Beloved from pole to pole.

Coleridge.

If life be a succession of ideas, says Dr. Binns, then sleep is the interval¹; “consequently, we may say that sleep is the art of escaping reflection.” If one could follow the Chinese advice, divest² the mind of all unpleasant images, “the secret of sleep at will,” Dr. Binns thinks, “would be in the possession of all men.” This accords in its essence with the very modern theory of Dr. Henry Hubbard Foster of Cornell University, that sleep results from the absence of stimulations. It is conceivable that things that stimulate³, or rouse us, may come from inside as well as from outside. A sudden thought, a new, delightful⁴, or horrible mental picture will arouse us and send sleep flying as effectually as a sudden noise or an exciting commotion⁵ from without.

 

We might amend⁶ the Chinese advice thus: put out of the mind all images, pleasant or un85pleasant, or, as Dr. Gardner puts it, “bring the mind to a single sensation.” It has long been known that monotony will induce sleep. Not merely the monotony of silence, but sometimes even the monotony of great noise, such as the ceaseless firing of heavy guns which have lulled⁷ the wearied soldiers into rest. There is a sleepy sound in “The distant boom of a random⁸ gun which the foe⁹ was sullenly¹⁰ firing.” It is the sudden, irregular noise which disturbs. If anyone listens for several hours to soft, flowing music, he will have great difficulty in keeping awake, no matter how great a lover of music he may be, particularly if he has to sit in the same position all the time. Let a musical number with strongly marked staccato movement be introduced, let the drum

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