LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 3T8T Shelf., H-3 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. A -^_- Perfect Memory; HOW TO ATTAIN IT. COMPRISING THE PRACTICAL POINTS OF NUMEROUS MEMORY SYSTEMS; WITH VALUABLE HINTS FOR STRENGTHENING AND CON- FIRMING THE MEMORY. COMPILED BY CHARLES HARTLEY. AMERICAN EDITION, REVISED AND ENLARGED. By JOHN A. SHEDD, AUTHOB OF "SHEDD'S NATUBAL MEMORY METHOD" Copyrighted, 1S80. New Yobk : ^ Ql < THE TEACHERS' PUBLISHING COMPANY, No. 6 Clinton Place. 1889. ft\ 7 Ou PREFACE. The great interest manifested in the training of memory, together with the lack of a popular hand-book upon the subject, are the reasons for the publication of this little work. To arouse curiosity, awaken interest, and thus secure at- tention, are important means toward the acquirement of a good memory. These will be found to be the principal means employed in the various ingenious devices which have been invented to aid the memory, a few of which this work describes. From the suggestions which this work offers, the ingenious teacher can devise many interesting exercises, combining recreation with information. But one phase of the subject is here presented ; it is in- tended to supplement, not to supplant, other works ; it does not teach mental philosophy, yet no teacher should expect to be successful unless first fully conversant with the funda- mental, physical, and mental principles of memory. J, A. Shkdd. New York, Sept. 1889. CHAPTER I. THE MEMORY. Memory is the power of retaining impressions made through the senses, and of re- viving them afterwards without the origi- Memoryi nals, and by mental forces alone. We are said to remember anything when the idea of it arises in the mind, with a consciousness, at the same time, that we have had this idea before. Our memory is our natural power of retaining what we learn, and of recalling it on every occasion. The memory is the foundation and store-house of all knowledge. There is a distinction between remembering and recollecting, which, though not always ob- served in conversation, it is yet worth while to notice. The ideas that are re- R emem- membered either come into the mind without any effort on the part of the per- tion son remembering, or with such effort. In the first case the person is more properly said to remember; in the second to recollect. The effort of recollection may be generally described as con- sisting in seeking out for different ideas which are THE MEMORY likely to recall, by any of the ordinary modes oi association, the desired idea. "We are" writes a distinguished American scholar, " in too great danger of neglecting the memory. It is too valuable to be neg- vaiue of a lected, for by it wonders are sometimes good mem- accomplished. He who has a memory ory * that can seize with an iron grasp, and re- tain what Jie reads (the ideas simply, with- out the language) and a judgment to compare and balance, will scarcely fail of being distinguished. Many are afraid of strengthening the memory, lest it should destroy their inducement and power to originate ideas — lest the light should be altogether borrowed light. The danger does not seem tome to be very great: especially since I have noticed, that those who are so fearful of employing this faculty are by no means to be envied for their originality. If, then, there is not so much of originality in men and in books as you at first suppose, it follows, t hat memory is th e grand instrument of conveying knowledge from one man to another. Its cultivation is of the highest importance." Various arts and devices have been propounded from time to time for aiding our recollection in the various kinds of knowledge, for even the strongest memory often cannot preserve a clear arrange- ment and remembrance of all its stores, but a very great part of them falls into confusion, and then, with many, into oblivion. Mnemonics (pronounced ne-mon-icks, and de- THE MEMORY rived from the Greek mrfeme, memory), or the art of memory, is the name of the science which shows how the memory may be Sc i e nceof assisted. It has puzzled the talent Mnemonics, of man for ages to improve this great and most important faculty. It is said of Thot, King of Egypt, that when he heard of the in- vention of writing, he disapproved of it, because he said It would weaken the natural force of mem- ory, and he was doubtless right; but, then, it more than supplies the loss which it occasions by the immense amount and variety of the knowledge which it stores up. That very amount and variety, however, has now become, by the invention of printing, very perplexing, and it is more than ever necessary to help and strengthen the memory, in order to make good use of the accumulated knowl- edge of past generations, as well as of the fresh discoveries of the present time. The truth is, people do not exercise their mem- ories as they exercise their limbs in sports, or in their various trades and crafts. No system of artificial memory will en- ^ e e ^g e able a speaker or hearer to recol- lect a long discourse without some difficulty, or to master the principles or rules of a science without some study and application; but mne- monics are useful to an extent — chiefly for dates, and some other matters involving figures. A memory carefully developed, skilfully trained and improved, and strengthened by regular exer- cise, is most useful and valuable for all branches of THE MEMORY learning and the business of common life. The great point is to improve and strengthen the natu- ral memory, and, at the same time, to use all the practical helps of which we can avail ourselves. Many persons consider the machinery of most memory systems as difficult to acquire, to remem- ber, and to practice, when required, especially on the spur of the moment, as to fix the matter in the memory by sheer force of repetition. It is, in fact, learning two things instead of one. But it will be interesting, as it is desirable also, to give the reader a brief account of the supposed origin of the art and of the chief systems. *^p»£)£^* CHAPTER II. ORIGIN OF MNEMONICS. The original inventor of Mnemonics was the Greek poet Simonides, who lived in the fifth cen- tury before Christ. At a feast he recited simonides a poem in honor of Scopas, victor in the Greek « wrestling at the Olympic games, who gave the entertainment ; but having digressed in praise of Castor and Pollux, his patron would pay only half the sum promised, saying he must get the other part from those deities who had an equal share in his performance. Immediately after, Simonides was told that two young men on white horses must needs speak with him. He had scarce got out of the house when the room fell down ; all the per- sons in it were killed, and their bodies so mangled that they could not be known one from the other, upon which Simonides, recollecting the place where every one had sat, by that means distinguished them. Hence it came to be observed, that to fix a number of places in the mind, in a certain order, was a help to the memory. This action of Simon- ides was afterwards improved into an art. ORIGIN OF MNEMONICS As described by Quintilian, it is in substance as follows : You choose a very spacious and diversely Topical arranged place, or a large house, for in- Memory. stance, divided into several apartments. You impress on the mind, with care, whatever is remarkable in it ; so that the mind may run through all the parts without hesitation and delay. Then, if you have to remember a series of ideas, you place the first in the hall, the second in the parlor, and so on with the rest, going over the windows, the cham- bers, to the statues and several objects. Then, when you wish to recall the succession, you com- mence going over the house in the order fixed, and in connection with each apartment, you will find the idea that you attached to it. The principal of the method is, that it is more easy for the mind to asso- ciate a thought with a well-known place, than to associate the same thought with the next thought, without any medium whatever. Many images of living creatures, or any other sensible objects, most likely to be soonest revived in the memory, were to be impressed on the mind. These, like hieroglyphics, were to stand to de- note an equal number of other words, not otherwise so easily to be remembered. When, therefore, a number of things were to be remembered in a cer- tain order, these images were to be placed regu- larly in the several parts of the building ; and thus, by going over those parts, the images placed in them would be revived in the mind ; which would give the things, or words themselves, in the desired order. The advantage of the images were supposed ORIGIN OF MNEMONICS to be, that, as they were more likely to affect the imagination than the words, they would be more easily remembered — an anchor representing navi- gation, a lion strength, &c. The Grecian orators also made use of the statues, paintings, ornaments, and other external circumstances, of the places where they harangued, for reviving, in progressive order, the topics and matter of their orations. But in what manner all this was done is not fully or clearly known, from the imperfect explanations of the art which have been transmitted to us by the ancient writers. It is named the topical, or locality memory, from the employment of known places as the medium of recollection ; and in allusion to it, we still call the parts of a discourse places or topics, and say, in the first place, in