Evening Republican, Volume 15, Number 186, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 8 August 1911 — SYSTEM THAT FAILED [ARTICLE]

SYSTEM THAT FAILED

MRS. JAY’S MEMORY IS NOT YET PERFECT. ’ ...-. J. - 7'. Possibly Her Forgetfulness Has Been Remedied Somewhat, but Not Enough as Yet to Make Accuracy Quite Certain. ——„..—_ ,- :. Mrs. Jay’s husband says that the only flaw in the armor of that good lady’s perfection is her memory. She is a . charming woman, but she cannot remember .things accurately, and especially those things which are not, after all, of larger Import If she Is Introduced to a Mrs. De Smythe it is a safe bet that before the afternoon M over she will address her as Mrs. De Jones, and men’s names she cannot remember at all. She has tried hard to overcome this slight defect in her social make-up. and latterly, through the adoption of a memory system, has shown some signs of improvement, although Mr. Jay says that it does not as yet quite work as accurately as he might desire. As an instance of this he says that, while spending a month at a southern resort in the early spring, Mrs. Jay became acquainted, during his absence in town, with a delightful little woman, to whom, upon Jay’s return, she was very desirous of introducing him. Unfortunately, at the first opportunity that presented itself the good lady was utterly unable to remember her friend’s name, and the chance was lost. “You might inquire at the desk What her name is, and then we’ll go right to her and I*ll introduce you before I forget it,” said Mrs. Jay. That evening, while the happy couple were arraying themselves for dinner, Jay remarked: "By the way, my dear, that lady’s name is Woodman —W, double O, D, M, A, N —Weodman. Think you can remember that?’’ "Oh, yes, se it is,” giggled Mrs. Jay. “Well, anyhow, I’ll try my memory system on It. - I’ll think of •the poem: "Woodman, spare that ax.’" “Ax?" echoed Jay, with a roar of laughter. * r Ax? Why, my dear child, it isn’t 'ax’—4t’s ‘tree.’ The line is: “*Woodman, spare that tree.’” ’ ' “O, yes, so it is,” giggled Mrs. Jay. “Well, anyhow, tt’s *Woodman,’ and I shan’t forget.” After dinner Jay spent a short time in the smoking room with his cigar, and about 9 o’clock entered the music room, where Mrs. Jay and Mrs. Woodman were sitting. “Henry, dear,” cried Mrs. Jay, beaming, as her husband entered, “come over here —I want you to meet my friend Mrs.—er —my friend Mrs. Ax.” There was an unrehearsed tableau at this point, which Jay says was a remarkable success, although he has no particular desire to see it a second time. —Harper’s Weekly.