may quietly go to sleep in your room and get up again; you
may wait till your confirmation day, you may learn a trade, and grow as
old as I am--_then only_ will the cannon-ball be getting near, _then_
you may jump to one side! See, so great as that is the sun's distance!'"

We shall now show you how to apply this principle in improving your
memory and in making a more complete use of your really vast store of
knowledge.

Rule I. _Make systematic use of your sense-organs._

[Sidenote: _How to Remember Names_]

Do you find it difficult to remember names? It is because you do not
link them in your mind with enough associations. Every time a man is
introduced to you, look about you. Who is present? Take note of as many
and as great a variety of surrounding facts and circumstances as
possible. Think of the man's name, and take another look at his face,
his dress, his physique. Think of his name, and at the same time his
voice and manner. Think of his name, and mark the place where you are
now for the first time meeting him. Think of his name in conjunction
with the name and personality of the friend who presented him.

Memory is not a distinct faculty of mind in the sense that one man is
generously endowed in that respect while another is deficient. Memory,
as meaning the power of voluntary recall, is wholly a question of
trained habits of mental operation.

Your memory is just as good as mine or any other man's. It is your
indifference to what you would call "irrelevant facts" that is at fault.
Therefore, cultivate habits of observation. Fortify the observed facts
you wish to recall with a multitude of outside associations. Never rest
with a mere halfway knowledge of things.

[Sidenote: _Five Exercises for Developing Observation_]

To assist you in training yourself in those habits of observation that
make a good memory of outside facts, we append the following exercises:

_a._ Walk slowly through a room with which you are not familiar. Then
make a list of all the contents of the room you can recall. Do this
every day for a week, using a different room each time. Do it not
half-heartedly, but as if your life depended on your ability to
remember. At the end of the week you will be surprised at the
improvement you have made.

_b._ As you walk along the street, observe all that occurs in a space of
one block, things heard as well as things seen. Two hours later make a
list of all you can recall. Do this twice a d