New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1873-12-14

stufhng, vote selling and leSlslatlV'
bribery was not taught in the school O.
Slidell can scarcely be acquired in an!
other.
LAUGHTER---A SUNDAY SUGGESTION
A clear, ringing, hearty laugh is usually
a sign of health, mental, moral and physi
cal. The cynic does not laugh, at most he
grins; the fool does not laugh, he giggles
the rascal does not laugh, he snorts; the
invalid does not laugh, or if he does it is
| an indica ton of convalescence. Laughter
is the bubbling up beyond the surface Of
that fountain of youth which springs
perennially in the depths of every unde-
PRAYED heart; often choked under the rub.
Dish of worldly cares, but having potency
to burst its way through all impediments
at the call of genuine humor. The breath
of everyday life to the young the gay, the
high of spirits, to the old, the sad, the
careworn, laughter is cordial, luxury
for the thorough enjoyment of which they
would barter literally OF their dearly
bought wealth or more dearly bought e1-
perlence Even bufoonery is enjoyed
sometimes by the wisest, although the
laughter it causes is OF the lowest sort.
That laughter is remedial in its agency
is well known, and among the most
amusing anecdotes that are found in the
funny columns of the country press are
stories about cures effected by its means
At the risk Of being set down as re-
peater on 'old Joe Miller, we Will repro
duce one:
An old lady, wife of worthy Scotch
deacon, was dying OF the quinsy. Her
friends and attendants acting on the popu-
lar belief that laughter is a specific for that
painfIl disease, had rackeG their brains for
jokes, but to no purpose.
'Is there no hope = said the affected hus-
band to the attending physician. ''None,"
was the reply. I've have tried everything
but can not make her laugh Have you
tried her wi a compliment, mon ?"
THIS absurd suggestion Effected what the
stale jokes OF ner Jealous attendants had
failed to do; it hit the suffering womans
SSns6 VI tue luulcFoUS, so tllaL enc Duf5C OUT
laughing and was cured.
This sense, like Ill spontaneous emo
tons, acts sometimes in an eccentric
manner. Some people can not restrain
their laughter at seeing another fall. If
serious injury is the result, their laughter
is quickly silenced, but the first impulse
is irresistible, and they always yield to it,
even if the person falling should be aged
and venerable, farther or mother.
Others will laugh at misfortune which
brushes at blow their cherished hopes
The incongruity between the greatness of
their expectations and the simple means
by which they have been destroyed
strikes them In numerous manner as
something laugable, and laugh they must.
There was. once young husband whose
hopes of remunerative employment were
centered upon a frail building gradually
going UP il a neighboring lot. He had
calculated upon various small pieces OF
paper the rapidly increasing income
which was to accrue to him from the very
date of his installation therein. One
night the winds arose and the rain fell;
and the next morning when the young
couple looked as usual toward their tenn
pie Of fortune, 10, it was not there. Like
Aladdin's palace it had disappeared
during tie night. The wife burst out
laughing 1t reminded her of Alnas-
chars basket of glassware, of the milk
maids pail and other similar tricks of
that tantalizing jade, Fortune. The hus-
band could not see the fun.
In like manner, unexpected good for
tune sometimes rouses the risibles, but not
often. It is serious thing to be happy.
The patriarch Abraham, however, it may
be remembered, laughed outright on re-
ceiving in his old age the Divine promise
that Sarai, his wife, should conceive and
bear him a son. He thought it good
joke. Sarai thought so, too, and laughed
as heartily as her husband. Hagar did
not laugh. Thus what inspires one per-
son with mirth will be grave matter to
another. 1t depends upon the point of
view.
There are various kinds Of laughter
The child's laugh, ripping on the parents
ear and falling like music Oh his heart;
the girls laugh, trinkling, thrilling, it'll
ating, holding the idle pnsser-by so that
be must stop and listen whether he would
Of no; the ever-ready "ha! hat of the fun
loving youth; the affected ''he! her' of the
firt; the hearty ''ho! ho!'' of
the uncultivated rustic; and the senile
'sWLu. whu" Of the asthmatic octogena-
rian. Besides these may be reckoned the
1proarious laugh Of oyer-feasted convi-
vialists, prepared by their swarm, cham
oagne-y brandy punch-y feeling to break |
out into noisy merriment at everything
md anything having the semblance Of a
oke; the brutal cachination of coarse |
minded debauchees over an indecent allu- |
sion, and the ruminant laugh, trickling |
from one Of sluggish risi-
oilities long after the jest which gave it
birth has been forgotten by the rest Of tie |
company.
We have already alluded to the cura-
i've qualities of laughter in physical all |
nents, but it is likewise true that its
fleets are equally sanitive in mental |
Elections. Make a hypochondriac laugh |
md he is cured. There is no attack of |
niger (and surely that is disease of the |
nind) that can Withstand the process of |