Temporal Gain of Physical Rest.
By Editor
THE following bit of experience shows that the design of the Creator in giving man a weekly rest was a most beneficent arrangement, and that those who imagine they are making a sacrifice by observing the Sabbath, are certainly blinded by selfishness even to their own temporal loss. We give this to illustrate the point indicated in the heading, without reference to the proper day for rest "according to the commandment." The commandment itself settles that point. "As every one knows, before the overland railroad was built, all immigration across the plains was by teams of horses, mules, or oxen, which obtained their subsistence from the grass that grew not too plentifully along the route. Having passed beyond the limits of civilization, and having left churches and religious institutions behind, the restraints of Sunday were soon forgotten by most travelers, and all days were alike employed in a diligent march onward. The company of which I was a member, however, halted for one or two Sundays. Stopping one day near where several of the routes converged, one of our company counted one hundred and ninety-seven teams that passed during the day. The idea of losing our advance position (for we had started early in the season), and week by week getting further behind, was not relished. The best of the grass, if not all of it, would be used up by those ahead of us. The absence of any religious services and other reasons were adduced against stopping, and those who were in favor of resting were in the minority. But after the day's rest, on resuming our journey next morning, we were not a little surprised at the rapid gait of our teams as compared with those of other companies. In two days we had overtaken and passed more teams than had passed us while we rested; and all the week through we added to the number. When the next Sunday came around every voice was for resting all day, and so we continued all the way through. I afterward compared notes with other similar trains that traveled every day, and learned that not only were they weeks longer in performing their journey, but that they had lost many of their cattle and horses in crossing the last desert, while the rest were disabled when they arrived at their journey's end, because in so poor a condition. Ours, on the other hand, arrived in good condition, and readily sold for good prices."