The daily telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1901-1926, 1905-01-31
MARYElS OF MEMORY
ZONE REMARKABLE INSTANCES o.
THE POWER OF RECOLLECTION


Gift of Retention Brought Dismay
20 yoltaire-A Reporter Who DId
aot Have 10 Take Notes.
Extraordinary memories have nj.
tracted the attention of men in M
ages, and in these days a man with a
retentive memory is considered to be
more or less gifted.
Some good instances Of remarkable
memories are 10 be gathered from this
records OF Greece mud Rome. Themls.
tocles, a famous Greek general, is said
to have known every citizen in Athens.
No doubt Ohio, the Roman emperor.
owed much of his success to remark.
able memory. He learned the name Of
every soldier and officer in his army,
and this, among other things. rendered
him so popular that be was at length
acclaimed emperor.
Hortensius. tile Roman orator, Is said
to have been able, after sitting whole
day at public sale, to give an &c.
count from memory of all things soia.
with the prices and names of the pur.
chasers.
Coming TO later times, the following
anecdote affords an instance Of won
derful powers of memory: An Eng
iishman went TO Frederick the Great
of Prussia for the express purpose OF
giving him an exhibition OF his powers
of recollection. Frederick sent for Vol
taire, who was then residing at the
Prussian court. At the kings request
Voltaire read a long poem which he
had just composed. The Englishman
was present and was in such position
that he cou.d hear every word of the
poem, though lie was concealed from
Voltaire's notice After the reading OF
the poem Frederick observed to the au-
thor that the production could not be
an original one. as there was foreign
gentleman present who could recite
every word of II. yoltaire listened In
umazement to the stranger as he re.
peated. word for word, the poem which
be had been at so much pains in com.
posing, and, giving way TO momen.
tary outbreak Of passion, he tore the
manuscript in pieces. He was then in
formed how the Engllshman had be.
rome acquainted with his poem, and
his anger being nppeased he was will,
Ing to do penance by copying down the
work from the second repetition of the
stranger. who was able TO go through
It as before.
There lived in the sixteenth century
at Padua a Inv student who had train
ed his memory 10 such A high degree
Of perfection that he ,ould recite 49,.
600 words after once hearing mem
read.
Jededlah Buxton, an illlterate per
son of the eighteenth century, used to
put his memory to curious use. On
one occasion he mentioned the quaint
~ of ale he had drunk free of cost
since he was twelve years old and the
names of the gentlemen who had given
1t to him. Tho whole amounted to
Big plnts.
As again showing that retentlve gifts
were not found In the educated alone,
there is notable instance Of Blind
jamie who lived some years ago in
Stirling. He was a poor, uncduoated
man and totally blind, yet he could
actually repeat after few minutes
consideration any verse required from
any part of the Bible, even the obscnr-
est and least important.
An instance Of n wager being won
by feat of memory was that Of
person who repeated. an entire newspa.
per, advertisements as well, after q
single reading
The power Of retaining events has
sometimes been manifest in a marked
degree. laboring man named Nc
CARNEY, at fifty-four years OF age.
claimed that he could recollect the
events of every day for forty years.
A test was made by well known
public man who had kept a written
record for forty-five years. The mans
statement was fully corroborated-in.
deed, so accurate was bis recollection
that he could recall without apparent
effort the state OF the weather ON any
given day during those forty years.
Another instance Of wager being
won by feat of recollection was that
of Mr.. Futter, who several years ago
was well known 1.-THE collector in
Norfolk. He wagered that he could
recollect every word Of sermon that
was TO be preached and afterward
write 1t out verbatim. He was not seen
to take notes and at the close OF the
sermon retired to room and wrote out
the sermon. on comparison with the
manuscript, which the preacher hae
been asked to bring for the purpose, Il
was found to vary In one instance
only, where synonym had been used,
nut in that Mr.. Futter was proved to
be correct. for the clergyman had 3
distinct recollection of substituting one
word for the other in his delivery.
When reporting was forbidden in the
houses Of parliament and any one seen
TO make notes was Immediately eject.
ed the speeches, nevertheless, werc
published in the public press. 1t was
discovered that one woodfall used to
be present in the gallery during the
speeches aud, sitting with his head be
tween his hands, actually committed
the speeches TO memory. They were
afterward published.
Lord Macaulay had marvellous IA.
cility for remembering what he read