Memorising Extraordinary.

Te Aroha News, Volume VI, Issue 312, 31 October 1888, Page 6

Me mo rising Extraordinary.

Tuiskl is a lady in New York who has a remarkable memory. She is a member of a ceitain reverend doctor's congregation, and it, appears thab, after she has heard one of her pastor's sermons, she coes home and writes it out in <aotent>o y without the aid of any notes. Moreover, she has been doing this sort of thing ior the lasb iive-and-twentv years, and h«s accumulated the luports ot something like 2,000 discourses. Further, she has reproduced all thedoctoi's lectures, has classified all his opinions, and has made elaborate indexes to them. Now, this particular pastor may be grateful for the attention and labour thus given to his work, but we are not sure that eveiy parson or minister would be glad to have such another c memoriser ' in his ilock. Her presence there might be embarrassing. It is not every preacher whose sentences will bear taking down in their iim^ima verba,^ The triva voce orator is apt to slip a little in his grammar, and to use words and phrases which he would rather not see perpetuated. Moreover, there are those clerics (and small blame to them) who now and then preach old sermons, and with what face could they do that if there was a ehiel ot this Yankee sort ' amaiig them, takin' notes?' They would be restrained, almo&b paralysed, by the thuught of her, and would bet to work at something new. She would, of course, be a source of terror to the unworthy pastor who preaches other people's sermons, but for him she need have no consideration —he ought to be unmasked. and she would have the means of doing it. No one, indeed, ' can be prevented from taking down, mentally or otherwise, the utterances of preachers, but we venture to believe that, save in a few cases, the clergy would prefer not to be so distinguished. One may be grateful for the reporting habit which gave us tho pith of so many of F. W. Robertsons thoughtful sermons, but, in general, the habit will not be popular with those whom it principally aflects.