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SPECIAL EDITION

THE SCIENCE
OF MEMORY
T he Stor y of Our Lives
Memories are often compared to
simple snapshots, but memory
itself is complicated, and
researchers don’t fully know
how it works physiologically.
CONTENTS
4 Introduction: Why We Remember

Chapter 1: Making Memories

8 The Biology of Memory
14 Understanding the Limbic System
16 The Time-Bending Magic of Smell
22 An Elephant Never Forgets
26 The Essential Act of Being Human
30 The Ups and Downs of a Perfect Memory

Chapter 2: Why We Forget

36 Forgetting Childhood
42 A Life Lost to Amnesia
50 Memorable Movies
52 Aging, Memory and Myths
56 8 Unexpected Things That
Mess with Your Memory

Chapter 3: Memory Now

62 The Digital-Era Brain
66 Battle of the Big Brains
72 Why Sleeping on It Is Key for Memory
76 Out of Mind

Chapter 4: Building a Better Memory

84 Train Your Brain
94 6 Funny Things You Can Do
to Remember

Parts of this edition appeared previously in TIME and Health.

3
Early humans had to
remember where predators hid.
Illustration from L’Homme
Primitif by Louis Figuier.

INTRODUCTION

WHY WE
REMEMBER
From an evolutionary point of view, it comes down to
survival of the fittest. He who endures remembers where the
food is and where the predators lurk
By Eileen Daspin

4
 OR AN EXPERIMENT ON NAVIGATIONAL 300 million hours of television programming. The
skills and natural selection, the set- catch is that memories are as faulty as they are es-
ting—a Santa Barbara, Calif., farmers sential. No two people remember the same event
market on a Saturday morning—could the same way, a fact famously illustrated in the Jap-
not have been more Darwinian. So was anese crime drama Rashomon, in which four peo-
the question at hand: How would spatial mem- ple each remembered killing the same samurai—
ory and adaptive behavior play out for a modern including the samurai himself, who returned from
hunter-gatherer? the dead to testify that he had committed hara-kiri.
To find out, a group of psychology professors Memory is so crucial, we even forget to remem-
posted themselves at the market’s entrance and ber, with the brain pushing out less-important mem-
enlisted shoppers as foragers. Eighty-six subjects ories to make room for the more-important ones.
were led along intentionally circuitous routes to This is a phenomenon that Friedrich Nietzsche
pre-selected food stalls. There, they tasted the farm- called “active forgetfulness,” by his lights, an impor-
ers’ goods, were guided to the center of the market tant component of happiness. The German philoso-
and finally were given a special device to indicate pher’s argument wasn’t that you should be pleased
the locations of the foods they had sampled. True you forgot where you parked your car, but rather
to Paleolithic form, the shop- that not remembering paves
pers easily identified the loca- the way for peace of mind. “To
tions that provided goods with shut the doors and windows of
the most energy—olive oil, av- Our memories consciousness for a while . . .”
ocados and nuts—but strug- are amazing, Nietzsche wrote in On the Ge-
gled to place booths stocking nealogy of Morals/Ecce Homo,
calorie-light leafy greens. able to store allows for “a little tabula rasa of
“I was surprised at how long-term some consciousness to make room for
cleanly the results came out,” 2.5 petabytes of something new . . . like a door-
says psychology professor keeper or guardian of mental
Joshua New, one of the design- data—about 300 order, rest and etiquette.”
ers of the study, who now teaches million hours Research suggests that mem-
at Columbia University. “People ory literally starts in utero. When
hadn’t thought about encoding
of television Dutch professors put a honk-
landmarks like that. But if you programming. ing, vibrating device on the ab-
eat at a subpar restaurant, you’re domens of women in their 30th
not going to commit memory to to 38th weeks of pregnancy, they
learning how to get back there.” found that the fetuses quickly recalled the noise,
From an evolutionary point of view, the reason so that when the device was sounded 10 minutes
we remember, like pretty much all human activity, later, they didn’t squirm and their heartbeats re-
comes down to survival of the fittest. He who is going mained stable. The 34-week-olds even remembered
to make it out alive remembers where the food is. the noise four weeks later. “It’s like getting used to
And what the bad guys look like. And the best place a New York train station,” lead author J.G. Nijhuis
to hide from predators. What scientists call adap- told Scientific American. “It is a learning capability
tive memory—which is always functioning to figure to distinguish safe from unsafe stimuli. It is a primi-
out new solutions to problems—is key to nearly ev- tive form of memory.”
erything we do. We have to remember to physically Then it gets a little more complicated. Infants
navigate the world, to reproduce, to interact with and toddlers remember, but by about age 7, the first
others, to recognize kin, to know the truth of a situ- three years of memories are almost entirely erased
ation. Memory is what allows us to learn, to acquire, from the conscious memory and overlaid with new
to store and retrieve information. ones. From there, our memories shift and evolve,
As machines, our memories are amazing, able colored constantly by our experiences. Why do we
to store long-term some 2.5 petabytes of data, by remember? As Oscar Wilde once suggested, to fill
one professor’s calculation. That’s the equivalent of in “the diary we all carry about with us.” □

5
6
 Making
Memories
It is the mechanism for encoding,
sorting, storing and retrieving
information. But memory also defines
our essential selves.
Scientists believe groups of
neurons in different parts
of the brain are encoded to
activate a memory.
THE BIOLOGY
OF MEMORY
Our capacity to remember does
not exist in a discrete niche of
the brain but rather involves several
areas working together to make
sense of our experiences
By Richard Jerome

I
T WAS AN UNLIKELY VENUE FOR AMER-
icans to receive a lesson in neuro-
science. During the 2018 Senate hear-
ings into sexual-assault allegations
against Supreme Court nominee Brett
Kavanaugh, accuser Christine Blasey
Ford delved into the workings of the
human brain to explain why she could vividly recall
the alleged attack, decades earlier, but not specif-
ics, like the date of the party.
At work were the levels of norepinephrine and
epinephrine in the brain, said Ford, a professor of
psychology. When activated, those hormones, key
to the fight-or-flight reflex, encode memories into
the hippocampus, a memory center in the brain.
Among other things, the norepinephrine and epi-
nephrine serve to lock in “the trauma-related expe-
rience,” explained Ford, “whereas other details kind
of drift.” Cable-news commentators rushed to de-
fine the hippocampus for their audiences, but rec-
onciling the gulf between Ford’s recollections and
Kavanaugh’s proved, as we know, impossible.
That could have been predicted. The science
of memory has intrigued and baffled researchers
for decades. In the broadest sense, memory is the
mechanism for receiving information and then en-
coding, sorting, storing and retrieving it. The act of

9
SCIENCE OF MEMORY THE BIOLOGY OF MEMORY

Researchers at the University of Oxford

study postmortem brain samples.

remembering is absolutely essential to our survival. places and objects; it includes two subcategories:
We could not carry out the basic functions of living episodic memory, which logs one’s personal expe-
unassisted without our powers of recall. Learning riences—say, the coffee date you had last week or
would be impossible; nothing in the world would your first kiss; and semantic memory, which stores
have context. We would have no sense of self—in- factual information. The second major class of re-
deed, we wouldn’t know what we’d done five sec- call is implicit memory, which encompasses un-
onds ago. Only within the past 50 years or so have conscious, procedural or motor tasks: walking,
researchers begun to understand the neurological tying your shoe—things we do routinely, without
and physiological operations that make this enig- conscious thought. Implicit memory calls on other
matic but indispensable faculty possible. What’s brain systems, such as the cerebellum (which regu-
clear is that the human memory doesn’t reside in lates muscle activity) and the striatum (a cluster of
one corner of the brain that scarfs up stimuli and re- neurons that regulate voluntary movement).
cords them for later retrieval. Rather, it’s a complex When a memory forms, the first, crucial step is
system, involving several areas of the brain, work- encoding. For example, when meeting a person for
ing to make sense of life’s experiences. And a great the first time, our various senses take in their looks,
deal about it remains to be understood. the sound of their voice, the smell of their breath or
Neurobiologists have identified two main classes body, the feel of their handshake. All that sensory
of long-term memory at work in the brain. Explicit input gets stored and analyzed in the hippocampus.
(or declarative) memory, which is processed in the The information gets evaluated—graded, in a way,
hippocampus and medial temporal lobe, is con- to determine whether it’s worth retaining as part of
scious recollection for names, dates, events, people, your long-term memory. In a process known as con-

