Assimilative Memory; or, How to Attend and Never Forget - A. Loisette

—Treaty with United States in regard to the Nicaragua Canal April 19, 1850
—Sir Robert Peel’s fall from a horse, on Constitution Hill, June 29, resulted in his death July 2, 1850
—A Farewell Benefit to William Macready, the tragedian, at Drury Lane Theatre Feb. 26, 1851
—Opening of International Exhibition by Her Majesty, in Hyde Park May 1, 1851
—Louis Napoleon’s Coup d’état Dec. 2, 1851
—Duke of Wellington’s Death Sept. 14, 1852
—Birth of Prince Leopold April 7, 1853
—Lord Palmerston advises Presbytery of Edinburgh to first consult the laws of sanitation before ordering a fast on account of the Cholera Oct. 19, 1853
—Rev. F. D. Maurice dismissed from King’s College for opinion’s sake Oct. 27, 1853
—War declared by Russia against Turkey Nov. 1, 1853

FIFTH EXERCISE.

—War declared by England, against Russia Mar. 22, 1854
—Epochal Work—Spencer’s Psychology 1855
—Treaty of Peace between England, France, and Russia, at Paris Mar. 30, 1856
—Bands play on Sunday afternoons in Kensington Gardens April 13, 1856
—Birth of Princess Beatrice April 14, 1857
—Capture of Delhi Sept. 20, 1857
—First Sitting of the Court for Divorces: Sir Cresswell Cresswell, Judge Ordinary Jan. 16, 1858
—Statue of Sir Isaac Newton unveiled by Lord Brougham at Grantham Sept. 21, 1858
—Darwin’s “Origin of Species” published 1859
—Death of Lord (Thomas Babington) Macaulay Dec. 28, 1859

‌SIXTH EXERCISE.

—Thomas Hopley, schoolmaster, sentenced to 4 years’ penal servitude for causing the death of R. C. Cancellor by excessive corporal punishment July 23, 1860
—Lord Clarence advises Ironclads for the Navy Mar. 11, 1861
—Recognition by English Government of the Southern Confederacy May 8, 1861
—Death of Prince Consort of gastric fever Nov. 14, 1861
—Marriage of Prince of Wales and Princess Alexandra of Denmark Mar. 10, 1863
—Tercentenary of Shakespeare’s birth April 23, 1864
—Tercentenary of the death of Calvin May 27, 1864
—Inauguration of a statue to Sir Wm. Jenner, at Boulogne Sept. 1, 1865
—Albert Medal for those who in saving life endanger their own Mar. 7, 1866
—Mr. Peabody thanked by H. M. the Queen for his munificent gifts to the poor of London Mar. 28, 1866
—Government requires Electric Telegraph July 31, 1868
—University of Edinburgh admits women to the study of medicine Oct. 27, 1869
—Act for the abolition of imprisonment for debt comes into effect Jan. 1, 1870
—Prof. Tyndall traces propagation of disease by dust and germs floating in the air Jan. 14, 1870
—Prince of Wales attacked with typhoid fever Nov. 23, 1871
—Geneva Convention awards the United States of America, on account of Alabama Claims, £3,000,000 against Great Britain Sept. 14, 1873
—Miss Richards, of Stapleton, walked 1000 miles in 1000 consecutive hours June 29, 1874
—Captain Boynton crosses English Channel (second attempt) in his swimming dress May 28, 1875
—British Museum lighted by electricity Oct. 20, 1879
—Tay Bridge disaster Dec. 28, 1879
—Death of Mrs. Mary Ann Cross (George Eliot) Nov. 22, 1880
—International Medical Congress in London; 2000 doctors from all parts of the world Aug. 3, 1881
—Greenwich Observatory changed mode of reckoning time; commencing at midnight as in the case of civil time Jan. 1, 1885
—First complete copy of Revised Bible presented to H. M. The Queen May 15, 1885
—Sixpenny Telegrams introduced Oct. 1, 1885
—By Pope’s special authority the Queen visits the Monastery of the Grande Chartreuse April 23, 1887
—Queen’s Jubilee; 50th Anniversary June 20, 1887
—The “Times” Newspaper celebrates its 100th Anniversary Jan. 1, 1888
‌—First of 10 victims of “Jack the Ripper,” Whitechapel, London Aug. 29, 1888
—Henry Irving, Miss Terry and Lyceum Co., play at Sandringham, before the Queen, Royal Family and Guests April 26, 1889
—Lord Mayor of London, Cardinal Manning and Bishop of London, constitute a Board of Conciliation in the great Dock Strike Sept. 5, 1889
—Sir E. Guinness gives £250,000 for the erection of dwellings for the poor of London and Dublin Nov. 19, 1889
—Great Speech of Sir William Harcourt on Free Education in Scotland Aug. 1, 1890
—Death of Cardinal Newman Aug. 11, 1890
—Funeral of Charles Bradlaugh Feb. 3, 1891
—Loss of s.s. “Utopia,” off Gibraltar, 600 lives lost Mar. 17, 1891
—International Postal Congress May 23, 1891
—Meeting of Imperial Federation League June 19, 1891
—Primrose League Demonstration at Hatfield July 18, 1891
—Meeting in connection with University Extension of Education, held in Oxford Aug. 6, 1891
—International Agricultural Congress reject nationalization of land Sept. 11, 1891
—Mr. Lidderdale and the Baring Liquidation Sept. 17, 1891
—Publication of Koch’s new remedy for Tuberculosis Oct. 22, 1891
—Centenary of Mozart’s death observed in England Dec. 5, 1891
—Indian national congress opened Dec. 27, 1891
—The Khedive of Egypt appointed a new Cabinet without consulting the British Government. The next day he dismissed it under British pressure Jan. 17, 1893
—The Australian Joint Stock Bank failed for £13,000,000 sterling April 20, 1893
—The House of Lords rejected the Home Rule Bill Sept. 8, 1893
—Professor Tyndall died from an overdose of chloral administered in mistake by his wife Dec. 4, 1893
—Lord Salisbury attacks Darwinianism in his address before the British Association Aug. 8, 1894

