351 



in bedrooms with alcove ceilings. It is the height of ignorance 

 to think " night air " is bad. What other air is there to breathe at 

 night ? Do we ever suffer from it when travelling at night, or does 

 the fear of breathing it prevent our going out at night 1 Yet how 

 often do we hear people talking of the bad effects 'of " night air " ! I 

 have not slept with my windows shut these thirty years and I have 

 never found bad effects from the practice, but quite the contrary. 



We should also sleep with our heads to the north, or as nearly so 

 as possible. Those who know the fact that our bodies are charged 

 with electricity, and that during the day it has free escape towards 

 the point of the compass nature induces it to select, will understand 

 the reason of this remark, and the danger there is in frustrating any 

 object of nature. They can explain it to those not so versed in 

 physiology. It would be too long and tedious for me to do so in 

 these pages. 



No matter what a man's calling may be, he should manage to take 

 sufficient exercise daily to keep him in good health, and if he is not of 

 the eight-hour-sleep sort, he can easily manage to do so if he chooses. 



First thing in the morning and last thing before going to bed a man 

 should work medium-sized dumb-bells — about 7lb. weight — for five to 

 ten minutes. Heavy ones are bad, and light ones are no use. Nothing 

 can be better than this exercise for those who can't regularly attend 

 a gymnasium, and it should be practised all through life, even up into 

 the "sear and yellow leaf." It will keep the body fairly supple and 

 the muscles fairly strong, and will maintain a man in a tolerable state 

 of condition for being able to tackle another in a rough-up when 

 necessary. In fact, every man should keep himself in such a state of 

 bodily vigour that at any time he will be able to hold his own against 

 any other man of, at least, his own age and weight. When dumb-bells 

 are not to be had, a man should exercise his arms without them. 



Apropos to the subject of this chapter, and particularly to the last 

 paragraph, boxing is a thing all men should keep up as much as they 

 can. I allude to this most important requisite to a man (I employ the 

 word requisite advisedly) in another chapter, but I may here add that 

 no grander, no more healthful, or more useful exercise than " the 

 gloves " can boy or man practise. We all know how useful the fists 

 are at times, if a man can use them properly, whilst a bout with the 

 gloves is jolly and invigorating. 



I kept a small pack of foot beagles for some years which I hunted two 

 or three mornings of every week in the year except just immediately 

 before harvest, and as I had to be in my office by 10.0, to have my 

 sport necessitated my being out with the little fellows just as soon 

 as I had light to see. This gave me plenty of fine exercise, often 

 twenty miles before breakfast. I merely allude to this fact to show 

 that if a man chooses he can find time to take exercise. It was no 

 particular pleasure to me to have to get up at daylight and trudge 

 over a country in bad weather, though I enjoyed it hugely on all fine 