10
solidation—a window of a few hours that is enhanced understanding of memory, which was essentially
by sleeping—memories deemed worthy of retention a black box until the mid-20th century. A huge
are stabilized, and then associated neurons are trans- breakthrough came in 1957 when McGill Univer-
ferred to the neocortex, the wrinkly sheet of neural sity neuropsychologist Brenda Milner published a
tissue that forms the outside surface of the brain. landmark paper based on the case study of Henry
Another key cog in the brain’s memory-retention Molaison, a former assembly-line worker from Con-
complex is the amygdala, an almond-shaped struc- necticut. Molaison had undergone brain surgery to
ture in the temporal lobe that imbues recollections relieve severe epileptic seizures—specifically, doc-
with emotional significance, associating them with tors had removed a portion of his medial tempo-
shame, joy, love, grief or fear. Emotionally charged ral lobes from both sides of his brain. On one level,
events are generally much harder to forget—they’re the operation was a success—the seizures subsided.
sometimes referred to as “flashbulb memories” be- But in another sense, Molaison’s life, which lasted
cause they stand out so vividly. another half-century, was altered disastrously: his
We know the brain’s major memory centers, but surgery had left him with anterograde amnesia, an
what goes on there, exactly? How are memories en- inability to form new memories.
coded and stored? Through a complicated inter- Molaison’s surgeon consulted Milner and her
play of electricity and chemicals. colleagues at the Montreal Neu-
Nerve cells—or neurons—con- rological Institute, who made a
nect with other cells at a gap detailed study of the case. What
known as a synapse. That’s Surgery on they determined was that the op-
where electrical pulses fire up, eration had cut out much of the
triggering the exchange of mes-
a man who patient’s hippocampus—the
sengers called neurotransmit- suffered epileptic first evidence to suggest that the
ters. When we recall a memory, seizures left him brain structure was critical to the
the same neurons from the orig- formation of memories. On the
inal experience are reactivated
unable to form other hand, tests showed that
and duplicate the moment. new memories Molaison’s implicit memory was
To give an idea of the scope but revealed that undimmed. For instance, he was
of these operations, your typical shown how to draw the image of
human brain has about 100 bil- brain structure a star by tracing its reflection in a
lion neurons, passing signals was key to recall. mirror. Molaison could perform
to one another via well over that task repeatedly but had no
100 trillion synapses. As one memory whatsoever of being
brain cell sends signals to an- taught how to do it. The result
other, it strengthens the synapse between them— demonstrated that there are at least two separate
a process known as potentiation—creating a bond areas of the brain involved with memory process-
that grows more powerful as the signals multiply. ing—the hippocampus and medial temporal lobe
When we study a textbook in school, for example, deal with explicit memories, and a different part of
drumming it into our heads by marking key pas- the brain (later discovered to be the basal ganglia
sages in highlighter, it stokes potentiation. And so, and cerebellum) handles implicit, automatic tasks.
with each new experience, or repetition of a previ-
ous one, the brain rewires itself—a phenomenon WHILE RESEARCHERS WERE identifying the
scientists call neuroplasticity. Indeed, some areas “where” of memory in the brain, the question of
of the brain can actually grow with repeated use. “how” remained mysterious—and still does, to a
In a study of London cabbies, for instance, mag- significant extent. Around the time Milner was pub-
netic imaging tests showed that the drivers’ hippo- lishing her findings, the neuroscientist Eric Kandel,
campi—which are heavily involved in spatial mem- now at Columbia University, began a decades-long
ory—became larger the longer they were on the job, quest to understand the biochemical mechanisms
navigating the city’s streets. of memory storage, work that would earn him a
These are the broad outlines of neuroscientists’ Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2000.

11
SCIENCE OF MEMORY THE BIOLOGY OF MEMORY

Kandel has probed the molecular underpinnings of spurring synaptic connections. Meanwhile, other re-
short-term and long-term memory, including ge- searchers had learned more about the alphabet soup
netic changes that take place and help build new that powers memory. For instance, two receptors,
connections in the brain. He started out by picking AMPA and NMDA, also play crucial roles inside the
up on Milner’s work and studying the human hip- hippocampus, enabling learning and the synapse po-
pocampus—how memories might be processed and tentiation needed for long-term information storage.
stored there. But Kandel and his partner, W. Alden Then in the early 2000s, Kandel and a member
Spencer, found that analyzing such a complex struc- of his lab, Kausik Si, made what was considered a
ture in such a complex animal wasn’t conducive to remarkable discovery: that another protein, CPEB,
determining memory’s basic essentials. may be responsible for creating stable long-term
“In the 1960s, we went to a more reductionist ap- memories. The surprise was that CPEB resembled
proach,” Kandel told the New York Times in 2012. a prion—which in its usual form is a toxic, self-
“Instead of studying complicated mammalian brain perpetuating protein that may play a role in mad
cells, we studied the neural system of a simple an- cow disease and Alzheimer’s. CPEB, however, ap-
imal, Aplysia, a snail with a very large nerve cell.” peared to be a mutation that helps stabilize mem-
Kandel subjected the foot-long mollusks to reflex ories for the long term. Although other nonpatho-
tests, stimulating their nerve cells genic prion-like proteins have
with electrodes to gauge the re- been discovered in recent years,
sponse. “We discovered that the at that time, the idea that any-
snail’s reflexes could be modified In studying thing like a prion, one of the most
by several forms of learning, and malevolent actors in the body,
that learning involved alterations
the conversion could do something beneficial
in how nerve cells communicated of short-term was “nothing less than extraor-
with one another.” memories into dinary,” Rockefeller University’s
Kandel then studied the con- Robert Darnell wrote when Kan-
version of short-term memories long-term ones, del and Si published their work.
into long-term ones—essentially Kandel found When activated by a clue—say,
the act of learning—and found that learning a snippet of a song—our brains
that learning itself strengthened can retrieve a memory within a
the brain. To illustrate: Short- strengthened millisecond, but precisely how
term memory can hold about the brain. isn’t known. Although imag-
seven digits for about 20 or 30 ing techniques show that the re-
seconds. The common exam- trieval network involves inter-
ple given is a 10-digit telephone connected areas of the medial
number you don’t have a chance to jot down; you temporal lobe, the specifics remain to be seen. An-
try to keep it in your head just long enough to dial. other of many other open areas of memory research
What Kandel discovered was that when you actu- is the role of the amygdala and emotion in making
ally learned the number, the synaptic connections some emotionally charged memories more vivid;
involved strengthened. “It was astonishing!” Kan- or, as some studies suggest, whether a strong emo-
del recalled. “You could double the number of syn- tion such as fear can actually have the opposite ef-
aptic connections in a very simple neurocircuit as a fect, altering or clouding memories we believe to
result of experience and learning.” be sharp and accurate.
Kandel and colleagues found that, unlike short- As scientists follow these and other complicated
term memory, long-term memory requires the syn- threads of human memory, they are unraveling the
thesis of new proteins. In the early 1970s, they found tapestry of life itself. In Kandel’s book In Search of
evidence to suggest that the neurotransmitter se- Memory, he quotes Tennessee Williams’s play The
rotonin activates a messenger molecule crucial to Milk Train Doesn’t Stop Here Anymore: “Has it ever
memory known as cyclic AMP (cAMP). During the struck you . . . that life is all memory, except for the
1990s Kandel’s lab identified the protein CREB as one present moment that goes by you so quickly
playing a key role in long-term memory storage by you hardly catch it going? It’s really all memory.” □

12
 1. Procedural memory
The memory of motor
skills allows us to
complete tasks we have
previously learned and
know how to do without
trying, such as typing or
riding a bike.

2. Priming
In this process, exposure
to a stimulus triggers
associated concepts that
help us recall an answer.
Our brains are continu-
ously forming associa-
tions between memories
and ideas, such as the

Know Your Terms: color yellow, a banana

and a monkey. You’re

A Memory Glossary faster and more likely to

come up with the word
“banana” after reading
BY EMILY JOSHU the word “yellow.”
as knowing that 2+3=5,
Sorting out the different types of memories can be that George Washington 3. Conditioning
confusing, but they all essentially fall into one of two was the first president or Unconscious memory
categories: either declarative or implicit. Within those what the capital of your makes associations
classifications, memories are deemed either short- home state is. between two stimuli in
term or long-term. Short-term memories last only up to this process. The clas-
about 30 seconds, while long-term memories can theo- IMPLICIT MEMORY sic example is Russian
retically last forever, but they aren’t all created equal. Also known as non- physiologist Ivan Pavlov’s
declarative memory, conditioning experiments
DECLARATIVE include calculating a tip, this long-term memory with dogs. Before show-
MEMORY listening to a newscast system unconsciously ing a canine a bowl of
Also known as explicit or remembering lecture influences our current food, Pavlov rang a bell.
memory. This is a sys- material for a test. Stor- perceptions and behavior Eventually, the animal
tem of conscious memo- age capacity is between without effort or aware- salivated at the sound
ries requiring effort, four and seven items at ness. There are three of a bell, knowing it was
such as being able to a time. These could be subsets: time to eat.
tick off all the items on four chunks of informa-
a grocery list, recalling tion, five words, six let-
material you’ve read ters or seven numbers.
in a book or article, or
remembering a friend’s 2. Episodic memory
face or a phone number. A type of long-term mem-
There are three subsets: ory for recalling past
events, such as a road
1. Working memory trip with a friend, a family
A short-term system for reunion or an episode of
storing and processing a TV show you watched
limited amounts of the other night.
information for 15 to 30
seconds; after that, the 3. Semantic memory
memory begins to decay. A type of long-term
Tasks that function memory for recalling
under working memory general knowledge, such

13
 UNDERSTANDING lays down new tracks—forming and
retrieving memories—while the

THE LIMBIC
prefrontal cortex switches between
tracks, gathering related memories
to form context for an experience.