the second place, &c. Quintilian himself speaks of the method as a la- borious acquirement, and says he will not deny it to be of some use ; for instance, in repeating a mul- titude of words in the order they occur, and in things of this nature ; but he thinks it of less use in getting by heart a continued oration, and in this respect rather an incumbrance. The art appears to have lain dormant in after ages, till Raimond Lulle, about the close of the Thirteenth Century, brought it once more i^terin- into notice, and it became known as ventor s. " Lulle's art." Since then it has been taught or written upon by Marsilius-Ficinus, Grataroli, Bruschius, Muretus, Schenkel, Martin-Sommer, Winckel Mauro, Horstius, Johnston, Willis, Mor- hof, D'Assigny, Paschius, Grey, Gebelin, Feinaigle, 8 ORIGIN OF MNEMONICS Kliiber, Aretin, Knott, Aime Paris, Otto, Gouraud, Pick, and others. Some of these professors kept their systems strictly secret from the world. From this array of names of men distinguished for their learning or ingenuity, it will be seen how many efforts and how much labor and perseverance have been devoted to the development and im- provement of the art of artificial memory. Never- theless, it has not been generally adopted or prac- tised either by scholars or the public, which is sufficient proof that however wonderful are the dis- plays made by adepts in the art, by repeating backwards or forwards thousands of unconnected Greek, Latin, or barbarous words, long lists of fig- ures, and other brilliant feats, of no real use, such art is no v t practically useful, except for dates and certain statistics. CHAPTER III. EARLY SYSTEMS OF MNEMONICS. The representation of numbers by letters of the alphabet has been in practice, more or less, almost in every language. The only Hebrew thing wanting was to make that repre- Mnemonics - sentation further useful by substituting vowels as well as consonants for the numerical figures, in such manner and proportion that any number might be formed into a word capable of being artic- ulately pronounced, and consequently more per- fectly remembered. Amongst the Jews, indeed, of whose alphabet the vowels are no part, it was a practice to abbreviate sentences and names of many words by putting together the initial letters of those words, and making out of them an artificial word to express the whole, as Rambam for i?abbi A/bses Ben ^faimon ; Ralbag for /?abbi Zevi j5en Person. In this manner the Hebrew Grammarians teach their pupils to remember the letters which change their natural pronunciation by the inscription of a dagesh (a dot in the centre of a letter), by gather- ing these six letters, i?eth, ^imel, ^/aleth, <:aph, /e, and /hau, into the word Begadchepat ; and that they might not forget the letters n-amed Quiescent, IO EARLY SYSTEMS OF MNEMONICS ol silent, viz., A, A, v, and i, they are joined in the word — Ahevi. They also made use of natural words to represent numbers, when they could meet with such as hap- pened to answer the number they wanted to ex- press. We have several pieces of ingenuity of this kind in the frontispieces of their Bibles, where they give us the year of the edition in some word or sentence of Scripture, the letters of which, accord- ing to their numerical value, make up the date. Dr. Grey says: "Indeed, I am not certain whether I owe not to observations of this kind the first hint of this method. " Much labor has been spent on mnemonic de- r>r orey's y i ces f° r assisting in the recollection of "Memoria numbers, one of the hardest efforts of ecimca. memor y . f or mos t people have bad or indifferent memories for figures. The recollection of dates and numbers of statis- tics is often very serviceable. Dates are more easily remembered than ordinary figures uncon- nected with any event, but, nevertheless, most persons find them very difficult to remember. Everyone must be sensible of the very great diffi- culty which he has experienced in endeavoring to retain in his mind, in chronological arrangement, the details recorded in history ; and how almost impossible he has found it to preserve, for any length of time, the recollection of those details when the chronological arrangement had been forgotten. On the other hand, when the dates of various important events have been indelibly im- EARLY SYSTEMS OF MNEMONICS II pressed on the memory, it is found also that the mind easily recollects the train of circumstances connected with each of those events, and thus obtains and preserves an extensive stock of histor- ical knowledge. It is much easier to remember words than fig- ures, for the reason that words suggest pictures more or less striking, whereas figures do not. But figures can be translated into letters, and the numbers formed into words. The principal method for this purpose is to form the number into a word by assigning a letter for each of the ten ciphers. Dr. Grey published the first edition of "Memoria Technica ; or Method of Artificial Memory," in 1730. This system, upon which most systems have have been more or less based, did not profess to make the memory better, but things more easy to be remembered. The principal part of this method, which we give chiefly in the author's own words, is briefly this : To remember anything in history, chronology, geography, &c, a word is formed, the beginning whereof being the first syllable or syllables of the thing sought, does, by frequent repetition, of course, draw after it the latter part, which is so contrived as to give the answer. Thus, in history, the Deluge happened in the year before Christ two thousand three hundred and forty-eight. This is signified by the word Deletok, Del standing for Deluge, and etok for 2348. The first thing to be done is to learn exactly the following series of vowels and consonants, which 12 EARLY SYSTEMS OF MNEMONICS are to represent the numerical figures, so as to be able, at pleasure, to form a technical word, which shall stand for any number, or to resolve a word already formed into the number which it stands for: a e i o u au ol ci on y 123456 78 90 b d t f I s p k n z Here a and b stand for 1, e and d for 2, /and / is 3 and so on. Always] remember that the diphthongs are to be considered but as one letter, or rather, as represent- ing only one figure. Note also, that y is to be pronounced as w, for the more easily distinguishing it from t, as syd=6o2, pronounce swid, typ=^oy, pronounce twip. The reader will observe that the same date or number may be signified by different words, according as vowels or consonants are made choice of, to represent the figures, or to begin the words with, as, 325 tel, or tdu ; 154 buf, or bio, or alf, or alo ; 93. 451 ni-ola, or out-fub, or ni-fla, or out-olb. It is further to be observed that g, stands for hundred, th for thousand, and m for million. Thus ag will be 100, ig 300, oug 900, &c; ath 1,000, oth 4,000, otJio 4,004, &c. It is unnecessary in learning the dates of events which occurred A.D., to repeat the " thousand" as no one with a knowledge of modern history will be likely to make a mistake of a thousand years. The same observation will be applicable in many other cases, upon other subjects, EARLY SYSTEMS OF MNEMONICS 1 3 In remembering dates, and some other matters involving figures, the system will be found useful ; but in astronomy, physics, &c., where it is not so much required, the application of the system is less easy, and probably often liable to error in practice. Astronomers and other men of science, would not use any such helps, but would refer to their books and table*, and students should do the same. The whole art in effect is nothing more than this ; to make such a change in the ending of the name of a place, person, planet, coin, &c, without altering the beginning of it, as shall readily sug- gest the thing sought, at the same time that the begimiing of the word being preserved, shall be a leading or prompting syllable to the ending of it so changed. By exercising a little ingenuity, any one can join facts and figures together in this way, in the course of study, and by repetition afterwards, can fix many hundreds of such compound words in the memory. ILLUSTRATIONS OF GREY'S METHOD. Before Christ. Cyruts — Cyrus 536 Alexita — Alexander 331 ]u\ios — Julius Caesar 46 Founded their respective Monarchies. Maratlu?;^ — Battle of Marathon 490 Socrinn — Socrates died . . . . 399 Vlatok— Plato died .348 Romput — Building of Rome , 753 t4 EARLY SYSTEMS OF MNEMONICS Consu/zc?7t — Consuls first made. 509 Tribf out — Creation of the Tribunes . .493 Anno Domini. Willconsau — William the Conqueror 1066 ]ann — King John 1 199 Began their reigns. Ch^rlmeig — Charlemagne declared Emperor of the West 800 Gregor von Feinaigle, a German monk, invented a similar system, which he taught in various parts Feinaigic's of Europe, and finally published in 18 12 system, -phe chief part of his method seems to have been an elaborate arrangement of pictured objects united with that of Dr. Grey ; but, instead of forming a date-word upon Dr. Grey's principle— " the begin- ning whereof being the first syllable or syllables of the thing sought, and the latter part the date trans- lated from figures into letters" — Feinaigle's method is to make up a distinct word of the consonants which are only used in his system for figures, by the insertion of vowels or consonants not used, to represent the figures, regard being had to some connection with the subject that the number refers to. Thus, America having been discovered in I492, the letters /, r y p y h y standing for those figures in his arrangement, are made with the aid of vowels into " 7b R%.p\nt" because that discovery led to rapine by the first Spaniards. Feinaigle thus com- bined the topical method with the numerical-letter system of Dr. Grey. CHAPTER IV. LATER MEMORY METHODS The fundamental principles of Grey and Feinai- gle have been somewhat modified and simplified and with but few exceptions are used by w systems almost all teachers of memory including used now. some who have made so called " marvelous discov- eries." The following is probably as good an alphabet key as has been formed ; it is used largely in England. T or D-i B or J or Sh= 6 HorN=2 CorK =7 M=3 WorF -8 Yor R— 4 P or Q or G = 9 V or L= 5 S or Z =0 All letters not included in above table have no numerical value zvhatever. A few examples will suffice to show the manner in which the principles are applied. B. C. 4004 Creation of the World, Adam, aRiSe SiRe. 40 04 1 184 Troy, the Greeks the city DiD FiRe. 1 1 8 4 1012 Solomon built the Temple ouT of SToNe. 