Wilmington daily commercial., 1875-03-05
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Sleep and No Sleep.

IT is religious duty to sleep aud to sleep
enough and he who does not, may be sure
that he is breaking the Sixth Commandment,
which requreth ali lawful eudeavors to preserve
our own life, as well as the lives OF others
There il scarcely better health meter for mon
who think much than this. Hard, mental work
ID beginning to kill when it nterferes with sleep,
and he who plies his brain with ever 50 much ell
ergy eight or ten hours day prays and plays
i've or Six hours, and sleeps seven or eight will
never die OF oyerwork. But he must make
business Of it, Brain work, good exercise in the
open air, culture of the soul, social relaxation
and seep-these are the constituents of good
living. and they will be attended by health
wealth, usefulness and happiness. Ii ANYTHING
else is wanting, it will be added tliereunto
The old theory was that sleep is induced by
The pressure OF blood on the brain. Because
the stupor of apoplexy follows congestion of
the brain, it was held that sleep was somewhat
like an incpent disease !; very stupid theory
FOR sleep 80 far from being like disease, is 'the
sweet restorer" of the waste that brain work
makes. Congestion is imminent when the brain
le pressed hard with blood, and it is doing more
than its duty. But when tile brain has been laid
bare by removing portion of skull of a living
animal, it is obvious to the eye that as sleep
comes, the brain occupies less space than before
and as the animal wakes the brain expands, and
Nils the cavity again. Sometimes rising
suddenly In bed from sound sleep
one is dizzy or lght-headed, and that il because
the blood has not had time to regain its normal
circulation in the upper story. And 1t is not
well to spring up quickly on waking take
things moderately then as at all times Thus we
see the necessity of sleep, that the waste OF tie
whole nervous system occasioned by the wear
and tear OF mental and physical labor through
the day may be repaired You cannot make ma
clinery of the hardened steel, and OF the most
polished surface that will not wear out or break
down. As all the machinery on earth combined
would not show workmanship 30 delicate and
finished, and fitted, and for such exquisite ser
vice as the body and the mind Of man.
1t has been publicly stated that ten bank
presidents in this city were killed by the com
nercal crash OF 1857. Not one of them would
have died of that disaster. had he given ten hours
day to business and eight to sleep. | do not
know what Shakespeare meant when he wrote
that sleep knits up the travelled sleeve of
care, but well know by long experiment, that
when care has wasted and unrayeled the web of
life, 30 that tho man is falling into sixes and
sevens, like all old stocking, or knitted sleeve,
then kind sleep comes to his aid, knits it all up
again, and makes him as good as new The VIC
tins of no sleep from our banks and stores 90
wandering over Europe like the spirits in the
gospels, seeking rest and finding none because
they hasted to be rich aud would not, and then
could not sleep.
Prince Albert, that model Prince Consort.
worth any dozen kings OF the common kind
gave written certificate to the value of a re-
eipe for going TO sleep OF which man claimed