SYSTEM The resulting memory is brief,

staying in the back of your mind like
a sticky note with a password on it.

Memories and emotions are linked through 4 / OLFACTORY BULB

important brain structures The olfactory bulb is composed
By Emily Joshu of receptors that send signals to
the hippocampus. The receptors
hang off a thin membrane,
Memory is often described with evocative, romantic terms, as almost resembling a toothbrush
sepia-tinted snapshots or as a scrapbook. But this vital function is grazing the nasal passage. This
not something you can tuck under your arm like a diary. Instead, it is the primary limbic structure for
comes to life inside the limbic system, an umbrella of brain structures processing smell. When you walk
controlling emotions, drives and learning processes. How do we into a room and detect something
remember where we left our keys, how to hit a baseball, or when to eat familiar, like your grandfather’s
or sleep? Here is a look at some key areas and what each does. cologne, that smell projects from
the olfactory receptors into the
controls emotional processing, hippocampus and amygdala.
1 / HIPPOCAMPUS memory and responses. It works There are few memories that have
in tandem with the hippocampus smells strongly bound to them,
The hippocampus is a seahorse- to connect memories with so odor-related cues are powerful
shaped structure, embedded emotions such as fear. The compared to visual or auditory
in the temporal lobe. This is amygdala activates when we’re cues, says Wagner. “We’re not a
where all conscious memories afraid of something, but the very olfactory organism. We’re
begin and where long-term connection between the amygdala very much a visual and auditory
memories are processed. and the prefrontal cortex also sort of species,” he adds. Smell
According to Anthony Wagner, helps to mediate the alarm by is atypical, so it’s easier to recall
director of the Memory Lab at providing reasoning and context to odor-related memories.
Stanford University, the parts control it or work through it. When
of the brain that process the this connection is damaged, it is
senses—taste, smell, sight, more difficult to overcome fear or 5 / HYPOTHALAMUS
sound, touch—communicate resolve disturbing recollections,
with the hippocampus. “The a condition often seen in How is it that you know it is time
hippocampus is positioned at post-traumatic stress disorder to feed yourself, sleep or drink?
the top of this information flow patients. Thank your hypothalamus, which
in the brain,” he says. What we controls involuntary functions
remember about an event, in like hunger, body temperature,
effect, comes from a competition 3 / PREFRONTAL CORTEX fear, sexual responses and
between typical memory traces. hormonal balances that keep us
So when we touch something In the frontal lobe, the prefrontal alive. However, sometimes the
or see someone’s face, the cortex is responsible for working hypothalamus malfunctions and
hippocampus helps us associate memory, the ability to remember your body forgets to tell you when
the sense with a memory. and use information for reasoning to stop doing these things. People
and activities during a specific with Prader-Willi syndrome are
moment in time. These could examples of this, their hunger
2 / AMYGDALA include doing your taxes, baking insatiable because their bodies
a cake or even writing this article. never remember to feel full. Even
An almond-shaped structure of The interaction between it and the though these are not functions that
gray matter, the amygdala, nestled hippocampus can be compared we actively think about, they still
close to the hippocampus, to a railroad: the hippocampus are a part of memory.

14
 HIPPOCAMPUS
1
PREFRONTAL CORTEX
3

4
OLFACTORY
BULB
5
HYPOTHALAMUS

2
AMYGDALA

15
The 20th-century British
homeopath Dr. Edward Bach
prescribed honeysuckle to
remedy nostalgia and longing
for the past.
THE TIME-
BENDING
MAGIC OF
SMELL
Odor-evoked autobiographical memories
derive their power from the way they are
processed in the brain
By Richard Jerome

N THE SHADOW OF THE GRAND APART-

ment houses along Central Park West, an
aroma of honeysuckle wafts through the
thick summer air and suddenly I’m a boy
again in our New Jersey backyard, where
a cluster of white petals surrounds the
grave of our fox terrier, who died when I
was 10. A garlic breeze from a local restaurant car-
ries me miles and years away to Boston’s North End,
dining with my wife-to-be at an Italian place where
the owners lived in back and they served up the best
chicken parm ever; a cinnamon stick conjures the
late, lamented Café Figaro in the Village, where
I’ve grabbed a window table overlooking Bleecker
Street, watching till she rounds the corner from
dance class and we sip cappuccinos into the night.
We’ve all had the experience, a scent that evokes
vivid, visceral memories, as if an internal time ma-
chine were transporting us back to events and places
in our deepest past, recalling them to life with pro-
found urgency and immediacy. It’s a phenomenon

17
SCIENCE OF MEMORY THE INFLUENCE OF SMELL

that inspired one of the most celebrated passages neighborhood fire sparked intense feelings of guilt
in Western literature, the scene early in Marcel and nausea. As it turned out, the man had served in
Proust’s seven-volume masterpiece, In Search of Vietnam and witnessed a vehicle accident in which
Lost Time [see excerpt on page 23], when the nar- fellow soldiers had died in a burst of flames.
rator bites into a madeleine biscuit dipped in Lin- “Odor-evoked autobiographical memories,” as
den tea and the taste and aroma unleash a sudden scientists refer to them, derive their special power
flood of reminiscence that carries him back to early from the particular way they’re processed in the
childhood. He remembers the aunt who used to fix brain. The olfactory system is the only sensory
him madeleines the same way; the old, gray house apparatus that does not feed its incoming signals
where she roomed; flowers in the garden and water through the thalamus—one of the brain’s major
lilies on the river Vivonne; the parish church, mod- relay stations. Rather, scents and tastes are directly
est homes and people of Combray, the fictional vil- connected to the limbic system, a collection of brain
lage where the narrator grew up. Proust’s observa- structures important for emotion, behavior, moti-
tions were so compelling, they inspired a cottage vation and memory. Specifically, when you smell
industry of psychological research into what is re- something, the odor gets routed through the olfac-
ferred to as the Proust phenomenon—the ability of tory bulb, a neural structure that analyzes scent.
odors to cue vivid autobiograph- Beginning inside the nose
ical memories. and running along the bottom
Why do scents work such of the brain, the olfactory bulb
time-bending magic, peeling Scent memories is closely connected with two
away decades instantaneously other limbic-system sites—the
as no other human sense can?
pack a more hippocampus, the seahorse-
The sight of fall foliage, the potent emotional shaped part of the forebrain re-
sound of a train whistle, the feel wallop than sponsible for the functions of
of Silly Putty—all, to varying de- memory and learning as well
grees, can spark remembrance
recollections as the perception of space and
of things past. But it seems that triggered by time; and the amygdalae, two
only our noses allow us to relive sights, sounds small masses of gray matter, re-
events, however remote or or- sembling almonds, that, among
dinary, in the moment. These and other other things, are involved in the
recollections do indeed hold sensory cues. experience of emotions. It’s this
a unique place in our psyches, unique proximity and access to
writes cognitive neuroscientist the limbic system that underlies
Rachel Herz, an expert on the the particularly evocative ability
psychology of smell. They extend deeper into our of odors to generate memory and emotion. While
past “specifically clustered in the first decade,” Herz the human body has just two receptors for sight and
notes, and also pack a more potent emotional wal- four for touch, it has about 350 for scent, allowing
lop than recollections triggered by sights, sounds it to detect a trillion different smells.
and other sensory cues. All in all, then, smell is a formidable capacity,
On the flip side, potent odors can revive inci- albeit one we tend to underestimate. “Humans are
dents we’d rather forget, in the worst cases inducing visual creatures—our external environment is pre-
severe distress and even all-too-vivid flashbacks, dominantly represented by brilliant and colorful
particularly in people who already suffer from post- scenes acquired through our eyes,” says Afif Aqra-
traumatic stress disorder. For instance, the smell bawi, a researcher in neuroscience and biology at
of alcohol on a man’s breath or a particular after- the University of Toronto who specializes in the
shave might cause the survivor of a sexual assault link between scent and memory. “This makes it
to relive the horrific experience. A widely cited se- difficult for us to appreciate the importance of our
ries of case studies published in 2003 by PTSD re- other senses. Nevertheless, the majority of the ani-
searchers Eric Vermetten and J. Douglas Bremner mal kingdom must rely on the sense of smell to nav-
found in one patient that the scent of diesel from a igate their surroundings. Olfaction is essential for

