The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1908-09-04


hardened 1t We Id not respond to a
larger environment.
Can anything be more incongruous
on this glorious, glad earth. than the
picture Of a worrying child, a child
with a sad face. human rosebud
blighted before it has chace to open
up its petals, and fling out its beauty
and fragrance?
Somebody has sinned and is res
ponsible for this blight, this blasting
Of promise, this chilling Of hope, this
strangling Of possibility.
Childhood should be sunny. Clouds
do not belong to childhood. Joy, beau
ty. exuberance, enthusiasm, bouyancy,
belong to childhood. A sad, worrying
child, child who has no childhood, is
a disgrace to civilization.
What has a child to do with the
past or the future? It should live in
the glad, joyous now. To fill the
hour with happiness, with gladness,
this is the child's life.
Enemies Of Dyspepsia and 'Blues.'
I know a family with whom it is a
perfect joy to dine. The members Of
this family vie with one another in
seeing who can say the brightest, wit
tiest, funniest things and tell the best
stories during dinner. Dyspepsia and
nagging are unknown there.
The announcement Of dinner should
be the signal for jolly good time.
Make the dinner hour the brightest,
cheerfulest, most sunshiny hour Of
the whole day. Fine all "knockers"
and every one who appears with a
long face. Laughter an1 fun are the
enemies Of dyspepsia i the blues. ="
The home ought to be a sort Of
theater for fun and all sorts Of
sports-a place where the children
should take the active parts, al
though the parents should come in
for a share too. Don't Mr.. Business
or Mr.. Professional Man, cast a gloom
over your home just because things
have gone wrong during the day!
Your wife and children have troubles
Of their own. They have a right to
expect that YOU will contribute some
thing besides vinegar to the dinner
hour and the evening.
Did not Lycurgus set up the god Of
laughter in the Spartan eating-halls
because he thought there was no
sauce like laughter at meals?
The constantly increasing success
of the vaudeville playhouses and 9TH
er places Of amusement all over this
country shows the tremendous de-
mand in the human economy for fun.
Most people do not appreciate that
this demand must be met in some
form or the character will be warped
and defective.
FFLaugh until T come back" was a
noted clergyman's good-by" saluta-
tion. It is a good one for US all.
Many people make anything like
joy or happiness impossible by dwell
ing upon the disagreeable, or the sad
and the gloomy things Of life. They
always see the ugly, the crooked, the
wrong side Of things.
l once lived in clergyman's s fam
lily where I scarcely heard>a person
laugh in months. It seemed to be a
part of the inmates religion to wear
long faces, and to be sober-minded
and solemn. They did not have much
use for this world; they seemed to be
living for the world to come, and,
laugh, he would ,often remind me that
I had better be thinking Of my "lat-
ter end' preparing for death which
might come at any moment. Laughter
was considered frivolous, worldly,
and. as for playing in the house, it
would not be tolerated for an instant.
The Religion Of Cheerfulness.
The time has gone by when long
faced. too-sober, too-serious people
shall dominate the world. Melancho-
ly, solemnity used to be regarded as a
sign of spirituality, but it is now
looked upon as the imprint Of NOR
bid mind. There is no religion in it.
True religion is full Of hope, sun
shine, optimism, and cheerfulness. It
is joyous and glad and beautiful.
There is no Christianity in the ugly,
the discordant, the sad. The religion
which Christ taught was bright,
cheerful, and beautiful. The sun