ork which he felt himself in
the mood for.

He had a wonderfully good memory, except for faces and dates. The
former were always a stumbling-block to him, and people used to say
(most unjustly) that he was intentionally short-sighted. One night he
went up to London to dine with a friend, whom he had only recently
met. The next morning a gentleman greeted him as he was walking. "I
beg your pardon," said Mr. Dodgson, "but you have the advantage of me.
I have no remembrance of having ever seen you before this moment."
"That is very strange," the other replied, "for I was your host last
night!" Such little incidents as this happened more than once. To help
himself to remember dates, he devised a system of mnemonics, which he
circulated among his friends. As it has never been published, and as
some of my readers may find it useful, I reproduce it here.

My "Memoria Technica" is a modification of Gray's; but,
whereas he used both consonants and vowels to represent
digits, and had to content himself with a syllable of
gibberish to represent the date or whatever other number was
required, I use only consonants, and fill in with vowels _ad
libitum,_ and thus can always manage to make a real word of
whatever has to be represented.

The principles on which the necessary 20 consonants have
been chosen are as follows:--

1. "b" and "c," the first two consonants in the alphabet.

2. "d" from "duo," "w" from "two."

3. "t" from "tres," the other may wait awhile.

4. "f" from "four," "q" from "quattuor."

5. "l" and "v," because "l" and "v" are the Roman symbols
for "fifty" and "five."

6. "s" and "x" from "six."

7. "p" and "m" from "septem."

8. "h" from "huit," and "k" from the Greek "okto."

9. "n" from "nine"; and "g" because it is so like a "9."

0. "z" and "r" from "zero."

There is now one consonant still waiting for its digit,
viz., "j," and one digit waiting for its consonant, viz.,
"3," the conclusion is obvious.

The result may be tabulated thus:--

|1 |2 |3 |4 |5 |6 |7 |8 |9 |0 |

|b |d |t |f |l |s |p |h |n |z |
|c |w |j |q |v |x |m |k |g |r |

When a word has been found, whose last consonants represent
the number required, the best plan is to put it as the last
word of a rhymed couplet, so that, whatever other words in
it are forgotten,