NUMBER LXXXIII.

OF THE MISUSE OF THE FACULTY OF MEMORY.

In the little citadel of the mind, the Memory acts as a sort of subaltern; and hence it is often blamed, and sometimes wrongfully, by the commander-in-chief. We seldom find men dissatisfied with their understandings, or their judgments, or with the character of their hearts. Very few are disposed to own that any of these are radically defective, or greatly in fault. But nothing is more common than to hear them berating their memories, as not only weak, but treacherous. The aged I have often heard complain of their memories, but seldom of their judgments.

'Tis with our judgments as our watches--none
Go just alike, yet each believes his own."

I said just now, that the memory sometimes is blamed wrongfully; and truth would bear me out were I to add, that nothing is more common than to tax the memory with faults of which it is in no wise guilty. In very many of the cases, in which forgetfulness is pleaded for excuse or apology, if the memory were al

lowed to speak for herself, she would let it be known that the imputations cast upon her are slanderous falsehoods, and that, in those particular cases, she had performed her part in full meas

ure.

Artificial methods of assisting the memory have been suggested by writers, and at least one invention for that purpose hast been made, and put in practice by those who could not write. It is worthy of notice as a curiosity, if not for its use.

According to Smith's history of the colony of New York-in 1689, commissioners from Boston, Plymouth, and Connecticut, had a conference with the Five Indian nations, at Albany; when a Mohawk sachem, in a speech of great length, answered the message of the commissioners, and repeated all that had been said the preceding day. The art they had for assisting their memories was this. The sachem, who presided, had a bundle of sticks prepared for the purpose, and at the close of each principal article of the message delivered to them, he gave a stick to another sachem, charging him with the remembrance of that particular article. By this means the orator, after a previous conference with the sachems who severally had the sticks, was prepared to repeat every part of the message, and to give to it its proper reply. This custom, as the historian remarks, was invariably pursued in all their public treaties.

The gift of memory, like the other gifts of nature, is distributed to some individuals more, and to others less. Wh le all are blest with such a measure of memory as might suffice them, if well improved, some few possess it in an extraordinary measure; and, what is truly wonderful, a very strong memory is sometimes found yoked with a very feeble intellect. There are some persons that

can repeat, word for word, a long discourse, upon hearing or reading it only once or twice, and yet are possessed of minds too weak and slender to reason upon matters with any considerable degree of ability, or to judge of them accurately. A man of this sort, ever makes himself tiresome, if not ridiculous, by dealing out wares from the vast stores of his memory, without regard to time, place, or fitness. But whenever, on the other hand, an excellent memory is united with a sound and vigorous understanding, nothing but indolence can hinder such a one from becoming great— nothing but the want of good principle at heart, can prevent his acting, with superior excellence, some part or other upon the theatre of life.

In general we forget, for want of attention, more than for want of memory. Persons of very indifferent memories find no difficulty in remembering certain things that have excited their attention in a very high degree; while a thousand other things of far greater moment have been utterly forgotten by them. Once on a time, an Indian preacher said to an assembly of white people, who were gathered together to hear him-" Though you will forget what I say, you will remember as long as you live, that you have heard an Indian preach." It was even so. None of the assembly did, probably, forget this striking circumstance; though few retained in memory either sermon or text.

The good we do is registered faithfully in our memories, but our reprovable deeds we consign to oblivion, by concealing them as much as possible from our own sight, as well as from the sight of others.

"Creditors," generally speaking, "have better memories than their debtors." The former are never known to forget the bond;

while the latter are very prone to forget it, or at least, to forget its date, or the day of promised payment.

The doer of a favor or benefit, is apt to remember it a great deal longer than the receiver.

It is one of the worst and most treacherous memories, that forgets friends, and even benefactors, in their adversity, when they stand in need of aid. “Yet did not the chief butler remember Joseph, but forgat him."

All of us inherit from nature better memories for injuries than for kindnesses. This lamentable error of memory, it deeply concerns us to remedy by all the means in our power.

A man of a truly great mind, who had been both obliged and disobliged by the same persons, magnanimously resolved to forget all that might diminish his gratitude, and to remember only what might increase it.

NUMBER LXXXIV.

OF ATTAINING A FACILITY OF UTTERANCE, OR VOCAL EXPRESSION.

A MAN well versed in the knowledge of the world, made this pithy remark: "Words are things." Not like inarticulate sounds, devoid of meaning, they are the instruments of an intercommunity of minds, and so are real things, highly necessary to be well understood; the knowledge of them being the first step toward almost all other knowledge.

Language is twofold, written and spoken. About the former, the generality of scholars employ much more labor and pains than about the latter, notwithstanding that this, or colloquial language, is requisite for use almost every wakeful hour of our lives.

Dr. King, a first-rate scholar of the last age, who had long been familiar with the most distinguished literary characters in England, observes, in his Memoirs, that he had been acquainted with three persons only, who spoke English with that eloquence and propriety that if all they said had been immediately committed to writing, any judge of the English language would have pronounced it an elegant and a very beautiful style and one of these was Dr. Johnson. Further he states, that, among the