1 01 2 l6 LATER MEMORY METHODS 753 Rome founded, a city of CoLuMns. 7 5 3 A. D. 1320 Gunpowder exploded makes soMe NoiSe. 320 1 32 1 Dante (born) was of his TiMe aHeaD. 13 21 1441 Printing is a TRue aRT. 14 41 1491 Caxton (born) printed RaPiD. 4 9 1 181 5 Waterloo, to Napoleon FaTaL. 815 1871 Capture of Paris, a remarkable FaCT. 8 71 The possession of one link in a chain of sugges- tions greatly aids in recalling the rest. If the initial initials of certain words in a list are suggestion, memorized, it requires but little mental effort to recall that word which the initial is in- tended to bring to mind. .A modern example is CABAL, formed of the initial letters of Clifford, Ashley, Buckingham, Arlington, and Zauderdale, Cabinet Ministers in the reign of Charles the Second, who, carrying on their designs in secret, received the name which their initials happened to spell ; and which word, thus derived, is now used to signify a junto, or small party of men united in close design to effect a party purpose. Thus the word Cogs will assist in recalling the words Class, Crder, Genus, 5pecies, in their LATER MEMORY METHODS \j arrangement in science ; and all the vowels may be remembered in their regular order by the word facetiously. The initials in the following gives the first letter l n the name of each of the Presidents in their order, " Wisdom And Justice Many Men Admire ; Jarring Vice Harms Truth's Pure Trembling Fire ; Pray Be Loyal, Just ; Go, Highest Good The Acquire." Presidents. Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Madison, Mon- roe, Adams, Jackson, Van Buren, Harrison, Tyler, Polk, Taylor, Fillmore, Pierce, Buchanan, Lincoln, Johnson, Grant, Hayes, Garfield, Arthur. The following from an English book gives the initials of all the English Sovereigns. "When Will His Stupid Head Remember Just How Easy Each Endeavor Remains, Having Had Help ; Eclipsing Every Reasoning, Harassing, Hazy Egoist's Method Elaborately Jumbling, Clear Concise Junctures, A Great, Grand Gravity, Giving Wit WVU \f *-'• - The English With Vexation. Sovereigns. William I, William II, Henry I, Stephen, Henry II, Richard, John, Henry III, Edw r ard I, Edward II. Edward III, Richard II, Henry IV, Henry V, Henry VI, Edward IV, Edward V, Richard III, Henry VII., Henry VIIL, Edward VI., Mary, Elizabeth, James I., Charles I., Charles II., James II., William, Anne, Georges I., II., III., IV., William IV., Victoria, and in a similar manner may be memorized, 18 LATER MEMORY METHODS Nominative The Genitive I^atin Cases Dative in their Accusitive order. Vocative Ablative No 6Vnuine Date Accursed Vocation A date in the above it will be noted that at least the first two letters in each word are identical. If it is desired to learn a certain list of words, and the Order in which they are to be learned is ciassifica- immaterial, the list should be carefully tion and examined and if possible the words rraiige- s ] lou j ( j so ^e arran pr e d that each has nient of ° words, some connection directly or indirectly with the word following; these connections are Direct Associations by resemblance, in meaning as rapid-quick, high-lofty ; in classification as man- child, tiger-cat; in co-existence as Washington- Revolution, Noah-flood; in appearance as snow- uool, coal-soot ; in cause and effect, as fire-heat, study-know ; in contiguity as Edison-phonograph, Watt-steam, author-book ; in sound as fire-lyre, down-frown. Indirect Associations by contrast as rapid-slow, man-beast, Washington-Arnold, snow- rain, fire-ice. For instance, supposing the following list is required to be memorized, house, job-lot, sheep, Method for double, easy, lard, pen, rite, money, lank, Dissimilar chin, by the use of connecting words ideas, associations are formed as follows : house — lot job-lot — cheap LATER MEMORY METHODS sheep — -fold double — trouble easy — hard lard — pig pen — write rite — ceremony money — bank lank — thin chin — ■ In committing to memory any list of discon- nected words, having no direct natural bond of association between each other, the fol- How to se- •111 r r cure Atten- lowing method will be found of great tion. service. I. The undivided attention should be concen- trated upon the first and second words of the series, these should be repeated mentally or orally until perfectly mastered. II. Wholly dismiss the thought of the first and uecond words, thus memorized, and direct the at- tention solely to the second and third words of the list. Proceed in a like manner throughout the entire list; by this process of over-lapping or welding, a perfect chain of connections is easily formed. After the list has once been mastered it will be found that it can be repeated backward with as much ease as forward. The following examples will illustrate the pro- cess, supposing you wish to memorize the following list of the capitols of Europe, in the order of their size, London, Paris, Berlin, Vienna, St. Petersburg, 20 LATER MEMORY METHODS Constantinople, Madrid, Brussels, Copenhagen and Rome. Yon would proceed as follows : j London | Paris j Paris \ Berlin | Berlin \ Vienna j Vienna I St. Petersburg j St. Petersburg ( Constantinople j Constantinople ( Madrid j Madrid ( Brussels j Brussels ( Copenhagen (Copenhagen ( Rome Learning verse greatly improves the memory. 11 Verse," says Sir Philip Sidney, " far exceedeth verse as an prose in the knitting up of the memory." Memory. Who is it that ever was a scholar that does not carry away some verses which in his youth he learned, and even to old age serve him for hourly lessons ? They who have known what it is — when afar from books, in solitude, or in travel- ing, or in intervals of worldly care — to feed on poet- ical recollections, to recall the sentiments and images which retain by association the charm that early years once gave them, — will feel the inesti- mable value of committing to memory, in the prime LATER MEMORY METHODS 21 of its power, what it will easily receive and indeli- bly retain. Rhyme is a most powerful help to memory. It is much easier to learn and retain rhymed verse than prose. The principal reason is, that one of the rhymes will bring to memory the corresponding rhyme or rhymes, which leads to the remembering of the rest of the lines. The numbers (times or accents}, measures, rhymes, and rhythmical arrange- ment, according to the versification of different languages, have great influence, both in making things easier to be received into the memory, and longer retained there. Hundreds of proverbs and rules in various languages have for this reason been put into rude rhyme, or formed into more correct verse ; and on the same principle, moral precepts have been cast into a poetic mould from all an- tiquity, as in the golden verses of the Pythagoreans in Greek, &c. The versification of the rules of the Latin Grammar has the same end in view. How many are there of the common affairs of human life, which have been taught in early years by the help of rhyme, and fixed in the memory by frequent use ! In comparison with a topical memory, this might be called a rhythmical memory. The well- known rule for the number of days in the different months of the year — "Thirty days hath September," &c. — Is an instance of mnemonic verse. An interesting as well as instructive plan is to en- courage scholars to form rhyming coup- History lets, one line of which states the date Bb ? rmes ' LATER MEMORY METHODS of an occurrence, while the other refers to the event itself. Twelve hundred and fifteen, King John at Runnymede is seen. Fifteen hundred and eighty-four, Raleigh's ships, Carolina explore. Sixteen hundred, thirty-one, Delaware settlements now begun. Sixteen hundred and thirty-four, Catholics sailed for Maryland's shore, Good Lord Baltimore sent them o'er. Sixteen hundred and thirty-eight, Swedes in Delaware formed a state. Sixteen hundred and sixty-four, The Dutch, New Amsterdam, gave o'er. Sixteen hundred and sixty-five, London's plague left few alive. Sixteen hundred and eighty-two, Came William Penn, the good, the true. July the fourth, in " seventy-six," Brave names to paper were affixed. * On Christmas night in " seventy-six," His way amidst the ice, he picks. * Washington crossing the Delaware, LATER MEMORY METHODS Seventeen hundred ninety eight, Napoleon 'neath the pyramids great. Eighteen hundred thirty-four, No more slaves on Britain's shore. Eighteen hundred thirty-eight, Queen Victoria crowned in state. Eighteen hundred