18
Researchers at the European Centre for Taste Sciences
examine a newborn to see if it remembers strong tastes such
as anise and curry that were part of the mother’s diet.

most organisms to find food, predators and mates.” the roots of that olfactory deficit may hold a key to
Indeed, adds Aqrabawi, “chemosensation”—the ca- treating those afflictions.
pacity to sense chemical substances, an evolution- There are also possible psychic benefits. In one
ary precursor to olfaction—“serves as the primary promising study, neuroscientist Artin Arshamian
means of external experience and communication of the Donders Institute in the Netherlands found
for even the most elementary forms of life, such as in a survey of young adults that autobiographi-
bacteria and protozoans.” cal memories cued by odors tended to be not only
A growing insight into the scent-memory con- more intense but also more positive than recollec-
nection has great potential for enhancing human tions cued by verbal labels for the same odors. A
health, opening the door for new therapies and 2013 study led by Japanese researcher Masahiro
cures. For example, a large body of work has shown Matsunaga found that when men and women were
that one of the first signs of Alzheimer’s and Parkin- exposed to a particular perfume they associated
son’s is that patients suddenly find themselves un- with a pleasant memory, the fragrance gave them
able to identify odors or pinpoint when and where an elevated sense of comfort and happiness and a
they smelled them. Researchers believe that finding decrease in anxiety.

19
SCIENCE OF MEMORY THE INFLUENCE OF SMELL

EXCERPT

The Power of a Madeleine

In one of literature’s most famous passages linking smell, taste
and memory, Marcel Proust’s hero bites into a cookie and is transported
to his childhood in Combray, France

No sooner had the warm liquid, little crumb of madeleine which

and the crumbs with it, touched on Sunday mornings at Combray
my palate than a shudder ran (because on those mornings I did
through my whole body, and I not go out before church-time),
stopped, intent upon the extraor- when I went to say good day to her
dinary changes that were taking in her bedroom, my aunt Léonie
place. An exquisite pleasure used to give me, dipping it first
had invaded my senses, but indi- in her own cup of real or of lime-
vidual, detached, with no sug- flower tea. The sight of the little
gestion of its origin. . . . Whence madeleine had recalled nothing
could it have come to me, this to my mind before I tasted it; per-
all-powerful joy? I was conscious haps because of those memories,
that it was connected with the so long abandoned and put out
taste of tea and cake, but that of mind, nothing now survived,
it infinitely transcended those everything was scattered; the
savours, could not, indeed, be forms of things, including that of
of the same nature as theirs. the little scallop-shell of pastry,
Whence did it come? What did it so richly sensual under its severe,
signify? How could I seize upon The madeleine story appears in religious folds, were either
and define it? Swann’s Way, the first volume of obliterated or had been so long
And I begin again to ask Remembrance of Things Past, dormant as to have lost the power
myself what it could have been, published in 1913. of expansion which would have
this unremembered state which allowed them to resume their
brought with it no logical proof I decide to attempt to make it place in my consciousness.
of its existence, but only the reappear. I retrace my thoughts to And once I had recognized the
sense that it was a happy, that it the moment at which I drank the taste of the crumb of madeleine
was a real state in whose pres- first spoonful of tea. soaked in her decoction of lime-
ence other states of conscious- And suddenly the memory flowers which my aunt used to
ness melted and vanished. returns. The taste was that of the give me immediately the old grey

With this in mind, Herz suggests that the evoca- of thoughtful reminiscence “increases positive af-
tive power of odor could make it a valuable clini- fect, bolsters self-esteem, strengthens the connec-
cal tool. “Many people intuitively note that odors tion between one’s past and present, produces feel-
have the potential to elicit comfort,” writes Herz in ings of social connectedness, elevates optimism and
the journal Brain Sciences, such as when a person infuses life with meaning.”
“sniffs a garment worn by a loved one they are sep- Who can argue with that? Interestingly, the Mat-
arated from.” She adds that “nostalgia—reflecting sunaga study determined that whereas one usually
upon one’s personal past—has been shown to have associates nostalgic feelings with music—the tune
many beneficial psychological consequences.” Sub- that takes you back to childhood, your first love or
stantial research has demonstrated that this kind whatever you consider the good old days—odors

20
 When odors trigger strong
autobiographical memories,
scientists call it the Proust effect.
Here, the novelist circa 1900.

house upon the street, where

her room was, rose up like the
scenery of a theatre to attach
itself to the little pavilion, open-
ing on to the garden, which had
been built out behind it for my
parents; and with the house the
town, from morning to night and
in all weathers, the Square where
I was sent before luncheon, the
streets along which I used to run
errands, the country roads we
took when it was fine. And just as
the Japanese amuse themselves
by filling a porcelain bowl with
water and steeping in it little
crumbs of paper which until then
are without character or form, but,
the moment they become wet,
stretch themselves and bend,
take on colour and distinctive
shape, become flowers or houses
or people, so in that moment all
the flowers in our garden and in
M. Swann’s park, and the water-
lilies on the Vivonne and the good
folk of the village and their little
dwellings and the parish church
and the whole of Combray and
of its surroundings, taking their
proper shapes and growing solid,
sprang into being, town and gar-
dens alike, from my cup of tea.

actually inspired more than twice as many happy cation: to feel better, happier, more exhilarated,
reveries as did musical excerpts. The effects are it may literally be as simple as stopping to smell
physiological as well. When a smell triggers an the roses—or the pine or freshly cut grass or what-
exhilarating or exciting memory, it can make the ever scent evokes your satisfying autobiographi-
heart race and spark a rush of adrenaline. Another cal memories.
research survey found that when men and women For me, it’s a certain perfume that transforms me
from ages 29 to 50 self-selected a scent that elic- once again into a toddler playing with the vintage
ited a pleasant, soothing autobiographical mem- atomizer on Mother’s vanity. She’s gone more than
ory—say, a particular flower—their breathing grew 30 years now, but that scent brings Mom back, if
slower and more relaxed. The remarkable impli- only for a fleeting, fragrant moment. □

21
AN ELEPHANT NEVE
Averaging about 10 1⁄2 pounds,
the pachyderm brain is the
largest among all land animals,
with a memory that rivals those
of apes and dolphins
By Courtney Mifsud

S
HIRLEY AND JENNY HAD NOT
laid eyes on each other for more
than two decades, but when the
old friends were brought to-
gether for a surprise reunion in
Hohenwald, Tenn., the moment
was beyond dramatic. It was
earsplitting. First Shirley started bellowing, then
Jenny. Carol, who witnessed the moment, described
the sounds as “roars.”
No, Jenny and Shirley weren’t long-lost girl-
friends. They were retired circus elephants who had
worked together briefly, been separated and suffered
abuse. Now, they were side by side again at an animal
sanctuary and overjoyed. “They were trying to climb
in with each other and frantically touching through
the bars,” wrote Carol (Buckley), founder of the ref-
uge, at the time. “I have never experienced anything
even close to this depth of emotion,” she said.
It turns out that what they say about elephants is
true. Not only do they have better long-term mem-
ories than their four-footed peers, an elephant’s
brain—at 101⁄2 pounds of matter—is the largest
among all the land animals. Some elephants re-
member injuries and hold grudges against who-
ever hurts them. They recognize their reflections in
a mirror, suggesting self-awareness, and some even
know their handlers by sight after being separated
for years. In terms of sheer intelligence, pachyderms

22
R FORGETS

Elephants understand
basic math and can keep
track of relative sums.
SCIENCE OF MEMORY ANIMALS AND MEMORY

Bottlenose dolphins have procedural

memories that last for years.

