THE SOLDIER'S BEST ASSET

Auckland Star, Volume XLVIII, Issue 245, 13 October 1917, Page 13

THE SOLDIER'S BEST ASSET

It is curious to reflect that the safety of the Empire hinges in a measure upon the ability of one man to sleep well. Our military operations are to a large extent directed by General Sir William Robertson, and his physical well-being, he tells us, depends upon his being able to retire early from work in order to rise betimes from bed. The p-ift of sleep has been an asset of many great soldiers. Napoleon likened his own mind to a series of compartments, each the receptacle of a certain project. One after another he closed them and at night lie shut down the last and instantly slept. Gladstone declared ability to sleep well his one notable faculty, but he had to cease thinking at 10 o'clock at night, " otherwise I should go mad," he added. Wellington could sleep anywhere, even in the face of the enemy. With his foes advancing he would say, "Call mc ...en they reach such and such a point." ..nen rolling nimself in bis cloak would forthwith snooze. Livy shows Hannibal to have been similarly blest. He could abstain for days and nights at need from rest, but in a moment of leisure could curl up on. a rock and sleep like a dormouse.