EARLY RISING. (From the Saturday Review.)

Otago Daily Times, Issue 176, 9 June 1862, Page 6

EARLY RISING. (From the Saturday Review.)

The winter being well over, it is allowable to touch on a subject too oppressive for weak nerves .vhilst nights are Jong- and days are short. In the mouth of March we do not fuel that thrill of discomfort at the mention of early rising which is common to wellconstituted minds in the month of December. We stain courasre as the season advances, and may now smile at matutinal miseries ilmt east a. cloud over us a'month or two since. It is interesting to reflect upon the chance that comes over a man's mind on wakiiisr up t-aiJy inthc moniiiiiy after what is called a good night's rest. He retired to bed with rather a good opinion of himself. His 'conversation, in his own opinion at least, had been, if not decidedly brilliant, essentially agreeable. He had accomplished rather n n;at bin viot, unearthed an ajit quotation, turned a graceful comp'iuiet«t in honor of-a fair neighbor whose beaming eyes evinced that it w;s duly appreciated, and delivered himself of a well-con-structed, sentence on a subject under discussion with to much rifoet thai 'respectful silence on all sides proved him to be master of thesitwation. lie waspjeaseil with the part he had played- affable but not familiar'with the men, delicately attentive but not vulgarly demonstrative with the womankind, lie reflects with some degree of complacency on the whole tenor of the evening:, and even gives way to «m« fisiut iaisgiviu^ wlietlio? hs really deserves to be so successful in society as lie is usually admitted to be. His eyes softly clcse in tranquil slumber, whilst ho is forming a dim resolution to render his claims to general approbation' more 'thoroughly substantial than is now the case.

Morning breaks—n, winter morning of darkness visible— chilly and grim, "no liiiht, bat a warmish glare." The man struggles once more into consciousness, and—pending that abominable rap at the dcor that, for the time, being, elevates the servant to a master, and depresses the mast/.r to abject servitude— he collects Ins fcuiewhat obfuscated senses, and thinks upon his goner*', position, past, present, and future. Last night's career of social and intellectual success naturally claims his earliest attention. What a very unpl'.asant change steals over the aspect of affairs .' He had bade adieu lo the company, nut elated, i:ot excited—simply satisfied witli himself, ami on good terms with everybody else—wrapped in a mild glow of tranquil Eeli-cuniplacency. What has become of it all ') lie does not look at the matter by any iuea:is i'rom the f:anie point of view- Words, smiles, looks, gestures recur to him. Was he altogether so successful, so inaratialing and impressive, as he fondly imagined"] A mist < f doubt begins, lo spread over (ho scene. Tliat ban mot hovered <m the edge of absurdity. That quotation was just a trifle stale. Was ttio gleam of light that danced in the eye.* of hi-- fair neighbor, when he turned that easy compliment, a token of .grateful pleasure or an indication of suppressed merriment at liis expense I Was that respectful silence a tribute of public homage or an avowal <;f universal fatigue 1 In short, did he not make himself rather .1 bore? Was lie not a little absurd'! Did he not, oil the whole, and speaking dispassionately, make a fool < f himself! fcsuuh ire the unwelcome thoughts that grate upon the waking mind as the iii&t rays nf a wintry i-un begin to whiten tlie eastern sky." You feel exceedingly Email. You are ready to'apologise to all your acquaintances, individually and c»l----leetivcly. You meditate vaguely upon retiring fiom the .world, embarking for Australia, or subsiding into a Lilliputian lodgii.g at a fifth rate w;itt; rinjr-place in Uevon or Somerset. Probably, however, your satisfaction the night before and your despondency at break of day are equally exaggerated. Probably you did not make a. fool of yonself, hut probably also yon did not electrify the public with either your wisdom or your wit , You were about as agreeable as anyone else, neither more nor less.

The waking' up of a morning is indeed a sort of double process—a shaking off botli of bodily slumber anil'of mental del'.uion —but its first knock is often over-harsh, and driven vis from the undue contentment into morbid Eclf-at'asement. The balance is only regained as the day advances and the judgment resumes its natural sway. Hut suppose yourself waked up and wrenched out. of your bed by that inevitable and despotic rap at the door. If you are an early ri.-er, \ve do not pity you one jot as you struggle through the various stages of what is called "getting up." An early riser is, commonly speaking, conceited to a degree very painful to the general public. There is a vulgar freshness in his face, and a radiant hilarity in his eye when he greets you at ■breakfast—an obtrusive tendency to speak of the temperature out of doors, and the beauty of the sunrise —:m impui'iiniriit inqui: itiver.ess as'to how long you have linen down stairs—suggestive of a mind provokiiijily self-complacent and absurdly arropint. An. early rUer is amply mmper.srated for all his sufterinjis by an overweening tense of superiority over the weaker members nf society.

