The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1901-08-05
WORDS WE SWALLOW
ON THE TIP or THE TONGUE, YET WE
CAN'T oET THEM OUT.

Tht- Hitch In The working of the
nrain u CaIicd Aphasin In the
Medical Profession a Tricl. the
Chinnmnn Uscs For the Emergency.
Everybody knows what 81 is TO have
word on the tip Of the tongue and yet
not be able TO speak IT, TIE word is
known perfectly wcll, and yet we can
not for the lllc Of ms give It uttcrancc.
More often than not IL Is common
word IN everyday use. But 1t will not
be spoken when wanted. What Is the
secret Of this WORD forgetfulnessr
Doctors call Il aphasia. They cannot
explain a. but say ii is little hitch In
the working OF the brain or intellect.
Tho Chinese, who have done so many
quaint and clover things, recognized
the difficulty thousands OF years ago
and invented a very ingenious way Of
making the best Of things.
They manufactured a number of
words and sentences that meant abso-
iutely nothing mere sound without
sense. when a Chinaman in the course
OF conversation comes 10 word that
he has on the tip OF bis tongue, but can
not speak. he just makes use Of the
meaningless phrases invented for that
purpose until be recalls the word he
wants and goes on With the conyersa-
tion.
The trick. for trick Il Is, Is much In
use In public speaking and certainly is
an Improvement on the "or-er-crs"
coughings and throat clCarings that so
plentifully hcsprInklc our own after
dinner oratlous. The speaker preserves
his dignity and gives himself time for
thought
Very often the greater the desire 10
speak the missing word the greater the
difficulty or sheer impossibility The
man In the Arabian story could not re-
member the words "Opon sesame" al
though he was IN danger OF his lfc.
There are many eases on record OF sol.
dicrs, even officers forgetting the pass.
word ana being shot down by their
own scnirlcs. At the critical moment
the all Important word that they
thought they knew 0s wcll as heir own
names escapes them They struggle 90
recall lt but the very effort makes %
more difficult and they pay With their
lives
A man may sometimes Doc tortured
and yet hc unable Co speak the word hc
most desires 90 utter Spies have been
captured and have gone tO their death
IN silence not because they have not
been eager 20 hctray their comrades.
hut because under the stress and ex-
citemcut OF the situation they have to-
tally forgotten the information they
would convey 4 celebrated case Of this
Kind was made the subject Of a play
produced In London some years ago.
called ~ Question OF Memory"
No doubt every reader viii be able to
recall Instances IN which he has suf-
fered from this "word forgetfulncss."
One can often remember the initial let
Ter Of the word. but not the word itself.
IL Is still on the tip Of the tongue. even
after one has given up the struggle 10
recollect IT,
Actors sometimes forget word or
two In their parts that no effort OF their
own can give back TO them at the mo-
ment. But the wings reached and the
HihAA AAlllNNNn AllNN Nlt hElln lAAllAlf-
alately word perfect and at n loss TO
explain their forgctfuluess. a whole
part Is sometimes forgotten. This usu-
ally happens after very long run.
During the run Of THE Second Mrs.
Tanqueray" Mrs Patrick Campbell one
night found herself on the stage ns in
DOcent OF any knowledge OF her part as
any member Of the audience. She made
desperate efforts TO "Gnd herself" but
Ind TO read the part through from be-
ginning to end.
Names OF people are the words that
slip our memories most frequently. We
see face we know, and yet we cannot
8t name TO IT, We are shaken by the
hand or slapped on the back. and all
che while we are hard AZ work trying
30 think Of the name Of the person who
ks doing It. Kings are credited with
royal memories. and II Is rare TO find q
sovereign who has not wonderful
memory for faces. But he usually has
some one at his elbow who can Jog his
memory for names
ID Is not always safe 70 fish for 9
ssme wanted When Ellen Terry ant
Henry Irving were I'm America on,
year. they met n gentleman who, they
knew. had reason 20 expect that they
could remember his name. But thli
they fHiled 30 do, SO Miss Terry ap
preached hin and said: "Sir Henry anC
I cannot agree as TO the exact spelling
Of your name. VIII you please put Vi
TightT "Cer,alnly," was the reply. 81
Is J-o-n.e-sw
Aphasia is divided by those who hay,
studied the subject into "word blind
ness" and sword deafness" A maj
who is "word blind" may be able {,
pronounce the name OF letters. but can
not understand the meanings Of th
words they form A man who Is "wor,
aear' can understand ordinary sound
and music, but cantot understand spo
ken words, His speech is often mer