The representatives of the figures from 0 up to 9 are given in the initial consonants of the ten subsequent phrases following the figures:—
| Nought | (0) | So Zealous Ceases. |
|---|---|---|
| One | (1) | Tankard this Day. |
| Two | (2) | Nostrils. (or 2 Nations. Ex. 35, 10; 37, 22.) |
| Three | (3) | Meals. (or 3 Mighty Men. 2 Sam. 23.) |
| Four | (4) | Roads. (or 4 Rings. Ex. 25, 26; 38, 5.) |
| Five | (5) | Loaves. (Matt. 14; Mark 6; Luke 9.) |
| Six | (6) | Shy Jewesses Chose George. |
| Seven | (7) | Great Kings Came Quarrelling. |
| Eight | (8) | Fold Value. (or 8 ’Varsity Fellows.) |
| Nine | (9) | Pin Bowling. |
This explanation is a help to remember the letter-values of the figures. Another way to fix these values in mind for permanent use is to turn words into figures, as in going through an ordinary spelling-book. This practice quickly enables you to turn figures into words, and to translate them back into figures. Facility will be attained long before the lessons are completed. But this lesson, thoroughly studied, will secure the needful proficiency.
The pupil may skip the next paragraph if not wishing to deal with decimals.
[As a rule, it is better not to use words beginning with S, except to translate decimals and fractions, and Date-words where a doubt might otherwise arise (unless in a phrase like “To see Jiji,” “delay a spy,” &c.); and in case of the decimals, S, as the initial letter, means (not 0, but) the decimal point. (1) If there is an integer followed by a decimal, two separate words are used; the decimal-word begins with S, thus: 945.51 = barley sold; 71.3412 = “good Samaritan.” (2) If it is a decimal by itself, the S indicates the decimal point only; .01 = society; .02 = Susan; .94 = sparrow. (3) If it is a vulgar fraction, the words translating numerator and denominator begin with S, and the S’s are not counted, the numerator-word coming first, and the denominator-word last; thus 5/12 = sell Satan.]
As to Date-words, just before the Christian Era you may use an initial S [or the vowel A, or any other vowel], as, Stir would mean 14 B.C. [Before Christ]; and, of course, Tower would mean 14 A.D. [for Anno Domini—in the year of our Lord]; Soar = 4 B.C., and Rue = 4 A.D. In a Date-word like Trial, to express 145 B.C., no doubt could arise; if the Pupil knows the contemporary history, he could not imagine it could be 290 later, or 145 A.D. If he fears he might not remember that it was B.C. he could remove all doubt by using the word Stroll, or any other word which translates 145 and begins with S.
For convenience of reference I now give the figure Alphabet tabulated.
| 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S Z Csoft |
t th |
n | m | r | l | sh j ch gsoft |
ghard k chard q ng |
f v |
b p |
If the pupil has mastered the Figure Alphabet he will proceed with the greatest satisfaction and profit. If he has not mastered it, let him carefully review the foregoing pages of this chapter, and then he can advance with the assurance of meeting no difficulties.
It is a simple and easy process; knowing exactly what consonants are used to represent each of the numbers, you simply write at the side of the numbers to be turned into words the consonants which stand for them; and using any vowels you please, you find out by experimenting what words can translate the figures. Suppose you wish to find out what words will translate the date of the settlement of Jamestown, Va., 1607. You place the figures under each other as below, and then you place at the right hand of each figure the consonants which translate it.
By experimenting you soon find the following phrases will represent 1607; as, “A Dutch Song,” “Dash a Sack,” “To wash a Sock,” “The Choosing,” “The Chasing,” “Touches a Key,” &c.
Try the date of the adoption of the Constitution of the United States, 1787. Writing down the numbers as before, you place t, th, d, opposite 1; g hard, k, c hard, q, ng, opposite 7; f and v, opposite 8; g hard, k, c hard, q, and ng, opposite 7; and then you soon find translating words, as follows: “To give a Key,” “The giving,” “The quaffing,” “The Coughing,” &c.
In all cases you must carefully comply with the rules and explanations heretofore given. A little practice will enable you to dispense with writing down the figures and the consonants which represent them; but at first pains must be taken in the above way to secure accuracy.
Try 1636, the date of the founding of Harvard College: You obtain “Dash a midge,” “The chum age,” “Teach much,” “To show my joy,” &c.
The founding of Yale College in 1701 gives: “Took a seat,” “The cost,” “The quest,” “The cast,” “A tax due,” or “Took a city,” &c.
