Chapter XV.

       Memory of Faces.

       Table of Content

      Treating of the faculty of remembering the faces of those with whom we come in contact—Showing the importance of having a good memory of faces and the embarrassment attendant upon a poor memory of this kind—This chapter takes upon the matter from the cause to the remedy, and a careful study and application of the principles laid down will undoubtedly result in a great improvement along these lines—There is no attempt made to teach any “trick method,” the idea followed being that an intelligent training of the faculty must result in an improvement in the faculty itself, which will in turn be the cause of an improved memory of this kind— Exercises are included.

      THE FACULTY of remembering the faces of persons with whom we meet varies greatly in degree among different individuals. Many persons have to meet a stranger several times before they recognize him at sight. And many persons seem to easily forget faces with which they have grown familiar, if the owner happens to pass from their immediate circle, for a year or two. On the other hand many persons recognize the face of any person whom they may meet, and the impression once formed seems to remain forever, subject to instant recall. Detectives have this faculty largely developed, and so have many hotel keepers, and others whose business brings them into contact with many people, and to whose interest it is to remember and recognize those with whom they meet. It is a valuable gift, as one’s chance acquaintances feel most kindly disposed toward him when he readily recognizes them. And on the other hand, the failure to recognize a man may make him dislike you and may result in even gaining his active ill­will.

      A deficiency in the development of this faculty indicates that the person has not used actively that portion of the mind taking cognizance of the appearance and features of those with whom he comes in contact. Such people look at others, but do not really see them. They are not interested in faces, and give but scant attention to them. The rule of “slight interest, slight attention; slight attention, poor memory,” applies here. The person who wishes to develop this faculty should begin to study faces, taking an interest in them, and paying attention to them. In this way the power of observation is directed to features and appearance, and a great improvement may be noted in a short time. We recommend to such persons the study of some elementary work on physiognomy, which will give to the study of faces a new interest, which will result in a greatly improved memory along these lines.

      To cultivate the power of observation as applied to faces and features (after determining to take an interest in them, of course,) you should study the face of every person you meet, taking note of the general shape of the head and face, eyes, nose, mouth, chin and forehead, at the same time holding the thought, “I’ll know you the next time I see you,” which thought will cause the Will to operate in the direction of recording a clear and distinct impression.

      The taking of interest in, and the bestowal of attention upon the study of the human face will repay one for his time and trouble, for he will not only be training his attention and memory, but will be obtaining an education in physiognomy as well, especially if he is using an elementary book on this last mentioned subject, as advised.

      There are very few persons who can recall the features of an absent friend, and it is quite amusing to hear some people attempting to describe the appearance of someone with whom they are presumably well acquainted. Try it and be surprised at how little you really can recall, and yet you have no trouble in recognizing the friend when you meet him. Describe the eyes, nose and mouth of your best friend, if you can, from memory.

      Look at the next man you meet. Note whether his forehead is high or low, narrow or broad; whether his eyebrows are light or heavy, straight or arched, and of what color; what kind of nose has he, aquiline, Roman, Grecian, pug, or what not; whether he has a large or small mouth, etc.; whether his teeth are good or bad, large or small; whether he wears a beard or mustache, large or small, shape, etc. And so on with each feature, noting the details just as if you were required to report them at your place of business, and your promotion depended upon a full and correct report. You will not forget a face studied in this way. A little practice of this kind is useful in developing the deficient faculty. And you will begin to classify features and observe them naturally, having aroused an interest in the subject. And the aroused interest means a clear impression; and the clear impression means an easy recollection.

      Then practice recalling the faces of people you meet, making a mental picture of them. After you have acquired the art of recording good impressions of faces, by recalling several times the mental image of the face of any one whom you have met, you will be able to easily recognize the person after the lapse of considerable time. The repeated reviving of the mental image is almost equivalent to repeated meeting with the person in question.

      You have noticed how easy it is to remember and form a mental picture of a face as it appears in a photograph or painting, and how much more difficult it is to carry in mind the face of the same person as it appears when you see him in person. It is all a matter of habit, however, and by a little practice you will be able to remember the living face just as easily as the pictured face.

      We have heard the story of a “hasty sketch” artist, who had classified noses, eyes, ears, mouths, chins, eyebrows, shape of faces, etc., and had given to each class a number. He would take a steady gaze at the face of his sitter to get the expression and air, and the general outline, and would rapidly note, mentally, the class of each feature, thus, “shape of face, 4; eyes, 8­6; eyebrows, 2; nose, 3; mouth, 4; chin, 7,” etc. Your study of faces will soon teach you the several classes and varieties of each feature, and if you are studying physiognomy, as advised, you will find that the knowledge of the significance of each class of features will greatly increase the interest and pleasure in the task. We have given a number of additional examples of wonderful memory of faces and features in other chapters of this book.

      Summing up, we would say that the faculty of remembering faces may be developed just as may be any other faculty of the mind, and that the secret of such development is: Cultivate an interest in faces—study them—attention will follow interest— and memory will attend upon attention.