The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1884-11-15
A Useful "FacuIty."

An old problem of the psychologists
has been revived by letter to La Ma
ture, written by French business man,
who mentions that for years he had
been in the habit of waking himself at
my hour in the morning that he wished,
simply by impressing upon his mind,
before going to sleep, the fact that he
must wake at that time; and saying
further that he seldom varies five min
utes from the moment which he has as
signed himself. The New York Evening
Post, in speaking of Ibis etter, says that
Napoleon /. is related to have had the
same faculty, but adds that its existence
has never been verified. We imagine
that this experience is not SO rare as the
Evening Post supposes, and that per-
son need not be Napoleon to be IA
vored with this useful faculty" We
have very distinct recollection of many
instances in which we have ourselves
tried the experiment with success, and
at one time, when it was necessary for
considerable period for us to wake on
certain days of the week at very early
hour, to take the first train to the place
where our services were then needed,
we had an opportunity of studying the
circumstances under which this pecu-
liar species of self-control is most easily
exercised During this period we found
no difficulty in waking regularly within
about five minutes of the time necessary
to enable us to reach the train comfort
ably, although for portion of the time
this involved getting up long before
daylight; but we discovered, also, that
in order to wake with precision
at the right moment and to
rest quietly until it arrived, it
was necessary to look at our watch just
before going to sleep. If we neglected
this precaution we were apt to sleep
uneasily, waking first an hour or more
before the proper time, and allowing
ourselves, in consequence, only short
maps afterward until the minute arrived
for getting up. Whatever part of our
mind it might have been that took charge
of waking us it seemed to begin its
count of the hours from the time at
which we composed ourselves to sleep,
and if we did not inform ourselves of
this, our unconscious reckoning was
correspondingly uncertain, and the eff
fort to wake vague; but if we took a
clear note of the time in the evening,
we could sleep peacefully through the
whole of the allotted interval, sure Of
being aroused at or very near its expi-
ration. Another condition of waking
we found to be the occurrence of some
small external event, through which, as
it were, the internal effort could take
effect upon our senses. A very trifing
Enthusiastically flutter of leaf out
side the window, the chirp of a bird, or
any other of the unnumbered sounds of
early morning-was sufficient, if it hap
pened at the right time, to wake us, by
a sort of magnifying process which at
that moment gave the power of startling
us by noise which would at other times
be unnoticed; but without such sensible
impression we think we should not have
walked. In fact, on one or two occa-
sions, we remember to have been inn
pressed with a dim consciousness of
waiting for something to happen before
waking, and a moment later trifing
sound would open our senses with a
little shock. To the necessity of wait
ing for this impression, small as it might
be, we were disposed to attribute the
variation of minute or two either way
from the exact moment assigned for
waking, which might otherwise be
kept with exact punctuality.
ArchItect