ON “EARLINESS.”

Kumara Times, Issue 1991, 16 January 1883, Page 2

ON “EARLINESS.”

[to the editor.] Sir—l was much amused when reading in your issue of the 10th inst. the one-sided views on “ Earliness.” You are quite right when you say “ There is much in that good old Saxon word ‘early.’” Yes! I look upon it as a word cautioning us to “ look before we leap.” I may preface my remarks by saying, that I am not early in seeking my bed, nor yet in leaving it; neither am I early in eating, drinking, or smok-

ing, and, above all, I am never guilty of early working. Indeed, I quite disagree with earliness (as a rule) in any shape or form. The early sun scorches the corn ; the early bird is the first snared by the fowler ; the early worm is generally devoured by some voracious bird, who has escaped the fowler ; the early cabbage is the first cut; the early lamb is the first slain ; the early chicken gets cooked for Christmas; it is the early gooseberry that gives us the gripes; the early swarm that gets first robbed (what a happy prospect for the busy little bee); the early-sown wheat that gets blighted by the late frosts; the early-sown barley is the cause of drunkenness an its many attendant evils; the early sack of wheat creates jealousy and envy ; the early-sown peas that are stunted by the bleak winds of early spring, and seldom repay the grower ; the early potatoes that are prematurely dug, ere they attain half their natural size, and which brings on indigestion; the early shepherd who loses the best part of the day, in sleeping under a tree or in some other shady place; the early carter who overworks his horses ; the early farmer who expects eighteen hours labour from his men ; the early housewife who is always tired and cross, and annoys all the domestics ; the early maid who gets worn out before the day is half over; the early-made wife whose troubles bring her to a premature grave ; the early-made husband whose hair gets prematurely grey with pare ; the early-born children who have to slave for the rest of the family ; the earlv widow who (if she remains unmarried) has many years to mourn her sad loss ; the early widower is the only exception I know of —he can come home or go out unmolested ; he can admire all the beautiful girls in creation without raising the ire of any lady, he can go to bed when he likes, and how he likes, without the fear of a curtain lecture. There are some people who like to be early at everything, and to have everybody and everything early : I do not, my motto is a happy medium; I don’t want green peas, new potatoes, nor yet strawberries—out of season ; I don’t want a taste of summer before the spring is ended; or a taste of autumn ere the summer fades; nor, above all, do I want to experience the blasts of winter ere the shades of autumn pass. I don’t exactly know what you call early rising, if it be at 8 a.m., I’m with you, but if earlier, you are welcome to enjoy its luxury, but not with mo. Oh no ! and my objection especially applies to winter. If you wish to be healthy and happy, never rise before 8 a.m. But when you are up, neither beg, borrow, nor steal; and get as little tick as possible; work like men with wills of your own; eat like men who enjoy God’s mercies ; drink moderately of the cup that cherisheth ; do a good turn to your neighbour whenever he requires it—whether early or late (but strike the happy medium if you can). Follow my rule out, you will then live happily, die happily, and go to heaven happily.—Yours &c.,

The Happy Rake,

January 15, 1883. [ln the first place we must correct our correspondent by pointing out to him that the “ maxims on e Earliness,’ ” which he endeavors to show are very one-sided, are not ours, but were given as an “ extract ” from a new publication which we noticed on the day mentioned. We admit many of the maxims are far-fetched, and may be easily combatted, as they have been by our correspondent, who, we may add, quotes the other extreme, and then reclines on the “happy medium.” For ourselves, we believe thoroughly in the old maxim— Early to bed, and early to rise, Makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise. Statistics prove incontestibly that agriculturists are the longest-lived beings on the face of the earth • this is no doubt because they go to bed early, and rise early, Gas, electricity, and other artificial lights are very useful commodities, but how many millions of pounds sterling could be saved by the human race if men were to rise with the sun instead of turning day into night, as in the case nearly all the world over? We venture to say that three or four times the amount of money which teetotallers tell us is squandered away in drink eveay year, is now literally wasted in the ever-increasing propensity of what are considered the civilised nations of the earth to keep late hours. Were Good Templars to organise associations as strong as those they now have for the cultivation of habits of temperance to cope with the evil of turning day into night, by causing a reformation in this respect we venture to predict that, if succe sful, they would advance the cause of temperance more in a few years than they do now in a century.— Ed. 1C T,]