Sometimes the first consonants only of words are used. Comenius, Educational Reformer (things before words, pictured illustrations, &c.) and Moravian Bishop, was born 1592: or (1) Things (5) Well (9) Pictured (2) Now. He died 1671; or A (1) Teaching (6) Churchman (7) Gave (1) Out.
When the word or phrase used to translate figures sustains no relation of In., Ex., or Con., to the event itself, that word or phrase is synthetic and is dealt with hereafter.
Nearly all the translating words given in this section so far are synthetic. “The coughing,” sustains no relation of In., Ex., or Con., to the adoption of the Constitution of the U. S., and is therefore relegated to the next chapter for the method of cementing it to that event if we were obliged to use that phrase.
Synthesis will be sometimes hereafter resorted to to connect in our minds an event to its date. When this will be necessary, the sequel will show.
When the word or phrase which translates the date or number sustains the relation of In., Ex., or Con., to the event or fact itself, that word or phrase is analytic, and is memorised by merely assimilating that relation.
Different ways of expressing figures by words, phrases, or sentences that are self-connected to the fact or event will now be given.
1. Sometimes all the sounded consonants of a word or phrase are used.
Room-mates in college are called “chums.” Harvard College—the oldest Collegiate Institution in America—really introduced “the chum age” in America. The formula for the date of its foundation in 1636 may be thus expressed—Harvard College founded; the chum age [1636].
The annual production of iron in America is said to be six million four hundred and twenty-seven thousand, one hundred and forty-eight tons. These figures may be analytically expressed thus: “Huge iron we get rough” [6,427,148 tons].
The great wall of China is 1,250 miles long. This may be expressed thus: “They now a high Wall see” [1250].
A characteristic of Herbert Spencer is the accuracy of his definitions. His birth, in 1820, may be indicated by this significant phrase: “He Defines” [1820].
2. Sometimes only the initial consonants of the words or phrases or sentences are used.
Caius Julius Cæsar was born 100 B.C., and he died 44 B.C. His birth may be expressed by the phrase, (1) “The (0) Stripling (0) Cæsar;” and his death by a phrase which declares that his death was the remote result of his crossing the Rubicon, thus: (4) “Rubicon’s (4) Revenge.”
Marcus Tullius Cicero was born 106 B.C., and he died 43 B.C. His birth: (1) “Tullius (0) Cicero’s (6) Childhood.” His death: (4) “Remove (3) Marcus.” [In allusion to the order for his death.]
The height of Egypt’s greatest pyramid is 479 feet, or (4) “World’s (7) Greatest (9) Pyramid.”
The city of Melbourne was named after Lord Melbourne in 1837, or (3) “Melbourne (7) Christened.”
It will be convenient to consider all compound names of cities or places as if they were single words, using only the initial consonant of the first of the names, as (2) New-York, or (2) New-Amsterdam, or (2) United-States, etc.
New York City [at first known as New Amsterdam] was settled by the Dutch in 1626, or New York founded: (1) “Dutchmen (6) Chose (2) New-Amsterdam (6) Joyfully.”
Virginia was settled at Jamestown in 1607. This date may be analytically expressed thus: (1) “Then (6) Jamestown (0) Was (7) Colonized.”
The exact population of the United States, according to the census of 1880, may be expressed through the initial consonants of the following sentence: “A (5) Late (0) Census, (1) ‘Eighty’s’ (8) Furnishes (9) Precise (2) United-States (0) Sovereign (9) Population,” or 50,189,209.
The exact population of the United States declared in June, 1890, commonly called the census of “ninety,” was stated as sixty-two millions six hundred and twenty-two thousand two hundred and fifty, or “A (6) General (2) Enumeration (6) which (2) Undoubtedly (2) Indicates (2) ‘Ninety’s’ (5) Large (0) Census.” 62,622,250, or for the last three figures we could say: (2) United States’ (5) Large (0) Census.
Before the close of the year 1890 an official census of the Whites and Indians on the Indian Reservations added 243,875 to the above number, making the total population of the United States in 1890, 62,866,125. A (6) General (2) Enumeration (8) Officially (6) Shows (6) Just (1) The (2) Number (5) Living. Now (1895) it is computed to be 67,000,000 [to express the round numbers of millions, we could say, (6) Just (7) Government or (6) Charming (7) Country].
