THE SECRET OF HAPPINESS 253 



down on every side ! When the will relaxes or is 

 not stimulated, the physical powers relax also and 

 their power to ward off disease is greatly lessened. 

 Among men of all kinds who have retired from 

 active life the mortality should he and doubtless is 

 much greater than among men of the same age who 

 stick to their lifelong occupations. Here is a farmer 

 just died at eighty-eight who managed his farm till 

 within a few months of his death ; here is his neigh- 

 bor, ten years younger, who retired to the village 

 several years ago, now wandering about more than 

 half demented. 



Oh, the blessedness of work, of life-giving and life- 

 sustaining work ! The busy man is the happy man ; 

 the idle man is the unhappy, When you feel blue 

 and empty and disconsolate, and life seems hardly 

 worth living, go to work with your hands, — delve, 

 hoe, chop, saw, churn, thrash, anything to quicken 

 the pulse and dispel the fumes. The blue devils can 

 be hoed under in less than half an hour ; ennui can- 

 not stand the bucksaw fifteen minutes ; the whole 

 outlook may be brightened in a brief time by turn- 

 ing your hands to something you can do with a will. 



I speak from experience. A few years ago I found 

 my life beginning to stagnate ; I discovered that I 

 was losing my interest in things. I was out of sorts 

 both physically and mentally ; sleep was poor, diges- 

 tion was poor, and my days began to wear too som- 

 bre a tinge. There was no good reason for it that I 

 could perceive except that I was not well and fully 

 occupied. I had too much leisure. 



