A Word on Sleep (Via 1885)

"A person should never be waked except in cases of urgent necessity. When a man falls asleep he is in a shape for repairs. All the intricate machinery of his body is being overhauled and put into order for next day's work. Nature knows what the tired body needs. She lays it on the bed, surrounds it with the refreshing air of night, covers it with darkness and lets the man rest. "Tired nature's sweet restorer, balmy sleep," visits him, and as the hours pass by his energies are renewed, his strength comes back, and when the daylight steals through the window, he opens his eyes and feels like a new man. If he is early to bed, he awakes correspondingly early. Now, who will go to that man's side an hour before he opens his eyes and say to nature: "Stand aside and let him get up; he has had enough rest!" Nature will say: "You can take him, if you will, but I will charge him with an hour's loss of sleep, and I'll collect out of his bones and nerves, and hair and eyesight. You can't cheat me, I'll find property to levy on." Nature is the best book-keeper in the world. You may over-draw, but you must pay back, even to the pound of flesh."

Courtesy of "Northern Messenger" October 15th, 1885