The birth of Herbert Spencer, in 1820, may be expressed thus: (1) Advent (8) of (2) Infant (0) Spencer, or (1) The (8) Future (2) “Unknowable” (0) Spencer, (2) Infant (0) Spencer. Several different ways of expressing the same date will be given in a few cases.
It is often convenient for a teacher, and others, to recall the number of a page of a book in which a citation is found. In Prof. William James’s Psychology Abridged for Schools and Colleges, the chapter on Habit begins on p. 134, or “(1) The (3) Mould (4) Rules;” the chapter on Will begins on p. 415: “A (4) Resolve (1) Denotes (5) Will;” the chapter on Attention begins on p. 217, or “(2) Notice (1) Attention’s (7) Qualities;” the chapter on Association begins on p. 253, or (2) “Now (5) Help (3) Memory;” and that on Memory on p. 287, or “(2) Intellect (8) Forbids (7) Cramming.” Prof. Loisette’s New York Office is in Fifth Avenue at No. 237, or “A (2) New (3) Memory (7) Given,” or “A (2) New (3) Memory (7) Acquired.” His London Office was formerly at 37 [a memory gained] New Oxford Street. It is now at 200 Regent Street, London [(2) Now (0) Secure (0) Assimilation].
3. Sometimes the first two consonants of a word are used.
Sheridan’s famous ride occurred in 1864. In dates of the last and present century it is usual to indicate the last two figures of the date. 64, therefore, is all we need express. Formula: Sheridan’s ride in 1864—(64) Cheers; or, (64) Sheridan. The Pennsylvania Whisky Rebellion took place in 1794; or, (94) Brewery.
4. Sometimes the first and last consonants of a word are used, and sometimes two consonants in the middle of a word.
These devices are rarely resorted to, but if ever used, they must be thoroughly assimilated. Battle of Waterloo was fought in 1815; 15 may be found in the t and l of (15) Waterloo. Herbert Spencer was born, as we have already seen, in 1820. The 20 may be found in the n and c of Spencer.
5. Never, on any account, use the same word to express two different dates; as, its first two consonants for one date and its two middle, or its first and last consonants, to express another date.
6. Never fail to carefully analyse the relations between the fact or event and its date or number word.
Subject to the exceptions hereafter named, all dates and numbers should be exactly expressed in the date or number words.
Alexander the Great was born 356 B.C. and died in a drunken debauch 323 B.C. His birth: (3) Macedonia’s (5) Alexander a (6) Child. His death: A (3) Macedonian’s (2) Inebriation (3) Mortal. Several mnemonists of the old school have for the past forty years used the phrase “Rise, Sire,” to express the date of the creation of the world, which according to the accepted biblical chronology took place 4004 B.C. But that phrase, proper enough in the mouths of the sons of Noah, when they found their father lying on the ground in a fit of intoxication, could have no pertinence when applied to the Creator, to the creation in general, or to the creation of this world in particular. A self-connected phrase would, however, express this date as follows: “Creation of the World: (4) Earth (0) Started (0) Swiftly (4) Rotating.”
First Exception.—From A.D. 1000 to A.D. 1700 the last three figures of the date should be expressed in the date words. Mars expresses 340 and could be used to indicate the invention of cannon in (1) 340 by one who knew that Mars was the name of the god of war in classic mythology. The formula would be: “Invention of cannon: (1) 340 Mars.” But this term would have no mnemonic significance to one who knows the word Mars as meaning only one of the planets. Hence the danger—ever to be avoided—of using classical allusions in teaching the average student. A (3) martial (4) Organ (0) Sways, or murderous artillery started.
Second Exception.—From A.D. 1700 to the present moment, the last two figures must be expressed in the date words. Many examples will hereafter illustrate this exception. In very rare cases, the expression of the last figure in the date word will suffice. We know that Ralph Waldo Emerson and Oliver Wendell Holmes [author of the Autocrat of the Breakfast Table] were born towards the beginning of this century, the former in 1803 and the latter in 1809. The following formulas would give the date of their birth: Ralph Waldo (180)3 Emerson; Oliver Wendell Holmes (180)9 “Breakfast.”
Third Exception.—In cases where there is no practical utility in comparing one very large number with another, as in the case of the distances of the planets from the sun, mere round numbers may suffice, yet astronomers must know such numbers with exactness. But in regard to all mundane affairs, the pupil must throw off the character of scholar and assume the license of children, if he attempts to express large numbers, as of populations, &c., by “guessing,” or, what is the same thing, by only giving round numbers. The Brooklyn Suspension Bridge is 5989 feet long, and the Forth Bridge, which crosses the Firth of Forth in Scotland, is 8296 feet long. Now, instead of saying that the former is about 5000 feet long, why not say 5989 feet long? [(5) Long (9) Bridge (8) Of (9) Brooklyn.] And instead of saying that the latter is about or somewhere in the neighbourhood of 8000 feet long, why not be exact and say 8296 feet long? [(8) Forth’s (2) New (9) Bridge (6) Shown. It was completed in 1890.]