A valued friend mice tod us, in an oracular tone of voice, that '•' It was a wholesome thing to begin the ilisy by an act of stdf-elenial," i.e., to got up early. The observation made a. deep impression. But, aeoi■«ei;tttlly discovering that our friend was particular^ fond of a quiet extra hour or so in bed, the remark lost its point, arid we have over since experienced diffieuliy iii performing the act of field-denial referred to. Habit, no doubt, can do anything iv reason, and, to many, early rising is a matter of course. Jt is, lo tin*e who h.'ivs the use of it. "as easy as lying." Yet we can enter somewhat into the feelings of the officer, who, baling retired from the army, directed hi.s servant to awake him every inori.ing at six o'clock, with the intelligence, " £ir, - the officers' call has sounded, and t!ie General is on the Parade!'' —for tin;simple, object of triumphantly anathematizing the general mid turning round to take another nap. The sting of early rising chiefly consists in its b. ing imperative. Where it is optional—where a. man may lie in bed if he chooses—the effort of rising is less soiious, the shock to the whole system lo:S tremendous than when the obligation is absolute. Bur, to some men, not to get up at tbe npjjyiistcd hour represents Hti almost criminal degree of weakness ai:d vacillation. Partly from a sense of moral duty, partly from a teuder i egard for theiv own self-respect, they spring out of bed at the dreaded signal with a self-approving conscience, but witli a countenance of the deepest dejection. An eminent .agriculturist, now deceased, who for many years represented a midland county in Parliament, was wont, wlien hij amateur labors required him ti> rise at a pretern'atnrally early hour, to adopt the ingenious expedient of going to bed with his clothes on overnight. It took off the edge, as it were, of early rising, and broke the neck of the enterprise." We cannot «jy "whether the gentleman carried out the device to all its logical conclusions, and washed his hands and lace over night also. In any ease it was a halt-and-half mode of proceeding—neither one thing nor the oilier—neither sitting up all ni«rM nor getting .up betimes—a piece of practical sophistry objectionable both for mind and body. In the British iirjny under the -Duke of Kent's riyime, dodges of this kind were indeed essential. Officers of all ranks were rigorously compelled to appear on parado every morning with their pigtails stiff with powder and pomatum. But the capability of regimental barbers was limited. Ir. wris impossible to dress more than a given number uf pigtails in a given time. Thus the luckless juniors of the regiment wore compelled, to resign their pigtaiis to the barber's hands overnight, and, in order lo keep them in proper trim, sleep with their heads upon a bench and their precious pigtails securey peiuleut in mid-air. Then at the sound of lbs bugle., they sprang up from their embarrassing position, and rushed to the parade-ground ov battle-field, ready to show their pigtails to the Duke or their faces to" the enemy. A regimental surgeon, present with the army at the period referred to, himself told, us that.for weeks he lived, perpetually ensconced in buckskin breech a and, if \ve_ mistake .not, when the garment needtd a fresli coating of pipeclay, the worthy man had to stand patiently before a large fire, slowly revolraig like a joint of mciit until the .'pipeclay was dry, ani lie could make a creditable appearance on pa:o,rie. To return to bond fide early rising, where jou rob only get up from a horizontal position, but'strngiie with ineuh-inical energy through the task of dressing —that badge and burden of civilized humanity. However conscientious may '>c our views in ret-peet of early risinc', there are occasions, when it is priiuent to hold them in abeyance. I'or example, on a visit to a friend's house. You may be a man of cheerfully active habits—impatient of bed—eager to inhale the morning air. But do not, till yon are acquainted with the .internal regulations' of the household, rashly spurn the hospitable conch, and issue from your chamber at the early hour to which you are accustomed in yourown home. 'We will assume that your are able to'dress yourself -without the assistance of a valet, regard hot water as a debilitating..! luxury, and can: rind:your.way i tolerably well about,.a : strange house. In the grey dawn, amidst profound stillness, you traverse the passages and descend the stairs. Your boots creak pertinaciously—each door you open shins after