are up there with dolphins, apes and people, per- Elephants are of course not the only braini-
haps because inside their craniums sit 257 billion acs of the animal kingdom. Dolphins communi-
neurons, about three times the number contained cate through distinct whistles and clicks that may
within the human skull. serve as names or a type of language. Adolescent
Granted, elephant brains are organized in a dif- chimpanzees have outperformed humans on cer-
ferent way than those of their smaller hominid tain memory tests. A few years ago, a group of goats
friends, which is why they aren’t actually smarter figured out how to operate a lever to reach a piece
than people. But they are humanlike in many re- of fruit—and remembered the task 10 months later.
spects. Elephants adapted to life in African forests But elephant intelligence awes us uniquely, per-
and on savannas about the same time humans did, haps because they display such humanlike emotions
immigrated to Europe and Asia and evolved to live as empathy, grief, humor and compassion, and they
long and often migratory lives in complex societies. behave like us in many situations. Elephants have
They also developed a sophisticated communica- been seen using heavy branches to weigh down
tion system and experienced a dramatic increase in fences so they can climb over them. They’ve bran-
brain size for the same reason as people—they live a dished sticks to ward off attackers.
very long time, normally 60 to 70 years. Before em- Legends of elephant memory and intelligence
barking on a group outing, they even debate which date back thousands of years, and scientists have
direction to take, according to Phyllis Lee, author of long observed just how clever the animals can be
a study of elephants in Kenya’s Amboseli National in their natural habitat. But until the past 15 years
Park. “It’s wonderful to watch,” she told a newspa- or so, there were few carefully controlled experi-
per, “a real process of negotiation.” ments to compare the memory of elephants to their

24
animal-kingdom peers’. Now, in addition to probing leave the group when they reach sexual maturity, be-
how elephants use their smarts during droughts and tween 12 and 15, related elephant mothers and their
to protect themselves when threatened by enemy offspring stay together for life. They form a tight-
agents, researchers are designing studies to evalu- knit unit, communicating with chirps and rumbles
ate how the animals use their memories to learn to and caring for one another’s calves. Members look
use tools, to work as a group and to problem-solve. to the matriarch, typically the largest female in the
In a 2011 study of Kandula, an elephant at the herd, for guidance, and she may oversee anywhere
National Zoo in Washington, D.C., researchers from 12 to 100 elephants over the course of a day,
hung fruit-dipped bamboo branches within and depending on the availability of water and food.
just out of trunk reach to see if he could learn how The matriarch not only knows each elephant;
to access them. This was a test other elephants had she keeps tabs on them as the herd travels, accord-
failed, in part because researchers had given their ing to research conducted by Scottish psychologist
subjects sticks to nab the fruity bamboo. The prob- Richard Byrne. After collecting urine samples from
lem: when the elephants curled their trunks around elephants living in a park in Kenya, Byrne placed
the sticks, their sense of smell was compromised. them in front of the matriarchs. The females exam-
Earlier participants could not smell the snack to ined the samples with their trunks and started acting
find it. Kandula, however, aced up when the urine did not come
the trial, moving a large cube from their herd. The elephants
in his yard to use as a stepping also reacted when the urine
stool to reach the bamboo. He Imagine taking was from a family member they
learned to do the same with a thought was far away. “Imagine
tractor tire and giant blocks.
your family to taking your family to a crowded
Such research builds on tra- a busy store at department store and the Christ-
ditional studies that have estab- Christmas and mas sales are on,” Byrne told Sci-
lished how elephants’ memo- entific American. “What a job to
ries help them navigate climate keeping track of keep track of . . . four or five fam-
events and other hardships. four or five kids. ily members. These elephants are
For example, in 1958 a severe The elephants doing it with 30 traveling-mates.”
drought ravaged Tanzania’s Which raises the inevitable:
Tarangire National Park, home do it with 30 Can elephants sometimes best
to a large elephant population. travel mates. us at problem-solving? The an-
Almost 40 years later, when swer appears to be a qualified
drought conditions returned, “yes”—as illustrated by Neua Un,
the Wildlife Conservation So- a Thai elephant who participated
ciety of London studied the migration patterns of in a 2011 test of memory and cooperation. One of a
three herds in the park. Among other findings, the dozen pachyderms at a conservation center, Neua
researchers noted that the herd with the youngest Un was to pair up with another elephant and pull a
matriarch, age 33, remained in the northern area of table toward them with ropes. The animals had to
the park, where there was little water or food, and learn to perform the task as a team; otherwise, the
two thirds of the calves died. rope would unravel. Neua Un, however, figured out
But the older matriarchs, ages 45 and 38, who she could use her foot to hold the rope so that her
had survived the trauma of the 1958 drought, fared partner had to do all the work. The shortcut, which
much better. They led their packs out of the north- spoke to the idea that animals with a great capacity
ern portion of the park, theoretically to food and for memory also seem to be astute in terms of in-
water elsewhere. Fewer than 10% of these calves genuity, hadn’t occurred to lead researcher Joshua
died, prompting researchers to hypothesize that Plotnik. While he suspects Neua Un discovered the
the older elephants remembered the location of cheat by accident, Plotnik told NBC he was im-
resources from decades earlier. pressed nevertheless. “It speaks volumes to the flex-
The matriarchal structure of elephant society is, ibility of elephant behavior that she was able to fig-
in fact, crucial to the herd’s survival. Though males ure this out and stick to it,” he said. □

25
Forget-me-nots symbolize
remembering during partings
or after death and a connection
that lasts through time.
Exploring the Variety of Random
Documents with Different Content
"She's saying 'Good morning,'" declared May. "Oh, dear, dear
Jenny!"

Dropping Billy's hand she ran to the donkey, clasped her around the
neck, and talked to her in a whisper so low that the little boy could
not hear a word. Then Scout came up, and he, too, had to be
noticed. He looked at May with a wealth of love in his brown eyes,
and kept close to her side when, having said all she wanted to say to
Jenny, she beckoned Billy to follow her across the orchard. In a
sheltered corner she paused, and pointed at the ground.

"This is where the snowdrops are, underneath the grass," she said
gravely. Then suddenly, to Billy's astonishment, she dropped on her
knees, bent her head low, and cried softly: "Little snowdrops, little
snowdrops, are you still asleep?" She listened a minute, then rose, a
finger on her lips.

"Still asleep!" she murmured, "still asleep!"

"Asleep?" Billy echoed wonderingly. "Snowdrops don't go asleep,

May!" He smiled at the idea.

"Oh, yes, they do!" she corrected. "Didn't you know? Mr. Singleton
told me. I was, oh, so sorry when they died! Then Mr. Singleton told
me they'd gone deep, deep into the ground, and would sleep, sleep,
sleep till the spring came again, and God would say: 'Little
snowdrops, awake!' It's so sunny and warm to-day, I thought p'r'aps
the spring had come."

"Why, it's November, May!" exclaimed Billy, full of amazement. "It

won't be spring for months and months."

The little girl heaved a gentle sigh and rose from her knees. For a
minute her face wore a slightly clouded expression, then it smiled
and became contented again.

"Never mind," she said, "never mind! Mr. Singleton says God'll
remember them—He never forgets."
They returned to the garden, where William Brown had stirred up the
bonfire which had smouldered through the night. May clapped her
hands with delight when she saw the flames, and she and Billy set to
work collecting more rubbish to keep the bonfire burning.

At one o'clock Mrs. Brown came and called them in to dinner. She
was evidently pleased to see May. Billy noticed that her face
softened as she kissed the little girl and inquired if her mother knew
where she was.

"Oh, yes!" the child answered, adding: "I can stay till Harold fetches
me, Granny."

Harold did not arrive at Rowley Cottage till half-past four o'clock. He
had been told he must not stop to tea, he said, as it got dark so early
now, so May must please come at once. May told him of Billy's
gardening tools, and he lingered to have a look at them. The sight of
them evidently made him a little envious, for he did not express the
admiration Billy had expected he would.

"Oh, they'll do," he said, "but they've had a good bit of wear."

"Grandfer says they're none the worse for that," replied Billy. "See
how sharp the spade is! That's from use, Grandfer says. I think
they're beautiful tools."

"What made Master Tom give them to you?" asked Harold.

"Oh, he thought they would be just the right weight for me,"
explained Billy, "and so they are."

"He never gave me anything," remarked Harold, in a decidedly

grudgeful tone, "and he's always known me, whilst you—why, you're
almost a stranger to him! However, I don't want gardening tools; I've
some of my own that father gave me last birthday."

"But they're not such nice ones as yours," May told Billy.
Harold glanced at his little sister with a frown, and flushed angrily.

"I wouldn't change my tools for Billy's!" he exclaimed.

"Of course you wouldn't, as your father gave them to you," Billy said
quickly. "I suppose you know all about gardening?" he suggested.

