a longer period of repose. Three or
four hours, we have heard, is all that Lord
Brougham, in his best days, required, and he
always rose sufficiently refreshed; but literary
men need more sleep perhaps than others. We
are informed, by Lockhart, that Sir Walter
Scott, both as a young man and in more
advanced age, required " a good allowance of
sleep; " and he, on principle, indulged in it,
saying " he was but half a man if he had not
full seven hours of utter unconsciousness." We
have already premised that tall and bulky
people require more sleep than short people;
and Sir Walter, besides being a large boned,
was, it may be said, a tall man. It is a curious
circumstance, we do not remember to have
met with in his Biography, that, being
desirous of joining an athletic club, which
existed in Edinburgh, he was proposed as a
candidate. This was called " The Six Feet
Club," and it was a sine quâ non that every
member should be of that stature. We believe
the Earl of Errol became the patron of this
club, the object of which was to promote
athletic exercises and the sports and pastimes
of the "Highland Games." When Sir Walter
Scott presented himself to be measured there
was some doubt about his being eligible; but,
when he had taken off his shoes and placed
himself under the measuring ordeal-post, it
was found that he exactly reached the requisite
height. His head just scraped the mark,
and he was, therefore, admitted a member of
the " Six Feet Club," with all the honours.

To return. Whatever may be the quantity
of sleep required, early rising is essential to
health, and promotes longevity. Almost all
men who have distinguished themselves in
Science, Literature, and the Arts have been
as Mr. Macnish states, early risers. The
industrious, the active minded, the enthusiast
in pursuit of knowledge or gain, are up
betimes at their respective occupations, while
the sluggard wastes the most beautiful period
of life in pernicious slumber. Homer, Virgil,
and Horace, are all represented as early
risers; the same was the case with Paley,
Franklin, Priestley, Parkhurst, and Buffon;
the last of whom ordered his servant to
awaken him every morning, and compel him
to get up by force if he evinced any reluctance,
for which service he was rewarded with a
crown each day, which recompense he
forfeited if he did not oblige his master to get
out of bed before the clock struck six.
Bishops Jewel and Burnet rose every morning
at four o'clock. Sir Thomas More did
the same thing. Napoleon was an early riser,
so were Frederick the Great and Charles the
Twelfth: so is her present Majesty; and so
are almost all the nobility in attendance
upon the Court. That early rising tends to
prolong life, appears to be clearly proved.
One of our most eminent Judges, Lord
Mansfield, was at the pains of collecting
some curious evidence on this subject. When
he presided in his judicial capacity over the
court, he questioned every very old person
who appeared at the Bar, respecting his
habits. "What age are you?" "What
sort of life have you led—often drunk, eh?"
"Please God," answered a man upwards of
ninety, " I have seldom gone to bed sober,"
and in fact it turned out that while some of
these veterans pleaded guilty to habitual
intemperance, and others on the contrary,
attested their uniform sobriety, all agreed
on one point that of having been early
risers. Nevertheless, the morning snooze, has
we confess, its temptations. Our readers will
remember Burns' pleasant little song.

"Up in the morning's, no for me,
Up in the morning early;
When a' the hills are cover'd wi' snaw,
I'm sure it's winter fairly."

Thomson, the author of "The Seasons," passed
a great portion oi his time in bed.

Dean Swift, we are told, lay in bed until
eleven o'clock every morning, to think of wit
for the day.

Sir Walter Scott observed, " I like to lie
simmering over things for an hour or so before
I get up and there's the time I am dressing
to overhaul my half-sleeping, half-waking
projet de Chapitre, and when I get the paper
before me, it commonly runs off pretty easily."
We have always considered the morning
toilette should be gone through very methodically,
and very deliberately; it is a ceremony
that should not be too hastily performed;
dining the operation of shaving in particular,
which ought always to be performed slowly,
many strange fancies, and thoughtful
suggestions may flit across the mind. It should,
however, be added that Sir Walter Scott
during the greater part of his life, rose by
five o'clock, and that his literary work was
chiefly accomplished before breakfast.

Early rising, if inculcated in youth, will in
after life become a habit; hence many persons
at whatever hour they retire to bed, will
awaken at the same hour the next morning.
The influence of habit on the discipline of
sleep is very remarkable. Persons accustomed
to sleep in the noisy thoroughfares of a town
are disturbed by the quietude of the country,
and complain that they cannot sleep for the
silence. The story is related of a miller, who
being very ill, his mill was stopped that he
might not be disturbed by its noise; but this
so far from inducing sleep prevented it
altogether, and it was not until the mill was
again set going, that he could compose
himself to sleep at all. So also the manager of
some vast Iron Works, who slept close to
them amid the din of hammers, forges, and
blast-furnaces, always awoke if there were
any cessation of the noise during the night.
If a person fall asleep listening to the ringing
of a church bell, he may remain conscious,
while sleeping, that it continues ringing, and
will be aroused by its suddenly stopping. We
also remember the anecdote of an old