The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1902-02-06

one of the ten strings of gratitude
that we ought always to thrum after
hearing the voice of loved one or
the last strain of an oratorio, or the
clang of cathedral tower.
Further, there are many who never
recognize how much God gives them
when he gives them sleep. Insomnia
is calamity wider known in our land
than in any other. Sleeplessness is an
American disorder. If it has not touch
ed you and you can rest for seven or
eight hours without waking-if for
that length of time in every twenty
four hours you can be free of all care
and worriment and your nerves are
retuned and your limbs escape from all
fatigue and the rising sun finds you
new man, body, mind and soul-you
have an advantage that ought to be
put in prayer and song and congratula-
ton. The French financier. almost
wealthy enough to purchase kingdom
but the victim of Insomnia, wrote: NO
slumber to be bought in any market. ,"
He was right. Sleep is a gratuity from
him who never sleeps. Oh the felici-
ties of slumber! Let all who have this
real benefaction celebrate it. That is
one of the sweetest strings in all the
instrument of ten strings.
Further, let us gratefully acllnowl-
edge the power of physical lccomotion.
10 be able to go where we wish and all
unaided-what kindness! What null
ttudes have to call in the aid OF cane
and crutch and invalid's chair, and
their whole life is Underwent! How
hard to get about with lack of strong
and healthy and supple limbs Con-
graduated ought you all to be if you
have the usual physical endowment,
and sympathized with ought all those
to be who can neither walk nor climb
nor enter upon any great activities.
That Is one of the thousands of rea-
sons why | hate war with a complete
hatred. 1t takes off with bullet or she'll
or surgeons knife the capacity of men
to achieve their own livelihood or do
the work for which they would other
wise be fully qualified. Brave men,
self-sacrificing men. for the rest OF
their life are put on the limits and
strangely suffer in stormy weather
| from limbs amputated.
How much OF the human family in
! every century has been cut up and
shot to pieces and passed into mutila-
| ton! American manhood had hardly
recovered from the decorations of the
war of the Revolution when it was
called to be carved by the swords and
stabbed with the bayonets and black
ened with the gunpowder Of 1872.
Hardly recovered was our American
manhood from that when the war with
Mexico began its butchery Hardly
was American manhood recovered
IRON that before the civil war took
hold of it and dug its grave trench
through the north and its grave trench
through the south. Hardly was oul
American manhood recovered from
that when the Spanish war came, with
Its malaria and crowded hospitals
Thank God that now four of the great
est nations are allied in good under
standing-the United States, England
Germany and Russia-and if they will
co the right things they can forever
stop national and international strife
| and put an end to wholesale amputa-
ton.
Further, celebrate on the instrument
! of ten strings our illumined nights
They spread their tents over us. and
some of us hardly go out to look at
them. During the nights other worlds
| come i'll sight. We thank God for the
day; we ought also to thank him fol-
the night. Worlds on worlds in sight
OF the naked eye, but more worlds re.
vealed by telescope. At least one night
in his lifetime every man ought to &c
into astronomical observatory and see
what has been done by the great World
Builder. Thank God for lunar anc
stellar illumination.
Further, on the instrument of ter
strings celebrate the possession of oul
reason. severe stroke upon the head
or sudden calamity or any one OF
fifty kinds of accident might dethrone
our reason and leave us worse off than
the brute. for the brute has a substi-
tute for reason in what is called in.
stinct, but a mans brain shattered
and he has neither mind nor instinct
The asylums for the insane, though
all the time multiplying, are not
enough to shelter the demented
Through the examining system en-
ployed in many of the schools Of this
country there are tens of thousands of
children having their brain depleted.
Philosophers at ten years of age, as
tronomers at eleven years of age, geol-
ogists at twelve years of age. They
will be first on examination day, but
last in all matters Of useful and sue
cessful life. 1t would be amusing to
| see how much children are expected to
| learn and know if it were not con-
nected with the tragedies of damaged
| intellects which follow.
Another ctripo oP +,