Southern sentinel. [volume] (Plaquemine, Parish of Iberville [La.]) 1848-1858, 1851-11-01
AN Apology fer Mirth.

There is 4 class of people in the world who
deem an apology necessary for the indulgence
! IN mIrjhtuiucss! These are a set of beings
! into whose souls no single ray Of sunshine ever
entered, and who viii live and die and rot in
/ d;rlncss--desp;te the beauty and joy and hap
| piness with which Nature so proIusev sur
! rounds them. s- ..
II has always seemed to us, that the good
Ilumor Of life is y social Kaleidoscope whose
hues and phases are as beautiful, as brilliant
as varied, and as infinite rs are the numberless
! tints Of the rainbow. Its proper and just ap
probation renders its pusscssor alive to all the
most liberal Influences Of his day and genera.
tonInd enables him TO look upon human ma
turc, in al lis bearings, iTom the very pinnacle
of love, aud charity, and bencticcnce.
For the errors and folies Of character, your
true humorst entcrtains 4 laughing, but philo-
sophical and kindly indulgence. He is pre-
disposed to tolerate the ioiblcs Of mankind !,
for, he is thus inclined to love his species bet
ter--and his good humor will prompt him to
disscct and make bare, with Judgment and
precision, the moral differences between men
and acts. as
Caricature simply portrays mans faults and
his eccentricties, for the sake of rdcule;
while honest humor presents to our gaze only
-,
heaven born quality 1t is the very essence
of the mind, for it originates in the brain and
the heart. 1t svmpathises with our best ma
turc, it enriches where it is felt, it looks ten
derIy and lovingly on all the imperfectons OF
life, and is ever earnest in its affections.
-"lt is twice blessed 1t besseth
Him that gives and him that takes:
And doth become the throned monarch
Even better than his crown ~
True--it often turns our weaknes and er
rors into temporary merriment; but never will
Iingly stabs, or intentionally leayesa scar.
Dickens declares that it is something even
to look upon enjoyment so that il be free and
wild. and in the face of nature, though it may
be the enjoyment Of an idiot 1t is something
to know that heaven has left the capacity Of
gladness in such a creatures breast--it is
something to be assured that however lightly
men may crush that faculty in their fellows,
the great Creator Of Mankind mparts it even
to his despscd and slighted work. Who would
not rather see poor idiot happy in the sun
light than 4 wise man pining in darkened
Jail l.!
Ye men Of gloom and austerity, who paint
the face of Infinite Benevolence with an eter.
nal troWn, read in the everlasting book wide
open to your view, the lesson it would teach
It's pictures are not in the black and sombre
hucs, but bright and glowing tints-its music.
save when you drown it, is not in sighs and
groans, but cheerful sounds Listen to the
million voices in the summer air, and find one
dismal as your own. Remember, if ye can,
the sense of hope and pleasure which every
glad return of day awakens in the breast of all
your kind, who have not changed their nature
and learn some wisdom even from the wit
less, when their hearts are filled up, they know
not why, by all the mirth and happiness it
brings-Am Union. ... ...-.en.n.