forty-one, Greeley's " Tribune " now begun. Eighteen hundred forty-one, Birth of Victoria's oldest son. Eighteen hundred sixty-one, Good Prince Albert's work is done. On the first day of " sixty-three," Lincoln proclaimed the blacks all free. Couplets thus formed will seldom be forgotten and give an opportunity for careful grammatical composition. This method can be applied with equal success to Geography. In committing poetry to memory, learn a stanza, or a few verses (lines) if not in stanzas, whether rhymed or blank verse, repeating the Memorizing 111 • 111 • Prose or verses aloud, but in a subdued voice, Poetry, very slowly and very attentively ; then the next stanza or passage, always repeating the last verse litis of t'i^ p rece ling stanza or passage before you begin repeating the next, so as to connect the two, and so on to the end ; the last verse of one stanza 24 LATER MEMORY METHODS or passage thus always suggesting the first verse of the next. In committing prose to memory, study in the same manner. Learn the first sentence, or division of the sentence if long and divisible; then the sec- ond sentence; then join the latter to the former, and so on to the end — always going back to the first line. If the passage is very long, divide it into sections, and learn one at a time in the above manner. Quintilian advises, if the speech to be remem- bered be long, to get it by heart in parts, and those not very small. The partition ought chiefly to be made according to the different topics. Apt divis- ions help the memory greatly. The following observations from an old work, upon the dramatic art, may be applied to learning poetry or prose in general, as well as to learning a part: — "To study, requires determination to give your whole and undivided attention to the part; to read slowly, and with marked emphasis, not through the whole part, but scene, until you are perfect. An hour's patient perseverance is worth four if you read with indecision and distaste. Most actors find that writing out a part greatly facilitates their acquisition of it; slow writers impress the words more on their memory than rapid ones. Learning line by line, as a school-boy acquires his task, though laborious in practice, will be found the most rapid method in the end. A scene thus learned should then be repeated throughout, and LATER MEMORY METHODS 2$ never proceed to the following one till you are easy in the first." Another experienced writer upon the subject says: — "The best plan, I think, of committing a part to memory, is to write it out from the book yourself, or copy the written part given to you if the play be in manuscript. This will gradually impress the words upon your mind. After this, read it ovr aloud before you sleep at night, and repeat what you know of it, and practise the same exercise in the morning." The following directions will be found helpful : L "When you wish to learn a piece of prose or verse, try to grasp its general meaning first, and then particularize: that is, OBSERVE minutely what words are used, and how they are placed." II. "Learn one sentence thoroughly by reflec- tion, before you attempt to master another; and link them together by noticing carefully how they follow. When you think you have succeeded in getting a sentence to run upon your tongue cor- rectly, think of the impressions, remove your eyes from the paper, and articulate the words aloud, or mentally. Immediately afterwards cover the sen- tences with your hand, and again repeat, allowing yourself to look for each word just after you have uttered it. You will thus frequently detect an error of omission, introduction, substitution, or transposition." III. "If you have learned anything by ear y and are fearful of forgetting it, write it out once clearly, and in distinct paragraphs^ but not too far apart^ 26 LATER MEMORY METHODS and afterwards look at it carefully, which will give you the assistance of visual remembrance. " IV. "If you intend to commit to memory a long- piece, write out a small portion at a time, and carry it about with you, remembering that simply carrying it will be useless, unless you occasionally look at it." V. " Do not wait till you can find time to accom- plish a great deal, but attempt a little immediately. Learn a small portion daily, and occasionally re- peat, in suitable divisons, the whole of that which you have learned. " VI. " When learning by heart it is well to retire to some room, or locality, in which you are not likely to be interrupted, seen, or overheard; and there repeat aloud, and graphically! 1 How shall we remember what we read ? A very important question all will admit and worthy of Remember- careful attention. One who has given ingWhat . . & we Kead. the subject much thought writes: " Hundreds of books read once, have passed as completely from us as if we had never read them; whereas the discipline of mind got by writing down, not copying, an abstract of a book which is worth the trouble, fixes it on the mind for years, and, besides, enables one to read other books with more attention and more profit." A well known educator expresses his ideas upon the subject as follows: "When a man reads he should put himself into the most intimate inter- course with his author, so that all his energies of apprehension, judgment and feeling may be occu- LATER MEMORY METHODS 27 pied with, and aroused by, what his author fur- nishes, whatever it may be. If the use of the pen, in brief or full notes, in catch-words or other sym- bols, will aid him, let him use them." The following plan has been successfully used for many years by a large number of readers : "Turn to the contents, see what are the great divisions of the subject, and thus get a glance of the general plan. Examine it chapter by chapter ; then close the book, and see if you have the plan of the whole work distinctly and fully in your mind. Do not proceed till this is done. After you have this all distinctly in the mind, then get the first chapter vividly before you, so far as the contents will enable you to do it. Now proceed to read. At the close of each sentence, ask yourself, "Do I understand that? Is it true, important, or to the point? Anything valuable there, which I ought to retain ? At the close of each paragraph, ask the same questions. Leave no paragraph till you have the substance of it in your mind. Proceed in this manner through the chapter; and, at the close of the chapter, look back, and see what the author tried to accomplish by it, and what he really has accomplished. As you proceed, if the book be your own, or if the owner will allow you to do it, mark with your pencil, in the margin, what, accord- ing to your view, is the character of each paragraph, or sentence. But will not this method of reading be slew ? Yes : very slow and very valuable. A single book, read in this way, will be worth a score run over. It will compel you to think as well as 28 LATER MEMORY METHODS read, to judge, to discriminate, to sift out the wheat from the chaff. It will make thought your own, and will so fix it in the mind, that it will probably be at your command, at any future time." CHAPTER V. RULES FOR LEARNING A FOREIGN LANGUAGE. The fo41owing excellent rules for mastering a foreign language are by Prof. Blackie and are worthy of careful attention. The rules appear in their order of natural succession, are the result of many years* experience, and may be relied on a s being of a strictly practical character. I. If possible always start with a good teacher. He will save you much time by clearing away diffi- culties that might otherwise discourage you, and preventing the formation of bad habits of enuncia- tion, which must afterwards be unlearned. II. Name aloud, in the language to be learned, every object which meets your eye, carefully ex- cluding the intervention of the English: in other words, think and speak of the objects about you in the language you arc learning from the very first hour of your teaching; and remember that the lan- guage belongs in the first place to your ear and to your tongue, not to your book merely and to your brain. III. Commit to memory the simplest and most normal forms of the declension of nouns. IV. The moment you have learned the nomina- tive and accusative cases of these nouns take the 30 LEARNING A FOREIGN LANGUAGE first person of the present indicative of any common verb, and pronounce aloud some short sentence according to the rules of syntax belonging to active verbs. V. Enlarge this practice by adding some epithet to the substantive, declined according to the same noun. VI. Go on in this manner progressively, commit- ting to memory the whole present indicative, past and future indicative, of simple verbs, always mak- ing short sentences with them, and some appropri- ate nouns, and always thinking directly in the foreign language, excluding the intrusion of the English. In this essential element of every rational system of linguistic training there is no real, but only an imaginary difficulty to contend with, and, in too many cases, the pertinacity of a perverse practice. VII. When the ear and tongue have acquired a fluent mastery of the simpler forms of nouns, verbs, and sentences, then, but not till then, should the scholar be led, by a graduated process, to the more difficult and complex forms. VIII. Let nothing be learned from rules that is not immediately illustrated by practice; or rather, let the rules be educed from the practice of ear and tongue, and let them be as few and as comprehen- sive