The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1906-06-06
LONDON SLEEPS LATE
THE SLOWEST TO AWAKE OF ALL
THE EUROPEAN CAPITALS.
Hard to Get Breakfast In Restau-
rants In the English Metropolis he
fore Eight o'Clock-Paris and Berlin
Are Early at Business.

1t used to be common accusation
against the English people that they
| ate too much, drank too much and
slept too much. Today we have vastly
improved In the matter of drinking,
and there are not wanting signs that
we are, as a race, becoming more mod
crate In our indulgence in the pleas
ures of the table. Chancellors of the
exchequer have to face decreasing
drink bill, and popular dramatlst has
given new expression to ian English
mans god" In satirizng the worship
of Little Mary"
But we still cling to the old fashioned
notion of eight hours sleep as the
minimum for the recuperatlon Of our
physical and mental powers.
Do healthy people really require
eight hours sleep? l answer unhesi-
tatingly mo" Six hours should be
sufficient for every ordinary person,
and there are many so constituted that
five would be quite sufficient.
London lies, perhaps, the latest abed
of all European capitals. The working
man, it Is true, Is up and about in the
early hours of the morning He Is
compelled to rise early in certain
trades and occupations for which day
light is essential. But he gets his eight
hours sleep by going to bed at 10.
That he wants to go to bed very early
| in order to have liberal allowance of
sleep is proved by the "two hours
night" system adopted by those who
cater for his evening amusement. The
managers Of those eentertainment houses
will tell you that the to 0 ''show" is
arranged specially for the working
classes who want to be home and in
bed soon after 10, because they have to
| be ut work at in the morning.
So one may taHe it that eight hours
is the measure of all classes. the work
ers and the oilers, the poor and the
rich the frugal and the luxurious. But
| 1t Is with the class that does not do
manual labor that | am principally
concerned | believe that we are at a
great disadvantage commercially with
our foreign rivals owing to the late
| hour at which we commence the busi-
ness of the day.
| A friend OF mine has recently re-
| turned from Germany, where he went
to carry out l-g financial undertak-
ing. He had letters of Introduction to
| two German bankers. He forwarded
them, and in one instance he was re-
quested to come and see the head of
the banking firm at in the morning,
and In the other to call and see the
principal at in the evening. We can
not imagine u banker or business
man of any position making either of
these appointments in London.
The habit OF lying late In bed leaves
many parts of the metropolis almost
deserted till ) a. m. have for years
| found that ] can do with six hours
sleep, and il have an extra quantity
of work to do l can limit myself to
four hours without any evil conse
quences. Aud so it happens that, go
ing to bed between 1 and 2, am fire.
quently up and out in the streets by 6
| o'clock in the morning.
Woe betde me If in certain parts Of
London want an early breakfast. In
my own neghborhood l pass through
whole streets of houses, where at s
| o'clock the servants are only just open
ing the front doors and shaking the
| mats.
The other day l went to great rail
way terminus at 1880, thinking that at
least could get breakfast there. The
doors of the refreshment room were
shut and locked. 1t was not until the
clock struck s that waiter, who was
putting on his coat, opened the door of
the dining room for passengers who
wanted breakfast
The Parlsians are a late people
Most of their cafes are open till a. m,
and many in the more fashionable
quarters until 2. But Parisians are up
| and about long before Londoners. You
will find the business houses Of Paris
! in full sw,H% mt Il. H.. with not only
/ tie sta.I p"c'ent, but the principals
Enter any of the Paris railway stations
! on a lile Sunday morning ut 6 o'clock,
ana you will find them thronged with
Il gay crowd of working class folks in
their Sunday hest, setting out for
days excursion into the country.
l am convinced that one of the first
steps we have to take to meet the COM
petition Of our continental trade rivals
is to begin the work of the day earlier,
to waste fewer Of the precious hours of
daylight In sleep that ceases to be
healthy If it is prolonged.
when you wake, get up" is German
saying. The second sleep-the morn
ing doze after the first waking-instead
Of being refreshing is the reverse. 1t
brings about sense of lassitude which
frequently remains through the day.
All men are not, perhaps, so constitut-
ed that four hours sleep would be suf-
ficient for them, but no man should
take more than six If he wants to be
healthy, wealthy and wise"
The medical school of Salerno had
good deal TO say about sleep. 1t pre-
scrlbed six hours as the maximum for