his observations, because, in considering what further improvement may
be made, it is always essential to have fully in our view what is
already known.

"Philosophic arrangement assists the memory, by classing under a few
principles, a number of apparently dissimilar and unconnected
particulars. The habit, for instance, of attending to the connection
of cause and effect, presents a multitude of interesting analogies to
the minds of men of science, which escape other persons; the vulgar
feel no pleasure in contemplating objects that appear remote from
common life; and they find it extremely difficult to remember
observations and reasonings which are foreign to their customary
course of associated ideas. Even literary and ingenious people, when
they begin to learn any art or science, usually complain that their
memory is not able to retain all the terms and ideas which pour in
upon them with perplexing rapidity. In time, this difficulty is
conquered, not so much by the strength of the memory, as by the
exercise of judgment: they learn to distinguish, and select the
material terms, facts and arguments, from those that are subordinate,
and they class them under general heads, to relieve the memory from
all superfluous labour.

"In all studies, there is some prevalent associating principle, which
gradually becomes familiar to our minds, but which we do not
immediately discover in our first attempts. In poetry, resemblance; in
philosophy, cause and effect; in mathematics, demonstrations
continually recur; and, therefore, each is expected by persons who
have been used to these respective studies.

"The habit of committing our knowledge to writing, assists the memory,
because, in writing, we detain certain ideas long enough in our view
to perceive all their relations; we use fixed and abbreviated signs
for all our thoughts; with the assistance of these, we can prevent
confusion in our reasonings. We can, without fatigue, by the help of
words, letters, figures, or algebraic signs, go through a variety of
mental processes, and solve many difficult problems, which, without
such assistance, must have been too extensive for our capacities.

"If our books be well chosen, and if we read with discrimination and
attention, reading will improve the memory, because, as it increases
our knowledge, it increases our interest in every new discovery, and
in every new combination of ideas."

We agree entirely with Mr. Stewart in his obser