6 MEMORY. 



tell by whom it was spoken, on what eveningv 

 what was the subject of the debate, and who were 

 the principal speakers. His memory was chiefly 

 a memory of sounds, and probably that was the 

 reason, at least one of the reasons, why his judg- 

 ment, weak as it was for the opportunities he had 

 had, was so very much superior. to that of the 

 young man previously mentioned. 



Those two instances, the one of which would 

 be, in common language, called a " natural," and 

 the other a "very soft-headed man/' are not given 

 with the smallest intention .of undervaluing the 

 fact, or as it is usually called, the faculty of me- 

 mory. Far from it, the fact of memory is the foun- 

 dation without which there can be no structure 

 of knowledge. Those are merely instances in 

 which there was plenty of foundation, but very 

 little structure ; and the perfection of the matter 

 consists in the two agreeing with and being wor- 

 thy of each other. It would be easy to give other 

 instances ; but some will occur to every observant 

 reader ; and indeed those mentioned are decisive 

 of the point. 



It is not from the mere fact of our being young 

 when they happened, that the events of our youth 

 return to us in our old age, while those of the 

 more energetic, and therefore more valuable pe- 

 riod of our manhood, which, in respect of time, 

 are more recent, are forgotten, and " will not 

 come when we do call them," call with what 

 earnestness we may. As little is it that our judg- 

 ment is in youth more acute ; for we have seen that 

 the most perfect memory a memory probably 

 more perfect, and certainly more minute than 

 that of any person of superior intelligence 