ANALYSIS OF ONE HUNDRED EVENTS OF THE VICTORIAN ERA.

1 and 2—Con. and In.—The Victorian Era began June 20, 1837, and an Act for the abolition of the death penalty for forgery, &c., was passed nearly a month later. Here is the relation of Sequence or Con. The main motive for enacting the law was‌ doubtless sympathy. Death appeared to be too cruel for the crime; hence the sympathy on the part of the Sovereign, the founder of the Era, and of the legislators brought the Act into existence. Here we have the relation of Simple Inclusion.
2 and 3—Ex.—Criminals try to live by their wits, without work. The trade unionists live by labour. The modes of livelihood of these two classes are opposed. Hence it is Ex.
3 and 4—In. and Ex.—Trades union people and navigators are laborers.—Here is In. But the former work mostly at home or in their own country, and the sailors are engaged beyond the boundaries of their native country.—Here is Ex. from difference of locality.
4 and 5—In.—The sailors on the Great Western worked beyond the limits of their native country, and an International Copyright Law extends its influence even into the area of foreign lands. In the view of the sphere of operation these two cases contain an element in common.—Hence it is In.
5 and 6—Ex.—The International Copyright Law was enacted after long and earnest agitation—but all legal.—The Chartist agitators had to be suppressed. Here are conditions opposed to each other.—It is Ex.
6 and 7—Ex.—The Chartist agitation was extreme, and was proclaimed illegal. The Anti-Corn Law League acted prudently and within the law. Here again are opposed conditions. It is Ex.
7 and 8—In.—The Anti-Corn Law League was organised to help give cheap food to the masses. The Penny Postage Act was enacted to help the poor man, to save expense. A similar aim prompted the supporters of both measures.—It is In.
8 and 9—Ex.—Favouring the masses by cheap postage calls attention to the majority or the great body of the people. The marriage of the highest dignitaries of the State directs attention to the most favoured or exalted personages in the country. The extremes of the community are brought into relation. It is Ex.
9 and 10—Con. and In.—Parents and child is a Sequence. Hence Con. and a child possessing the blood of his parents sustains the relation also of In. to them. Let the pupil pause here, and before his next session of study of these events, let him recite these ten backwards and forwards several times from memory.
10 and 11—In.—Brother and sister possessing in common the blood of their parents is a case of In.
11 and 12—Ex.—Here is a birth contrasted with a death.—It is Ex.
12 and 13—Ex.—Death on the one hand and on the other a widespread effort to bring into existence Acts of Parliament. Self-destruction contrasted with efforts at production.
13 and 14—In.—Here are two winners and two losers. The parties opposed to Chartists defeat the hearing of this proposed motion; and the British soldiers gain a victory over the Boers. Success in common makes a case of In. on the part of the victorious‌ parties. And then the Chartists lost their proposed hearing and the Boers were beaten. This is the second In.
14 and 15—Ex.—A resort to arms contrasted with a resort to diplomacy.
15 and 16—Ex.—A treaty between the two greatest nations of the earth, and loss of 10,000 men. A triumph of Peace and a triumph in War.
16 and 17—Ex.—The death of a multitude of soldiers and a birth in the highest family of the realm.
17 and 18—Ex. and In.—A birth and a death gives Ex. A royal birth with all the advantages it brings, and the advantage of the inheritance of great fortunes, makes a clear case of In.
18 and 19—Ex. and In.—Similar relations to those spoken of in the last paragraph.
19 and 20—Ex.—To the taxpayer the endowment of the Duke of Edinburgh might seem to be a burden imposed—and the abolition of imprisonment for debt below £20, would be looked upon as a burden removed. Here we have Ex.

