and in
high northern latitudes, this would be devoting an unreasonable portion
of time to sleep. It would hardly do to sleep three or four months. But
in all countries, and in all climates, we should try to sleep half our
hours before midnight.

6. The person who, instead of going to bed at nine, sits up till
eleven, and then sleeps during two hours of daylight the following
morning, is grossly negligent of economy. For, suppose he makes this
his constant practice, during his whole _business_ life, say fifty
years. The extra oil or tallow which he would consume would not be
estimated at less than one cent an evening; which, in fifty years would
be $182.50. Not a very large sum to be sure; but, to every _young_ man,
worth saving; since, to a community of 1,000 young men, the amount
would be no less than $182,500. Then the loss in health and strength
would be far greater, though it is obvious that it cannot so easily be
computed.

7. Once more. If an hour's sleep before midnight is worth more than an
hour in the morning, then an hour in the morning is of course worth
less than an hour before midnight, and a person must sleep a greater
number of hours in the morning to obtain an equal amount of rest. A
person retiring at eleven and rising at eight, would probably get no
more rest, possibly less, than a person who should sleep from nine to
five;--a period one hour shorter. But if so, he actually loses an hour
of time a day. And you well know, if Franklin had not told you so, that
_time is money_.

Now, if we estimate the value of this time at ten cents an hour for one
person in four, of the population of the United States--and this is
probably a fair estimate--the loss to an individual in a year, or 313
working days, would be $31.30; and in 50 years $1,565. A sum sufficient
to buy a good farm in many parts of the country. The loss to a
population equal to that of the United States, would, in fifty years,
be no less than five thousand and eighty-six millions of dollars!

But this is not the whole loss. The time of the young and old is beyond
all price for the purposes of mental and moral improvement. Especially
is this true of the precious golden hours of the morning. Think, then,
of the immense waste in a year! At twelve hours a day, more than a
million of years of valuable time are wasted annually in the United
States.

I have hitherto made my estimates on the supposition that we do not
sleep too much, in the aggreg