MEMPHIS 



3730 



MEMPHIS 



called upon to repeat what he has himself seen 

 on the printed page. 



Memorizing. There has been much argument 

 regarding the value of memorizing, as to 

 whether or not it is really helpful; the conclu- 

 sion has been reached that all depends on the 

 method employed. If a child sees the reason 

 for memorizing a certain thing, if he under- 

 stands the content and can, if necessary, give 

 the substance in his own words, memorizing is 

 distinctly beneficial, but a child should never 

 be allowed to commit to memory what is to 

 him wholly meaningless, as this leads to 

 slovenly habits of thought; but in after years 

 we derive great pleasure and benefit from gems 

 of literature memorized in childhood, although 

 at the time they were learned we could not 

 fully understand them. Nor should a child 

 ever be allowed to memorize a lesson and 

 repeat it glibly in the words of the book when 

 the subject is such a one as history, for in- 

 stance, where it is entirely the content and not 

 the form which is of importance. See PSY- 

 CHOLOGY. A.MC c. 



Consult Watts' Economy and Training of Mem- 

 ory ; Meumann's The Psychology of Learning. 



MEMPHIS, mem'fis, an ancient capital of 

 Egypt, about twelve miles south of Cairo. It 

 is said to have been built by Menes, Egypt's 

 first king, as his capital, and that he turned the 

 course of the Nile to make more room for it. 

 Menes named the city Men-nofer, which means 

 a place of good abode, but the Greeks cor- 

 rupted it into Memphis. Owing to its favor- 

 able location the city became rich and power- 

 ful, and its old palaces are described as being 

 of remarkable beauty. Other classical build- 

 ings were the temples of Isis and Ra, the latter 

 being the temple of the Sun. After the fall of 

 Thebes, Memphis became the capital of Egypt, 

 and the second city in the land in population. 

 After the Arab conquest the decline of the city 

 was rapid, and Cairo was partially built of 

 stones taken from the deserted buildings. 

 Nearly all traces of the city had disappeared in 

 the first part of the nineteenth century, only 

 two colossal statues of 'Rameses II- being found 

 on the site which marked the entrance to the 

 temple of Ptah. For location, see map of 

 EGYPT, page 1969. 



MEMPHIS , TENN., an important city on the 

 Mississippi River, at the head of deep-water 

 navigation, is the county seat of Shelby County, 

 situated in the extreme southwestern part of 

 the state. It is the largest city in the state 

 and the largest city on the river between New 



Orleans, 739 miles south, and Saint Louis, 454 

 miles north. Memphis is growing rapidly; in 

 1910 the population was 131,105; in 1916 it was 

 148,995 (Federal estimate). Aboi!t thirty per 

 cent of the inhabitants are colored. 



More than 175 steamers, whose home port is 

 Memphis, ply between Memphis and river and 

 Gulf ports. The Chicago, Rock Island & Pa- 

 cific, the Frisco, the Illinois Central, the Louis- 

 ville & Nashville, the Nashville, Chattanooga 

 & Saint Louis, the Saint Louis, Iron Mountain 

 & Southern, the Saint Louis Southwestern, the 

 Southern and the Yazoo & Mississippi railroads 

 enter two large passenger terminals, the Union 

 and Grand Central stations. Freight transfer 

 within the city is effected by two belt lines. 

 A great iron cantilever bridge, the only one 

 across the river from the Gulf to the mouth of 

 the Ohio, was completed in 1892 at a cost of 

 $3,000,000. A second and larger bridge was 

 under construction in 1917. 



Memphis has an area of twenty square miles. 

 It is situated on the east side of the river, on 

 an elevation known as Chickasaw Bluff, which 

 is forty feet above high water. A wide levee 

 extends along the river front. The city is made 

 attractive by wide, well-paved and well-shaded 

 streets and fine residences and public buildings. 



Parks and Public Buildings. There are 1,200 

 acres in woodland parks, a fairgrounds of 111 

 acres and two race courses. Overton Park 

 (335 acres), which has the Brooks Memorial 

 Art Gallery and Zoological Gardens, Riverside 

 (427 acres) and other parks are connected by 

 boulevards and parkways. In the center of the 

 business section is Court Square, in which is a 

 bust of Andrew Jackson. The prominent build- 

 ings are the customhouse and post office, 

 erected in 1885 at a cost of $1,500,000; the 

 courthouse, containing also the city offices, 

 costing $1,500,000; the police headquarters, 

 which cost 250,000; the Cotton Exchange and 

 the Merchants' Exchange; Cossitt and two 

 other public libraries, and a market house. 



Institutions. Memphis has the West Tennes- 

 see State Normal School, the medical depart- 

 ment of the University of Tennessee, Goodwin 

 Institute and two schools for negroes, the Han- 

 nibal Medical College and Le Moyne Normal 

 Institute. There are, besides, many private 

 schools. Other important institutions are the 

 Baptist Memorial Hospital, one of the finest 

 in the South, the United States Marine and 

 the Municipal hospitals. 



Commerce and Industry. The commercial 

 and industrial importance of Memphis is due 