As before suggested, let the pupil recite the foregoing ten events forwards and the reverse way several times from memory. And then let him similarly recite the entire twenty events.

20 and 21—In.—Favoring poor people—debtors and poor students—characterises both events.
21 and 22—In.—This college among other things prosecuted the study of Philosophy—“the complete unification of knowledge”—Faraday unified three elements.
22 and 23—In.—Light, heat and electricity arise from latency to manifestation—a physical birth—here, too, is the birth of an organism.
23 and 24—In.—Beginning of two careers—one of an individual and the other of a body of persons.
24 and 25—Ex.—Object and aims different—one was a promotion of science—new science—highest science—the other was reverence for old literature—greatest of all literatures.
25 and 26—Ex.—Liberal outlay of money in art circles—great scarcity in business.
26 and 27—Ex.—Anguish and suffering unallayed—pain neutralized.
27 and 28—Ex.—Suppression of individual feeling—society’s outburst.
28 and 29—In.—Explosion of seething elements—a new nation—royal birth.
29 and 30—In. and Ex.—Nation protects Royal child—a foreigner seeks same protection.
30 and 31—In. and Ex.—Treaty between State and individual—treaty between States.
31 and 32—Ex.—Canal transportation comparatively safe—horseback riding liable to accidents.
32 and 33—In.—Farewell to life—farewell to stage.
‌33 and 34—Ex.—Close of one kind of exhibition and opening of another.
34 and 35—Ex.—Peaceful industries triumph—usurpation by intrigue and blood.
35 and 36—Ex. and In.—Beginning of one career and close of another—a trampler on laws; a respecter of them.
36 and 37—Ex.—Great General’s death; royal birth.
37 and 38—Ex.—Life and choleraic deaths feared.
38 and 39—In.—Rebuke of religious zeal—dismissal for opinion’s sake.
39 and 40—In.—A cleric dismissed and a war declared—“Intolerance” in both cases.
40 and 41—In.—Two declarations of war.
41 and 42—Ex.—Ravages of war contrasted with intellectual triumphs of peace—brute force and advanced thinking.
42 and 43—Con.—Philosophy and peace—high thinking and the conditions on which it can be carried on—co-existence.
43 and 44—Con.—Peace and its celebrations, cause and effect.
44 and 45—In.—General rejoicing and rejoicing in royal family.
45 and 46—Ex.—Life and bloody deaths.
46 and 47—Ex.—Forcible seizure and legal separation, capture and discharge.
47 and 48—Ex.—Marriage failures and honoring Newton’s successes.
48 and 49—Ex. and In.—Honoring old science—publishing new science.
49 and 50—Ex.—Beginning of scientific reputation—close of literary life.
50 and 51—In. and Ex.—Two deaths make In.—and one from natural causes and the other from violence, we have Ex.
51 and 52—Ex.—Violence externally applied kills the boy—but ships shielded from violence by its ironclad covering. It is Ex.
52 and 53—In. and Con.—Interest in war and befriending a belligerent, coexistence of war improvement, and favouring a warlike people.
53 and 54—Ex.—Coming into existence (recognition) and death of a high personage.
54 and 55—Con. and Ex.—Father and son is Con.—death and marriage as the condition of life.
55 and 56—In.—Marriage festivities and celebration of Shakespeare’s birth—both rejoicings.
56 and 57—In. and Ex.—Both tercentenaries, and one reckons from birth and the other from death.
57 and 58—In. and Ex.—Tercentenary ceremonies, and dedication of a statue to Sir William Jenner—one tried to save souls, the other to save life.
58 and 59—In.—A statue and a medal—honour in both cases.
59 and 60—In.—One tried to save life, the other alleviated its sufferings.
60 and 61—In.—Gifts to the poor in a lump—buying telegraph to cheapen cost of messages to the great mass of community.
61 and 62—In.—Extension of telegraphs, ultimately to the benefit of all—extension of medical education to women.
‌62 and 63—In.—Rights of women and of the poor—beneficence to poor and charity to women.
