Rensselaer Union, Volume 9, Number 27, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 22 March 1877 — From Twelve to One. [ARTICLE]

From Twelve to One.

To the workman, “ from twelve-tarme” means lunch, a newspaper aqd rest—per-, haps a dive into a restaurant and a hurried meal. For the apprentice it is Ae awpl, lowing of a sandwich and a piece of pie, 1 with an hour’s loafing. To the business man Of Ae cities it may I 'mean lunch ti&e near the middle of Ae day’s lahor, we will let it represent Ac noonday meal, the noonday rest and Ae smronndings. Easing is the most imbeirtant of the duties which have‘to be performed during this midday feat. We had afmost written, pleasure for duty, but to apply the term pleasure to eating, performed as ■ she American too frequently does it, would.be an absurdity. We are hardly free, from, Ae imputation that dyspepsia is the American disease, and although of late, years Ae improvement Tn boA qoaiity and variety of Ae food we eat has done wonders for our National' digestion, it will he many years before Ais disease is reduced to its normal limit#..! . i+. -> -:!q In Ae shop, at Ae restaurant, or wbetJ ever Ae meal fa taken, it should be eaten slowly and lefaurely, as Aough it were a pleasure to be! enjoyed. The alderiqaqii; indignation at having "swallowed that mouAful of turtle wiAout gettmgL the full flavor of }V’ is rieht #nd,pronej. and, might form a text for a sermon upon eating. As a contrast to this, many meiShtwefc discovered that if a person eats steadily and continually for five minutes, he has taken in about all thq nourishment that he can bear. .The ill effects of food takeb in Ais Way are so great and far-reaching ,'that we cannot here speak of them. As we said before, it is desirable to enioy the irpoarible!^^ wonderful aid to digestion. As Ae rule, the jovial h#ve the best digestioh.j While good digestionwhelps to makefial man happy, jollity will dp ponders toward’making a dinner " sit well upon! Ae stomach.” ““ i To the business man, Ae relaxation at ! noon mar be exceedingly valuable if made an absolute rest frofn. business cares, and noAlng will so effectually do Ais as conversation. Next to Ais is pleasant reading, interesting and light; for brain and body both need rest when Ae stomach is at work. Probably If the Spanish custom of a nap after the Monday meal ' wete adopted, we should be gainers by it; qs it is not, we most make Ae pest of our present customs. To commence severe manuah or mental labor, , the moment lunch is over should be dfar couraged. It is alipost aa bad in its effeetr as haste in eating. ,

•' To the working man; the lunch time can be made both valuable and pleasant; especially when the lunch is taken in,ti*e shop. Instead ;of glamly fzdttlng xw in a corner and bolting his tihiof :tea and the contents of thp dinner-pail, he should make more of a' social affair qf .lt. He wjll plways find his Companions re ady to bear him cOmjpany, if he manifest a desire to be sociable. Something at once interesting and profitable can be found for discussion, and the thouskn(f and one conundrums of the (rade brought up for Solution. -> At such time this 1 pyentiee should come in’ for .his sharS, and, if werkmen-we kim! and boys show any- aptness for learning; a great deal of good can be done with the spare time of the hour at noont * In spiallcr shops, th weather when play fe not when Work is hard | And rest u> needed, reading' is'ff resourdfe'tipon which Ohe can fan for amusement*. We do not mean tire dime novel, JU. pleasure ana profit are to be combined, ■ something should he taken up that has a bearing upon the frade; if jt is desired to, have light literature, stories, novels and the likej’bv all meaha let them be !firstclass. The injury done by reading r'eaily first-class woVks Of fiction is, very flight, and when a person has acquired a taste 1 , it there isvery llttle dtogtjr bf harm from the cheap trash. At the present time good literature is as easily afctbssi-' ble as poor,-and an employer, could hot 1 do better for the young men undelr his care than, to -place their -reaeh a ■cheap, well-seleeted ’library b# •standard works. The cost of such a library ,is at tiie present time small, and the labor of getting it.togetker.a mere nothing. Some mffnufacturers that ye ; know regulaHy: 'suppfy their workmen with books and have the best of uses;fpr their, hour at noon, in reading, the. euwnt. literature or lh studying nooks, for the discounts obtained for them,.they would hard- 1 ly benble tofafford. 1i e i-. . •<’

Fof these means of improvement'the manufacturer, the proprietor, superintendent cr foreman of the shop is responsible. The men, even if they thought of such things, would hardly propose it;, but,they, are usually very willing to improve any opportunity of the,, sort whicJM* offwpdi to them. But whether 1t be WOfkftieh br Hatnploycr, the question of the'hottr be- ' tween twelve and one is worth thinking about. Is 4t as pleasantly end ehe«r|u*iy spent as bfcT Are as mucßTrest andcomfbrt gahfed fttaih ft W afe desirablurt Ina Word.'eiih any imsftivemt&t be made in it that Will 'increase otfrpleasure, onr knowledge or oof health ? lrknch improvement can be secured, certainly 4 great effort should bp made for its atMnment. — Iron Age. * J iVfbOa SAftl .. NT b^adh^hilh^eirty^uS 6 and rendered twenty-five years of his own life miserable before he discarded it.