Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1900-12-27
FAMOUS MEMS MEMORIES.
Politicians Great on Names and Faces
-Stanton's Recitations.

Politicians Great on Names and Faces
-Stanton's Recitations.
Retentive memory is to be priced
| above rubies, yet many men have
achieved phenomenal success in
spite of memories abnormally
poor-at least. in some direc,
tions. The late DR.. McCosh of Prince
ton must have had memory
highly cultivated in some way
but for the life of him
he couldn't remember faces. and
on numberlesS occasions he caused no
end of modification to himself and
others by failure to recognize persons
with whom he had been on terms of
close intimacy for years. 1t has been
said of the good doctor that his in
ability to remember names and faces
would have prevented him from max
ing a success in political life, but that
doesn't follow. Many public men
have possessed almost perfect mem.
DRY of names and faces, and this was
true of James G. Blaine. but other
prominent men have managed to get
along pretty we'll without that faculty
Conkling, for instance, forgot names
and faces often. He had a wonderful
memory, though, as his opponents
often discovered when, speaking pub
licly, he recalled utterances of theirs
they would fain forget. Nor was his
memory confined to political matters.
1t was stored abundantly with poetry,
not fragmentary lines of brief stanzas,
but entire epics, page by page. He
could repeat nearly the whole of
Moore's 'Lalla Rookh'' and Scott S
Lady of the Lake" These were
his favorite poems. but the odes of
fForace, in the original, were almost
equally familiar to him. and he often
amazed his few intimates by reciting
the Latin poets lines by the hundred,
with perfect intonation and superb
| elocution, while he knew by heart the
first book of Homer's odyssey"
Bryant's translation.
1t is an interesting coincidence that
Thomas Bracket Reed, who has gone
to practicing law in this city, after
devOting most of his life to the public
service, thus following Conkling's
footsteps, is also able to recite Horace
at great length. Mr. Reed has mem
orized long stretches of the odes, in
translation as we'll as in the original
His liking for them has led to his
making a collection OF translations in
English and French. When he has
for an auditor an enthusiastic admirer
of Horace. who understands Latin, he
delights to quote various versions of
special passages by the half-hour,
sometimes commenting thereon in a
way that shows complete mastery of
the subject. Reeds memorizing is
not confined to the old-time classics
either; he knows the work of some of
our native poets, and delights in moth
ing more than reciting such bits as
the production by "Ironquill," begin
ning:-
Once a Kansas zephyr strayed
Where brass-eyed bird pup played
Besides, he memories prose with
remarkable facility, and almost with
out effort. Thus he can recite long
passages from Dickens and Thack-
cray, especially the latter, To hear
his repeat the passage descriptive Of
the meeting between Lord Steyn and
Rawdon Crawley in Vanity Fair" is
said to be as good as to see the
dramatiZed version enacted. The late
Edwin M. Stanton. President Lincoln S
secretary of war, astonished Charles
Dickens at dinner party given to the
novelist at Charles Summers house by
reciting, on suggestion, chapter after
chapter of his works. 1t didn't matter
what chapter of what story the author
| called for, Stanton could give the text
from memory, almost letter perfect.
In answer to the amazed Englishman's
query, the war secretary said he mad
done the memory almost uncon-
sciously. While the war was on he
had found it almost impossible to for
get for moment the heavy burden he
was bearing, and had Iightened the
pressure regularly at night by reading
something from Dickens before trying
to sleep. One night, not having a
volume Of Dickens handy, he had
sought to recall a few random pas,
sages, when, to his delight, chapter
| after chapter came to him.
Concerning Mr.. Reed, it may be
| added that though he can memorize
literary gems without effort. he is in.
capable of remembering the correct
spelling of words. Having written an
article for certain newspaper, he
was Mortified on seeing the journal
for the editor had caused a part Of the
manuscript to be engraved, and had
printed a fac-simile on the first page
Reeds fear that he had misspeIled {
| lot OF words was acute, and he didn't
breathe easily till a friend had gone
over the facsimile carefully and fount
no errors.
Entirely different from the memory
that assimilates literature is thai
which stores away chronological facts