ynu-witli a noise like tha report ri" a earronade, and in joyousness of hwirt you whistle a bnr or two of your favorite air— unconscious nil tbe while that you are sfcartlitis a dozen ladies and gentlemen from refreshing slumber, and iuflicting a twelve hours' headache on your amiable but much disconcerted hostess. Below stah'S all is dark and sileut as the family vault, at the parish church. . You inarch onward, wander through unknown passages, blunder into the billini'dronni and upset three cues on the uucnrpe'iitcd floor, finally reach the drawing-room, aud, and after'pinching your fiuger' severely, succeed in . opening the shutters. You have not much time to meditate on the dreary rsj<ect of an apartment that is exactly in the same state as it was when you left it overnight, because you are suddenly assailed by a pet lap-dog, asthmatic but vicious, who takes you for a burglar and flies at jour legs with yells of fury. Under these circumstances, the prudent course is to take to your heels ; and if you can get out of the room without tumbling over an ottoman placed conveniently in your way, or smashing a set of mother-of-pearl chessmen, with which you had checkmated your host the night before, you area very fortunate man. It is wise, therefore, on: ycur first visit to a friend's bouse, to repress '' early risina" propensities, and ftel tiic pulse of the household by waiting till you are called.

Some families, on the other hand, are so uncommonly early as to cause embarrassment of another kind. The guest is -wakened in the midst of what he supposes Jiis first sleep, by n dull grating sound in the room below. It is pitch dark. He sits up in bed, rubs his eyes, and listens. The noise continues, and tlie guest., who is of an. anxious turn of mind, springs out of bed with sudden energy. There are decidedly thieves hi the house. Striking a light, he seizes the poker, hastens down stairs between sleeping: and waking, bursts into the library with dishevelled hair and staving eyes, and tho bedroom poker feebly vibrating in his )ta;:ds. There is an appalling chviek, and lie beholds the housemaid's upturned face white with alarm r.t, the startling- apparition. She liau benn simply encased, in raking out the. ashe3 from the library grate, preparatory to lighting the fire. The household is one that rises early, and the clock on the stairs is sirikiu- six.

Careful masters and mistresses, as well as conccieiitious early risers, are addicted to the use <:■[ an alarum. This is, however, a piece of mechanism very apt to get out of repair, either through domestic treachery or from constitutional infirmity. The ingenious little instrument, hiivinjr been set for seven in the morning1, utters its horrible outcry the very instant you am warm in bed, or remains dumb and never sounds at nil until some time in the middle of next week. But the most effectual method of promoting habit* of early l'Wtijr was that presented to the public at the Great Exhibition of'sl. It consisted of a bed which, through the operation of an unseen system of Clockwork, gently tilted you cut upon the 'floor's!1, any hour you thought proper. There could lit* no u;i=toke about getting up under such cireurastnnccs. Jt was an action of ejectment which no ingenuity cohU evade, and no amount of obstinacy resist. \Vlietht!1 any one bought that bed we have never heard, but we trust to see some new varieties of the iinicle at the forthcoming- Exhibition. The jiriiifiplo might indeed lie carried further. Chairs and sofas, fitted up with the requisite machinery, might he wound v.p and adjustc-d for dismissing their occupants abruptly on the ntior after a lapse of time previously (irU'nr.ir.ed upon. SToniing visitors hc-loni-ing to the eiernui here, or gentlemen addicted to siltingtoo long' over their wine after dinner, might in tins manner rfcc ive notice to quit in unmistakeabiy plain terms. lithe patentees of that remarkable bed are wisp, fhey will ov.i iU f ecoml prefentation to the public iit.thc ap»Vjfichiuf;«Gxhibii-ioii I pasteon the footboard in good cltar iypt? thenrsi'umeiitin favor of early risiug: aftjrdcd in a case on the fircuit. It was (inwn in Cornwall that a learned .iudprc wasstruc'k h■■ the number of vei-y old men wlio appeared as wifiie.-sfs whether for plaintiff or deli.'iidant. His Lordship at length blandly interrogated one of these a^c-d Cornisbnicn. How eiiinc he to live to so great an age ? Was lie sober'; Not, particularly. Was he, generally speaking, a prudent and decoiouK member of society '! •■■ The imp ied compliment was modestly but dd.isively declined. What then wav the mt'!i:;ii:g of his being so exceedingly old] The simple explanation at last extracted was, that the man was an "early riser." We may note with, regard to this anecdote, first, that men in the country—rustics of all ages—invariably rise early; secondly, that if a man goes to bed drunk, he is not likely to be up v/itii the lark next morning,. arid c/ouseqnently early rising implies a tolerable degree of sobriety, and sobriety is on the wholo favorable to longevity. We do not, therefore, attach .much' value to this illustration of tile ■ sanitary results of early rising. But it will take with the multitude, aud we therefore commend it to the notice of the patentees of that wonderful bed. <

