A LITTLE THING
THE WATCHMAN
FRANCIS M. WILCOX
A L11TLE thing — a loving smile —
A child's sad face was brighter made,
It chased the gloom away awhile,
It cheered a heart with sorrow weighed.
A little thing — a kindly word —
To one inured to scoff and scorn;
The better instincts by it stirred,
Awakened life, desires new born.
A little thing — a silent prayer —
Uttered for one in trial deep,
It furnished strength the load to bear,
From sin’s dark ways a soul did keep.
A little thing —a thoughtful deed —
, Inspired by love and pity kind;
It fed the hungry in his need,
Brought strength to body, peace to mind.
A little thing — one little thought —
Becomes a seed for weal or woe;
By it are mighty issues wrought,
The weak made strong, the great brought
low.
A little thing —a purpose deep —
A motive hidden from the light,
Cause to rejoice or cause to weep,
As turns the victory in life's fight.
The little things make life’s great whole,
They prove the nature base or true,
The character of heart and soul,
Possessed by many or by few.
Despise not, then, the deed so small,
Or smile of love, or word of grace,
Let kindness in thy pathway fall,
And unkind things to love give place.
contributes to a recovery from a cold. A
hot foot bath draws the blood away from
the congested place, and so helps to re-
store the circulation to its proper equi-
librium.
So if you would avoid taking cold, be
careful of your diet. Do not eat things
that are next to impossible of digestion,
and do not take into your stomach twice
as much food as your body requires.
The idea is quite prevalent that in win-
ter a person needs to eat a large amount
of rich, greasy food to afford the re-
quired amount of bodily heat. This is
all nonsense, and worse, because such
food soon upsets the digestion, which in
turn deranges the nervous system, and
so lowers the resisting power of the
body instead of raising it. Such a diet
instead of fortifying a person against
colds, makes him especially susceptible
to them.
Simplicity in diet is a prime requisite
of health, whether in cold weather or in
hot. L. A. S.
Mg KX 2
YESTERDAY: FORGET IT
M. H. Tuxford
IF you made mistakes yesterday, for-
get them. No strength was ever built
upon continued regret. To-day is the
result of yesterday, but it is more im-
portant to remember that to-morrow will
be the result of to-day. The results of
the actions of to-day we can determine,
but no amount of dwelling upon yester-
day’s regret will re-shape to-day. If
we fell vesterday, there is nothing to do
to-day but to pick ourselves up, shake
off the dust, and start afresh.
Rise above yesterday. It is hard work
to hold up the head and live down a
black yesterday; but the blacker the yes-
terday, the greater need of rising above
it, the higher the head must be held.
Yesterday is passed, let it rest in peace;
don’t keep dragging it out on parade.
Do not waste energy on what cannot be
undone. Let yesterday alone.
JE
SIMPLE REMEDIES FOR INSOMNIA
First of all, sleep in a room with
plenty of fresh air. Avoid tea and cof-
fee, especially at night, and food that is
rich and indigestible. I believe, how-
ever, that more insomnia is occasioned
by lack of food than by overeating.
Many cases of insomnia have been cured
by taking upon retiring a glass of milk
and a biscuit, a slice of bread and but-
ter, or some other light refreshment,
such as has been found to agree with
one.
For the insomnia of brain activity,
when the thoughts become uncontrollable
in their persistence, it is well to get up
and abandon attempting to sleep for a
time. A hot bath is excellent for that
kind of sleeplessness, as it helps to dis-
tribute the blood in the body. A foot-
bath is also good for the same reason.
A simple and sometimes very effective
remedy is a cold compress placed on the
forehead, bringing the ends well down
behind the ears, where the large blood-
vessels which carry the blood to the head
are situated. The cloth will keep cool
longer and be more effective if some
cologne is sprinkled upon it.
727
The habit of wakefulness may have
been acquired by some of the causes
which have been mentioned, and the idea
takes possession of the would-be sleeper
that he cannot get to sleep, that the power
of sleeping has left him. This alone will
prevent sleep. It can be best met with a
calm consideration of the subject. It
is not such a dreadful matter after all
if one loses sleep. . . . The lack of sleep
is not half as bad for the system as the
worry that one indulges in because of
it. It seems heartless and unsympathetic
often to say this to a person melancholy
because of lack of sleep.
The many devices of occupying the
mind with trivial thoughts to the exclu-
sion of those in which one is vitally in-
terested, is founded on sound, physio-
logical principles; that is, the mind can-
not think intently on two things at once.
The counting of imaginary sheep going
over an imaginary stile has been found
useful. A very good way to tire out the
mind and to change the current of
thought at the same time is to recall a
pleasant journey that one has taken, and
travel through again in imagination each
hour and each moment of each hour, re-
calling every little detail. In this way
the brain is soon wearied to the sleeping
point,
Beware of Drugs
Drug habits are worse than sleepless-
ness. The same causes which prevent
sleep are often those which would easily
lead the victim to dependence
drugs. Morphine habits have thus been
formed. Sulphonal and trional and al-
lied drugs should be avoided, as they act
on the heart, and if long continued, will
cause disease of that organ. . . .
upon
One of the best remedies for sleepless-
ness is electricity. The galvanic current
is used, as that is more sedative than the
faradic current. ‘The faradic current
is the one that makes the buzzing sound,
and is the current given by the ordinary
cheap batteries. The current is exciting
and will not promote sleep. Electricity
should be administered by one who has
knowledge and practice.— Grace P. Mur-
ray, M. D., in The Ladies’ World.
Hos A
“Your success or failure in life will
depend not upon where you are, but
upon what you are.”
education will
should be.
And Christian
make vou what you