The San Francisco call., 1905-01-08
MADGE MOORE

r.. Y far more than gold, silver or pre-
.Gious stones. II is something that
Iadiates and sends out glittering,
. cleaning beams Of light and sunshine.
and ii does it in such an offhand, un-
pretentious sort OF way that 1t is dou-
. h:e JOY forever.
Yet 70 be cheerful under all circum-
stances is neither sensible nor kind
There are times when real sorrow has
knocked at the door of the heart for
.adnMttance and on such occasions il is
far better to steal quietly away, for the
sound of laugh, or smiling, happy
face, makes the very soul shudder and
g the heart turn to its sorrow with more
bitterness than ever.
Those who are so light hearted that
they can not suppress their joy and
still continue to bubble over in the
presence oe real grief are more out of
place and infinitely more cruel than
the morbid ones who persist in bringing
their sour looks and speeches into
places of joy, for while one depresses
apd casts its gloom about in shadows,
the other cuts with all the sharpness Of
q two-edged knife.
= The dismal wet-blanket, who always
feels it her bounden duty to throw a.
?damper over every one and every thing
with her mournful voice and utterly
woe-begone face. can be unceremoni-
ously hustled out of the way or threat
::ened with the tickling process employed
H. - 3 al hut ic
e. absolutely no remedy for the imp OF
cheerfulness and mirth who skips
about at all sorts of untimely hours
and places with never thought for the
convenience or feelings of any one but
itself.
scores of people who imagine they have
. more trials and tribulations than any
zone else in the length and breadth of
.the land and they are ever ready to
. make mountains out of mole hills. No
E. matter what one might say or do, it
would be ali the same and nothing
could be just exactly right. IT one
laughed hard feelings would be prompt
ly stored up against one for being call
lous and entirely without sympathy,
sand If, on the other hand, one cried.
=. the same hurt feelings would be care
fully done up in lavender to be aired at
sonse future day.
There are people who are aggressive
ly hopeful and cheerful, but, alas and
alack, that is only when the shoe
pinches the other fellow. 1t is far
easier and ever so much more comfort
ing to take a light view of others sor-
Ian IN nd
time battling over them. but these self
same people are quick enough to cry
aloud to The gods and tear their. hair in
their frenzy when grief stops at their
own door. They entirely forget that all
sorts and conditions of trials should be
taken as joke "as long it 1t won't do
ANY particular amount of good to go
about crying over IT, and they forget
THAT one should take 1t easy, because
everything will come out all right in
the end, any way"
:: Surely it is the better way to scatter
sunshine as one goes along, but there
= is decided knack in knowing just how
E: and when to scatter 1t. Many and
:. many well-meant kindness is a mis-
taken one, and really does much more
harm than good. For instance, there is
q custom, and an abominable one it is,
too, of going to cheer up the family"
In home that has been visited by the
angel Of death. In trying to cheer UP
the family, nine out of ten people sue
oeed In being a cheerful fool and q
nuisance in the bargain, for real sor-
= row Is something that time alone can
heal, and 1t Is little short Of sacrilege
: to edter such a home and TRANQUILITY
point out the utter folly Of this, that
and the other thing.
Yet this little imp OF cheerfulness is
. many. many times the advance agent
Of kindness and tenderness. 1t really
: isn't the big things of life that count
30 much as 1t Is the little, everyday
happenings. The big sorrows are 30
= overwhelming and 30 great that one
:, usually manages to rise above them.
): but 1t Is the petty trifies that vex the
soul and cause the pleasure of the day
TO be marred.
. There Is not a household but has need
OF. little more sunshine not a home
but that would be happier for little
more cheer. The girl who has certain
tasks to perform about the house can
radiate feeling Of Joy If she sings as
she dusts, instead Of grumbling and
knocking the bric-a-brac about in a
reckless fashion. Maybe she doesn't
enjoy IL, but just as long as 1t must be
done, why not do it cheerfully and with
as good grace as is possible.
1t certainly is not pleasant to have
one of the family pull nearly every hair
out Of ores head during the process of
shampoo, but on the other hand, it is
not an especially enjoyable task in the
first place. and If one Is willing to put
F.: down good book and dive into the
mysteries Of hair-washing, the least re-
: ward one is entitled to is silence.
Re!ng sensitive and being surly are
just as different as day is from night.
The girl who inlagines every little
. laugh is at her expense or that every
knowing glance is aimed to ridicule her
is indeed unfortunate. but does she
gain anything by crawling into the cor
ner and freezing up like flrst-class
.icebergy At first she feels hurt, then
angry and then revengeful, but during
all these processes she is nothing more
or less than the despised wet blanket,
for as long as she is unhappy she wills
that others shall be wrapped in the
same. drab-colored covering of gloom.