The Land of Counterpane.

Otago Witness, Issue 2623, 22 June 1904, Page 68

The Land of Counterpane.

Discussing rest cure-, stin cures, desert curej, and other means of alleviating or curing- tho ilLs we have, or think we have, a London journal asks, "Do we sleep oiicugh? 1 ' 3 he question would have been promptly answered in the- affirmative by your grandfathers and grandmothers, who devoted th© day to work and the night chiefly to sleeping after the chores were done. Fifty or a hundred years ago there was no one to question the wisdom of the maxim -early to bed and early to rise, with its assuring promise of health, wealth cuid' wisdom as the roqi't of it~ ob:or»anoe.

Eut timci ha\i- cbang-ed, and men and w'li'w 'hai-e changed with them, and tho old piovcrb no longer holds good, in cities at least. Now. as the London paper says, tho world is rapidly becoming divided into two classic, the unemployed ajid the overwoikcd, and n.vther class sleep enough. the overworked, because they devote to amusement the hours which should! be given to sleep, and the unemployed rich because they turn night into day. The natural consequences — nervous disorders, mental breakdowns, and feverish discontent — can only bo avoided by returning to natural ways of working and living, and especially of sleeping. As long ago as 1883 Dr J. Leonard Corning of this city, in a monograph entitled "Brain P.est : A Disquisition on the Curative Properties of Prolonged Sleep," g'-a^e tho scientific aaid medical reasons for regardnig sleep as one of the greatest of curatives in the nervous disorders so common in recent years. It was and is the doctor's plan to seclude the subject in a darkened room for from 3-0 to 15 hours, according to tho amount of brain rest the patient seenia to require, the object being to afford complete isolation from, all noise and othei- disturbing influence**, and thus let Nature have an opportunity to. bestow upon man her best boon — refreshing sieep.

Men and women, however, who have reached the s>tage where tlie doctor's services are needed must be left to his care. Il is to those who havo not yet reached tho border land of nervous prostration that tho hint to them' to look after the cause of their worry aaid nervous exhaustion in sufficient sleep is likely to be most beneficial. The hint, it may readily be conor>dod, is more easily given than acted upon in the modern city, where the city itself never s^eys and) wheie tlio conditions making for natural repose ore difficult and, in some cases, impossible of achievement. The thunder of the elevated, the whirl and rattle of the e'ecti\c car and tho alino-t ceaseless noises of the streets arc th jluFaby of the urbanitc. and the sleep that comes in such circumstances knife up but slowly the ravelled sleeve of care, and sends still moie slowly fresh and' hoalihful blood to build up the brain cells, wiili their delicato tentacles radiating through the grey matter fatigued by the constant calls upon it in the busy day of modern city life. If possible, the city dweller feeling this constant strain upon h's nervous system should e-eek the qui.pt and freshness of country air. sleep with open windows, and live, if only for a few weeks or months, a simple, natural life. It is only in sueli sturoundmgs that he can secure tho amount of sleep necessary to restore the tone and vigour of his system and avoid a possible, or even probable, re nous collapse. A sea voyage is often an excellent lonic and restorative; a journey tp strange lands and' scenes may affcrd the tiicel bir.in the necessary change and relief. Bu r to the tired many, to whom, rest is a luxury and travel an impossibility, "tlie pleasant land cf counterpane" is still accessible, and bhpy should make their stay in it as long" as possible tmtil the system, is once more more restored' to its natural v'igeur. — New York Tribune. To Get a Gocd Complexion. There is really no excuse for the girl who goes around with her skin making open confession that she is a rebe-1 against the laws of health. Tbcre are many forms of skin disease, of cour=c.. that are beyond the control of those suffering from them. Soma- of thece an; exceedingly obscure as to their origin, and obstinately resistant to treatment; and all such cases should be tinder the care of competent dermatologists. Wo have only reference in this article to those muddy, pimply, uncared-for skins too often shown by girls who should be in, the very bloom of youth md freshne-s, but who, tluough ignorance, and far itco often through uucleanlincss or laziness or greediness, start and maintain, sometimes through years, a condition of skin that would disgrace an E-kimo. Thcio is one cr-e-pt prescription, and one only, for a clear, bright complexion, and that is— first, lasv, and always — bodily clcanlino^s, both external and internal. Now, cleanliness of the ekin. is by no mear" attained by mere surface rubbing anel scrubbing, although a certain amount of l!.' 1 ? is necessary, nnd many a. proud, fastidious, and otlwwise dainty voting woman roods to be told to wash her face properly. But she nc-c '1« to ba told more than this. The organs of this wonderful body of ours are curiously loyal to each other. If one oror?n is unable to perform all the work which ia piit upon it, for instance, the ethers faithfully turn in and labour to do its share as well as their own. This is a bwi-eficcnt provision for the tiding over of temporary difficulties : but it was never in tended in the scheme of things to ibocome a permanent arrangement. When it ha 3 lasLod long enough, the organ or oigans doing extra work begin to show sign's of difctr<?ss Natuie is just, as well as kind, andi always takes toll.

Whsn the *kin is put to it to perform par* ot ihe work thai should bo clone by the iiver, the kidney 5 , or other organs, it must Hoon throw out its signals of distress in the form of sallowncs-, roughness, and pimples.

A young woman ashamed of her com1 \ioTi bLv:M try il c Oi'f^ct cf drinL-ing more water and 1 eating l&s; candy, giving her digestive organs a bath and 1 a rest. Let her then treat the face to an oeeasioiial thorough washing in tolt water, using one of the good, nii'd, foaps, of which there a r e now so many offered. Let her also breathe plenty of fresh air, and then watch the speedy improvement that t\ ill come. 0;i tho other hand 1 , cirors of diet, no-

gleotcd bowels, insufficient bathing, and an unv-entilatod bedroom, would dim the complexion of a 'dryad in a week.