No one who has not had experience in dealing with thousands of poor memories, as I have had, can realise the fact that in most cases of poor memories the facts themselves are often possessed, but are mostly unrecallable when wanted. I have tried to teach pupils how to find analytic date or number words without any previous training in In., Ex., and Con., and 99 of all such attempts have always been failures. The 100th case, which succeeded, only confirmed the rule. On the other hand, I have always found that these failures become successes after a thorough practical training in In., Ex., and Con., such as I have already given. In fact, I never had a pupil who became proficient in the use of In., Ex., and Con., who did not arrive at the use of analytic number words without any specific directions from me. But I think, on the whole, that it is the better way to combine direct and specific training in analytic number words, with a previous exhaustive general drill in In., Ex., and Con.
The rules hereafter given must be carefully studied and every example painstakingly examined. After studying my formulas let the pupil endeavour in each case to find a better one himself. If the pupil acts on my advice, he will know how to be always sure to think of the needful related or including facts for finding analytic date words, phrases, or sentences.
The different processes for dealing with dates or numbers may be classified as follows:—
(1) Cases where the name of the person, fact, or event gives its date; as, Birth of the colored orator and politician Frederick Douglass (18)17. This kind of a case is of rare occurrence, and it would be like the charlatanry which has disgraced many former memory systems to allow the pupil to suppose that it frequently happens. A glance at the event, word, or description will quickly tell him if it represents the necessary figures, and if it do not, he must resort to an analytic date word, or phrase, or sentence, whichever he finds most suitable for him. No one figure alphabet contains the advantages of all others. Each has special advantages in special cases. Whatever figure alphabet, however, is used, the main thing about it is to master it thoroughly.
(2) Cases where a significant or analytic word or phrase expresses the date or number. “Ill-usage” expresses the date of the death of Columbus in 1506, as he died in great neglect. The impetuous pupil says: “How can I be sure that this phrase applies to Columbus? Would it not apply to any one who had been ill-used?” Certainly not. It applies only to an ill-used man whose date (birth or death, &c.) was in 1506. If he knows of some other man who was greatly ill-used and who died in 1506, then he must use another analytic phrase for that man. See next paragraph.
Six distinguished persons were born in 1809, yet the date of the birth of each is easily fixed: Darwin, whose principal work was called “Origin of Species;” Gladstone, noted for his vigorous eloquence; Lincoln, who was conspicuous as a binder together of separated States; Tennyson, who was chosen as Poet-Laureate, and who was born at Somersby, England; Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, who early displayed a musical genius, and whose first oratorio was called “St. Paul;” Elizabeth Barrett Browning [née Elizabeth Barrett], whose poems are distinguished for their subjectivity. The analytic formulas for these different persons born in the same year, 1809, may each differ from the others, thus:
| Birth of | Charles Darwin | Species (18)09 |
|---|---|---|
| —— | William Ewart Gladstone | Spellbinder (18)09 |
| —— | Abraham Lincoln | Splicer (18)09 |
| —— | Alfred Tennyson | Poet (180)9 or (0) Selected (9) Poet or Somersby (09) |
| —— | Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy | (180)9 or Precocious (180)9, or (0) St. (9) Paul |
| —— | Elizabeth Barret Browning | (180)9, or Subjective (18)09 |
Benjamin Franklin was born in 1706, and died in 1790. (0) “Sagacious (6) child” would analytically fix his birth, as he was known as a precocious boy: or the single word (06) Sage. As he was a great worker all his life, (90) “Busy,” or “(9) Benjamin (0) Ceased” would significantly express his death-date.
(3) Cases where the initial consonants of a short sentence analytically express the date.
The analytic number words, phrases, and sentences which one retains most easily are those which he has made himself. Formulas prepared by others are perfectly retained, however, if they are thoroughly assimilated.
