The Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1885-1886, 1886-01-27
A WRITER'S LIFE.
EDWARD EVERETT HALE'S SUCCESS
TONS AND EXPERIENCE.
Iae business of Health Dependent
Largely Upon Slcep-Go to Work
Early Breakfast and Other
Mea!s-yarions Items.
IE. E. Hale $ Letter in Herald Of Health !


| lE, L. Hale's Letter in Herald Of HAalth1
The business of health, for a literary
man. seems TO me TO depend largely upon
| sieer. He should have enough sleep, and
| sleep well. lie should avoid whatever in
| jure5 sleep
| This means that the brain should not be
excited or even worked hard for six hour,
before bedtime. Young men can disregard
| this rule, and do; but as one grows older hs
| tli,is it wiser to throw his work upon the
morning hours. Ii he can spend til, after
| noon, or even the evening, in the opsa air,
Ms chances of sleep are better. The evening
occupation, according to me, should b. light
ana pleasant, as music, novel reading
| aloud, conversation, the theatre. or watch
| ing the stars from the piazza. or course,
| different men make and need different
rules. take nine hours for sleep in every
| tFventy-four, and do not object to ten
| As men live, with the telegraph an tele-
phone interrupting when they chose. an,
| this fool and that coming in when they
| choose, to say, Il don't want to interrupt
you; l will only take moment" the great
difficulty is to hold your three hours with.
| 'uH - bASuh' IL q GdS uipAtu my Tllf-
ror, do not thank him for leaving the /, iace,
next each other he has spoiled it, and be may
carry them ten miles apart if he choo es So,
Il fool comes in and breaks my time in two.
| he may stay it be wants to. He is none the
loss a foil What want for work is un-
| lroken time. This il best secured early in
the morning.
| idl'llGe early rising as much as any man:
nor do believe there is any moral merit in
| it, as the chi!drens books pretend. But 10
secure an unbrc1en hour, or even lass,
Ike to be at my de k before hreallfa 1t, a,
long before as psshle l have a cup OF
roiIee ami a soda biscuit brought to me
/ Il err; oni in the thirty to sixty minutes
@..,.ci. follow, before breakfa t. | Ike to
tart The work Of tie day Ii YOU rise at q
| }Gartar-pa,t there will be comparatively
| map pailers or book cents, or secre-
| aries Of caar!tie', or jaii-birls, who Will
All before s. The hour from 6:S to 7:3) is
| sat / which You are most sprr. Even the
| n"tAer-in-!aw or the mother of your wife'S
| ister's husband does not come then TO lay
he should like some light work with a large
| aiary, as matron in an institution WHERE
| here Is nothing to do
| believe in breakfast very thoroughly,
| md i'll having god breakfast. | have
| ived in Paris a month at time, ami detest
| ne French practice of .uh tiiutirg for
| breakfast cup Of cof7ee, With or without
N egy. Breakfast is a meal at which much
iine may be spent with great advantage
People ara not apt to come to it too regu-
| arly, AMI you may profit 10y the iatermis-
'ion to read your newspaper and lecture On
| Is cntents. No harm in spending an hour
| AZ the table.
After breakfast, 90 not go to work for an
1oa. Walk out in the garden, lie on your
Jack on sofa and read in general, "iaag"
or that hour. AMI BID the servant kaeq
ve'yboly out vino ring thu bell, AMI wor
| 'teadiy till your day stent is dan-. II yc,
lnve had hale al hour for brelkra,t, you
'aa make two AMI half now
Il is Just so much help if You have 1t co ID
3manuenss; mona, il You have a poor one.
Tho amanuansiS should have enough Ell g To
10, but DO at liberty to attend to yoa when
yoa need Write as lonS as you iaei like
writing; the mon Mt You do not feel like it
give him the pea, AMI walk up aud down tbs
Dom debating. There ara those who say
key can tell the difference between d! ctatel
work ana work written by the author, |
10 not believe them. l will give share in
Tic combination Protoxide silver mine OF
rays tfuica to anybody who Will div Ia
5his article correctly between the pats
which ara dictated and those which are
written with my own raj right hani
Stick t. your stint till it is done II Phil
st.nes cIme ill., as they will in a finite warIi,
tsluct the Tina which they have stolea
rom you, and 60 on SO much longer with
your work, till you have done what You set
nj to do
When Oh have finished til, stent stop
Do not be tempted to SO on because you are
in good spirits for work. There is no use in
making ready to he tired tomorrow. You
may go out If doors now; you may real:
:, may, in whatever way, get light AMI
tie ;ur The next lay. Ia ieoi, if you will
9emen'er that the first necessity for lit r.
afy work is that you havs somsthinr really
c say hefofa you begin. you will remember
ON 'thIag which most authors have thor
M " forgotten OF never knew
At.' usiae of writing is the most ex
naustiag known to IN N You should. there
fore, steadily foad the machine with fueI
find it go1d habit to have standing on
he Stave cup of warm milk, Just tingsi in
color with coffee In the days OF my baovant
youth l said of the color of the cheek of a
brunette in Seville | had then never seen
brunette in Seville hut l have since: AMI
can testify that the description was good.
Beef tea wers as well, bowl Of chgwder
late well as either IndeeI. gooi clam
cAawler is probably the form of nourish-
mont which most quickly and easily comes 10
The restoration or reireshrent of the brain
If man
If this bowl of c9ffsa, or chowder or
soup is counted as one meal, the w .rkin9
man who wishes to keep in order will have
five meals a day, besides the morning Gun
of coffee, or coffee colorei with milk, which
lie has bafore breakfast. Braak fast i; one.
this extended lunch is another; dinner is tie
third, say 1T haIf-past ?; tea is the fourth,
at o or Z, and. what is apt to be forgotten.
sufficient supper ju t before bedtime is ths
ii Til. lai' lat may ho as light US you
nsdicai gentlemen please, but let it lie suf-
te.ent A few oysters, a slice o. hottoast,
clGin caowder a-cail, or II bowl OF SCUM
NeVsr go to Led in any danger OF being
hungry. People are kept awake by hunger
quite as much as by bad conscience.
remembering that sleep is the es entail
fierce which the whole scheme starts d.
Cline tea or Coffee within the la It six Eours
before going To bed. II the womsn-zind
In -ist, you may have your milk and water
at the ata5ie colorei with tea; but the
less the better.
Avoid all mathematics or intricate study
Of any sort i'll the last six hours Tnis /. ths
stuff dreams are made Of, and hot heads
and the nusances Of waking hours.
Keep your conscience clear Rsmembar
that tecause the work of life Is infinite. Won
cannot do the whole of it in any limited
period OF time, and that, therefore, You NAV
just as we'll leave off in enc place as an.
other
Reading this over, ! see that at the proper
place have not said that no work of INV
kind should be done ID the hour after din
nsT. After any substantial meal observe,
you need al your vital force for the bsgin-
ming Of dige ition. For my part, | always
60 to sleep after dinner, and sleep for ex-
sctly an hour, ii people will only stay away;
Aui | am much more fonl OK the people
who keep away from me at that time than
! en- OF the people who visit me.