American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1874-09-05
The Misery of Nothing to DO.

heated term to suggest that one of the
best defenses against the discomforts oc-
casioned by the weather is to keep too
busy to think about it. The same sug-
gestion may be made in reference to pro-
lection against many other ills beside
those produced by the weather. The gen
eral inclination is to think of work as Il
curse, and to long for freedom from il.
This is as grand a mistake as ever was
made. There is no i'll of the vast brood
to which flesh is heir which is not
worse iii to those who have nothing to
do than to any other class.
A large share of the troubles of this
world are borrowed. Those which are
expected never come, though the eNpec-
tation makes them about AS real and
hard to bear as if they did come. Those
which are not expected are the ones
which do really come. The busy man,
he who has head and hands full, has very
little time to peer into the future, except
at nighttime, and he is too tired and
sleepy to do much of it then SO the
busy man comes upon his trial, the
trials come upon him, without the agony
of anticipation. 1t is like having tooth
suddenly and Unexpectedly knocked out.
This is rather hard for a minute, but is
soon over, and is not half as bad as living
awake a II night with the toothache and
the dread of the cold steel, and, when
morning comes, dragging ones self to the
dentists office, and deliberately, though
reluctantly, mounting the chair. The
busy man, who has no time to borrow
trouble, gets rid of large portion of the
pain he would suffer if he were not busy,
and those troubles which do actually
come are not half as hard to bear as they
would be if he had long looked for and
expected them.
As with troubles in the future, so with
those which are passed. No greater
blessing can be given man or woman
who has lost friends, property, or what
ever else it is painful to part with, than
something to do. Not only something,
but all that can possibly be done; some
thing which demands constant thought
and labor. And no more prolific source
of pain can be found for the afflicted
than nothing to do. Such live their
troubles over and over again, much as
an OK will spend the hours in chewing
the cud gathered and swallowed once,
though the OK has the advantage of a
sweet cud, while troubles lived over are
bitter. 1t seems a little hard to brush
away the tears and take up promptly the
old cares and labors after the dead are
laid aside, or after the debris from some
wreck has been cleared away But
blessed is the man or woman who is COM
PEELED to do it. 1t takes away half the
agony of a painful loss.
4NOt d ACW VI tuC puy SlCstl Ills W W ulCu
flesh is heir are the result of nothing to
do, or, at least, are made worse thereby
1t matters little what pain we have, if we
are not conscious of it, if such an eX-
preston may be allowed. With bodies
as full of sensations as are those of most
of us, there is plenty to give us uneasi-
ness if we sit down to think of them.
Those who have little or no work to busy
themselves about have full time to note
each ache and pain, and to cultivate it,
no matter how young and tender, to
full-grown one. There are hosts of peo-
pie who would feel very badly if they
only had time to think how they feel
As it is, they don't know that they have
headache or backache or any other
kind of ache till they stop work. And
often it is the case that the ache becomes
indignant at waiting so long for recogni-
ton and leaves before it is recognized
at all. 1t is good thing to slight these
unwelcome visitors, and it can be done
with the best grace when one is busy.
If these ills are courted and petted they
come to stay, and finally come to be con-
slant and most uncomfortable compan-
ions. No small share of the sickness of
a very large class of people would be
avoided altogether if they had some oc-
cupation demanding attention and effort.
Besides having time to think about their
symptoms, and thus making them worse
by the peculiar influence of the mind
over the body, they also have time to
begin dOctoring, which often is the
worst thing that can be done. 1t is a
serious question whether more diseases
are not created or aggravated by the
doses of medicine that people pour down
their threats than are cured or alleviated
thereby. Physicians are most useful
members of society. They would be
more useful if they had the courage to
brave the displeasure of their patients
by telling them they do not need medi-
cines when such is the case. Medicines,
too, are useful at proper times and in
proper places. The best place for half
that which people take, however, is in
the slop-bucket or out of the window.
The man who is too busy to take medi-
cine is often great gamer thereby, es-
pecially if he will exercise a little COM
mon sense and denial in reference to his
diet and his habits generally. Occupa-
ton is the best doctor for people with
little to do.
How it may have been with Adam we
do not pretend to say; neither will we
theorize upon how it might have been
with his descendants if he and his wife
had not tasted forbidden fruit; but as it
is, work saves the sons and daughters of
this ancient pair from many ills they
otherwise would suffer, and, while some
are overworked and worked to death,
there are not few who would be hap
pier, more healthy and live longer if
they had more to do. Charles Lamb
once said, 1.-The best thing a man can
have to do is-nothing. And next to
this, good works, perhaps" But after
trying 1t year or two he changed bis
tune and wrote, "Overwork is better
than no work. "-Terre Hdute Qnd.) Moiz