Western liberal. (Lordsburg, N.M.) 1887-1919, 1899-06-16
FREAKS OF MEMORY.
QUEER PRANKs FOR WHICH THERE
IS NO ACCOUNTING.

some Instances of the singular Eff
fects Produced Upon the Mind by
Casing Steadily ut a Crystal-EcOr.
gotten Incidents Recalled.
The queer freaks Of memory are n
constant puzzle to those who study
psychical phenomena Who has not
been driven to the verge Of distraction
by the total inability to recall q name
when an effort was made to do so and
when the occasion for such remem-
branco was past had the missing name
fash into the mind apparently of its
own volitionf
Great minds have wrestled to find an
explanation for the pranks that memory
plays and have had to give up the
effort. In the course of u systematic at
tempt 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
fessional persons, 151 being men and
40 being women. The answers are here
given with the questions
Question 1.-When you cannot recall
name you want. does it seem to come
back spontaneously without being sug-
gested by any perceived association of
ideasH To this IL per cent answered
mo" and 81 per cent Eyes.
Question 2.-Does such recovery ever
come during sleepI To this II per cent
answered mo" and % per cent "Yes
Some examples given:
1. This morning tried to recall the
name Of character had read of the
night before In one Of SCOTS novels and
failed l taught class, and walking
home in the afternoon all the names re-
CURED to me without effort
2. tried to recall the name of
book Gave it up Half an hour later
while talking of something else, blurted
it out without conscious volition
Question 3.-On seeing sight or
hearing q sound for the first time. have
you ever felt that you had seen (or
heard) the same beforeH Fifty-nine per
cent answered "Y es
Tho action of unconscious memory
during sleep is illustrated by further
queries
Question 4.-Do you dream2 Ninety
four per cent answered Eyes.
Question 5.-Can you wake at given
hour determined before going 10 sleep
without waking up many times before
Fifty mine per cent answered "Yes.
Thirty-one per cent answered 'No."
Question 6.-f you can. how about
failuret Sixty-nine per cent seldom
failed; 25 per cent often
Question T. DO you come direct from
oblivion into consciousness Sixty-four
per cent answered "Ycs'' and 10 per
cent Gradually.
Examples
had to give medicine every two
hours exactly to my wife. am a very
sound sleeper. but for six weeks woke
up every two hours and never missed
giving the medicine.
2. am always awake FIVE miuuteS
before the hour set the alarm
g. / had had little sleep for ten days
and went to bed at 8, asking TO be
called at midnight l fell asleep at
once rose and dressed rs the clock
stuck 10. and could not believe had
not been called
A strange phenomenon has come TO
light in the course of the inquiry into
the mystery Of momory 1t has been
discovered that by gazing steadily at =
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 q few in
stances. a lady in crystal gazing saw a
bit of dark wall covered with white
flowers. She was conscious she must
have soen 1t somewhere. but had no
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 II was the
number of the account
At another time she destroyed let
ter without noting the address. She
could only remember the town. After
gazing ct tho crystal some time she
saw 1891 jefferson avenue She ad-
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 q footstool
II was this her feet were seeking
Psychical research brings to light
many cases Of similar strange tricks Of
memory. 1t is easy to find instances
that serve to- deepen the mystery. 1t is
not SO easy to give an explanation. The