The commonwealth. (Scotland Neck, N.C.) 1896-1929, 1896-09-10
NERVE SUPPLY.
TOO MUCH DAILY STRAIN.
The Art Of Living With Others.
Su,,dau-School Times.

The Art OF Living Win otners'
!Sunday-School Times.
Philip Gilbert Hamerton, in the
preface to his Essays on Human In
tercourse," tells us that he first purpos-
ed making the work one long essay,
or formal treatise, but, after making
some progress, felt that it was not very
readable, and the writing of it was not
a satisfactory occupation. After a
time he discovered the difficulty. A
formal treatise, to be satisfactory, can
be written only about ascerta1ned OF
ascertainable laws and human inter
course, as it is carried on between In
dividuals, though it looks SO accessl bic
to every observer, is in reality sub
ject of intimate mystery and obscurity,
about which hardly anything is known,
about which nothing Is known abso-
lutely and completely. He found that
any attempt to ascertain and proclaim
law only ended, when the supposed
law was brought face to face with ma
ture. by discovering SO many excep-
lions that the best practical rules were
suspension OF judgment, and reliance
upon nothing but special observation
in each particular case.
It would be great comfort if such
laws could be perfectly known, and
living with other people reduced to a
positive science which could be learned
once tor all but so long as there are
no two people in the universe exactly
alike, and we can know each other but
very little at best, the only way to
learn is through our own experience.
Perhaps in another state of existence,
where we shall know even as we are
known, the laws will seem simple
enough.
One important thing to bear in mind
is that we ourselves must be lived with,
and should try as far as possible to
keep fit for it. The kindest and most
unselfsh person finds it hard to live
pleasantly with one who is nervous, IT.
ritable, and unreasonable. This lrri-
liability Is In many cases largely sin
of the flesh,-"physical depravlty,"
some one calls it. Nervous and irrita-
BILE temper are usually the mere ply
steal result of a used-up condition.
We have overspent our nervous ener-
gy,-used up in one day, perhaps, the
supply for week, and have nothing
lett for the other days. With this
nervous energy all spent, it is impossj-
BILE to feel cheerful or be pleasant to
those around us and yet we somehow
seem to feel that we have a right to
spend it, if only it be in worthy work,
and we even take credit for self-sacri- |
fee. It is the old idea of crucifying
the flesh, which too often crucities our
friends. And, until we make as much |
of a religion of saving enough OF our
selves to be able to bear and forbear,
give and forgive, and be a source of
life and cheerfulness to those with
whom we live, as we do of attending
carefully to all the other home duties,
getting the mending all done on Il
certain day, and the house busted from
top to bottom every week, and the pies
made, or of doing church and Sunday
school work,-these cruclfxions are
likely to be of frequent recurrence.
Children suffer most keenly from over
work, because they cannot understand
and make allowance when they are
scolded and punished for Our head
aches and backaches. !
Many are SO situated that it is i'm
possible to avoid constantly overriding
and overdrawing upon their nervous
energies, and therefore they are al |
ways exhausted and worn out but !
there are many others who, by leaving
out some less important things, might |
find time for rest and recreation need |
full to good cheer.
People who live together need rest |
from each other, as we'll as rest from |
work. It is neither safe nor morally |
healthful for the members of house |
hold to live always in common. There |
are times when the mere presence of |
our nearest friends CRATES upon us, and |
we feel the need of some place sacred |
from intrusion, like the Jewish inner
sanctuary. The daughter of Mary
Somervilie tells how the members of
their family were occupied separately