The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1883-11-24
sANCHO PANZA's FRIEND.

The bizarre philosopher who called down
gave utterance to more wholesome reflections
than when he quantity but sincerely eulo-
gized 1.-The mantle that covers all human
thoughts" and brings balm alike to shep-
herd and to king When the eyes close, and
the mind composes itself to the pleasing va
carries that we call dreams, the body gathers
new strength and is refreshed. each tired
muscle sinks into grateful relaxation,
and when the body awakes, it
is to renaissance of physi
cal and mental vim. The world is too busy
to appreciate the rest that comes only with
sleep. Instead of being made the basis of
operations from which all things are done, it
is given the scraps of life that are left over
after all possible work is accomplished. 1t
is a shame that intelligent humanity does
not sleep more and sleep better The adage
that urges early to bed and early to rise holds
good only when both of its terms are COM
piled with 1t is commendable
and wise thing to rise early, pro-
vided we can do so without cheating
the body of needed rest. The time may have
been when it was measurably necessary to
work early and late. When appliances were
crude, and the husbandman laboriously
piled the fail and gathered the grain by the
slow process of the sickle; when the seed was
all sown by hand and cultivated with a hoe,
the man who bent his back over the stub
born clods must needs be up early and stay
up late to make balance in his favor at the
close OF the season. In the days of spinning
wheel and hand-loom woman's hands
must needs be busy far into
the night to provide raiment for her house
hold. But we live in different age now.
Machinery has taken the work out of tired
hands, and steam has lifted the burden from
as he plows and plants and reaps The spine
racking fail is supplanted by the steam
thresher One farmer of to-day easily does
the work of ten fifty years ago. The same is
true in nearly all the trades. Invention has
come to the rescue of tired humanity and
relieved it of much of its burden.
Farmers are ten times nearer the
markets than half a century ago.
We live in better houses, wear better clothes
and eat better food than did our fathers.
Despite the popular delusion that longevity
was attained only through most taxing
drudgerv and most trying deprivation and
hardship, the people in this new order of
things live longer than they used to in the
days of corn-pore and homespun. Statistics
show that the women of England live a
third longer than did those of the last CEN
fury Plainly, it is the duty of mankind
to profit by the things that experience
and knowledge have devised. If ingenious
inventions enable us to do the work of ten
or score OF men. let us not insist on doing
the work OF that many, but content ourselves
when we shall have equaed the accom-
invention to humanity if it do not mti-
gate the labors imposed upon men? We
ought to live incomparably better than our
fathers with half the work. 1t is crime
against nature to work twelve, fourteen or
sixteen hours when eight or ten will do.
He is his own best friend who treats his
body as fairly as such faithful servant de-