The analytic word or phrase is what one most usually finds and uses. Sentences will sometimes be useful because they may contain the name of the event, and they sometimes offer a wider range for selection of the needed consonants; but care must be taken to avoid ambiguity. To indicate the birth of Lincoln, we might use this formula: (1) Dawn (8) of (0) Assassinated (9) President, but as Garfield was also assassinated, the formula in its meaning would equally apply to the latter. If, however, we know that Garfield was born in 1831, the ambiguity would be removed. (1) Dawn (8) of (0) Assassinated (9) Abraham could apply only to Lincoln. (1) Dawn (8) of (0) Slavery’s (9) President would be applicable to the career of Buchanan, Pierce and Fillmore, but it would express the birth-date only of Lincoln, while it would be wholly inapplicable to his career. (1) Dawn (8) of (0) Slavery’s (9) Punisher would exclusively apply to Lincoln’s life and birth-date.
(2) “Noah a (34) Mere (8) Waif,” (2) “Noah (3) May (48) Rove,” or (2) “Noah (3) May (48) Arrive,” are analytic sentences where all the sounded consonants are used. But a greater variety of sentences might be found, or one sentence be more readily found in the first instance if only the initial consonants are used: as, (2) Noah’s (3) Menagerie (4) Ark (8) Full, or (2) Noah (3) Made (4) Ararat (8) Famous, or (2) Noah’s (3) Marvellous (4) Rainy (8) Flood, or (2) Noah’s (3) Mighty (4) Ark (8) Floated, or (2) Noah (3) Mounted (4) Ararat (8) Firmly. Other specific analytic phrases for this event may easily be found by the student.
The superiority of analytic phrases where all the sounded consonants are used, over the analytic sentences, where only the initial consonants are employed, may be seen in the case of the number of men who enlisted in behalf of the Federal Government in the late war. The number was two millions, three hundred and twenty thousand, eight hundred and fifty-four. By initial consonants we have, (2) Any (3) Man (2) now (0) is (8) a full (5) loyal (4) Hero. By all the sounded consonants we have—“Inhuman Civil War;” the latter shorter, more significant, and more easily remembered. And, on the principle that a condensed, brief statement, if clear and definite, makes a more vivid impression than a longer one, we shall find that a short analytic phrase is better for the memory than an analytic sentence, and an analytic single word than a phrase. But a short analytic phrase, or a short analytic sentence, is usually necessary, owing to our ignorance of the subject matter, the limitations which belong to all figure alphabets, and our neglect to act strictly on the lines of In., Ex., and Con.
(4) Cases where there is no direct relation between the person, fact, or event, and the date, or number word or words. In such cases, Synthesis, which is taught hereafter, develops an indirect relation. Synthesis is used in three cases: (1) Where there is no relation existing between the fact or event and its date word; (2) Where we are ignorant of all the facts which would give us significant or analytic date-words; and (3) where we know the needful pertinent facts with which analytic words could be formed, but we cannot recall them for use. In these three cases Synthesis must be used. I will now give and illustrate the rules for the prompt finding of analytic date or number words.
The preparation for thus remembering numbers without effort is the only exertion required. When the method is mastered, the application of it is made with the greatest ease and pleasure.
There are four indispensable requisites to finding analytic date and number words promptly.
(1) Such a Mastery of the figure alphabet that the consonant equivalents of the cipher and nine digits are at instant command, and never have to be looked up when you have to deal with figures.
Pumps were invented in 1425. A student who thinks 2 is to be translated by “m” instead of “n,” translates the dates by these phrases, viz., “Drum a whale,” or “Trim oil,” or “To ram a wall.” As these phrases sustain the relation neither of In., Ex., or Con. to the fact, they are hard to be remembered; and if remembered, they mislead. The student who has mastered the Fig. Alphabet remembers that “n” stands for 2, and if he knows the object of pumps, he at once finds the analytic phrase, “Drain a well.” The formula would be: “The pump invented—Drain a well (1425),” or (1) Water (4) raised (2) in a (5) hollow. How could he forget the date?
Tea was first used in Europe in 1601. The unobserving student imagines that 6 is translated by ghard, k, chard, q, or ng, and so he translates 1601 into “Outcast,” (1701); a mistake of 100 years, and, besides, “Outcast” is wholly unconnected with the introduction of tea into Europe. The genuine student knows that 6 is represented by sh, j, ch, or gsoft, and so he at once finds the analytic formula: “Tea first introduced into Europe—Tea chest (1601).” The figure phrase bears the relation of In. and Con. to the event, and cannot be forgotten. Besides many people believe that tea helps digestion, and such persons would find an analytic date-word thus: “Tea first used in Europe—Digest (1601).”