"Rather!" Harold replied. "Father's got an allotment, and I help him

work it. We won several prizes at the vegetable and flower show last
August—the show's held in the Vicarage grounds every year. You
haven't seen the allotment gardens yet, I suppose? No? Well, you'd
better come and have a look at them on Saturday—there's no school
then, and I can show you about."

"Oh, thank you!" cried Billy. "I'll come—that is if Grandfer and Granny
will let me."

"Oh, they'll let you," declared Harold.

"Grandfer's so good-natured he generally lets people do as they like;

and Granny—well, I expect she'll be glad to get you out of her way.
She was vexed you had to come here, you know."

"I didn't know," said Billy. He felt hurt, but somehow he was not in the
least surprised. "How do you know?" he inquired.

"Oh, I heard her talking about you to mother before you came,"
Harold replied; "she said you'd be more trouble than enough, she
expected."

"Why should she have said that?" cried Billy indignantly, adding, as
Harold shook his head, "I think it was an unkind thing to say, and—
and an unkind thing to repeat!"

Harold looked rather ashamed.

"Now you're angry," he said, "and won't come on Saturday, I

suppose. Well, do as you like!"
He went off, leading May, who had listened to the conversation
between the two boys in puzzled silence. Billy watched them through
the orchard with a swelling heart. As they passed through the
gateway into the pathfields May looked back and waved her hand.

"Good-bye, Billy!" she cried; "I'll come again to-morrow if mother'll let
me! I like you, Billy, I do!"

Billy nodded and smiled. Then a cold nose touched his hand, and
Scout rubbed against him. He bent to caress the dog, and as he did
so, heard his grandfather's voice calling him to come in to tea. It
sounded so hearty that he felt quite cheered by it.

"At any rate he isn't vexed I had to come here!" he said to himself.

CHAPTER VII.
"COME LIFE, COME DEATH, THEY'RE SAFE."

DURING the next few days, the weather continuing fine, May was a
constant visitor at Rowley Cottage, coming and going as she
pleased. She spent most of her time with her grandfather and Billy in
the garden, but sometimes she would leave them and wander about
the orchard with the live-stock there. She had no fear of any living
creature, and even the big, grey gander, which hissed so fiercely,
would eat from her hand.

"She's not like any other little girl I ever knew," Billy remarked to his
grandfather one evening, as they sat on the settle by the kitchen fire,
Scout asleep at their feet, discussing May, who had gone home
shortly before tea.

"I expect not," William Brown answered, "she's different from most
children, poor dear! She learns nothing at school, but—"

"She's only backward," his wife broke in sharply. She was seated
near the table, sewing by the light of an oil lamp. "You needn't speak
as though she's stupid," she added, in a tone full of resentment, "for
she can learn some things quick enough."

"Just what I was going to say when you interrupted me," William
Brown said mildly. "She can't remember if you try to teach her to
read or add up figures, but tell her anything about an animal or a
bird, or a flower, and she'll remember it. Oh, yes! If she's a bad
memory for some things—"

"Oh, her memory will be all right by-and-by!" broke in Mrs. Brown
again. "It'll strengthen as she grows older, you'll find!"

"I hope so, I'm sure," her husband muttered to himself. Aloud he
said: "I suppose you've no objection to Billy's spending to-morrow
with his cousins, Maria? Being Saturday, Harold will have a holiday. I
saw Elizabeth when I went to the post office this afternoon, and she
asked if Billy might come. Of course, I said 'yes.'"

"Then why ask me anything about it?" questioned Mrs. Brown tartly.
"You said 'yes,' so that's enough. Billy and his cousins indeed!"

"Aunt Elizabeth said I was to look on May and Harold as cousins,"

explained Billy, adding in a disappointed tone, "If you don't want me
to go, Granny, of course I won't."

"Oh, go!" said Mrs. Brown impatiently. "Why should I want to keep
you here?"

Accordingly Billy went. He consulted his grandfather as to the time

he ought to go, and was told as early after breakfast as he pleased.
So soon after nine o'clock found him at the top of the hill, hastening
in the direction of the village. At the first turn of the road he met May
and Harold.

"Oh, here you are!" exclaimed Harold. "We were coming to meet
you. She—" nodding at his sister—"would come too! Now what
would you like to do before dinner? I thought we wouldn't go to the
allotment field till this afternoon, then father'll be there. Father can't
leave the post office in the morning, because mother's too busy
about the house to attend to the shop. I say, don't you think it would
be nice to go down to the bridge by the railway-station? We might sit
on it and watch the Canadians."

"The Canadians?" echoed Billy, inquiringly.

"Yes—the Canadian lumbermen. They've been taking down trees in

the valley, and they've got a steam saw near the station cutting them
up. It's great fun looking on. You'd like it, wouldn't you?"

"Yes," agreed Billy, "I expect I should."

So the children spent the morning seated on top of one of the arches
of an old stone bridge close to the railway-station, watching a great
steam saw at work, and a lot of khaki-clad Canadian lumbermen
loading trucks with timber. Some of the men spoke to them good-
naturedly in passing, and one, a grey-headed, middle-aged man who
seemed to be in command of the others, stopped, and, after
exchanging a few words with the boys, addressed himself to May.

"I've a little daughter at home in Canada with fair hair like yours," he
told her, with a smile. "Guess she's about your age, my dear. Real
smart she is. See!"

He took a letter from his pocket, opened it, looked at it admiringly for
a few moments, then showed it to May.

"Her own handwriting," he said proudly; "her own spelling too.

Guess, now, you can't write or spell much better than that yourself."
"May can't either write or spell," Harold said, as his little sister did not
attempt to answer; "she goes to school, but she can't learn—it's not
her fault."

The Canadian put his great brown hand under May's chin, lifted her
face and looked long and earnestly into the depths of her dark-blue
eyes. What he saw there brought a very tender expression into his
own eyes.

"No," he said gently, "it's not her fault. What's your name, little one?"
he asked May.

When she had told him, he remarked that it was a very pretty name.
Then he asked for a kiss, and, having received it, went across the
bridge and away.

"Nice man!" May exclaimed. "Where's Canada, Harold?"

"Oh, ever so far off," he answered.

"Further away than Exeter?" questioned the little girl.

Her brother nodded, laughing. "It's across the sea," he explained. "To
get there you've to go in a ship."

"Oh, how lovely!" cried May, clasping her hands.

"She stayed by the sea once," Harold told Billy. "Mother took her to
Teignmouth for a week because she'd been ill; that was two years
ago, but she's never forgotten it. Now, what do you say to making a
move? I'm getting so hungry that I'm sure it must be nearly dinner-
time."

Dinner was being dished when the children reached the post office.
Billy, who was quite at his ease with his adopted relations, enjoyed
his dinner—a share of a large rabbit-pie, which was the nicest he
had ever tasted, he thought. He did not talk much himself, but
listened to the conversation of the others. He learnt that on Saturday
afternoons Mrs. Varcoe came to "scrub up," and that Aunt Elizabeth
took charge of the post office so that her husband might go
gardening.

As soon as ever dinner was over Uncle John said, "Now then, boys!"
and a start was made for the allotment gardens.

The allotment gardens were in a field which sloped right down to the
river. Many of their owners were there on this sunny November
afternoon, tidying their patches of ground against the coming winter.
Several large bonfires were burning finely, and it was not long before
Harold and Billy were busily engaged making a bonfire of their own.
Meanwhile John Dingle was weeding the ground between his winter
greens, pausing now and again to exchange a few words with other
allotment holders.

"There's going to be a change in the weather before long," Billy

overheard him say by-and-by to a man who was passing.

"Aye, aye!" was the answer; "the wind's changing—veering round to

the west."

"Does a west wind bring rain, Uncle John?" Billy inquired.

"Very often. But there are other signs the fine weather's going to
break up. See those long fleecy clouds? Mares' tails we call 'em.
They mean wind—high wind. It wouldn't surprise me if there was a
westerly gale before morning. Where's May?"

May had followed her father and the boys to the allotment field, but
had wandered away from her father's garden. She was now seen
returning with the Vicar—he often came there on Saturday
afternoons, Billy afterwards learnt.

"Oh, she's with Mr. Singleton!" John Dingle exclaimed; "that's all
right! I don't like her to get away to the river by herself for fear she
should fall in. You haven't spoken to our Vicar yet, have you, Billy?
He was in the post office this morning and spoke of you—he noticed
you on Sunday."

"Yes," said Mr. Singleton, who had come up with May and heard the
postmaster's last words; "and I want to make the acquaintance of my
new parishioner."

