleep al
once. rose and dressed as the clock
stuck 12, and could not believe I had
not been called
A strange phenomenon has come to
light in the course of the inquiry into
the mystery of memory 1t has been
discovered that by gazing steadily at q
crystal consciousness is partly lost. In
to the void thus produced those who
have practiced crystal gazing find that
there enter unbidden forgotten incidents
and lost memories. To give few in
stances A lady in crystal gazing saw a
bit of dark wall covered with white
flowers. She was conscious she must
have seen it somewhere, but had nc
recollection where. She walked over the
ground she had just traversed and
found the wall, which she had passed
unnoticed
She took out her handbook another
day Shortly afterward she was gazing
at the crystal and saw nothing but the
number one She thought it was some
hack number, but, taking up the bank
book, found to her surprise it was the
number of the account
At another time she destroyed a let
ter without noting the address She
could only remember the town. After
gazing at the crystal some time she
saw 1891 Jefferson avenue" She adj
dressed the letter there, adding the
town, and found it was right
A lady sat in room to write where
she had sat eight years before. She felt
her feet moving restlessly under the ta-
bic and then remembered that eight
years before she always had a footstool
1t was this her feet were seeking.
Psychical research brings to light
many cases Of similar strange tricks of
memory. l is easy to find instances
that serve to deepen the mystery. 1t il
not so easy give an explanation. Thu
cleverest m. who have attempted to
do so have had to admit defeat. Wash
ington Post
| The Women of Belgium.