Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1902-10-18


COrso. the King was heartily slapped
on the back by a 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 re-
members me bein' at Ostend."
But this is not altogether an incO-
herent trait with the King. The i'm
planting Of memory was hobby, if
one may SO speak, of the late Queen
Victoria. 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
nearly verbatim as possible, the con-
versat ions in which he had taken a
part. ...
With his nephew, the Emperor OF
Germany. the same training in this
respect was pursued throughout child
hood and youth. The Kaisers memory
in Germany is held in reverential awe
To few. however. it is known that he
sometimes pulls through trying ordeals
by leaning strongly on his reputation.
Recently at large official dinner
given in Berlin by the medical staff il
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 a thing
it was thought required not only an i'm
mense amount of serious reading on the
subject of medicine, but most extra
ordinary memory. 1t was rather a
denouement. therefore. when a young
| physician, not willing to have his
thunder stolen, gave the fact out rather
broadly that twenty minutes before the
, dinner he had been summoned to the
ilaiser's presence, and had then giver
| in synopsis form every bit of the infor-
| ma ton that had been used during the
/ evening. Probably Thick aiser had
thought little before of any of the mer
present. and most assuredly had rea6
EOra Of their writings. Even so. it is
IN achievement of merit to Absorb
enough in twenty minutes to make one
au courrant of the labor and thought OF
years.
Lord Kitchener, another Englishmar
| of trained ard unerring memory, is un.
happily. more feared than loved by his
men, and partly on this account. De-
| lirauents especially, when awaiting his
| justice, are painfully aware that thu
details of every other trip-up in theil
career are as fresh in his memory as
the day they occurred. 1t is said OF
him that he kOnws net how to forget.
James g. Blaine had, perhaps, as re-
markable a memory as any one born
under the stars and stripes. and it was
one which he was fond of saying "came
with him." BY this he meant that il
had no such rigorous training as tina,
of King Edward VII. But he. too. was
always glad to acknowledge his many
debts of gratitude to this source.
ThurlOw Weed made it practice to
repeat to his wife at night in sequences
every incident of the day. So alive to
impressions was mis- intelligence, and
so careful his description of them, that
the task would customarily take him
from half to lthree-quarters of an hour.
Another man who scorned above
most things notebook or memoran-
dun was Roscoe Conkling. To carry
sucn thing he regarded as an indig-
nifty, and loud We're his anathemas
against his countrymen that they al
lowed the custom to increase among
them Teach children to remember
was his favorite maxim.
OF chief officials of The United States.
President Tyler had undoubtedly the
most exact and besttrained memory
Besides being of inestimabie service 10
his country through a trying time, it
gave him much pleasure. As he lay in
his bed at night. and before sleep visit
ed his eyes. he would calm his mind by
repeating to himself such loved poems
as The Lady of the Lake" or. again,
chapter after chapter of sacred writ
ings. After once hearing a long poem
reai he could repeat it perfectly. Nor
was this only transient ability.
One New York woman of note there
was who deserves mention among this
group of unusual memories. The refer
ence is to Mrs. Livingston, one of the
founders and for a long time director
of the Ole orphan asylum. Without the
slightest. effort she could call the 300
children there sheltered by name. and
remembered as well the individual
history of each one. Also she had Presi-
dent Tyler's gift of being able to re-
peat after once reading any list of
names or q long Washington
Star.