Daily Yellowstone journal., 1888-05-26
THE VIRTUES OF LAUGHTER.
Country ~schoOlboys Turned Loose-Laugh
ing All Over-shouting Happy.

Country Schoolboys Turned Loose-Laugh-
ing All O~ver-shouting Happy.
Now 60 to n school house in the coun-
try where the youngsters are let loose
pell nell. Out they come with a rush,
and every throat is doing its utmost to
add to an uproar Of sounds. Part of it
is a bedlam of words. part a pure set of
yelps like my dog. They run hither and
thither, and stand on one leg. They eIrn
handsprings, and do a dozen impulsive
things that have mother purpose than to
express happiness. | do not think it is
any disgrace to the chaps so say it is an
overflow Of animal spirits, and in a way
very much as my dog expresses himself.
l should be glad if my uwn condition
ceuld be more generally Of the same sort.
Only there is no denying that if boys be
allowed TO shout as they will they become
shocking nuiSances. Nes. Young gents.
you are q legitimate product Of vitality,
bu, one can't LEI YOU shout the top If his
hea or. On the whole, if they viii let
you lose, you will SoOu run quiet. BOYS
are q good deal like spouting gcy.ers-
noisy and quiet by turns. But if " g had
never outgrown this boy period, and
could get on without philosophizing, and
printing, and editing newspapers, and
doing 70 many other exhausting things!
All, yes If. But we did not stop at the
right point, but went on into what we
call ripe years, There has been too much
evolution. We should have been satisfied
at the shouting happy point.
The object Of language Of all sorts
seems TO be to express satisfaction or dis
tress, JOY or grief. Far back Of print
Give man, indeed at the very origin Of
life, there was some method Of express
ing satisfaction and dissatisfaction. When
the head was established and vOcaliza-
ton achieved a great deal Of language
wa left distributed all over the body.
When n person Is thoroughly happy the
tongue is altogether insufficient TO tell Of
it. Laughter is a remnant Of tie old sort
of language, only we have a facial laugh
ter that often supersedes a real az over
laughter. But ] know a few men who
always laugh from top TO toe. There is
the shaking laugh, that is lkened to
the culver in q bowl of good, thick set
Jelly, When it begins it goes in ripples
from side TO side, and perpetual motion
seems absolutely to have set in. And
there Is the roaring laughter that throws
the practitioner into commissions until he
must hold his sides and gasp for breath.
A really good Laughter Isl healthy man
4 have seen many a patient cured by O
good story. / have in mind one who
was in n respondent melancholy that had
brooded over him for weeks. A cat had
nestled by his side, and he inyoluntarily
had stroked it. Pussy turned up her
nose 20 touch his hand. when a flash Of
electricity leaped from il, and pussy was
both shocked, confoundcl and insulted.
Drawing back in great dignity. and with
an appearance Of vast intellectual amaze
ment, she gave him two cults Of a de-
cided sort and stalked Oft. Tho man in
stantly broke into a laugh, and as he ok
pressed IL, couldn't stop" His whole
system reacted from depression. He
laughed till he was sore; and WINS cured.
OF course there Is liable 20 be a touch Of
the hysterical about such q break up; but
10 will do no harm. Irecommcnd laugh
ter as n preventive against disease, and
ms a cure for illness Of both body and
mind. Children should be encouraged 10
laughter. They should be taught 10
laugh loudly. strongly and oil over.
laughing can become a matter Of educa-
tion as well as talking or singing. Have
them stand up, with their hand on their
hips, and begin. IL Is a capital exercise.
You need only start the roar. Il Is
catching. As soon rs one urchin has ex.
ploded the rest viii be at II. IL viii run