Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1880-04-16

beast. His pulse, through which rolled a
stream Of enormous volume, intermitted reg
ularly every sixth beat, giving him, as he de-
clared a rest of nature and enabling him to
do with the minimum of sleep. When he
did go to bed, he kept an upright position
through fear of rush of blood to the hehd,
and dozed away but few hours at time.
Surely the habits of a being like this could
establish a precedent for no ordinary NOR
tai
But take the experience of clean, whole
some, very-day Englshman; and this case
is the more worthy of notice for the illustra-
tion it affords of the remark of Coleridge,
that every literary man ought to have some
business or profession, as well for the sup
port it may give and the consequent relief
from hack work as for the regular habits it
will enforce Sir John Lubbock, banker
member of Parliament, vice chancellor of the
University of London, is a man not less well
known in business and political circles under
these titles, than among scientists as ento-
mologst and anthropologist. He rises at six
in the morning and follows the hounds in the
season till breakfast, is in London, ten or if-
NSNh AA'ANo hAoehhAf W bhhh hohlh itNuAhh "
late dinner with ten or twelve guests, and
after they have gone and the most of the
family have retired he settles down in his
quiet study for the work he loves so we'll
He has written book upon the bee, which
contains results Of some of the closest obser-
vation that has ever been given to the sub
ject. Cases like this, and like that of the
poet-banker Stedman in our own land, reveal
to us that sometime within the twenty-four
hours of each day of the year, every man,
whether his regular work calls for six, or
eight, or ten hours steady labor, can find the
opportunity to perfect himself in anything
for which he has q passion. Philip Gilbert
Hammerton declares that every man can live
the intellectual life if he will every man can
obtain thorough culture in some one thing,
whether drawing, etching, or some de
partment of chemistry, mechanics, local
history, or the fauna and flora of the valley
in which he lives. Culture is not measured
by quantity but by quality; and the only es-
sential for living the intellectual life is mas
terry Of the subject chosen. striking illus
tration Of this truth is TO be found here in
our town in the career OF business man who
has made himself an authority in the science
of botany, and has had his name given to
some of the flora of this Connecticut valley.
To this meagre list of individuals must be
added whole classes Of night workers Of ne.
cessity, such as actors, actresses, lecturers
and singers, whose days work begins when
that of others has closed. Foremost among these
are the night editors of our great daies,
representative man among whom is Mr.. De-
lane, late Of the London Times man who
was found at the desk from half past ten at
night until five in the morning for forty
years, and who during that time ranked sec
ond to no one living in the power he welded
in making and unmaking ministers and die
tating the policy of parties. Some have said
that he died prematurely that he shortened
his life by his habits. A short life was it
that he lived Z How is life to be measured.
by deeds accomplished or by length of days.
If by figures on the dial, then we must per
haps yield the precedence TO men who have
fingered to their dotage but if by the pow
er exerted, then who shall say that John T.
Delane did not outlve the age of Methuselah
himself?
ne huCCtAhlul ulBnt hOrktTb tntl, II would
seem, have afforded some substantial reason
for the disrespect shown toward the wisdom
of the fathers and yet it would be unsafe to
dismiss the subject thus. Over against those,
who, after all, must be cassed among the ex-
ceptional cases, are to be placed the great
masses upon whom the burden and heat of
the worlds work must rest The old fash
ioned wisdom boe pot hacop,a fool;shr.sy ,.ot
and for the ordinary run of constitutions the
laws of nature suggest better method of la
Dor than the uncertain practices Of men.
For a regular, square, up and down
day worker. no better model can be
found than Ericsson, the inventor of the
Monitor who for the space of thirty years
has devoted twelve hours a day TO sedentary
work, with the loss OF scarcely a day report
says for three hundred and sixty five days of
the year but l will give him credit for rest
ing Sundays He rises at seven, rubs him
self with dry towel, and then takes a cold
water bath, followed by gymnastic exercises
His breakfast is at nine, of eggs, tea and
coarse brown bread. His dinner at half-pa
four, of chops or steak, vegetables, tea and
brown bread. He works evenings until ten,
and then seeks exercise in the open air till
twelve. While in his study he divides his
time between his drawing desk and writing
table, He has open fre-places throughout
the house, his bedroom windows are never
wholly closed aud he falls asleep as soon as
his head touches the pillow. Happy man
What brighter picture of solid comfort in
deed what better de finition Of rest could be
given? In the light of an experience like
this, we may understand Mrs. Browning
when she says,
Get leave to work
In this world; Ills the best you get at all"
Apparently in direct contrast with Ericsson
so far as temperament and genius is CON
cerned, yet in truth rival in the method
of his daily life. is Alexander Dumas, the
French playwright and novelist He rises,
we are told like the worthy householder that
he is, before any one else is up, and builds
all the fires of the establishment, and then
taking little soup for refreshment, goes into
his study before breakfast. All his work
with his pen,-and he HOes work, you may be
sure, for he employs no secretary does his
own copying, and one of his huge volumes
he has written through four times, taking
this method to perfect his style,-all his
work with the pen for the past twenty Yeas
has been done within the limit of four hours
a day, no moment of which has been taken
after twelve at noon. He is exceedingly hos
pitable but if any of his friends or guests,
through thoughtlessness or ignorance, stays
beyond the evening hour of ten, he quietly
takes his leave and retires to bed. A
eOuntryman Of his. Balzae, the French