as possible. IX. Irregularities of various kinds are best learned by practice as they occur; but some anomalies, as in the conjugation of a few irregular verbs, are of such frequent occurrence, and are so necessary for LEARNING A FOREIGN LANGUAGE 3 1 progress, that they had better be learned specially by heart as soon as possible. Of this verb to be, in almost all languages, is a familiar example. X. Let some easy narrative be read, in the first place, or better, some familiar dialogue, but read- ing must never be allowed, as is so generally the case, to be practised as a substitute for thinking and speaking. To counteract this tendency, the best way is to take objects of natural history, or representations of interesting objects, and describe their parts aloud in simple sentences, without the intervention of the mother tongue. XI. Let all the exercises of reading and describ- ing be repeated again and again and again. No book fit to be read in the early stages of language- learning should be read only once. XII. Let your reading, if possible, be always in sympathy with your intellectual appetite. Let the matter of the work be interesting, and you will make double progress. To know something of the subject beforehand will be an immense help. For Christians who know the Scriptures, a translation of the Bible is always one of the best books to use in the acquisition of a foreign tongue. XIII. As you read, note carefully the difference between the idioms of the strange language and those of the mother tongue; underscore these dis- tinctly with pen or pencil, in some thoroughly idiomatic translation, and after a few days translate back into the original tongue what you have before you in the English form. XIV. To methodize, and, if necessary, correct 32 LEARNING A FOREIGN LANGUAGE your observations, consult some systematic gram- mar so long as you may find it profitable. But the grammar should, as much as possible, follow the practice, not precede it. XV. Be not content with that mere methodical generalization of the practice which you find in many grammars, but endeavor always to find the principle of the rule, whether belonging to univer- sal or special grammar. XVI. Study the theory of language, the organism of speech, and what is called comparative philology or Glossology. The principles there revealed will enable you to prosecute with a reasoning intelli- gence a study which would otherwise be in a great measure a laborious exercise of arbitrary memory. XVII. Still, practice is the main thing; language must, in the first place, be familiar; and this fa- miliarity can be attained only by constant reading and constant conversation. Where a man has no person to speak to he may declaim to himself ; but the ear and the tongue must be trained, not the eye merely and the understanding. In reading, a man must not confine himself to standard works. He must devour everything greedily that he can lay his hands on. He must not merely get up a book with accurate precision; that is all very well as a special task; but he must learn to live largely in the general element of the language; and minute accuracy in details is not to be sought before a fluent practical command of the general currency of the language has been attained. Shakespeare, for instance, ought to be read twenty times before LEARNING A FOREIGN LANGUAGE 33 a man begins to occupy himself with the various readings of the Shakespearian text, or the ingenious conjectures of his critics. XVIII. Composition, properly so called, is the culmination of the exercises ©f speaking and read- ing, translation and re-translation, which we have sketched. In this exercise the essential thing is to write from a model, not from dictionaries or phrase- books* Choose an author who is a pattern of a particular style, steal his phrases, and do something of the same kind yourself, directly, without the in- tervention of the English. After you have acquired fluency in this way you may venture to put more of yourself into the style, and learn to write the for- eign tongue gracefully. Translation from English classics may also be practised, but not in the first place; the ear must be tuned by direct imitation of the foreign tongue, before the more difficult art of transference from the mother tongue can be at- tempted with success. CHAPTER VI. WHY WE FORGET. An English writer remarks: — "That which is commonly regarded as defective Memory, in many instances results simply from lack of attention or observation ; system ; forethought, caution, or re- flection; or promptness of action. Endeavor to bring your mind solely upon the subject you have in hand. Observe thoroughly; individualize characteristics — that is, notice what, when, where, how, why, etc., etc. Some people appear to pride themselves upon going through the world with their eyes shut, and their ears closed ; and when asked questions, habit- ually answer, ik I really don't know" — "/ didn't notice" or, " I didn't pay attention'' It, is a good plan to imagine always that you will be required to give a full description of that which you see and hear. Be systematic. Suppose you remember you have some letters to answer, and you reply to all except one, which, to your surprise, you find some days afterwards in a heap of papers you turned out of your pocket as an encumbrance. You may per-* haps say, you did not answer it, because you forgot it was there ; but you would have been sure to have remembered it if you had been systematic, and had placed all the unanswered letters together. WHY WE FORGET 35 Accustom yourself to inquire, " Have I thought of all ?" and endeavor to anticipate your probable requirements. When out for a day's pleasure, wishing to look at some distant object, you might exclaim, " I forgot to bring my telescope !" when perhaps you never gave it a thought that you might want it. Had you done so, you might have taken it. Act "promptly. It may be important that you should send a business letter by the next mail. You say to yourself, " I must write that letter pres- ently." Shortly afterwards, you say, "I have not written that letter yet." And, again, 4< If I don't mind, I shall not be in time to send that letter." And, after all, you ejaculate, " There ! its passed mail time, and I haven't sent that letter ! What a wretched memory I have to be sure !" Do not blame your memory ; it reminded you of your duty, but you were not prompt. Think of this in future, and act immediately. Morbid caution is often mistaken for want of memory. Thus a person may lock a door, and, knowing he has done so, go again " to make sure," at the same time almost persuading himself he has forgotten ; remarking, "Its locked ; I thought I'd locked it ; but I wasn't certain. I never can re- member a thing of this kind." Want of self-trust is also thus mistaken. For instance, Tom, who is writing a letter, suddenly calls out to his younger brother, "Fred, how do you spell ' received ? ' " Fred : " R-e-c-e-i-v-e-d." Tom : " Are you quite sure ? " Fred : " Yes, quite." 36 WHY WE FORGET Tom: "Well, I thought it was ' r-e-c-z-e-v-e-d.' " Fred, who has a higher opinion of his brother's knowledge than of his own : " I think I'm right," and looks out the word in the dictionary. Both of the preceding manifestations are very common, but are none the less objectionable ; and should be counteracted by close observation in the first place, and forced self-trust in the second. Nervousness, or over-anxiety in trying to remem- ber, frequently produces forgetfulness. The mind, instead of being occupied in grasping that which is wanted, may be soliloquizing thus : "I know I shall not remember all this ; I wonder whether I have forgotton what was said just now ! — What was it ? let me see !" This is particularly the case with many in reference to conversation, lectures, ser- mons, etc. Those who experience this should strive to maintain their self-possession ; by which they would remember twice as well." CHAPTER VII. HELPS TO MEMORY! RESEMBLANCE AND CONTRAST. Names and things forgotten may often be re- called to memory by recollecting their likeness to other tilings which we know; either their resem- blance in name, character, form, accident, or any thing that belongs to them. An idea or word which has been lost or forgotten, may often be re- covered by hitting upon some other kindred idea or word which has the nearest resemblance to it, and that in the letters, syllables, or sound of the name, as well as properties of the thing. Thus, if you would remember Hippocrates, or Galen, or Paracelsus, think of a physician's name beginning with H, G, or P. Sometimes a new or strange idea or name may be fixed in the memory by well thinking of its con- trary or opposite. In the same way, if you cannot remember the name Goliath, the remembrance of the name David may recall it. A casual connection is sometimes formed be- tween ideas seemingly the most incongruous; and as the mind is forcibly struck on such occasions with the very incongruity itself, the impression made is so much the deeper and more durable. However slight, ludicrous, or absurd, may be the resemblance between the two things, if they are 38 HELPS TO MEMORY once well associated, they will readily stay con- nected, and one will easily call up the other to the mind; for if there be but the remotest resem- blance between the known and the unknown, it is surprising how much that resemblance will assist the memory. Upon the principle of resemblance was founded the artificial classification made