“Csoft” is often mistaken for “chard” by careless learners. Fulton’s steamboat “Clermont” was launched in 1807. Such a pupil translates that date by the phrase, “Defies ice” (1800). Here “c” is soft and represents a cipher and not 7. “Defy a scow” gives the exact date. Here the “c” is hard and represents 7, and as the steamboat could easily outrun the “scow,” the phrase is easily remembered.
An impatient pupil who never learns anything thoroughly often disregards the rule about silent consonants. Braddock and most of his men were killed by the Indians in 1755. This date this pupil translates by the phrase, “Dock knell all” (17255). He overlooks the fact that 17 was expressed by “Dock,” and no one out of a mad-house can tell how he came to add “knell all,” unless he had forgotten that he had provided for the 7 of 17, and imagined that “k” in knell is sounded. But how account for “n” to introduce 2? A genuine pupil would find the analytic phrase in “They kill all” (1755).
Andrew Jackson, the seventh President, died in 1845. The unindustrious pupil imagines that “p” represents 8, and not “f” or “v,” and translates 1845 into “To pour oil” (1945). The diligent student finds an analytic translation of the date in the phrase “The farewell” (1845).
These illustrations are sufficient to convince any one that the Figure Alphabet must be mastered before the attempt is made to deal with dates and numbers.
(2) The pupil must possess such a mastery of the subject matter that he can instantly recall facts relating thereto on the lines of In., Ex., and Con. If he lacks such knowledge he had better deal with dates and numbers which he must remember by synthesis [hereafter], or by Numeric Thinking, rather than strive in vain to find analytic date and number words.
It is said that there are 1,750 spoken languages. If the pupil does not know that the tongue is moved in different ways to pronounce the distinctive sounds of different languages, he might not think of this analytic translation of (1750), “Tongue all ways.”
The population of Kentucky according to the last census (1880) was 1,648,690. Those who do not know the Kentuckians raise fine saddle and race horses, many of which are bays, might not think of the analytic phrases, “Teacher of showy bays,” or “Teacher of a showy pace.”
The estimated number of horses in the world is 58,576,322. Those who do not know how cruelly coachmen often treat the horses under their charge might not think of the analytic phrase, “Will feel coachmen now.”
The Yellowstone National Park contains 2,294,740 acres. One who does not know that this park was recently created, might not think of the analytic phrase, “One New Park arose.”
The U. S. Government paid out in the year 1865 the sum of $1,297,555,324. If one wished to remember the exact figures, he could easily find an analytic phrase, if he thinks of the act of delivering or handing over the money, as “They unpack loyally all money here.” If any analytic phrase is long or awkwardly constructed, it is very easy to memorise it by the analytic-synthetic method; as (1) They unpack. (2) They unpack money. (3) They unpack money here. (4) They unpack all money here. (5) They unpack loyally all money here.
The number of letters delivered in Great Britain during the postal year of 1881–82 was 1,280,636,200. If the student knows that the Central Post Office of London is a very large building, he could instantly find the analytic phrase, “Within office huge much news we see.”
The amount lost annually by fire in the United States is estimated at $112,853,784. If we do not go outside of the subject matter of losses by fire, we shall readily find an analytic phrase by means of which we can certainly remember that large number of dollars—“A debt on flaming fire.”
There are 653,020 Freemasons in U. S. A. Those who know what is meant by the phrase, “From labor to refreshment,” in the masonic ritual, will at once translate those figures into the analytic phrase, “Jolly Masons.”
There are 591,800 Odd Fellows in the United States. Notice if you can find figures to translate “Odd” or “Fellows,” or any other fact pertaining to the Order, and you have the analytic phrase, “All happy ‘Odd’ faces.”
There have been granted 428,212 patents in the United States. Can you find any word pertaining to patents in those figures? “We here invent anew.”
The number of Indians in the United States is estimated as 241,329. Considering how unkindly treated many of them have been, we find an analytic phrase which fits the fact—“No red man happy.”
The population of the state of New York in 1880 was five millions, eighty-two thousand, eight hundred and seventy-one (5,082,871). An analytic phrase founded on any conspicuous characteristic of the population, or on any prominent aspect of the geography of the State [Niagara Falls, for instance], which many of its people have witnessed, would suffice, or “A (5) Legal (0) Census (8) Of (2) New-York’s (8) Folks (7) Comprising (1) Eighty’s.”
The pupil who conscientiously studies the rules and examples in this lesson will find that he can have the great satisfaction of always being exact and reliable in regard to numbers.
