A GENTLE NURSE
A GENTLE NURSE
OTHER: You remember I told you that the body-house is all the time wearing out. Every time we think, move, play, or work, some part becomes worn, and must be mended. Blood, the care-taker, passes swiftly around every part, first up, then down; and every trip she makes, the bones take something to mend them; the flesh takes its part; the skin must have a share; the hair and finger-nails take something to make them grow; and so, while we study, work, or play, the mending goes on, and we hardly stop to think that it is done at all.
Helen: This seems to me one of the most wonderful things about the body.
Mother: But there is another wonderful thing of which we have not yet spoken. When we are tired with the work of the day, and the sun goes down in the west, a gentle nurse steps in and says to the master of the body-house: “Please give me the care of your house awhile. I will rest you, and while I have you in charge Blood can do her work better, and in a few hours you will feel as good as new.”
Amy: And does the master do as she says?
Gentle sleep.
Mother: Sometimes he is not willing at first, but at last he is glad to hand everything over to her. Then she quietly draws the curtains down over the windows, shuts the doors in the hearing passages, and the muscles of the arms and legs stop their work, the engine slows down, air goes into the bath room more slowly, all becomes quiet in the body-house, and the first thing the master knows he knows nothing at all.
Elmer: How strange to think that way of going to sleep!
Amy: Is Sleep the nurse, mother?
Mother: Yes, Amy; and a better one never lived. Sometimes when the house is all out of order, and the father and mother watch over some little body moaning with pain and tossing with fever, Sleep comes in and gives the dear child a long, sweet rest, and the good doctor says: “I am so glad! She will get better now.” He knows that if he can get Sleep to nurse his sick people, they will all “do well.” She is so kind that she comes of herself, takes us in her arms, comforts us, and when we are quite rested, she leaves us to do as we will till she is needed again. She never asks pay for her services, and the most skilful nurse never had such success as she in taking away care and worry, and in building up the house we live in.
Percy: But why must we sleep, mother?
Mother: Because when we are awake, the body wears out faster than Blood can mend it, but if we go to sleep, she can mend faster than it wears out. We need sleep as much, and I sometimes think more, than we need food and drink. When we feel tired and drowsy, that is the call of the nurse for us to give ourselves into her care.
Amy: Should we sleep in the daytime?
Good-night.
Mother: Very young children should; for their body-houses are building fast, and so they need much sleep. Very old people sometimes need sleep in the daytime, because their houses are wearing out fast; but, as a rule, we should sleep during the night, and keep awake during the day.
Elmer: How long should we sleep?
Mother: Some need more than others do. Grown people need seven or eight hours and children should have still more. When we wake up, we should get up. The Duke of Wellington once said, “When it’s time to turn over, it’s time to turn out.”
Helen: How can we get to sleep if wakeful when we go to bed?
Mother: Those who can not sleep well should spend much time out-of-doors during the day. One should not eat for several hours before going to bed; for if the stomach must work, it often keeps the rest of the body awake. Every one should have a clean bed, and sleep where he can have plenty of pure air. To work till one is tired, if not carried too far, will also help. But, even though a person does all these things, if he tries to sleep when the mind is worried or excited, the gentle nurse will not come. One of the best helpers to sound sleep is a clear conscience, and the knowledge that one has done his best in everything.
Helen: I heard a lady say that she drank a cup of tea and it kept her awake half the night.
Mother: It often has this effect. If one has not been using it, this is more apt to be the case, and this shows that tea contains poison, and that it is not good for the body. When a person can not sleep, he should know that danger is near. The master of the house we live in must have rest. Sweet sleep is the best rest for a tired brain; for while Sleep has charge of the body, she cleans the brain and makes it bright and ready to do more work. If it does not get rest, it becomes ill, and sometimes people lose the right use of the mind; then we say they are insane, or crazy. That means that they do not know what they are doing. They may try to kill themselves or other people, and they must be locked up in strong rooms, so they can not get away and do themselves or others harm. Sometimes they get well, but many live for years in this sad con-di´tion. It often comes because people injure their brains with strong drink.
Percy: Do not people who sell such drinks often stay up late at night?
Mother: I think they nearly always do. The people who are at the saloons should be in their beds, letting their brains and bodies rest. When at last they go to bed, the brain is stupid because of the strong drink they have taken. They lie in bed long after the sun is up, and when they rise, they feel worn out instead of rested. The poor brain bears such treatment for a time, but at last reason is gone, and the person is ruined for life.
Elmer: What a shame! I know one lad who will never go where beer and whisky are sold, and who will have his sleep at night if he can get it.
Percy: And I know another.
Mother: I trust that my boys will never do anything to hurt the brain and drive sleep away.
“Go to bed early—wake up with joy;
Go to bed late—cross girl or boy.
Go to bed early—ready for play;
Go to bed late—moping all day.
Go to bed early—no pains or ills;
Go to bed late—doctors and pills.”
—St. Nicholas.