of reviewing, which is invariably hard at first, but which becomes ere
long habitual and then easy.

I cannot impress it too vividly on the mind of the reader, that he
cannot make his exercises too easy. If he finds that ten lines a day
are too much, let him reduce them to five, or two, or one, or even a
single word, but learn that, and persevere. When the memory begins to
improve under this process, the tasks may, of course, be gradually
increased.

An uncle of the present Khedive of Egypt told me that when he was
learning English, he at first committed to memory fifty words a day,
but soon felt himself compelled to very much reduce the number in
order to permanently remember what he acquired. One should never
overdrive a willing horse.

Where there is a teacher with youthful pupils, he can greatly aid the
process of mere memorizing, by explaining the text, putting questions
as to its meaning, or otherwise awaking an interest in it. After a
time the pupils may proceed to _verbal memorizing_, which consists of
having the text simply read or repeated to them. In this way, after a
year or eighteen months of practice, most people can actually remember
a sermon or lecture, word for word.

This was the process which was discovered, I may say simultaneously,
by DAVID KAY and myself, as our books upon it appeared at almost the
same time. But since then I have modified my plan, and made it
infinitely easier, and far more valuable, as will be apparent to all,
by the application of the principles laid down in this book. For
while, according to the original views, Memory depended on Will and