The date-words opposite each name can be learned by one careful analytic perusal. If the relation is not understood in any case, a glance at the explanations which follow the series of Presidents will remove all doubt or difficulty.
| Footnote [E] | George Washington | Fabian (1789). |
|---|---|---|
| John Adams | Bickerings (1797). | |
| Footnote [E] | Thomas Jefferson | Steed (1801). |
| Footnote [E] | James Madison | Speculative (1809). |
| Footnote [E] | James Monroe | Doctrine (1817). |
| John Q. Adams | Unlucky (1825). | |
| Footnote [E] | Andrew Jackson | Unwhipped (1829). |
| Martin van Buren | Mocked (1837). | |
| Footnote [F] | William Henry Harrison | Hard cider (1841). |
| John Tyler | Rudderless (1841). | |
| James K. Polk | Realm-extender (1845). | |
| Footnote [F] | Zachary Taylor | Warproof (1849). |
| Millard Fillmore | Licenser (1850). | |
| Franklin Pierce | Looming (1853). | |
| James Buchanan | Lecompton (1857). | |
| Footnote [E] | Abraham Lincoln | Agitation (1861). |
| Andrew Johnson | Shall (1865). | |
| Footnote [E] | Ulysses S. Grant | Chapultepec (1869). |
| Rutherford B. Hayes | Cocoa (1877). | |
| Footnote [F] | James A. Garfield | Fatal (1881). |
| Chester A. Arthur | After (1881). | |
| Grover Cleveland | Flood (1885). | |
| Benjamin Harrison | Fibrous (1889). | |
| Grover Cleveland | Boom (1893). |
Remarks.—The pupil is presumed to have learned heretofore the series of Presidents from Washington to Grover Cleveland, and to have recited it forwards and backwards many times. Now let him learn the dates of their accession to office, and then let him recite the series both ways in connection with those dates several times: as, George Washington, 1789; John Adams, 1797; Thomas Jefferson, 1801, &c., &c., to Grover Cleveland, 1893 and then back to Washington. Although it is much better for the pupil to find his own analytic date-words, yet, as many may not have the time to do so while studying this lesson, I append a few explanations of the facts on which the above analytic date-words are founded.
“‘Fabian’ was applied to the military tactics of Washington, on some occasions, when he imitated the policy of Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus, a Roman General who not daring to hazard a battle against Hannibal, harassed his army by marches, counter-marches, and ambuscades.” “Bickerings” were incessant during John Adams’s administration between his own supporters and the faction of Hamilton. “Steed”—Jefferson rode on horseback to the Capitol to take his oath of office as President. Arrived there he dismounted and fastened his steed to an elm-tree, since known as Jefferson’s tree. He did this to signalise his disapprobation of royalty, and his preference for democratic equality. “Speculative” were the celebrated “Madison Papers.” “Doctrine”—the Monroe doctrine declared that no foreign power should acquire additional dominion in America. “Unlucky” was correctly applied to John Quincy Adams’s administration. See Barnes’s U. S. His., p. 175. “Unwhipped”—Jackson always came off victorious in all his duels and military campaigns. “Mocked”—Van Buren was appointed by Jackson as U. S. Minister to England. The United States Senate rejected his nomination. This political insult secured much sympathy for him, and helped to make him President. “Hard-cider” was a party watchword during Harrison’s campaign for the Presidency. “Rudderless”—Tyler often changed his political views, and finally turned against the United States Government, of which he had been Chief Executive. “Realm-extender”—during Polk’s administration the United States acquired the territory embracing California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. “Warproof”—Taylor was a successful warrior. “Licenser”—Fillmore’s administration passed the Fugitive Slave Law, which enabled the Southern masters to recapture runaway slaves. “Looming”—during Pierce’s term the cloud of civil war was looming up in the distance. “Lecompton” constitution of Kansas was a pro-slavery document which Buchanan favoured. “Agitation” preceded and attended Lincoln’s inauguration, and finally culminated in the civil war. “Shall”—Johnson made use of the imperative “shall” in regard to the removal of Edwin M. Stanton, for which attempt he was afterward sought to be impeached. “Chapultepec” was the battle in which Grant entered upon that career of military achievement which secured him two Presidential terms. “Cocoa” was characteristic of the drinks allowed at Hayes’s table at the White House. No wine was tolerated. “Fatal” was Guiteau’s shot to Garfield. “After”—although Tyler, Fillmore, Johnson, and Arthur became Presidents on the death of their chiefs, yet only Arthur succeeded to the Presidency in 1881, which is indicated by the first two consonants of “After.” “Flood”—Cleveland vetoed an unprecedented number of bills during his term. There was a “flood” of them. “Fibrous” applies metaphorically to mental qualities; it means strong, sinewy—high talents, just below genius. “Boom” refers, of course, to the large amount of support which Cleveland obtained on his second election to the Presidency.
