The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1875-08-12

s ave- 'p '' and nrenaring for faucy.bai' 70
one off "Wednesday night for the ehi'oteh'
nd FRIDAY night for the grown ones.
We had religious services last SunuaS
morning in The spacious parlor, conducted ny
Paw Messrs. Meredith, LOCKWOOD, anu AM
Nor a. the Episcopal Church. The attend
nee wxs large and devotional. Il. >. =.
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.. sleep.
There Is O law Of periodic rest which is
1uiyersa! in lis application. The successive
,esiods Of creation are distinguished by an |
alternate evening and noruins--a eight of /
y,pose followed by day Of activity. After !
The nebutous matter, thft had been ~withoHt
form and void" had become condensed into
a solid ryass, for a time darkness was upon
the face of the Deep" and the great, watery
ball swung Sead and silent In the eSpEase.
Intestor dres shoulder quietly IN their cen
ira, oven; the waters-tideless and wave
less lumber peacefully above; whiie the
creative spirit brosds over the placid eosom
Of rhe deco. At last the word h said, "Let
there be light The tdarEness vs1ishes'
ssornipg oresks, and the roeud world shines
fske giobe of silver.
Then there comes another long might OF
stiffness and repose, during which the ese-
ments are preparing thensesvesfor n further
nerioS of activity and life. The Enner nre
has been melting, tusing, crystas'z'ng, ana
prsdzalE weakening the superintendent
strsts. when suddenly the depths of the sea
are troubled, and islands, eonanents, and
mgin.ains are heaved MP into the all, While
/ the waters sub<ide into the swdileys. Then
the winds begin to blow, the rain de-
sends upon the rough rocks, wearing away
| their surface, electric and chemical FORCES
/ ore pare the way for pcgetableafe, ana TaoA
perdure, in process of time, covers the iace
of the earth. As the evening OF the th,fo
1 day draws on there comes auother grahu
CONFUSION, and the ferns anu the MOVERS auo
the huge trees sink down 'lEto Inc deptnS,
tbarc 10 be changed into 'cscbon and stored
owav TO meet the necessities Of the age in
which we live And soft,Yroceedcd, hy al.
ternate seasons of rest and action, unti all
| things were finished and msn appeared upon
the stage.
The same law still prevails in every de-
partment of nature. Every year the trees
strip off the covering which they had worn.
! The earth wraps itself sup in its coveret OF
snow, and the silent slanlber Of winter
reipns profound. Every day the flower that
followed the sun so lovingly while ne shone
folds its little hands at evening and bends its
head and sleeps. Here and there we hud
rollicking cereuS that Dever opens its painted
doors until DighttalI.; but. like all who reNel
in the darkness, it muet rest at MONDAY.
The winds and the waters sleep-wcll for
ms that they do: but the sounder they sleep,
the more terrible ate they when they wake;
the proloundcr the calm, the fiercer is the
hurricane which follows. Even the metals
med to have their periodic rest ; IN iron
iWbeel kept in incessant motion for too long
q period Of time loses it's cohesive power and
f'es in pieces.
It is also said that stone. if it were exposed
to constant sunlight and with no chance to
sleep at night, would become disintegrated
and crumble away. Every organ OF the bu-
man body needs to have its special season Of
rest. The lungs must have their brief period
of repose between each successive inspirs-
ton the heart pauSes fol An instant in the
interval between each pulSatIon, and every
Que knows to his sorrow that if the digestive
functions are forced to work too steadily they
will avenge themselves upon the german
djzer. But for this fact many Of the organs
of the body would get no rest st all; for
during our Ordinary sleep the inYolun;arv
actors Of The body continue IN exercise, and
IN some cases even tile power Of l6comotion
may be complete, while all the bodily senses
fare wrapped in slumber.
= In W hat that Ordinary sleep consists it is
not easy TO say. OF course every one knows
what il is as a matte Of experience, although
no man was ever conscious OF the precise
moment when be fell into OBLIVION We al
know what it is 10 be sleepy when we feel
that we ought TO be wide awake, and what
it is to be wakeiul when we ought to be
asleep. p
There are certain positions Of the body
which are favorable 10 sleep, and yet, when
they are very weary, soldiers may sumber
while on the march, couriers while on horse
back, and many person falls asleep bolt up
right in his chair while engaged in trying TO
read heavy article. Some people have much
greater aptitude for sleep than others, and
here and there one is found who makes 1t q
deliberate business to doZe away a large por-
ton of bis life, like the somnOlcnt Hibernian,.
who, when asked by his employer how be
could manage to sleep so much, replied, "Sir.
| nav attention TO it," a man who is Used
to it will slumber Us soundly inside copper
boiler while a dozen hammers are driving
riyets on the outside as he would anywhere
else, and Is liable to wake only when the
clatter suddenly ceases.
1t has been remarked that If one should lie
down on revolving wheel be would talI'
into a sound sleep, from which he would
soon be liable to sink into the arms of death.
was once rocked into sleep that became
almost complete while floating passiyely 10
warm summer-dsy On billowy wave Of
the ocean, and was carried off by the retreat.
ing tide 50 far from the shore as to make it
very difficult 10 swim back again. 1t is a
singular fact that criminals generally sleep
soundly on the night before their execution,
when they know that it is to be their last
sleep on earth.
The operations of the mind when the
senses are locked in Slumber are mysterious
and inscruIable. Some say that the mind
| never sleeps, and that it is only the suspense
OF memory That prevents US from recalling
all its operations during the period OF bodily
slumber. But if the brain n,ytr rested it
| would wear out prematurclg, and soon be-
! come useless.
| In our ordinary dreams there is the same
sense of reality which we have in the affairs
Of our waking lite and yet we may have a
! sort OF vague consciousness that there is some
| thing incougruouS and absurd in the strange
things which seem TO be going on around u.
Sometimes we have a dream within dream,
or dream that We are dreaming. and the
| faculty of reason is tolerably vide awake,
while other powers of the mind run riot.
1t may also be noted that although the
fancy brings other people before Us, who are
manufactured for the occasion, aad may al>o
put elaborate arguments i1to their mouths.
which we are incompetent to answer, We
never suppose ourselves to be other than we
are-neYer lose the consciousness Of our Def
sonai identity. believe that We rarely, ii
ever, are aware Of any distinct exercise of