118 ENGLISH MEN OF SCIENCE. [CHAP. 



Fitful and peculiar memory. 



1. "Occasionally remarkable, but very fitful. 

 I have occasionally been able to repeat pages 

 after once or twice reading ; at other times it is 

 below the average. A power of eliminating and 

 retaining the salient points of what I read, if 

 it interests me, but very bad memory for facts 

 and details." 



2. " Although I can speak for an hour or 

 two from a few notes, I could not repeat 

 correctly a few sentences from memory. 



"Father Remarkable for good verbal memory; 

 could repeat pages of poetry and speeches, 

 without mistake, a striking contrast to my own 

 memory," 



3. "My father and myself have memories of 

 the same character ; treacherous in matters of 

 business and very retentive of scraps of verse 

 read over and learnt long ago. When my father 

 was to have met me, a little boy returning from 

 school at the end of the half, he would 



