The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1919-05-13
RELIEVED HIS MIND
Gunner Shaw Tells of His Defeat
of Insomnia.
Possibly There Are Others Who Would
Sleep More Peacefully II They
Squared Up With Conscience,
aa He Did.

The gchoolmaster, who with others |
was Willing away an hour in Squire |
Marr's office, complained that he had
not been sleeping well lately. He dig |
nified his trouble by calling it insom-
MIA. AS might have been expected,
the squire had specific.
"The thing to do" he said, "Is to
make your mind as near blank as
possible. When find that my mind
is disposed to work overtime. resort
to the old nursery jingle: The House
That Jack Built repeat it rather
slowly from beginning to end, and go
over 1t again and again. To me the
rhythm is very soothing, and the pic
lures that the words call up are con-
stantly changing, just as In dreams.
Presently I begin to get a little tan
gled up, so that perhaps it will be
the priest all shaver and shorn that
milks the COW with the crumpled horn.
It is not long after that before drop
into real slumber that lasts until ! am
awakened, may be, by the cock that
crows in the MORN"
ibid you ever try reckoning interest
as means of inducing sleep?" asked
Sumner Shaw, the carriage maker.
"As a rule, Tn not much subject to
insomnia" he went on. "But got an
inkling Of what it is like when was
staying overnight at my nephew's in
the city, four years ago, or so. They
make long evenings, and 1t must have
been close on to ten before ! got off
to bed.
Remember that you don't have to
get up at some unseemly hour, Uncle
Summer says Susie. We don't have
breakfast until eight
swell, l dropped right off to sleep,
same as usual; but when woke up
and turned on the electric light at
the head of the bed. / found 1t was
only three o'clock.
"'Now, then says / to myself, I'll
have to get another nap
"But that was easier said than done.
The harder tried the wider awake
was. I guess 1t was insomnia, fast
enough. Finally got to thinking over
my past life. Well. probably I'd done
worse things in my life. but what !
seemed to fasten on was little bust
ness transaction with the Widow Wig
gin. l sold her a sleigh at my own
price; and the very next day sold one
just like 1t to Cap'n Gray. and he beat
me down five dollars and made some
thing at that. In the circumstances ]
felt as If 1t would be no more than
fair to go to Mrs. Wiggin and make
her the same discount. But you are
apt to let such things go. and pretty
soon she took sick and died. She had
no immediate family, and the property
went to distant connections out Of the
state. So kind Of let the thing slide,
as being Of no great consequence, any
way.
But it doomed up big there in the
dark, and at last had to promise my
self that If lived to get home I'd get
clear Of that five dollars somehow. AT
that time Belgian relief fund was be-
ing raised, and concluded that 1t
would please her as much as anything,
If she could know 1t, to put down a
subscription In memory Of Mrs. Maria
Wiggin.
Having settled that, I felt easier,
but not real sleepy, as 1t still seemed
long ways ahead to breakfast time.
Then 1t occurred to me that about
eighteen years interest ought to go
with that five dollars, and I fell to
considering how much that would be.
am pretty good at figuring in my
head, and could have worked out the
simple interest easily; but compound
interest is another matter. However,
began casting 1t up, and I got as
far as the fifth year. Then the next
thing l knew Susie was singing out
Breakfast, Uncle Sumnerr
$50 you see, reckoning interest got
the better Of insomnia that time
Mebbe, though. purging my conscience
had something to do with 1t. You are
welcome to both Of these remedies,
Mr.. Jenkins" he added with friendly
wink, "in case the sQuire's doesn't
work."-Youth's Companion.