63 and 64—Con.—Common prisons abound in dust and germs—these latter are propagators of disease.
64 and 65—In. and Con.—Germs cause typhoid and other diseases—Prince of Wales attacked by typhoid.
65 and 66—Ex.—Typhoid tends to destroy; awards build up.
66 and 67—In. and Ex.—Fast steamer Alabama, and fast woman walker, speed with injury—and innocent speed.
67 and 68—Ex.—Walking on land and safe swimming in water.
68 and 69—In.—Floating in water and electric lighting of museum—protection to life—and comfort to life.
69 and 70—Ex.—Lighted museum—and dark night at the Tay—light and safety—and darkness and death.
70 and 71—In.—Many deaths in Bridge disaster and one distinguished person dies.
71 and 72—Ex.—One person dies and medics strive to prevent death.
72 and 73—In. and Ex.—Medical improvement and improvement in reckoning time—doctors from abroad—and observatory stationary.
73 and 74—In.—Improved time reckoning—and revised and improved form of Bible.
74 and 75—In. and Ex.—Gift to highest personage and cheap telegrams for masses—favours to both.
75 and 76—In. and Ex.—Head of English nation and head of Catholic church—favour to the Queen and favour to the people.
76 and 77—In.—One concession to Queen—and people’s jubilee on account of Queen—good will in both cases.
77 and 78—In. and Ex.—Queen’s jubilee and Times’ jubilee, sovereign and subjects.
78 and 79—Con.—Universal reporter of good and bad things—worst possible murder.
79 and 80—Ex.—Horror and amusement.
80 and 81—Ex.—Players for Royalty and great arbitrators for labouring men.
81 and 82—In.—Strike of poor labourers, and houses for the poor.
82 and 83—In. and Ex.—Gifts to poor and education for them—physical benefits and mental benefit.
83 and 84—In. and Ex.—Intellectual education and spiritual education—living scholars and death of a great teacher.
84 and 85—In. and Ex.—Two deaths—and opposite beliefs—In. as to death and Ex. as to opinions.
85 and 86—In.—Death of one man—and death of six hundred—In.
86 and 87—Ex.—A dead multitude and a living congress.
87 and 88—In.—Two congresses.
88 and 89—In.—Imperialism—and party self-assertion.
89 and 90—In.—Political agitation—educational agitation.
90 and 91—Ex.—Extension of education—refusal to extend Government sway over land.
91 and 92—In.—Land not lost individuals—and bank saved.
‌92 and 93—In. and Ex.—Saving a bank and effort to save life—bank saved—but consumptives lost.
93 and 94—In. and Ex.—Rejoicing over supposed antidote to consumptive deaths—and music jubilee over death of Mozart.
94 and 95—Ex.—Death and birth of congress.
95 and 96—Ex.—A congress meets and a cabinet dissolves.
96 and 97—In.—A cabinet failed and a bank failed.
97 and 98—In.—Bank failure and Home Rule bill defeated.
98 and 99—In. and Ex.—Bill killed intentionally—a man killed accidentally.
99 and 100—In. and Ex.—Fatal attack of poison—unsuccessful attack on Darwinianism.

As to the dates of the 100 events, they will cause no difficulty. The pupil should look upon my formulas as models merely, and make his own whenever possible. In all the events belonging to this century, we have only to deal with the last two figures—(3) Model (7) Queen gives the date of (18)37. The rule in regard to the month and the day of the month is very easily applied. A separate word for each figure except for the three months [October, November and December] where there are two figures in the one word that expresses the number of the month, as ties, dues, ’tis, thus, this, those, express October, the tenth month; that, did, died, dot, date, thought, &c., &c., indicate November, the eleventh month; and then, thin, tone, tune, attain, &c., &c., mean December, the twelfth month. A Model Queen Just in season—Just in its “J” means the sixth month, or June, and “n” in “in” and “s” in season means a cypher—or 20—the translation of the phrase is (18)37—June—20th day.