The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1890-12-04


/ WINTER SLEEP.
/ A French hum0gist excuses his nations lack
I o. colonial enterprise on the ground that herCd-
I ifary habits are hard to get rid Of The fore
fathers OF the French. DE Says. were people Of
\ steady habits, while tie ancestors Of che Enc
/ lish and Danes were sea royers and pirates.
\ The co.0uist5 Of S5rasu5.e were not alto
G-fher deficient OBJ pirIt.rai experience. blt the
sae9ry lu question b., 1lter ell! % paus. bio one :;
Y nay, &c - by 90 means impc7s Die that hcrrai-
+ tlFy Influences may date from ssfI further
back The once a.i but universal G.e4d Of lark
ness and niggt-EI- the ghost fslr fu flct-
may bavs originated during the Ion ages when
\ cur DarwiEiJu ancestors were Liable t0 fre-
I queut midnight panic5 from the surprise party
haoiiS OF tropical t.cl'7-the PROV Ing Loop
ards and d gers, with their prediction Cor ana
steaks. And again, after the uorthward mi
grafton Of those hairy Emen long series Of
centuries may have passed before they learned
70 while away the long Winter nights ia any
better way than that Of their alternating fei-
low-creatgres They huddIed together in caves
and dug outs, constructed beds with piles of
peitry and went % slceP-thus developing a
faculty for sound siumber under the influence
Of q low temperature.
The effects Of that influence can still be felt
whenever " cold wave tompers the heat Of
ths midsummer months and brings rest and
refreshing sleep 90 the victims Of long vigiIs:
out the chance for enjoying the same blessing
all Nla-er Is too often forfeited by a variety Of
Conventional abuses, Of which bed room fires
are, on the whole the worst As long "a tina
body is warmly covered the Jrsqthiag of sold
air only adds to the comfort Of the sleeper, and
from Portland, Me-, TO Portland Ore, our
northern States do nOtexperience single frost
that could not be COunteTacted, for purposes of
in-bed comfort, by such bed clothing as all but
inc poorest OF the poor might supplement- with
Al ia -
But what harm can bedroom fires do in cold
weather? Let observation answer that aues-
ton. Let any person with a rooted prejudice
70 cold bedrooms muster pluck enough 10 dis
peuse with stove heat for a single Winter NIGHT
and then compare his enjoyment Of long re-
freshing 5iumber with his experience after the
resumption OF the night-Ere plan or with the
recollection Of the many nights when he was
awakened, IN the small hours Of the morning
by feeling Of uneasiness, oppression Of tho
ehe5t aud the premOnitOry symptoms Of q duII
headache. Or better yet, let him try how
promptly, how altogether Enthusiastically. those
symptoms can Be relieved By the partial oDen-
ing Oh bedroom window. The explanation
Of these phenomena can be found in the cir
cumstance that in sleep the process Of respira-
ton becomes slow and ab5Orbs less oxygen for
the use OF the organism. IT, besides. the atmos-
pheric supply OF that element is curtailed by
TRES and lack Of ventilation the system soon
begins 20 suffer lack Of life-air and though ex-
haustion later day Of hard labor may bring
On sleep warning instinct before long will
AWAKEN the sleeper with an appeal for q chance
TO conduct the work Of respiration under less
unnatural conditions. A similar instinct saves
thousands Of tenement prisoners from sulToca-
ting IN Midsummer by waking them a few
hours after sunset and keeping them tossing
and moaning till they consent to remedy the
trouble Dy thesimple expedient that could have
obviated their misery altogether, viz, by open
ing bedroom window.
But in Winter the suggestion of that avno-
dent would be oyerruled by tho sbriaks of
prejudice, and in many households the stuff
ness OF the dormitOry is aggravated By prac-
tice that makes fuel famine almost a blessing
in disguise.
" What are You trying to do, Tom?D once
asked my neighbours little boy who was des-
perately belabOring his wood pile in moonlight.
yCur mother told you to chop her a lot Of
kindIing wood, but that is no reason YOU should
try 70 stack up cordwood for coming genera
tiOus."
oh, but you don't know what the NATTER
laughed Tommy, " we got word after supper
that Capt. w. will be here tonight He's such
clever fellow and you bet we are going to
Keep his bedroom stove red hot all night
/ had reasons to doubt that the clever fsl-
low would appreciate the courtesy, and heard
him open every window in his room a good
while before midnight: but even the managers
OF our fashionable hotels are apt to celebrate
the arrival OF an honored guest by bonires Of
that sort.
Whenever I telegraph for bedroom IN
Winter, says lady lecturer Of my acguaint-
ance, " take care to add the word 'unbeatedIJ
That only costs a few cents extra, and il
saves me the misery of malignant catarrb
Stuhy halls are bad, but heated stuFy he'd
rooms are still worse, and no matter how weary
! am Insist on change Of room if | find a
fire blazing and the curtains drawn, to make
1t nice and comfortable" as they call 10, for 7
know that the penalty would be- q congestion
of my breathing apparatus, involving hoarse-
ness and inability 70 speak. BE persuaded
won't yOu have a good fire. after all on a cold
night like thisf they are apt to ask me. No,
thanks, it would give me a sick headache is
my answer IN such cases, for / DO not want TO
scare the poor souls. liz would give me q bad
cold, and you see / am somewhat h0arse al
ready once told landlord in Wisconsin,
and he stared at me as if he was afraid 7 had
lost my senses as well As my voice.
America IS no longer exempt from another
abuse OF Old World bedrooms the oppressive
" feather beds Of Germany and northern Aus
tria. Fifteen or 20 pounds of down feathers
are often crammed into a single bsg distend-
ing it at first to formidable Dimensions and
making II appear rs il a sleeper might as we'll
try TO cover himself with an inflated balloon.
Tney press it and Aatten it till it somehow can
be kept in place, but the mass Of coulpacted
feathers thus becomes imperyious TO the exha-
latl0Hs OF the body and turn a bed into a sort
of sweating pack. WOODEN blankets, for SINH
lar reasons are preferable for quilts and horse
hair pillows mot apt 10 fold about the head Of
sleeperl 70 feather pillows. Many people ac-
quTe kuack for shifting their positions in
sleep, and eyolutiOhs Of that sort are SADLY inn
pedcd by old-fashiOned beds and by the practice
OF making three or four youngsters bundle /
together under one pile Of blankets that is |
pretty sure TO prevent some of them from turn
ing all night.
In the choice Of mattresses habit does a great I
deal IN deciding the question of comfort. |
WIre-woyen beds with a top stratum of wooden |
blankets recommend themselves in many ways. |
but there are old sailors who prefer a hammock |
TO any other cOntriyauce, and / know as MANY
old soldiers who, in the retirement OF private |
life, still stick to their plain old iron garrison
bcdstead, straw tick" mantIe-pillow and all. /