Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1902-10-08
MEMORY'S FREAKS.


Famous Men Who Trained Their
| Minds Early.
| To possess an excellent memory
proves sometimes as goodly an heritage
as a fortune The one may be lost in
spite of care, while the other, If pro-
perly regarded, will continue to aid and
abet a man throughout his existence.
The feasibleness of cultivating good
memory, if merely as an act of policy,
is we'll eXemplified by several notable
men who have lived in the public gaze.
| King Edward VII would, If ap-
preached on the subject, doubtless lay
good portion of his popularity with
the masses at the door of his wonderful
memory. Hardly Is 1t believed that an
other could be found to match 1t in the
present day. The king never forgets a
face, nor a man and both he associates
| in his mind with some connecting place
or incident. Whoever is presented to
him, no matter how great, or how hum
BILE a parsonage, or under what crowd
ed changing surroundings, he has 1t IN
his power to recall years afterwards
and to relate the circumstances attend
| ing the presentation. Many of his sub
iects have amusing stories to tell Of
their surprise, amounting almost to ter
ror, at times when as Prince Of Wales,
he would suddenly turn amid some tu-
multuous throng and call one of num-
ber by name. Not to feel flattered at
such a mark of favor would be more
than human, and as surely as the deed
was done the king added to his follow
ing.
Once when passing incognito through
Rome under the name of Mr.. Smith, and
sitting in a restaurant on the Corso,
the king was heartily slapped on the
back by waiter who at the same time
gave vent to the remark: BLESS me,
man; you're the only soul that's put
foot in this place who remembers me
bein' at Ostend."
But this is not altogether an incohe-
| rent trait with the king. The implant-
| ing Of memory was a hobby, If one
may so speak, Of the late Queen Vic
toria. In his boyhood the king was
made to repeat to his tutor every night
| before going to bed the names of the
people he had met during the day, the
circumstances under which he had met
them, and made also to repeat, as near
ly verbatum as possible, the conversa-
tions in which he had taken part.
With his nephew, the emperor of
| Germany, the same training in this res
pect was pursued throughout childhood
and youth. The kaiser's memory in
| Germany is held in reverential awe.
| To a few, however, it Is known that he
sometimes pulls through trying ordeals
by leaning strongly on his reputation.
Recently at a large official dinner
given in Berlin by the medical staff, 1t
was favorably remarked that the kaiser
spoke with all those present .on the
particular branches of medicine in
which they were respectively inter-
ested. With each man he discussed his
writings and pet theories. dwelling al
ways on the point that marked him
from his brothers. To do such thing
it was thought required not only an
immense amount of serious reading on
the subject of medicine, but a most ex-
traordinary memory. 1t was rather
denoument therefore, when a young
physician, not willing to have his thun-
der stolen, gave the fact out rather
broadly that 20 minutes before the din
ner he had been summoned to the kali
ser's presence, and had then given in
synopsis form every bit of the informa-
evening. Probably, the kaiser had
thought little before of any Of the men
present, and most aSsuredly had read
none of their writings. Even so it is an
achievement of merit to make one au
courrant of the labor and thought of
years.
Lord Kitchener, another Englishman
of trained and unerring memory, is un-
happily more feared than loved by his
men, and partly on this account. De-
linquents especially when awaiting his
justice are painfully aware that the de-
tails of every other trip-up in their
career are fresh in his memory as the
day they occurred. 1t is said Of him he
knows not how to forget.
James G. Blaine had perhaps, as re-
markable memory as anyone born un-