From 1000 A.D. to 1700 A.D., the last three figures only need be given, and from 1700 A.D. to date only the last two figures require to be given. It is better for the pupil to find his own phrases. A slight acquaintance with English History will make all the formulas here given easily understood. Green’s short “History of the English People,” Dickens’ “Child’s History of England,” Collier’s “History of England,” and “History of England,” by the author of the “Knights of St. John,” may be recommended.
(3) The pupil must possess such a familiarity with the laws of in., ex., and con., not merely in their theoretic and abstract aspects, but in that practical character and working power of them which I teach, that he can instantly apply them to the every-day affairs and ordinary occurrences and events of life.
If you know that the number of square Footnote [G] miles in the area of the State of New York runs into thousands, and you wish to remember that the exact number of thousands is 47, you could accomplish this object if you found a word which spells 47, and is at the same time connected by In., Ex., or Con. to New York. You try the varieties of Inclusion; and in synonymous Inclusion you find 47 in the word “York” itself, the “y” having no figure value, and “r” standing for 4, and “k” for 7; thus you cannot see the name of New York or think of it without having conclusive evidence of the number of thousands of square miles the State contains.
The title of a subject, the name or description of an event or date, can always be safely abridged or bracketed in part in the formula, as 47 [New] York. But no one could imagine that “York” in this connection [47 thousand square miles] means any of the towns or country seats of the United States which are called “York.” If the context makes an otherwise indefinite thing definite, it is sufficient.
Analytic date and number words do not have to be memorised.—Seeing is believing, and, in this case, remembering too. If you thoroughly master my system you can find, in most cases, analytic date and number words without any difficulty, and by means of them you can remember thousands of dates and sets of figures, when without the system you could have remembered only five or ten of them.
Suppose in your haste you failed to notice that “York” spells 47, and you then proceed to try Inclusion by Genus and Species; regarding York as the general word, you would find New York as a species or kind of York; the same with Yorkshire, Yorktown, York Minster, etc. In this way you would, if your mastery of the Figure Alphabet were perfect, scarcely fail to notice that York spells 47; but if you fail, you then try Inclusion by Whole and Part, and run over the political divisions of the State until you come to Rockland County, and there you find in its first two consonants the letters “r” and “ck” (the equivalent of “k” in sound). These consonants spell 47. You would find the same consonants in the County of Herkimer.
Suppose, however, that from unfamiliarity with the Figure Alphabet, or from want of considerable practice, you do not succeed in noticing that Rockland or Herkimer contains the number 47, you try Inclusion by Abstract and Concrete, and regarding the State of New York as the Concrete, and the Abstract or characterizing epithet “rocky” as applicable to New York, you would then find in that word “rocky” the number 47.
If you did fail, you would try Exclusion, and you would find nothing which is the antithesis of the area of New York. You might find, however, a weak form of Exclusion if you consider that the area is the surface, and what is below the surface as the opposite of it. In the latter case you would find in the words “Erie Canal,” which is a great artificial channel running through a part of the State, the letters “r” and “c” hard, which spell 47. A more exact Exclusion might be found in the word “ring,” which spells 47. For if we consider the shape of the boundary of New York we would see that in no vague sense a ring, as a circle, is the opposite of it.
But suppose that from a chronic absent-mindedness or an overworked brain, or downright bad physical health or insufficient knowledge of the system, you failed to see 47 in any of the foregoing cases, you would try Concurrence. Considering that the State of New York is largely agricultural, you would find that the implement of farming known as a “Rake” would spell 47; this would be a case of Concurrence. In a political sense, the word “rings” gives 47, as New York has been celebrated for them.
All that the student requires is one analytic word. I have gone through the varieties of Inclusion, through Exclusion, and Concurrence, merely to show how to find analytic words and not because more than one word was necessary.
According to the census report of 1890, the number of square miles of land in the State of New York is 47,620, or (4) York’s (7) Acres (6) Surely (2) Not (0) Submerged; the number of square miles of land and water in it is 49,170, or (4) York’s (9) Plains (1) With (7) Accompanying (0) Sealets.