by the ancients of the starry hosts of the firmament. When anyone unskilled in astronomy surveys on a clear winter's evening the apparently numberless "Immortal lights that live along the sky," He will be inclined to think that any attempt to ar- range and recollect them, so that the place occupied by any particular star or planet might be instantly pointed out without difficulty, must be utterly fruit- less. But such an arrangement was successfully made, long ages since, by the ancient astronomers, in the fanciful distribution of the fixed stars into the forms or outlines of persons, animals, and things, calling the number of stars included within the out- line of each figure a constellation. Thus they formed the twelve signs of the zodiac, to which they gave the names of the persons, animals, or things of which they were symbolical: as Aries, the ram; Taurus, the bull; Gemini, the twins; Cancer, the crab; Leo, the lion; Virgo, the virgin; Libra, the balance or scales; Scorpio, the scorpion; Sagittarius, the centaur-archer (half man, half horse); Capri- cornus, the goat; Aquarius, the water bearer; Pisces, the fishes. This arrangment is still used by astrono- mers, and such a star, newly discovered planet or HELPS TO MEMORY 39 comet, is described as being in such a position in or near such a constellation. Other stars have also been symbolically grouped, as the Southern Cross, the Great and Little Bear, &c. Attention and repetition help much to the fixing of ideas in our memories: but those which make the deepest and most lasting impressions, are Attention 1 i-i • and those which are accompanied with pleas- Repetition. ure or pain. Ideas but once taken in and never again repeated are soon lost; like those of colors in such as lost their sight when very young. Those things sink deepest, and dwell longest in the mem- ory, which are impressed upon a clear mind un- prejudiced either before or after the impression, as the things we learn in childhood; as, likewise, the first time things are taken notice of. When the attention is strongly fixed on any particular subject, all that is said concerning it makes a deep impression upon the mind. There are some persons who complain that they cannot remember a sermon or speech which they hear, when in truth their thoughts are wandering half the time, or they hear with such coldness and indifference and trifling spirit, that it is no wonder the things which are read or spoken make but a slight impression on the brain, and get no firm hold in the memory, but soon vanish and are lost. Those who are ever skimming over the surface of things with little in- terest, will fix nothing in their minds. The labor and diligence of close attention to the subject only can impress what we read or think upon f he memory. 40 HELPS TO MEMORY Clear and distinct apprehension of the things which you learn is necessary in order to fix them in the memory. To remember words and the names of persons or things, you should repeat them aloud, with distinct articulation and correct pronunciation; and, in copying them, write slowly and plainly. The same care should be taken in fixing in the memory the ideas of things, notions, propositions, arguments, &c, with the addition that you should have a clear and distinct perception and understand- ing of them. Faint, glimmering, and confused ideas, will vanish like images seen in twilight. Whatsoever you would fix in your memory, let it be disposed methodically, well connected and ar- ranged in discinct heads or classes, both general and particulars. The mutual dependence of things on each other helps the memory of both. A clear con- nection of the parts of any writing or speech is of great advantage to the reader or hearer in remem- bering it. Therefore, many mathematical demon- strations in a long train may be remembered much better than a heap of sentences which have no con- nection. Writing down thoughts or things that you wish to avoid forgetting, or copying passages that you desire writing as a to remember well is an excellent method Memory of fixing them in the memory, for writing e p ' makes a stronger impression than merely silent reading. Once writing down, giving due at- tention to what you write, will fix it more in the memory than reading it silently several times. The sight conveys the ideas to the mind, and imprints HELPS TO MEMORY 41 them on the memory better than any other sense; and what we have seen is not so soon forgotten as what we have only heard. This does not apply to the memory of music, which depends upon the ear and fingers. In writing, the memory is also assisted by the touch, as may be observed by the writing of a blind man impressing the words on his memory. In writings things which you desire to remem- ber, or copying for the same purpose, always write plainly; and if it be your own composition, form it into distinct sentences, paragraphs, and sections or divisions, which in writing, or in reading it, will im- press the ideas and words upon the memory much stronger than if written without order or proper division. An abridgement or condensation in a narrow compass of what you wish to learn is most useful. By frequent review and repetition of such notes or tables, what is not fixed in the memory at first may be stamped upon it afterwards. Writing down short notes and hints of the prin- cipal heads of what you desire to commit to mem- ory, in order to make a speech, for such Taking abstracts and epitomes may thus be re- Notes. viewed much sooner, and the several sentiments or sentences will be more easily amplified or invented, and more readily placed in their proper order. There are many who scarcely ever take a pen in hand to write short notes or hints of what they intend to speak, and who never try to arrange their ideas in methodical order, by which negligence 42 HELPS TO MEMORY they never fully develop their powers. Lord Brougham says: — "I should lay it down as a rule, admitting of no exception, that a man will speak well in proportion as he has written much; and that, with equal talents, he will be the finest extem- pore speaker, when no time for preparation is al- lowed, who has prepared himself most sedulously when he had the opportunity of delivering a pre- meditated speech." Talking over what you have read to a friend, on the first proper opportunity you have for it, will Talk over g rea tly impress it on the memory. Re- what peating carefully what you have learned You Head. , r 1 1 * to a younger person, or to a fellow stu- dent, if you can do so without ostentation or the appearance of conceit, will very much help to estab- lish your own knowledge, while you communicate it to others. The physical powers of your tongue and your ear, as well as your intellectual faculties, will all combine to help the memory. If you have not anyone to whom you can thus repeat what you have read or learned, you may repeat it to an im- aginary auditor, either aloud, or silently in the mind, as may be most convenient. This exercise of repeating greatly improves the memory generally. It is very difficult by mere power of memory to learn a lengthy list of names or words, unless it be Grouping, divided into groups, mentally or by ear. The groups should be arranged in threes, fours, &c, according as they may most strike the ear and be best grouped. The division into three appears to be of special advantage, as you will per- HELPS TO MEMORY 43 ceive if you read over any list of names — first with- out any reference to arrangement, then in groups of four, and lastly in groups of three. Thus Hearne, in his Ductor Historicus, has reduced the whole compass of chronology to thirteen grand epochs, all beginning with the letter C. Dean Prideaux, in his Introduction to History, has made use of the number seven throughout his whole book; " not out of affectation," as he tells us, "but experience, as most easy for the memory." In reading a book, make hooks or marks in the margin, to note any parts that are most important or striking; at the end of each section or chapter, read these passages again slowly and carefully; then endeavor to recollect the ideas, sentiments, or expressions, clothing them in your own words, if you do not fully remember those of the author, which will also greatly tend to give you fluency of language. In order to remember where to find a passage which you particularly desire to refer to, seek after a local memory, or a remembrance of it, by the side or page where it is written or printed; whether the right or the left, whether at the top, the middle, or the bottom, whether at the beginning of a chapter or a paragraph, or the end of it. For this reason it is good to accustom yourself, as much as you con- veniently can, to the same edition of an author's works. Mathematical and scientific tables and diagrams not only make many things easier to be understood, 44 HELPS TO MEMORY but preserve them better in the me-mory. The situa- tions of countries and cities, the course of rivers, and the extent of seas, &c, are much easier and better learned by looking over a map, or examining a globe, than by reading of them in a geographical work. But to thoroughly understand the subject, both means should be used together. So the con- stellations in astronomy, and their positions in the heavens, are more easily remembered by carefully examining astronomical maps. Filling up an outline map, by copying from a map before you, is an excellent way of fixing the situa- tions of places, &c, with their latitude and longitude and extent, upon