Bent County register., 1888-07-07
Laughter and Smiles.
ny GRO. BUCKLEY.

haEiHtAt 70 HIS silstiI portion Of lie"
Men and women have various ways of
laughing, and am inclined to think thai
IN many cases it is almost as clear an in
dex of character and disposition as car be
deduced from phrenology or any other sci
ence.
| shall not, however, enter into scien-
ttiic dissertation on the subject, nor try to
explain why man laughs, nor how he
laughs.
One thing we know-that man does
laugh; and Button, or Cuvier, or some one
else, has said that he is the only animal
that laughs.
In all our intercourse with dumb ami
mails, perhaps not one OF Us ever saw ang-
thing like smile, or heard anything like
laugh amongst them. They have va
Tious ways of showing their happiness and
gratitude; but the beamIng eye the smil-
ny lip and the joyous peal belong not to
tuem.
The horse neighs in anticipation of his
oats but have seen some human beings
do the same thing rs they filed OF to din
ner to the tune Of The roast beef OF Mer-
rie England
The nIastiff wags his tail when his mas
ter pats him on the head that may be his
way of laughing, and . very quiet and SEN
sible way it is.
The hog gives short, spasmodic grunt-
Of appreciation, when he buries his nose
in his food-a rather unpoctical laugh, no
doubt; but for all tliar, | have known
some fat old gentlemen who laughed some
what in the sImc manner-deep and gut
terally-like the rolling intonations of dis
tAnt thunder.
/ am not quite certain whether bears.
tigers, or hyenas laugh or not; they show
their teeth at all events, but not in very
pleasing manner, / believe.
The laughter OF the birds is music-sweet
s the smile of childhood and pure Us tine
song Of angels; in grova and in bower they
carol forth their happ,iess, calling all ma
ture to witness that their little hearts arc
overilowing with jog.
The red-breast from his yellow beak
Tfills out the JOY lie cannot speak"
"Chick-a-de-dcem cries out one little fcl-
low not bigger than a thimble, and anon he
is answered by another little jay from
neighboring bush, with whom he is play
ing bo-peep.
Far away in the glens and woods of
fatherland the cuckoo gladdens hearts OF
old and young with his pleasant voice:
Sweet bird thy bower is ever green,
Thy sky is ever clear
Thou hast no sorrow in thy song,
No winter i'll thy year"
do not know how it may be with some
people; but to me the mention of the
word Cuckoo brings visions Of hNppy
days and fairy scenes long pass'd aSay,
when | wandered truant and alone, DER
hills aud through valleys nelodious with
the song Of birds.
But what in the name of folly, you may
ask, "has all this to do with laughter ?"
You know it is hard to speak of birds,
babies or bonnets without getting senti-
mental and feeling kind of all-overish-
ness about ones self. Why | once heard
of man who spent a whole week apostro-
phizing a kid-glove he had picked up, un-
der the impression that the owner of it was
charming creature with golden tresses,
rosy lips, pearly teeth and all that sort of
thing; but after all, she turned out to be
"colored person." with fiat, cartilagin-
Gus nose, and most excruciatins heels and
to crown all, an old woman called him
DAT loon"
Laughter, like language, is the preroSa-
tive of the human family; it enables us
to express our Joy and approval, and some
times our hate, more completely than by
words alone.
3Ifere's a sigh for those who love me,
"And n smile for those who hate
laughter is the safety-valve to the pent
mn happiness of the heart; it is visible
uanifestation of the thinking mind; the
electric fash of passing thought-the lam
| Suage of love, and the chord that more
| closely binds friendship.
Conversation derives half its charms
| from the smiles that accompany it; wit
and repartee, no matter how Brilliant,
would be powerleSs to please II We could
| not see each other sni4Ie and hear each
other laugh; social intercourse would be
dull and insipid if we could not indulge
in hearty laugh once in while.
Just observe what happy effect the ar
rival of some folly visitor will have on
whole family when he enters with broad
grin of delight upon his face, and good ma
ture in every tone of his voice. The little
cnes all catch the smile and old grandpa,
| in his arm chair beside the fire, welcomes
the stranger With laughing tones, and the
whole house rings with merriment. They
cannot help themselves; laughter IS con-
/ tagious, and infects all who come within
| its happy influence.
| Lord Chesterfield condemned audible
laughter as being vulgar but how can we
help ourselves from bursting into round
Of haw-haws, when our neighbor is well
nigh bursting with fun?
| Laughter" says DR.. Johnson is CON
vulsive merriment;;n and / agree with him,
| for when one does get fairly started to
laugh. it is hardly in his power to pull
up.S have seen people-and dare say
you have seen people-laugh until the
tears streamed from their eyes, and their
faces swelled and became of purple hue
from what might be called an agony OF
| fun
There are various ways of laughing and
am ling in the world, and 1 will now men
tion and endeavor to illustrate some of
them.
The smile of the sleeping infant is per
laps the purest of all smiles. Wrapt IN
innocent slumbcr, smiles break over its
face without a seeming cause, and from
this is derived the beautiful idea that in
fnnts hold converse with the angels. You
have all heard or read the beautiful lyric
] of the ANGELS Mhisper, in which the poet