OUR COUNTRY LIFE 



delights of out-of-door sleeping, our Modest Genius, 

 who evidently felt strongly upon this subject, broke 

 out with: "It's all bosh! It's against nature! If 

 people are ill, of course they need all the oxygen they 

 can get; but I confess I 'm a cold creature. I hate 

 draughts. I like to sleep in a nice, warm, unventilated 



room." 



At the horrified expression which this word called 

 forth upon our faces, the Iconoclast waxed warmer: 

 "Look at the animals, how do they sleep? They have 

 to sleep outdoors, poor things ! but they seek the shelter 

 of various holes and nests, and then stick their noses 

 into their fur; even the birds tuck their heads under 

 their wings. This idea of breathing fresh air at night, 

 of inhaling oxygen when you 're asleep is a mistaken 

 one. At night we ought to rest, to hibernate as it were. 

 The brain should n't be stimulated or excited. Say 

 what you will, no one can sleep as soundly out of doors 

 as in a tightly closed room." 



At this the Fresh Air Fiend, being also hostess, 

 pinched her lips tight shut, maintaining a heroic, and 



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