false as _hell_." At first we made a slight cough over the
objectionable word which always created amusement among the
spectators. It was a great day for us when my uncle persuaded us that
we could say "hell" without swearing. I am afraid we practiced it very
often. I always played the part of Glenalvon and made a great mouthful
of the word. It had for me the wonderful fascination attributed to
forbidden fruit. I can well understand the story of Marjory Fleming,
who being cross one morning when Walter Scott called and asked how she
was, answered:

"I am very cross this morning, Mr. Scott. I just want to say 'damn'
[with a swing], but I winna."

Thereafter the expression of the one fearful word was a great point.
Ministers could say "damnation" in the pulpit without sin, and so we,
too, had full range on "hell" in recitation. Another passage made a
deep impression. In the fight between Norval and Glenalvon, Norval
says, "When we contend again our strife is mortal." Using these words
in an article written for the "North American Review" in 1897, my
uncle came across them and immediately sat down and wrote me from
Dunfermline that he knew where I had found the words. He was the only
man living who did.

My power to memorize must have been greatly strengthened by the mode
of teaching adopted by my uncle. I cannot name a more important means
of benefiting young people than encouraging them to commit favorite
pieces to memory and recite them often. Anything which pleased me I
could learn with a rapidity which surprised partial friends. I could
memorize anything whether it pleased me or not, but if it did not
impress me strongly it passed away in a few hours.