The Red Cloud chief., 1881-03-31

Il
THE praise Of sleep IL universal. Ar,
has loved il. Poetry has celebrated l..
Music touches her softest and sweetes,
notes in slumber-songs. We salute 10
in unnnmbcUi graceful phrases rs our
chief OF blessings Yet in practice ~e
are most careless Of the benefi1eni
guest, and cut ourselves OF from her
liner ministries. IL we douo: bia her be-
gone altogether.
To drop metaphor. which. like NAL
volio's cross1gartering. "obstructs the
blood" the commonest OF modern dis
orders among the educated classes 10 an
inability to sleep. Nor is this \ slight
matter. While the agencies of repair
are ever at work 10 replace the constan,
yea Of vitality. IL IL only i'm sleep TIA,
ths rate ofwssts GAlis bs.ow tAAS Il r.
placement. SO that there is any real ao-
emulation of nervous force. And
since nervous force l. not only fuel. but
driying-rod and stoker 10 this human
engine, its wheels must turn slower and
slower without that supply. till present
~ they stop.
Common-sense and knowledge are
tNC klthtsst BuN SftitAS sAlIt %A<st1l1
Plus. though their practice is but small.
Now knowledge explains that, paradox
ical as il may nj first seem. nervous
temperaments do not require the same
amount OF sleep as phlegmatic ones.
The dull, lethargic and slow organiza-
ton makes a pondeross business a its
slumbcr. rs Of the other ~slictaens Of
life, and takes nine or ten hours ~ get
through with il. The quick. electric,
1.-the, sensitive person. on the other
hand, whose processes r sw:ft as air,
takes in his sleep. apparently, as he
docs his tdeaa. 6 8 fieh. and 6nds his
six hours Inconsistencies fuller Of as
Sanitation than his fellows ten. The
temperament acts throughout.
Moreover. from the days Of Hippo
rates sud Arsteus. sciencs has de-
clarcd that too much sleep inltairs The
forces Of the brain, and with them all
the vital powers. So that the nervous
may take comfort. nor be alarmed at an
anseasonabfy late coming Of the sleepy
mood, or its uuseasonsbly early flight
Some Of the worlds most efficient
workers have been men who took in
credibly little sleep, rs John Hunter.
the great Psychologist, John Wesley
and Napoleon.
But what slumber these toilcrs al
lowed themselves was sound and re-
freshing, and that is the thing to be in
sisted on. especially with those Of us Of
whom Nature unaccOuntablv forgot to
make Napoleons anil Wesleys. while
she has limited our capacity to sleep.
And OF this point CommOn-Sense would
be heard.
There is no doubt that most bad
~sleepers, observes that eminent au
thority. pass their nights under bad
conditions. The bedroom is an unr
garded place, a make-shift, a convent
ent receptacle for q bed. bureau and
wash-stand, or perhapsa showroom of
handsome cabinet furniture and lace
coverlets. But far too seldom is it the |
cheerful. quiet, well-aired, w~ell-sunned,
widespread temple of slumber which
1t should be. Amy m who has search
ell for lodgings. or examined houses
with intent to hire or buy. has been
shown yinmmerable inner rooms, or
"~alcoves," or closets lighted only from
the top, with the information that
'.that will make a most convenient
bedroom 0rthe- seeker for summer
board has discovered that the chambers
are on the damp and shady side Of the
house, chimneyless. and with windows
fixed at the top.
These disclosures reveal the popular
estimate of the dignity of the bedroom
in the household order. But he who
would sleep well must inhabit a room
open daily to the free winds of heaven, !
summed, also, if that be possible, clean
with a spotless cleanliness (where no
venerable wallpaper and ancient up
hOlstery harbOr ancestral ~fOulness). and
disinfected as well with some of the
potent and odorless prophylactics of the
day. Especially should he not keep
gas burning there for a long evening, ,
yer 10 read himself to sleep. For
not only does the aame exhaust the air, !
but the effects OF combustion linger long
after u disturb the sleeper.
Again, the habit of going to bed early,
that is, before eleven o'clock, is indis-
pensable to nervous persons. Allowing
the attention to DC held and the facul-
ties exercised after the natural appeal
of WEAKNESS is made will shortly make
that appeal wholly useless. The keen
and potent the fascination of
late hours, with their abnormal ex-
element of the brain, the more reso-
lutely should it be resisted. Presently
the healthful sleep will come, being pa
tiently wooed. Often a very light sup
per at bedtime will enable the restless
to sleep.
Above all, the great remedy IN the
pharmacopGia of Commons Sense is De-
We call sleep an invol-
act. but. Like many another so
classified, it can, TO agreat extent. be
subjected to the rule of habit and an
absolute shall" The human will is
the strongest power in this world, and
we have not yet begun to learn the linn
its of its action. -Hdrpers Bdzar.