El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1913-05-10
OId WorIdLearnsNewT ruth
Laughing Is Not sinful and JOY Il
Natural TO Healthy
Persons.
BY Madison c. Peter9-

'-By Madison c. Peterg-
A LAUGH is not a sin. nor loud
~ laugh a crime. nor long laugh
= an iniquity. There is an old
superstition that a heart full Of mirth
is a sign Of sin
That smiles and songs are better
than tears and signs. are new truths
this old world has Just begun to
learn.
A hypocrite is a man who tries to
be religious and can't, with prepond-
cant the most offensive IS the aIIecla-
ton Of sanctimOniOus sadness
joy Natural to Healthy Beings.
JOY is prominently natural TO
healthy beings, and especially is this
true Of youth There is not on earth
a more airy, light hearted, efferves-
cent creature, a brighter phantom fOf
delight than youth, as God made It
There is enough sorrow in the world as
il is. pleasUreless years. SOLDERING SOr-
rows Subduing cares. Christening trials
and. crushing anXieties viii come soon
enough and full fast enough viii the
nipples of mirth give way to wrinkles
of care, and the channels OF smiles
. become the burrows Of tears and this
! world needs all the mlrunIuIneSs Of
youth to brighten it.
But Iightheartedness IS one thing
f1ivOlity is another The one has been
likened to the elasticity Of the willow
which bends and rises in the gale. yet
ali the while keeps its root fast in the
ground and shoots It's branches higher
and higher toward the sky, the other
has been likened to the dance OF the
fallen leaf in the wind. Whirled~ round
and round, chased h1ther and hither,
with no fast hold upon anything, with
no purpose to fulfill falling at last
upon the river TO be borne out OF
sight
The blight of friTOlity is Selling up
on our brightest young men and young
women, killing aspirations for useful
service and wasting opportunities.
! This one uninterrupted round Of mer-
rymaking shows and vanities, that
charaCteriZes our time. calls to mind
Naljean's dream IN Les MiSera bleS."
Conscious Of his crime he slept and
sleep revealed TO him the death Of sin.
He dreamed he was at ROmainville, a
I little garden park near Paris, full Of
music, flowers and pleasure. AS he
IN his dream came TO this domain OF
revelry. the flowers and the trees andf
the very sky were all Of the color Cd
ashes Leaning against the wall he
found man at The the corner where tEo
streets met. Why IS all 50 still2"
The man seemed not to hear and made
no reply In amaZement FalJean wan
dered on through vacant rooms and
courts and gardens, all the color OF
ashes, and finding everywhere silence
by the fountains IN the paViliOnss
everywhere these silent men and WO-
men who had no answer to his cues
ton. In horror he endeavored TO fIy
from the eshen abode Oe terror, when,
looking back, he found all the inhabi-
tants of the lfeless town suddenly
clustering about him, crying DO you
know that you have been dead for a
long timer
With cry Vatican awakes and feels
his sin So we see in society dead men
and women, behind that silly laugh and
empty jest-dead men and dead women
walking. talking, testing, drinking,
Tasting. dead and vet aliVe-living
nd daad-nrrnmrr z0TTNna rNaa
seekers, as devoid Of any deep. earnest
purpose as the life Of the butterfly
that fits above the meadow
Amusements Should Be Restricted.
We are humanity recognizing the law
fitness OF innocent amusements in
pleasure parks. limited hours OF labor.
and public provision for the enjoyment
OF the people without cost. and the
sagaciOus church OF the future viii
study and combine to provide amply
wholesome recreation for all classes
But amusements TO answer their high
est ends must be fenced in with re-
trictive principles and the very words,
amusement recreation and relaxa-
tiOn- teach useful moral lessons
Amusement, a music, a temporary
turning away from the Muses., the
patrons Of poetry. music and art The
very word condemns those whose lives
ere spent principally in amusement
How can the bow be relaxed which has
not been bent2 Recreation, recreation,
implies previous exhaustion
''Pastime.7 our amusements- instead
OF imparting an abiding satisfying
pleasure, alas and alack- how shall
say it sOrrOwfully enough, only serve
to pass time away.
The duke OF Wellington said the
battle of Waterloo was Won in the
playing fields OF Elton, useful lessons
ray be learned in the playground, only
play be the recreation, not the BUSH
ness of life.
A '.gay life" as Il IS falsely called
IS a miserable mOckery OF happiness.
Goethe said. I'VE must take care
of the beautiful. for the useful viii
take care Of ITSELF"
Refine your coarse carvings by cul-
tivating exalted tastes, and thus ele-
vate your whole being