He shook hands with Billy. Although he was really old his eyes
looked young, the little boy noticed. Those eyes were smiling at him
now in the kindliest, friendliest fashion. "So you've come to live with
your grandfather," he said. "I hope you'll like the country. You're
going in for gardening, I understand! Ah, you wonder how I know
that! A friend of yours told me—Mr. Tom Turpin."

"Oh!" cried Billy, flushing. So the Vicar considered Mr. Tom Turpin his
friend! His heart swelled with happiness at that thought.

"He came to see me to say 'good-bye,'" the Vicar continued;

"dropped in for a few minutes with his father on his way to the
railway-station. He's gone to-day."

"Ah, poor lad!" sighed the postmaster. "I hope God will keep him
safe."

"He will," the Vicar answered; "be sure He will. We know the Lord is
mindful of His own—come life, come death, they're safe."

Come life, come death, they're safe! Those words, spoken by the old
man with child-like faith and conviction, sounded in Billy's ears again
and again during the remainder of the day, bringing joy and
consolation with them. They eased the ache there was always in his
heart when he thought of his mother, the innocent victim of the cruel
war, and he murmured them to himself that night, as he lay in bed in
the darkness, listening to the rising wind which was beginning to
moan and to sob around the house.

The postmaster had been a true prophet. The fine weather had
broken up. The after-glow of summer had gone.
 CHAPTER VIII.
GRANDFER'S SECRET.

BILLY started up in bed uttering shriek after shriek, his forehead

damp with perspiration, his limbs a tremble, his heart cold with fear.
What had happened? A terrible noise had wakened him from tranquil
sleep, a noise right overhead it had seemed. He had opened his
eyes to find himself in pitch darkness; but now, all of a sudden, a
great light almost blinded him, and, springing out of bed, he made a
rush across the room for the door. As he reached it, it was opened,
and Mrs. Brown, carrying a lighted candle, caught him by the arm.

"What's the matter, child?" she asked crossly. "Oh, stop that noise!
Do you hear? Stop that noise, you little coward, you!"

Billy obeyed. The room was in darkness again but for the flickering
light of the candle which Mrs. Brown placed on the top of a chest of
drawers.

"Get back to bed!" she commanded, giving the boy a little shake,
then letting him go. "You ought to be ashamed of yourself for
shrieking like that just because there's a thunderstorm."

"A thunderstorm!" faltered Billy. "Oh, was it only thunder I heard? I

thought—oh, that's lightning!" He crept into bed and lay down.

For a moment the room had been illuminated brilliantly. Now a series
of low, crackling reports sounded right overhead.
"What did you think?" asked Mrs. Brown, when her voice could be
heard.

"That—that there was an air raid," the little boy admitted.

"The Germans haven't ventured over Devonshire yet," Mrs. Brown

remarked, "and maybe they never will. But if they came you'd do no
good by shrieking."

"I know," Billy answered. "I couldn't help it, Granny! I couldn't,
indeed! Oh!—" as another flash of lightning lit up the room. "Now we
shall have thunder again!"

He was right. This time, however, it did not sound directly over the
house, but further away. Mrs. Brown sat down on the edge of the
bed and looked at him gravely. She had thrown on a grey flannel
dressing-gown, which she now proceeded to button up.

"I'll stay with you a little while," she said, her voice sounding kinder;
"if I'd known you'd have been so scared I'd have come to you before.
But I thought perhaps you'd sleep on like your grandfather. He's such
a heavy sleeper nothing disturbs him, yet he always wakes up sharp
at six o'clock. It's been a wild night, but the thunder's passing, I
think."

"Yes," agreed Billy. He listened, then went on, "But hark to the rain!
It's coming down in torrents! It must have put out all the bonfires, and
they were burning so beautifully. Oh, Granny, poor Jenny! How
dreadful to think of her out in the orchard."

"Jenny's all right," Mrs. Brown assured him. "Your grandfather put
her in her stable the last thing before he went to bed; she won't sleep
out again this winter, I reckon. Why, you're trembling still, child!"

"But I'm not frightened any longer. I'm not afraid of thunder and
lightning; it was only—that I didn't know—"
"Oh, yes, I understand now," Mrs. Brown broke in; "but I didn't at
first. I'm sorry I didn't."

"Oh, never mind, Granny," Billy murmured. "I oughtn't to have been
afraid; I shouldn't have been if I'd stopped to think—to remember
God was with me and that He'd keep me safe."

"He didn't keep your mother safe!"

The little boy started up in bed.

"Yes, He did!" he cried. "He took her to be with Him for ever and
ever! That's being safe, isn't it?"

Mrs. Brown was silent. She was not religious in the true sense of the
word. She called herself a Christian, of course, but she had never
opened her heart to the Saviour—never known that love which
passeth knowledge. Indeed, she had never felt the need of that love;
but now, as she looked at Billy's glowing face and shining eyes, she
had a feeling that the little boy possessed something of which she
was lacking.

"When I miss her—and, oh! I miss her always, every minute of the
day," he continued, "it makes my heart ache less when I remember
she's safe. Oh, mother!" He caught his breath with a sob.

"You mustn't grieve, child," Mrs. Brown said, with unusual

gentleness; "by your own telling you know that she's better off where
she's gone. I daresay she had a troublous life."

Billy nodded. "But we were very happy," he said, "just mother and
me. Of course we were poor, but Grandfer helped us. He used to
write such nice letters—short, but ever so kind. We used to look
forward to getting his letters, not so much because of the money—"

"What money?" interposed Mrs. Brown with a start.

"The money he used to send us," the little boy explained. "Oh, didn't
you know about it?"

Mrs. Brown hesitated, but only momentarily. Her face was flushed
and her brows were knitted in a frown.

"No," she replied, "I did not. Perhaps your grandfather thought it no
business of mine." She rose as she spoke and took her candle.
"Well, I suppose I can leave you now," she remarked; "you're not
likely to have a shrieking fit again."

"Oh, no, Granny! And thank you for coming to me. I—"

Billy ceased speaking abruptly, for Mrs. Brown had gone, closing the
door behind her. He did not feel at all sleepy, but he closed his eyes
and tried to sleep. He wished he had not spoken of the money his
grandfather had given his mother. He supposed, now, that Grandfer
had not wished Granny to know about it—that that was the reason
why he had always been so anxious not to be thanked. Then would
Granny have been against the money having been sent?

"That must be it!" Billy decided. "Oh, how mean of her! Yes, I do call
it mean! She is mean."

Though he had been so short a time at Rowley Cottage, he had

discovered that Mrs. Brown had but one aim and ambition in life—to
make and save money. Only the day before she had shown temper
because her husband had become a subscriber to some war charity.

"You can't afford it!" she had declared. "We're only working people!
Don't I slave from dawn to dusk over the housework and poultry,
doing without a servant to save money? And you—why, you'd give
the coat off your back, I believe, if anyone asked you for it! What's
going to become of us in our old age if we don't put by now? Oh, we
ought to trust Providence a bit, ought we? What cant! 'Look-out for
yourself' is my motto, and it will take some beating! Don't talk to me!"
William Brown had not done so, but had allowed her to rage on. Billy
was thinking how sad and ashamed he had looked, when he heard
raised voices in the next room. Evidently a quarrel was taking place.
He sat up in bed and listened, then, unable to make out what was
being said, slipped out of bed and opened the door. Only one voice
was speaking now—Granny's, shrill and excited.

"You kept it a secret from me to avoid unpleasantness?" it cried. "A

fine excuse! And now you won't even tell me how much you sent
her! It's too bad—too bad! And I had to admit to the boy you kept me
in the dark! A nice position to have put your wife in! Shame on you,
William Brown!"

"The shame's on you who were always so against the boy's father!—
on you who begrudged the little money I spent on bringing him up
and educating him!" Billy heard his grandfather retort. "You were
never fair to my son—your own daughter knows it!"

Billy shut the door heavily and went back to bed. He had suddenly
remembered that he ought not to be listening. Oh, how he wished he
had not mentioned his grandfather's secret! But he had not known it
was a secret till Mrs. Brown's flushed face and frowning brows had
enlightened him.

The lightning was coming in only occasional flashes now, and the
thunder had nearly stopped. By-and-by the angry voices in the next
room ceased. Still Billy could not sleep. Though no longer frightened
he could not quiet his nerves; he felt them throbbing all over him,
even to his finger-tips. At last came dawn—a wintry dawn, chill and
mournful, and it was time to rise.

The little boy was nearly dressed when Mrs. Brown, looking much as
usual, opened the door and popped her head in.

