The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1900-01-12

frrrnt affairs are arranged In my head
a. in drawers When | wish to inter
rupi one train of thought, close the
drawer which contains that subject and
open that which contains another.
hey do not mix together or inoonveni-
pbce me. have never been kept awake
uy an Involuntary preoccupation of
mind. When wish for repose, shut
~ all the drawers. and am asleep.
have always slept when | wanted rest
and almost AZ will" But ! think in
most cases we feel that sleep is not the
result of a resolution. but direct gift
from God. You cannot purchase ii. A
great French tnancier cried out: "Alasl
Why is there no sleep to be sold?"
DO pot take this divine gift as a mat
ter of course. Your seven or eight
hours of healthful Inconsistencies is
IA blessing worthy OF continuous and
emphatic recog milton. Praise the Lord
for 365 resurrections in a year Arti-
fetal slumber can he made up by the
apothecarles, but natural sleep is "a
balm, "a panaCea. IA catholicon that no
one but God can mix. With it he
and bone. II is soft robe woven in
Heaven. with which lie wraps your
body, mind and soul. The more scien-
lists explore this mystery of sleep the
more profound IL seems. God tells us
many things. but that is a secret He
keeps to Himself. We philosophize and
guess about this phenomenon, but will
never know just what sleep is until
we are told about it when we get
through the last sleep. Thank God
morning, noon and night for this
strange quietude, this refreshing dis
missal, this recuperating absence, this
reinforcement of energies, this mighty
benediction.
Consider among the worst crimes
the robbery of ourselves or others OF
the mercy of slumber. Much ruinous
doctrine has been inculcated on this
subject. Thomas Moore gave poor ad-
vice when he said: The best way to
lengthen our days is TO steal a few
hours from the night" We are told
that, though they did their work at
night, eopernicus lived to be 10 years
of age and Galilei rs years and Herschel
"a years. Yes. but the reason was they
were all star hunters, and the only time
| for hunting stars is at night. Prob
ably they slept by day. The night was
made for slumber. The worst lamp a
student can have is the midnight
lamp" Lord Brougham never passed
more than four hours of the night abed
and Justinian, after one hour of sleep.
would rise from his couch. But you are
neither Justinian nor Lord
| Brougham. Let not the absurd apothe-
osis of early rising induce you to the ali,
| breviation OF sleep. Get up when you
are slept out, unless circumstances
compel otherwise. Have no alarm clock
! making its nerve-tearing racket at four
o'clock in the morning, unless special
reasons demand the forsaking of your
pillow at that hour. Most of the the
cries about early rising we inherited
from times when people retired at eight
or nine O'Clock in the evening. Such
early retirement is impossible in our
own times for those who are taking
part in the great activities of life.
There is no virtue in the mere act OF
early rising. II all depends upon what
you do after you get up. 1t would be
better for the world il some people
never wakened at all.
But most Americans do not get sleep
enough. The sin of late retiring is one
most widespread and ruinous. What
is much needed is that in all our cities
those who are leaders in social life
turn back the hour of drawing-room
assemblage from ten and eleven tc
eight or half-past seven, so that the
guests at ten or half-past ten may meet
sleep at the right hour in their OWE
dormitories. Two or three social
heroines could do that in all the towns
and cities. Thousands of men and WON
en- are slain each year by late hours
Five years is more than the average
of endurance. The vitality of men anC
women is depleted, and they go into
chronic ailments, if they do not die
of dyspepsia or consumption or nervous
prostration, and the beauty goes Out
of the cheek beyond all restoration oil
cosmetics. Late retiring is the mother
of premature wrinkles. Lack of sleeI
assassinates social life. A reformation
is needed, and if the customs of tn,
world could be changed in this matter
and the curtains of social life could b,
rung down al a reasonable hour of III,
night 20 per cent. would be added to tn,
worlds longevity.
All those ought to be comforted who
by overwork in right directions hav,
come to insomnia. In all occupations
and professions there are times wher
a special draft is made upon the nervous
energy. There are thousands of mel
and women who cannot sleep becaus,
they were injured by overwork in somt
time of domestic or political or relig
ious eXigency. Mothers who, after tax
ing whole family of children through
the disorders that are sure to strik,
the nursery, have been left physica
wrecks and one on nioht of sln m