THE ART OF MEMORY.

Inangahua Times, Volume II, Issue II, 18 October 1880, Page 2

THE ART OF MEMORY.

♦ (Askburton Guardian, September 30.) On Tuesday, Mr F. P. O'Reilly delivered his most extraordinary lecture on the Art of Memory. We say extraordinary more in reference to the illus« trations he gave and the feats of memory he himself performed than to the lecture itself. After a very eloquent introduction, in which Mr O'Reilly showed that the systematic cultivation of the memory had been the study of the greatest philosophers from the earliest ages of the world, and that system had been practised in the use of memory by Iho Hebrews of Moses' time — whose lan» gnage was the another of sublimity in literature— the lecturer wont on to trace the history of the art of memory amongs' the Chinese, and showed his own powers of memory by a rapid but accurate re» capitulation of erepy ancient nation who had been prominent for their proficiency in the mnemonic power. In the course of bis succeeding remarks he showed how by systematically cultivating the powers of memory on the principle of thp asn sociati on of ideas, a very high degree of efficiency could be reached. Good memories were only to be found in attentive and careful people who took pains in the doing or saying of anything, and bad memories were the inheritance of those who were listless and apathetic in their attention to the every day occurrences that passed before their eyes. The lecture was of course too great an effort for us to reproduce, but it contained many valu* .able suggestions, and exhibited his own powers of memory. on a blackboard nith fimires dictated by the audience, and Mr O'Reilly after once reading them over, was not only able to repeat theio in their order, but to accurate'y answer questions as to the position of every figure on the boiud. Another example of memory h exhibited was his ability to give the his tory of each of the 73 Eoman Emperors t the years of their reign, and the promin* ent events of their lifes. Another eser--eiso VMS the unrolling of two grea' Chinese scrolls, reaching from one end of the hall to the other, with perhaps as niuch again uncoiled. On these were written in Chinese and English §14 radi«

cals of the Chinese language, with sen* tences in, illustrat on. The radicals and illustration^ were numbered, and inn dividuals in the audience mentioned these numbers, In every case Mr O'Reilly was able to reproduce on the blackboard the Chinese characters, as given on the scrolls, and recite the illustration at* tached to the number. At the close of the lecture Mr Ward who was chairman in proposing; a vote of thanks, paid a high compliment to Mr O'Reilly, expressing his surprise and regret tbat the hall was not crowded to bear the valuable and wonderful lecture. The vote was heartily seconded, and Mr O'Reilly stated that very probably the lecture would be delivered in Clinslchurch.