the memory. The memory may be tested by filling up an outline map, and after- wards comparing it with the full map. Do not plunge into other business, studies, amuse- ments, or recreations, immediately after you have received instruction or listened to a lecture, or to anything you wish to remember if you can well avoid it. Get time, if possible, to recollect the things you have heard, that they may not be driven out of the memory by newer or more pressing matters. In recalling to memory a poem written in stanzas — commonly, but incorrectly called verses — the chief point is to remember the beginning of each stanza, and the order of the stanzas; the stanza it- self often being much easier to remember. Each line is, correctly speaking, a verse, whether rhymed or blank. Two rhyming verses are styled a coup- let; three a triplet. A series of verses, having a HELPS TO MEMORY 45 certain arrangement often repeated, is called a stanza. In learning a list of names, &c, when they are not required to be repeated in any regular and exact order of dates, &c, it will greatly help the memory to arrange them in alliterative order — alliteration, or the beginning of two or more words with the same letter, being a great help to the memory. Thus, Chaucer, Collins, Cowper, Campbell, Coleridge; Spencer, Shakespeare, Scott, Southey; Nelson, Na- poleon; Pitt, Peel, Palmerston, &c. Pleasure and delight in the things we learn give great assistance towards the remembrance of them. Whatsoever, therefore, you desire that a child should commit to memory, make it as pleasant to him as possible; endeavor to find out his talent and disposition, and give him instruction and les- sons, as far as you can, in a way according with his natural inclination. Many a learner forgets what has been taught him, because he never well under- stood it; he never clearly and distinctly took in the meaning of those sounds and syllables which he was required to get by heart. CHAPTER VIII. EXERCISE OF THE MEMORY. " But, after all," says Quintilian, " the great art of memory is exercise: to get many things by heart, and daily, if possible. Nothing increases more by use, or suffers more by neglect, than the memory. At whatever age a man aims at the improvement of this faculty, he should patiently submit to the uneasy labor of repeating what he has read or written. Here, as in other cases, where habits are to be acquired, exercise should be increased by degrees." One great and general direction which belongs to the improvement of other powers, as well as to the memory, is to keep it always in due and proper exercise. Many acts by degrees form a habit, and thereby the ability or power is strength- ened, and made more ready to appear again in action. Our memories should be used and made from childhood to bear a moderate quantity of knowledge, let into them early; and they will thereby become strong for use and service — as any limb well and duly exercised grows stronger. It we never use our memories, they will be almost lost. Those who are wont to converse or read about a few things only will retain but a few in their memory; those who are used to remember things but for an hour, and charge their memories teXERCISE OF THE MEMORY 4? with them no longer, will retain them but an hour before they vanish. Excess of wine, or luxury of any kind, as well as excess in the studies of learning or the business of life, may impair the memory by overstraining and weakening the brain; and it may be injured or quite spoiled by idleness, disease, or accident. Exercise of the faculty, temperance, health, and care, are therefore most important to all who wish to pre- serve the memory. Particular care should be taken that the memory of the learner be not too much crowded with a mul- titude of facts or ideas At one time; this is Crowdin ~ the way to remember nothing, as one tiie idea effaces another. An overgreedy grasp does not retain the largest handful. But the exercise of memory, with a due moderation, is one general step towards the improvement of it. The memory of a child or any infirm person should not be overburdened; for a limb or a joint may be overstrained by being too much loaded, and its natural power never be recovered. Learn to remember words as well as things, so that you may acquire copiousness of language, as well as the remembrance of things, and be more ready to express yourself well on all occasions. Mere sounds and words are much harder to get by heart than the knowledge of things and real images. Every day learn a few lines of some great author, in prose or verse, selecting the finest passages, and 48 EXERCISE OF THE MEMORY you will be surprised how much your memory will be improved and strengthened by the practice. This exercise will also impart copiousness of lan- guage, and give you choice of words. But do not overburden or strain your memory. PN* CHAPTER IX. THE ART OF ARRANGING. It is of great importance that we endeavor to dis- cover if possible the natural associations existing between the subjects we desire to commit to mem- ory. A number of isolated facts with apparently no connection, one with the other, are ordinarily diffi- cult to remember, but if some natural association can be formed between them, or some striking ar- rangement or classification can be formed, little difficulty will be experienced in mastering them. (yten the most complex and seemingly uncon- nected list may by careful analysis and comparison, be so arranged as to have ciassifica- some logical associations between the tlon Wl11 do * different parts. The close application of the mind, which becomes necessary in order that the student may analyze and compare all the various parts of the subject, will in itself prove a valuable aid to the memory. Speaking of this subject of arrangement, David Kay writes, "The memory is able to retain and reproduce a vastly greater number of ideas if they are associated or arranged on some principle of similarity than if they were presented merely as isolated facts, It is not by the multitude of ideas 5° THE ART OF ARRANGING but the want of arrangement among them, that the memory is burdened and its powers weakened." A striking example of this subject is found in a list of the Presidential Administrations. Although a very useful list to be learned, it is seldom remembered as ordinarily studied. The fol- lowing is the manner in which the list is usually THE PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES WITH THE LENGTH OF THEIR ADMINISTRATION. 1789 Yrs. 1849 Yrs. Washington, --! 8 Taylor, ) Fillmore, j Adams, 4 4 Jefferson, - - 8 Pierce, - 4 Madison, 8 Buchanan, 4 Monroe, - 8 Lincoln, ) Johnson, ) - 8 Adams, 4 Jackson, - 8 Grant, 8 Van Buren, 4 Hayes, - 4 Harrison, } Tyler, } - 4 Garfield, \ Arthur, ) 4 Polk, - 4 Cleveland, - - 4 A thorough analysis and careful comparison of the various items of this list will result in the dis- covery of a number of very peculiar coincidences generally overlooked. We herewith give the list classified. THE CLASSIFICATION. 1789 (I) Washington, Adams, - Jefferson, Yrs. 20 1809 Madison, Monroe, Adams, (ii) Yrs. 20 THE ART OF ARRANGING 51 Excepting the Adams s all above served double terms. " " " " were bom in Virginia. 1829 (III) Yrs. Gen. Jackson, 8 Van Buren, Gen. Harrison Tyler, Polk, 20 1849 (IV) Gen. Taylor, Fillmore, Pierce, Buchanan, Lincoln, ) Johnson, ) Yrs. 20 1869 (V) Yrs. Gen. Grant, 8 Hayes, 4 Gen. Garfield, ) Arthur, ) 4 Cleveland, 4 20 III, IV & V all begin with a General. III & V are identical viz., 8-4-4-4 yrs. IV is exactly the reverse of III & V. 4-4-4-8 yrs. Next to last administration in III & V are com- pound ones and each commence with a General viz — Harrison, Garfield, neither of whom served a year. IV both begins and ends with a compound ad- ministration. Jackson, Taylor and Grant should be specially memorized as their first administrations each com- mence a twenty year period, whose exact date is easily obtained by adding twenty years to the pre- vious one. Having fixed the first date of each period, the commencement of the administrations following are readily found by simply adding 8+4+4+4 or 4+4+4+8. PRESIDENTS RE-ELECTED. George, Thomas and double James, * Andrew, Abraham, Ulysses are the names. * Madison and Monroe, Greatest Mental Labor saving* Plan ever Discovered. Natural iVieirjory iVlebl^od WHOLLY UNLIEE ANY OTHER MEMORY SYSTEM. THE PRINCIPLES A ND A P PLICA TIONS OF THIS ME THOD A RE ENTIREL Y DIFFERENT FROM A NY PL A N DE- SCRIBED OR SUGGESTED IN il A PERFECT MEMORY; HO IV TO A TTAIN IT." The Only Practical Method of Memory Culture. ALMOST LIMITLESS PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS. It exercises and develops all the mental faculties. RAPID AND ACCURATE IN ITS WORKINGS. gill its printtpUs .can It jinftctlj mastafr (it jalf an j)our. CAUSES DIRECT, PERMANENT ASSOCIATIONS. It is absolutely free from all artificial nonsense. Secures absolute attention. Mind-wandering cured. IT CONTAINS NOT A SINGLE USELESS FEATURE. Creates interest in the dullest studies. It naturally and permanently strengthens the memory, A Perfect Development of the Natural Memory. Perfectly Taught by Correspondence. liberal In€ii€#sa©^t^ to all wfe@> f@rsa €2®ff» Large Descriptive Pamphlet containing Endorsements of Prom- inent Educators, Professional Men and Students, sent free. THE MEMORY SCHOOL, i & 6 West 14th Street, New York City. catauogue; OF BOOKS •&' •&• FOH ****************** Teachers. ****************** STANDARD— Schoolroom Helps. Teachers' Publishing Co., 6 Clinton Place, H. Y. DICTATION LESSONS. UtiKCStRt gg- Fifty Dictation Lessons in Language. 