The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1889-02-20
HOW TO BE HAPPY.
Where the Source of True Happi-
ness Lies.
If You Would Enjoy Contentment Strive
to Make Others Happy, for Selfish
ness Is Verify tho Father
of Discomfort.

"Give us, 0 give us the man who
sings at his work." says Carlyle. ''Be
his occupation what it may, he is equal
to any of those who follow the same
pursuit in silent sullenness. He will
do more in the same time-he will do
it better-he will persevere longer.
Wondrous is the strength Of cheerful
ness, altogether past calculation its
powers of endurance. Efforts to be
permanently useful must be uniformity
.joyous-a spirit all sunshine-grace-
full from very gladness-beautiful be-
cause bright" 1t is the old story:
A merry heart goes all the day,
Your sad tires in mile-a!
1t is easy enough to have this ''mer-
ry heart" when all goes we'll. But to
keep it through all the ups and downs
of this changeable world-that is the
triumph. Yet our happiness is great
ly in our own hands; and on the cult
walton of the CHEEKY spirit depends our
usefulness to others.
About being killed by troubles, ole
Dr.. johnson once said a queer thing.
He heard of Lady Somebody-or-Other
who was left a widow and died of
broken heart; and he said if she had
been poor woman with nine children
she would have been still alive. The
case would have been worse, but the
end would have been better. He knew
enough of human nature to know that
occupation is strength, and that we
shall outlive Fortunes worst if we live
for others.
We are dealing, however, not with
great griefs, which must have their
season, but with human unhappiness in
general. 1t is neither affection nor
hardship that keeps most men and
women unhappy. The game is not
worth the candle, they say, when
nothing troubles them except the
burden of themselves. The cultured
ask: 1s life worth livingP" The
rich and educated have imported the
word eneui for their own exclusive
use. Sensitive, highly strung, nervous
natures, with the greatest capacity for
happiness, have also the keenest sense
OF the want of it. Even the power of
amusing others seems to be no safe
guard for mans own cheerfulness.
We all know the story of the doctor
advising his patient to cheer himself
up by going to see Grimaldi the clown,
and the patient saying: "Sir, / am that
unhappy man."
The close union of mind and body is
shown above all things in this-that
sadness may be caused by disease, but
it may also produce several different
diseases. Illness and melancholy seem
to work in circle. 1t is the doctor S
best hope that his patient will make
an effort of cheerfulness and courage,
and then in many cases of illness the
charmed circle is broken, health re-
turns, and the cheerfulness that was
assumed soon becomes real and true by
habit. Mark Tapley, we may be sure,
did not suffer from nerves." and very
few people do, who have formed the
custom of looking at the bright side of
every thing and despising small wor-
res On the other hand, healthy
oheeriulness is more difficult for some
.i'eo 'nan Tor others. Punch was right
III answering; us life worth livinppn
by saying it depended on the liver.
pun perfect enough to make Char,es
Lamb turn in his grave
But suppose there is health and still
not happiness, what are we to think
dealing as we are, all the time, with
the discomfort of those who are free
from acute discomfort-the form of un.
happiness that overclouds countless
lives? We are to think simply that
they have not learned how to be
happy.
1t does not depend on the wisdom OF
books; is a practical matter of which
learned men are often profoundly
ignorant In what the boys call stiff
EXAM with happiness for the subject,
the great thinkers would nearly all be
piucked. Carlyle said some good
'nlngs about it, but gave no recipe for
making it. He said that if the nations
oomolned to make one shoeblack han
~ eney would fail; for If they gave
I'm I'm malt the world, he would begin to
M; n' me other half. He said like
was e' mat if but one precious thing
''0 taken away from what we DOS