"Oh, you're getting up!" she said. "Your grandfather's been out this
long while, and'll be in to breakfast soon. Hurry! I want you to feed
the fowls, and—but how white you look! Didn't you sleep again?"
"No," Billy admitted, "I couldn't—I was too unhappy. Oh, Granny, I
heard you and Grandfer quarrelling," and his voice choked. "My
head's dizzy," he faltered; "I feel—"

The room seemed to be swimming about him. He saw everything

through a mist. The mist thickened and closed in around him, and
had not Mrs. Brown rushed into the room and caught him as he
staggered, he would have fallen, unconscious, upon the floor.

CHAPTER IX.
THE BIRD PICTURE BOOK.

FOR several days Billy was ill, so ill that he kept his bed, and the
doctor who attended him insisted he should have a night nurse.
Accordingly Mrs. Varcoe was engaged to fill that position.

"Such an expense!" Billy overheard Mrs. Brown grumbling to her

daughter, who came to Rowley Cottage, greatly concerned, as soon
as she heard of his illness. "The doctor says he's still suffering from
shock to some extent, and his nerves are unstrung. I never
bargained he would be as delicate as this."

"Oh, I expect he'll be all right after a bit," was the hasty response. "I
can understand how the thunderstorm upset him. Of course, you
can't work by day and nurse by night, mother; you've done wisely in
getting Mrs. Varcoe."
At first Billy was rather in awe of Mrs. Varcoe. He felt as though a
giantess had taken possession of him. But he soon discovered that
the giantess, in spite of her big, work-roughened hands, had the
gentlest touch possible, and that her shrewd green eyes often had a
very tender mother-look in them.

She was a silent watcher at his bedside as a rule, but one night,
when Billy was too feverish and restless to sleep, she proved that
she could be a good talker. He questioned her about her sons, and
she told him a great deal that interested him concerning them, and
spoke of a letter she had received after the eldest had been killed.

"It was from his captain," she explained; "just a few words, saying my
boy had been a good soldier and had done his duty. I ought to be a
proud mother, he said. And I am!"

Billy was deeply moved.

"Oh, Mrs. Varcoe, how brave you are!" he exclaimed.

He felt there was a link between him and Mrs. Varcoe, for both of
them had suffered through the war. He began to talk to her of his
mother, and that led to tears. She did not try to stop him, as Granny
would have done, when he began to weep. No! she put her strong
arms around him, and hushed him upon her breast. There, by-and-
by, he fell asleep.

During the days he was in bed Billy was kept very quiet, but directly
he came downstairs again he was allowed to see visitors. The Vicar
was the first who called to see him; then each of the members of the
Dingle family came at different times, delighted that he was about
again. After that little May came every afternoon, and sat beside him
on the settle, talking to him about the animals and birds she noticed
on her daily journey from the village to Rowley Cottage.

"Get well quickly, Billy," she would say, "then I'll take you to the
woods to see the squirrels. Oh, they are the dearest, sweetest
things! You'll love them, you will!"
A wonderfully happy time followed. After the heavy rains a spell of
dry, clear weather set in. Every day now found Billy either in the
garden with his grandfather or roaming about the woods and lanes
with May. He never tired of watching the squirrels springing from tree
to tree, and he soon grew accustomed to the sounds which at first
startled him—the rustle of birds and the scuttle of rabbits in the
undergrowth, the discordant cries of cock-pheasants as they rose
from the ground and took wing, and the mournful hoot of the owls.

Once, on a misty day, he saw an owl quite close. It was white, save
for a few light golden-brown feathers in its wings, and had a round,
solemn, baby face.

Then he learnt to ride Jenny, and to drive her in the market cart, too.
One never-to-be-forgotten day he drove his grandfather nearly to
Exeter. As they neared the city they began to meet other vehicles,
and his grandfather changed seats with him and took the reins. He
was rather glad of this, not as yet being an experienced driver.

The first stop they made when Exeter was reached was before a
large fruit and poultry shop in High Street. Here William Brown
unloaded the contents of his cart—a quantity of winter greens and
potatoes, and two baskets, one containing dead poultry, the other
some golden apples called "Blenheim Oranges," the crop of one of
his best apple-trees which had been gathered carefully before the
gales, and hoarded. Then they drove to various other shops and did
a lot of shopping, for Mrs. Brown had given them a long list of
errands to execute; and, later, their purchases having been stored
away in the market cart, they drove down a narrow side-street into a
yard, where they left Jenny and her load in the care of a stable boy
who seemed to know her and smacked her fat sides familiarly.

"Nov for the market!" said William Brown. He dived his hand into his
trouser-pocket, and the next minute slipped half-a-crown into his
grandson's palm. "A trifle for pocket-money," he explained, with his
good-natured smile.

"Oh, grandfather, thank you, thank you!" cried Billy.

He had never had a half-crown in his life before.

"May I do what I like with it?" he asked eagerly, his eyes sparkling.

"Certainly," agreed his grandfather. "Spend it, or, if you like, you can
open an account with it in the Post Office Savings Bank."

"I think I'd like to spend it, grandfather." The market reached, William
Brown met several acquaintances who claimed his attention. He
suggested that Billy should go and look at the shops and come back
to him, adding that he would be there for an hour at least. Billy
jumped at the suggestion, for he wanted to spend his half-crown. He
thought he would buy himself a pocket-knife. It would be such a
useful thing to have.

He wandered from shop to shop, gazing into the windows. At last he

came to one in which were all sorts of fancy articles.

"I should think they'd sell pocket-knives here," he thought. "I'll ask,
anyway."

There were several customers in the shop when he entered it, so the
little boy had to wait a few minutes before he could be attended to.
He passed the time in looking at some picture books on the counter.
One, in particular, excited his admiration. It contained coloured prints
of all sorts of birds, wild and tame. "How May would like that!" he
thought. "I'll buy it for her!—that is, if it is not too expensive." Turning
to an assistant who had come to him, he inquired: "What is the price
of this picture book, please?"

"Two shillings," was the reply.

"Oh!" exclaimed Billy. "I can't afford that." He had hoped it might not
be more than a shilling. If he bought it he would have only sixpence
left. "What are the prices of your pocket-knives?" he asked.

"We have none less than eighteen-pence," he was told.

He stood undecided, thinking. May knew nothing about the book,
and he wanted a pocket-knife so much. Harold had one, and it was
most useful. But the book would be a great joy to May. Oh, she must
have it!

When he returned to the market to his grandfather the bird picture

book was in his possession.

"Spent all your money?" William Brown inquired, smiling.

Billy shook his head.

"No," he replied. "I've sixpence left that I'm going to save towards
buying a pocket-knife."

He did not tell his grandfather then what he had purchased, but on
the way home, some hours later, he told him.

"It's all pictures of birds," he explained. "I'm sure May'll be pleased

with it."

"Aye, I reckon!" William Brown nodded. He had refused to allow Billy

to drive on the homeward journey, saying that it would be dark very
soon. But Billy was not nervous to-day, as he had been during his
first drive from Exeter. He knew now how sure-footed Jenny was,
and that his grandfather was a careful driver. By-and-by his
grandfather began to talk of the plans his Exeter acquaintances were
making for growing big crops of vegetables and corn next year.

"Every one's as keen as pepper to get as much as possible out of

the land," he said. "We men at home mean to show our fighting men
we can do our bit as well as they can. And may God prosper our
labours! After all's said and done, we can't do anything without Him!
The harvest's in His hands, you know, Billy! Ah! those who work on
the land need to put a deal of faith in th' Almighty."

They had nearly reached home now. A few minutes later Jenny was
picking her way down the cart track at the back of the house, her
master at her head. Then she drew up with a satisfied snort before
the back door. Billy jumped out, and ran into the kitchen, his
purchase under his arm. He had hoped to see May. But she was not
there. Having known he would be absent she had not been near
Rowley Cottage for the day. No one was there but Mrs. Brown.

"Oh, Granny!" cried the little boy, "look here! Grandfer gave me half-
a-crown, and I bought this."

He pulled off the paper from the picture book, which he put into her
hands, never doubting but that she would admire it. She glanced at it
with a darkening face.

"A baby's book!" she exclaimed scornfully. "The idea of a boy your
age wasting money on such a book as this! Your grandfather should
have known better than to let you!"

"I bought it for May," faltered Billy. "It all pictures—pictures of birds.
She loves birds, so I thought she'd be pleased—"

"Oh, it's for May, is it?" Mrs. Brown broke in, with a sudden change of
tone. "That alters the case. She'll be pleased, of course, and—and it
was good of you to remember the poor child, Billy."

She had never spoken to Billy so cordially before.

CHAPTER X.
SPRING.
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