Sleep Reform

Colonel Henry Watterson tells a story of an oíd compositor whose life had been given up to hard work and the following of eccentric ideas, one of which was that the human race slept too much. He had several theories to advance in support of his idea. One of them was to cut down the usual rnunber of sleeping hours by gradation and finally arrive at a state where, by practice, one would be satisfied with a much smaller amount of sleep than one was getting. To show his confidence in his theory he began to practice the new idea as follows: He usually slept nine hours. He explained that he would cut this down to 84 hours for each week that passed until he had reduced his number of sleeping hours to two, which, he claimed, was all that was needed by any one. The time went by, and the old fellow had kept to his rale laid down and Bnally reached the two hour time. He went along for several weeks sleeping but two hours daily, devoting the time gained in reading and advocating his idea. While there was a noticeable decrease in his weight, he seemed. to stand it very welL Then he began to talk of further redtioing the time, and when enthusiastio talked of the possibility of one doing withont sleep entirely. He set type and was an old hand on the paper. One morning about three weeks after he had reached his low sleeping mark the compositor at the case next to his uoticed the old man had dropped his head upon his arms, that were folded over the case. It was near quitting time. All the forms were np, and the old chap was not disturbed. He had gone to sleep. .The office was soon deserted, with the xception of the janitor and the sleeper. The janitor was instracted not to bother him. The next day when the first men arrived he was still sleeping as they had left him aDd snoring so hard that he jarred the type in the case on which he rested. Some one told his wif e where he was, and she conchided to let him sleep. He slept on in that position for 20 hours. Then they carricd him to a bed at home, still sleeping. He slept for 32 hours, and when he woke up he had f orgotten how to set type and had to learn to read aeain, although his memory was good in other respects,