Whoever wishes to increase his permanent Memory power and his power of
Attention must not omit to learn and practise the following exercise
_precisely as I prescribe_. He will experience great satisfaction in
carrying out my directions to the letter, because his conformity in this
and in other respects will bring the reward of a NEW MEMORY power almost
immediately. And if he were to disregard my directions, he will have no
one to blame but himself.
He must write down the first two words, "Ice" and "Slippery," the latter
word under the former. Let him ascertain the exact relation between
these words. He will find that "Ice" is a concrete word, and "Slippery"
indicates a quality of "Ice" and of other things. He places opposite the
abbreviation In., by A. and C. In a similar way he proceeds to write
down one word at a time, and at once ascertaining its relation to the
previous word, and indicating that relation by the appropriate
abbreviation. When he has analysed ten words in this painstaking manner
he must recall them backward and forward from memory at least five
times, and each time faster than the other.
Let him deal with the next ten in a similar manner in all respects, and
then let him repeat the twenty words both ways at least five times, and
so on till he has analysed, learned and recited the entire one hundred
words; and, finally, let him recite the one hundred words both ways at
least once a day for thirty days, in connection with the Building Series
and the Presidential Series and Series of English Sovereigns hereafter
given.
As the result of this Analysis and recitals, the pupil will make these
Laws of In., Ex., and Con. _operate hereafter in an unconscious manner_,
with a power a hundred-fold greater than before practising this method.
Ice. Hounds. Hose. Chicken.
Slippery. Bark. Rose. Feathers.
Smooth. Tree. Bush. Down.
Rough. Woods. Guerilla. Up.
Ruffian. Prairie. Rill. Upstart.
Prison. Air. Water-power. Begin.
Crime. Wind. Manufacture. Bee.
Crimea. Hurricane. Man. Honey.
War. Reign. Manager. Hives.
Army. Governor. Conductor. Wives.
Navy. Steam-engine. Cars. Mormon.
Ship. Newspaper. Track. Brigham Young.
Sail. Ream. Trotting. Old.
Auction. Quire. Fair. Cold.
Bid. Inquire. Foul. Winter.
Competition. Inquest. Chanticleer. Summer.
Petition. Jury. Chandelier. Ft. Sumter.
Signatures. Decide. Gas. Stone.
Cygnet. Cider. Coal. Mason.
Net. Apple. Mine. Maize.
Ensnare. Orchard. Shaft. Fodder.
Capture. Charred. Arrow. Cattle.
Cap. Burned. Quiver. Catalogue.
Gun. Stove. Indian. Log.
Hunter. Fire. Black-Hawk. Saw-mill.
I occasionally find that a bright, highly-gifted person makes a poor
learner of my system, because he acts on hasty inferences of his own
instead of attending to my long-tried and never-failing methods. To
illustrate: Instead of _analysing the above series in pairs_, and
_discovering_ and _noting_ the _relation_ between each pair as I
require, _he reads over the entire series_. His previous study of the
Memory Laws has, however, so impressed his mind with their influence
that he is able to retain this series after only two or three perusals.
Or, instead of reading over the entire series, he may even _slowly read
the series in pairs, but without analysis, without trying to ascertain
and realise the exact relation between the words_. This is the method of
Vacuity or Dawdling formerly mentioned. But his study of the three Laws
in learning the Building Series has so sharpened and quickened his
appreciation of In., Ex., and Con., that he _learned the one hundred
words in this wrong_ way _very readily_.
_But why should he not follow my directions?_ Why not pursue my plan and
thereby acquire the _full power_ of my system instead of the small
portion of that power gained by disregarding my direction? On the other
hand, pupils of only average natural ability are very apt to follow my
directions to the letter and thereby acquire an amount of Memory
Improvement which the above gifted, but non-complying pupil, seems
unable to understand.
If a person is afflicted with a _very_ bad memory in any or all
respects, and particularly if this memory weakness is traceable to
_mind-wandering_, or if it co-exist with the latter infirmity, such a
person may find it best to make a series of from _one hundred to five
hundred words_ on the model of the foregoing series, and learn the same
and _recite it daily both ways_ for a month or more in addition to the
prescribed exercises, and if any trace of mind-wandering remain after
that, let him make and memorise another series of the same extent and
practise it for the same period. The _worst cases of mind-wandering_ and
_of weak memories_ always yield to this training treatment.
In like manner, but in much inferior degree, _the recital of what has
just been heard_, such as anecdotes, narratives, contents of plays,
lectures, &c., not only tends to fix the recited matter in the memory,
but also to strengthen the memory generally, _provided the recital takes
place_ shortly after the listening, as that is like a continuation of
the original experience.