The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1897-02-11
Written for The Prison Mirror.
THE TRUE LAUGH,

The feelings which give rise to
laughter are as varied and numerous
as the individuals indulglng in each
outburst, or the kind of laughter which
we meet with in daily life. We need
not waste time in theorizing, but at
once endeavOr to arrive at some COM
mon sense and practical deductions
from the study of laughter as an in
dication of character. The general
character of the Individual may, as
rule, be pretty correctly inferred from
the nature of his or her laugh-and,
therefore, be considered as tolerably
safe standard for our choice of friends.
The man or woman who never
laughs is a creature to be avoided and
pitied. They are usually the victims
of disappointed ambition, of hopeless
love, of abortive schemes or detected
conspiracies, or the perpetrators of
premeditated wrong against the COM
munity of which they form a part.
Sullen, misanthropical, lifeless, they
hold themselves aloof from their fel-
lows, and view every thought, word
and incident with jaundiced eye, and
see neither good nor pleasure in this
world and it's surrOundings-they are
the parasites of the human race; and,
devoid of all right feeling or generous
impulses, are equally dangerous and
treacherous, whether as friend or fOe
The malicious or cruel laugh is, alas,
but too common among us. Neither
age nor social status is exempt from its
exhibition. The boy or youth who
practices cruelty on the helpless and
inoffensive insect, animal, or fellow
creature for the mere pleasure of wit
Messing its suffering; the individuals
who laugh at the antics of the rum
craZed inebriate, at the misfOrtunes Of
the aged or crippled, or at the moral
downfall Of their companions or ac
quaintances, are human mOnstrOsities,
unworthy of classification as men or
woman, and afford unmistakable ev-
licences of what their own future will
be.
What striking contrast to the hoI
low, ghOstly chuckle usually accorded
by would-be fashionable people to the
conversation of a visitor or acquaint-
ance to a current society" scandal or
ill.natured criticism! The bona fide
honest laugh betrays it's genuineness by
the appreciative sparkle Of the eye and
the beaming good humor which per-
vades the features
A really wicked man seldom laughs,
and when he does so, it resembles the
CHASTITY grin of deaths head" HUI
NOR is not the attribute Of the cruel or
the impure; and humor of the genuine
sort is next to the divine attribute in
any nature A person who has real
sense of humor-such as that por,
trayed in Dickens Incompatible
sketches of the Wellers, Mrs. Nickleby,
the Brothers Cheeryble, Tom Pinch,
Mark Tapley, Pickwick, etc.-will not
usually laugh at the wrong thing. A
questionable or improper story has no
charm for such. Vice and impurity
cannot thrive under the genial, mellow
ing influence of humorous, laughter
loving nature. Men and women en-
dowed with this choice attribute can
not act unkindly, either to their fellow
creatures or to the brute creation. They
will step out of their way to avoid
crushing toiling ant, and their SYM
pathetic tears for others ills are quite
as ready as their laughter and joy at
others good fortune. T.G.