The herald and mail. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1873-188?, 1875-07-16
Sleep, and How to Woo It.
From the n. Y. Graphic

which recently appeared in Land and
| Water, has naturally excited a good
deal of attention, since it gave express
sion to some very decided views IN re-
gard to a subject which always has been
and always will be of interest to man.
kind-sleep, that mental death from
which man is born anew in mind and
| body-tLe true fountain of youth which
| Ponce de Leon sought in Florida and
found in his bed Mr.. auckland is the
son of the celebrated DIR. VIM. Buck
land, who gave the first great impulse
to the study of geology in England, and
whose Bridgewater treatise on "Ge-
| Ology and Minerology Considered with
re rerence TO Natural Theology" has,
| with general readers, always been the
most popular of the series. Mr.. Buck.
land runs counter to generally received
opinion in reference to sleep, by telling
the story of how his father worked,
who, being exceedingly busy during the
day, dined heartily at seven o'clock in
the evening and Immediately went to
bed and slept till about ten, when he
rose and wrote till two or three in the
morning. Before retiring for the Sec
Ond time ne ate a pudding or sand
wich, and having thus " diverted the
blood from his brain to his stomach,
! slept tle sleep of the orthodox till he
felt liR6 getting up in the later morning.
Undoubtedly it is the generally received
opinion laid down as doctrine in works
on hygiene that sleep should be sought
on nearly empty stomach, and that to
yield to the gentle god Immediately after
discussing a hearty meal leads to disar
engagements of the liver and stomach,
and produces a distinct tendency to
apoplexy.
There is hardly a subject of the
regime of life which has attracted more
discussion than the overcoming of in
s0mnia. And this is as it should be,
for all the world knows that 'sleepless-
ness is a curse such as life has few to
offer. Doctors tell us that if long pro-
tracted it leads to mental disorder, of
which also it is not infrequently one of
the earliest symptoms. The old books
of medicine are full of remedies for it,
and quaint old Burton, IN his "Anato-
my OF Melancholy" much doth talk
thereon, and sensibly saith: "Andrew
Borde commendetb frications," but for
his own part he finds nothing more
effi3aci0us than g toast and ale, or a
pOsset of the same" That there is
great deal of truth in this remark as APP
piled to persons of a full but nervous
habit, who have much brain-work to do,
there is no doubt. In winter ale will
produce a fine sense of fullness in the
stomach, and if it be not partaken of in
quantities which would have satisfied
and did kill King John, it doubtless
does employ the blood in a healthier
work than it finds IN running through
the overweight alleys of the brain and
filling them with fantastic thoughts and
forms. One of our most eminent ply
sicians has lately expressed his views on
this point, and finds in lager beer
stuff which will
PLUCK from the memory a rooted sorrow,
Rae out the written troubles of the brain.
Aud with some sweet, oblivious autedOte
Cleanse the stuffed bosom Of that perilous
stuff
Which weighs upon the heart"
and prevents sleep, the 'oblivious an
tidote" of all ills to the healthy brain,
but the provoker OF all fantastic demons
and nightmares if it IS but light and
partial. Mr.. Buckland tells Of the way
in which the late DIR. Wilberforce,
bishop of Oxford, and almost a. we'll
known by the name of " SOapy Sam, "
he did not easily fall off to sleep. The
bishops prescription was to repeat very
Slowly the vOweIs A, Z, I, O. In doing
this he pronounced each letter family
with each inspiration and expiration,
and seldom found the prescription to
fail. OF such methods there are a le-
gion. One says that, when sleep will
not visit our eyes nor sIumber our eve
81, L. &c
thing vast, as the sky, the ocean, our
landlsdy's bill, or the pyramids; an
other says that we should think OF
succession Of rhythmicRl movements, |
like the breaking of the waves on a sea
beach another that we should endeavor
to think Of nothing another that we
should take a cold bath, or battle the
feet in cold water and rub them briskly |
and IN oubtedly this is an excellent |
remedial measure when, as is very often |
the case at such times, the extremities |
are cold. But each person has his own
recipe in this matter. When one can |
not sleep, generally speaking, he will |
do well to get out OF bed and read ;
sIeepiness is often natures protest |
against idleness and sluggishness of |
mind.
MI. DuChlduu WOu1Nl lhfC us 30 W |
sleep Immediately after the chief meal |
of the day; but who has not noticed !
that when he has done so his sleep, |
though profound, is not refreshing, and |
that he wakes with a bad taste in his |
mouth, and very likely dull headache |
which does not soon disappear ? If |
person who has worked hard with his |
brain all day has some work which must |
be done at night, it is we'll for him to |
eat lightly, sleep for three hours, then
eat again lightly, and go t, work.
People in the ordinary avocatiOns of |
life often find their bodies weary when |
their minds are wide awake. To sOOthe |
both to sleep they should lie down and
read till their eyes grow dim and the
letters are vague then they will soon
drop of. Mr.. Buekland's recommended
ton of the onion as a sedative, is by no /
means a new, though it is an excellent
one but celery is more agreeable and |
will answer the same purpose. But in |
the long run, perhaps, good conscience |
and long bank account, soft, cool pill
lows, and light covering are the best of
all soporiics, as they are the pleasant
IlgU1aBfn