We began with describing the depressing influence of early morning on & man who had retired to rest a few hours before, exceedingly welt p!e;»ned with himself. We.will cohcl;m!c by glancizig at the .subject from another point of view. The over-coniDlncent man awakes to a wholesome sense of his insigniiiear.co. On the other hand, the man who went to rest baffled and heart-sore with many anxieties, or stunned by a reverse of fortune, often indeed, generally—when thoroughly awake next morning feels his nerves braced up 1o meet the emergency It is a!li'frtd by cert Mii physiologists that]' if v.c dismi-s a subject on which we are anxious wholly from our thoughts, and turn our attention 'to other matters, the mind will, in a suit of unconscious way, wiss ftraithily fit the problem that distressed-us, and wlmn v«'e conn; back to it, after a day or two's pause, we shall find oftentimes a satisfactory solution ready, or at least a clue \o extricjte us partially from" our troubles. In this wiy, no doubt, the-comfort and assistance derived from a night's rest may be easily explained, if indeed any more abstruse explanation be required than that sfFordud by the refreshment which repose yields to the wearied body, and change of thought to th fnp'gt'd and exhausted brain. A» in mo .t things, so in this. We believe that the via media is the safest road—that moderate early rising is a wholesome' practice, but that early rising carried to an extreme forestalls your strength for the coming day, throws you out of gear with society, and makes you generally disagreeable to your family and your iiiends.

CniNoiixiss amokg urr. Maoiues.—A few dnys. since .1 Maori woman, belonging to a party camped near town, entered a store to makepurchases ; and among articles displayed to tempt her was a meretricious garment, composed* apparently of a flimsy tawdry unsaleable woollen net shawl, distended >>y .steel hoops,.and made up into the semblance of a petticoat. Quito dyaaJed, she mada ,'jome very mild reranrks about such, things suiting white women rather than Mnorics ; but a teininino desire to be in the fashion, backed by the arguments of the storekeeper's wife, who urged that " everyone wore them," and pointed out how charmingly suited such garments were to thin sultry weather, overcame her scruples, and led her to invest a pound in the article. Arrived near the camp she retired among some fuize.bush.es to don her .purchase in order to make her debut with due ffi'set ; and then her trovibles began. When she tried to .walk, the sway of the hoops destroyed her equilibrium, and rendered a straight course impossible. She rolled into the camp, and was greatly scandalised by enquiries as to "where she pot the prof:," Warned by experience, a strong suspicion now crof-.-xd her mind of the impossibility r.f sitting flown Maori fashion in such a rig; she therefore sat on a lo.i. when the hoops caused the dress to project in so absurd a manner that she was fain to pass the ewniug man erect posture, walking or standing about, amid the jeers of .her companions, who had divined the caxi.se of her erratic movements. At length bed-time came, and she essayed to lie down; when horror of horrois!—the dreadful garment kept her skirts still distended, like (to use her own words) " h:df of an enormous pumpkin, and seemed to (ill the tent." Unable to endure it longer, slio, nniid the redoubled laughter of her eornpanious,, divested herself of the now hateful article, and started early next morning on a round of visits.to the neighlouriug settlers' houses to try to tempt their wives to take Hier purchase off. her hands at a great-redac-tion from its prime cost.— Wariganui Chronicle.

Ediiisg a Newspapeu.—Newspiper literature is a link in tlie great change of miracles, which proves the greatness of England, and every support should be qivni to newspapers. The editors of these papers must, have a most onerous task. It is not the" writing of the leading article ilself, hut the.obligation to write that atticle every week, whether inclined or not, in sickness or'in health, in afllictipn, distress of mind, winter and summer, year after year, tied down to one task, remaining in one spot. It is fomething like the walking a .thousand miles in a thousand hours. I have a follow fueling for them, for I .knowhow a periodical will wear down one's existence. In ! itself it appears nothing- the labor is not manifest: nor is it the labor— it is tho continual attention which it requires. Your life becomes, s\n it were the publication. One week is no sooner corrected and printed, than on comes the other. It is the stone. cf Sisyphus—an endless repetition of toil, a constant | weight upon thn mind—a continued wearing upon tho intellect and spirits, demanding all the cxtition of your-faculties, at the tame time that you r.re compelled to.'do the severest drudgery. 'To: write for a "papcT.is all very Well, but:to edit one' is "to condemn ■yoiiiseif to slavery. Thanks be to"Heaven,-1 have passed my own emancipation bill. — Captain Marryatt.