'Dictation Exercises in LANGUAGE. By W. M. Giffin. id, 20 cents. Price, post- paid Fifty lessons, each lesson con- taining twenty dictations, one thousand in all. At the head of ^ t . each lesson will be found appro- ves priate hints and suggestions for vV ^ using the dictations given below. The book tells the teacher just what to do and how to do it, and we feel confident that much time and labor can be saved if the exercises are conducted as here given. It is a new book, just from the press, and a beautiful specimen of the printer's art. Primary Dictation Cards. By A. B. Guilford. Price, 20 cents. The teaching of spelling through the medium of sen- tences dictated to the pupils has become an established method in our best schools. Each one of the lessons con- tains some interesting facts about members of the animal kingdom. The reverse of each card contains a skeleton les- son for home work or for busy work in the class room, and is practically a review of the facts taught on the other side of the card. The Dictation cards may be used for supple- mentary reading if desired. Ten cards in a set. Each card contains two lessons : one the advance lessons, and the other a skeleton lesson in review. List of Subjects. Card 1 , lessons 1 and 2 — About Pussy's Feet. Card 2, lessons 3 and 4 — Pussy's Teeth and Tongue. Card 3, lessons 5 and 6 — Pussy's Eyes and Whiskers. Card 4, lessons 7 and 8 — About the Dog. Card 5, lessons 9 and. 10— More about Rover. Card 6, lessons 11 and 12 — The Eeindeer. Card 7, lessons 13 and 14 — The Horse. Card 8, lessons 15 and 16— The Cow. Card 9, lessons 17 and 18 -The Camel. Card 10, lessons 19 and 20— The Ele- phant. EXERCISES AND GAMES. Opening Exercises for Schools. By W. M. Giffin, A. M., Newark, N.J. Price, 2 sets. This book is outside the ordinary rut. We often see in school journals the questions (1) " How shall I prevent tardiness ? " .2) " Will you please tell me how to in- crease my attendance ? M (3) " Can you give a teacher of a country school any hints for conducting gen- eral exercises?" (4) "Do you know of any good biblical selections for school exercises?" Who has not seen just such questions time and again ? The purpose of this little book is to answer just such questions in as practical a way as possible. The book is arranged in three parts — Devotional Exercises, General Ex- ercises, Quotations and Suggestions. We are satisfied that it will meet the requirements of the most progressive teacher. Schoolroom Games and Exer- cises. By Elizabeth G. Bainbridge. Price, 75 cents. Teachers, parents, and scholars of all grades will welcome such a book as this, and every one will appreciate it. To see it is to buy it. The games can be used sometimes in opening exercises, or for M busy work "between recitations, or occasionally in place of a recess. In district schools, where children living far from the schoolhouse bring their lunches, these plays will make the noon hour pass quickly and pleasantly. — From the Preface. It contains thirteen different devices for awakening in- terest in geography and history ; forty- six in spelling and composition ; sixteen in arithmetic ; four in special hours and days ; six in calisthenics, and twenty-nine puzzles and problems, with key. MEMORY BOOKS. A Perfect Memory ; How to Attain It. Comprising the Practical Points of numerous Memory Systems ; with valuable hints for Strengthen- ing and Confirming the Memory ; with special chapter op How to Acquire Languages, by John Stuart Blackie. Lately revised and enlarged by John A. Shedd, author of " The Natural Memory Method.'' Printed on heavy laid paper ; engraved cover design ; cloth binding ; a beautiful specimen of the printer's art. Price 30 cents. Have you a good memory ? Can you recall names, dates, and incidents promptly and with little effort? Possibly your memory is poor, and you "forget easily." Thou- sands are troubled in this way. It w^ould help you greatly in your profession or business if you could "remember things " better, would it not ? A perfect memory is hard to attain, but yours can be greatly improved and strength- ened if you will give the matter some attention. How can it be done, do you ask? We have just printed a little book, the initial volume of our Mind Culture Series, called : 1 ' A Perfect Memory ; How to Attain It. " The book con- tains a most valuable collection of a large number of in- genious methods and devices for assisting the memory. It is simple, practical, and easily understood. It is intended as a popular hand-book on memory training. It will in- terest you. It will help you. The advance orders guar- anteeing a large sale, the price has been placed at a low figure— 30 cents per copy, postpaid. Little Pieces for Little People. Price, 15 cts. net. Teachers will find these selections an innovation. The senseless " What a Little Tot Am I " pieces have been care- fully omitted. The compiler evidently believes that the best material is not too good for the tenacious memory of childhood. The pieces are short, bright, fresh, and sparkling, and easily learned. Printed on heavy manilla and inclosed in strong envelope. Very attractive. We think you will like them. Second edition now ready. Note the price— only 15 cts. postpaid. BUSY WORK MATERIAL. \.^Aritkmetic Cards. Put up in neat, strong box, 7x5 inches, with handsome cover. The cards are cut very accurately. The figures and signs were cast specially for this game. Price, 25 cents, net. These cards are for " busy work " in number, and may be used in a great variety of number games. Nearly 800 figures, signs, and com- binations, printed on bright card-board, assorted colors. Each box contains all com- binations to ten, but an end- less variety of combinations may be made up to one hun- dred. For silent work at the pupil's desk they will be found incomparable, and at the same time the child will learn to handle numbers readily, without thinking he is set at a "task." The entire multiplication table can be arranged on the desk or table, and the combinations learned without conscious effort. Busy Work Alphabet Cards. The latest, largest, most complete, and cheapest box of alphabet cards now in the market. Price, 25 cents, net. Each box contains : 6 alphabets, capital letters ; 12 al- phabets, lower case letters ; 80 punctuation marks ; 2 standard script alphabets, capitals ; 5 standard script al- phabets, lower case ; 40 punctuation marks for scripts. The cards are each f -inch square, accurately cut, and so printed that when used in making sentences the capitals and small letters will have the correct relative posi- tion. These cards furnish profitable employment for little fingers during school hours. Pupils enjoy them. The teacher's work is easier. A great variety of exercises will suggest themselves to the teacher, Note the low orice. REPRODUCTION STORIES. Stories for Composition and Language Exercises. Price, postpaid, 20 cents. Material for " composi- tion" and " reproduction" stories is always in de- mand, and we present here in a neat and attractive form, one hundred care- fully selected stories. They consist of anecdotes, stories from the fables, brief information lessons, etc. Can be used to advantage for supplementary reading. The shorter stories make excel- lent dictation exercises. MacLeod Reproduction Stories. ^^ene^ofentuely^ievv'aiia^^ successful New York teacher. Printed on fine cardboard and inclosed in heavy manilla case. The three complete sets mailed to one address for only 25 cents. * * Set No. 1. Primary Grade. Twenty stories for pupils in the Primary Grade. Set No. 2. Intermediate Grade. Price, 10 cents net to teachers, postpaid. * * Twenty stories for pupils in Intermediate Grades. Set No. j. Grammar Grade. Price, 10 cents net to teachers, postpaid. * * Twenty stories for pupils in Grammar Grades. Many of these stories contain facts regarding Tea, Coffee, Cotton, Sugar, etc., etc. QUEST ION feOOKS. TOMMONW SCHOOL. NEWYoRK* You will find in it much curious riety of subjects. Practical Questions Questions with Answers. Wise, Witty, and Won- derful. By Wm. M. Gif~ fin. Price, 25 cents. One hundred queer, quaint, odd, curious questions, fully an- swered. A book for every teacher's desk. A few of these questions will add an interesting de- partment to your Friday afternoon exercises. The book affords rich ma- terial for your classes in history and geography, information on a great va- in Geog- raphy. By Lamont Stillwell, Principal of Franklin School, East Orange, N. J. Price, 25 cents. > Comprising over 3,500 questions, carefully selected and systematically arranged, forming a thorough review of this important study. These questions are designed to be used in connection with any text-book on Geography, and are adapted to any systematic course of study. They are ex- haustive IN SCOPE, MINUTE IN DETAIL, AND PE ACTIO AL IN nature. With their use there will be no need of ransacking through a dozen Geographies and spending hours of valu- able time in dictating review questions to the geography class, to enable it to pass an examination. Stories from Pictures. A new aid in Language teaching. Prices — Sample dozen, 10 cents ; ten dozen, 75 cents. Large sheets of paper, 7 x 10 inches, ruled on both sides. On the upper half of the first page is a picture of children at work or play — doing something. On each side of the picture a list of word* a*" 1 r>hrases to use in building the story is given.