The Washington herald., 1913-01-26
BY FRANCES SNAPPER.

We may talk OF the beauty of cheer
fullneEs. the contagion and the charm.
and may call 1t all the wonderful things
We know, but we have not said enough
or gone far enough until we think and
talk of It as a plain. everyday duty.
For, while 1t is a very fine thing to
be responsible for creating a bright.
happy atmosphere, II Is awful to send
the thermometer down to zero because
of sighs. tears, and groans.
And there Is no place on earth where
the sighs. tears. and groans are so de-
pressing and so utterly demoralizinB as
In the home
Whom bright sunshine and budding
flowers are all around. nobody thinks OF
the dark, dreary days when not ray
OF light peeps through the clouds. but
when "the rain It raineth every day."
then II seems that we would give small
kingdom. II We had 1t, just for glimpse
of the sun.
And that is the way Il goes with the
magic trick of cheerfuIness. Nobody ap-
preciates II when It is in evidence ali
the time. but. deary me, when IL hides
its perfect face and he is all shut In
by the unsmiling mask Of gloom, de-
spondency. and utter dreariness, then
we know right well what we miss.
Look and Act Happy.
Among other duties resting upon wom-
ems shoulders. she cannot AFFORD to for
get her everlasting obligation to smile.
to look and act happy whether she feels
so or not. That is, she cannot II she
happens to be the guiding star In the
home.
We are creatures Of moods. of whims.
and OF fancies. and we think they all,
more or less. come from within. Per-
haps they do. in large measure. but II
is amazing the way we reach up or look
down Just to meet the moods, the whims
and the fancies OF those who are about
US. And there is always one, rather
more than any one else. whose tempera-
ment. CHEEKY, bright. or otherwise. af-
fects and almost makes the whole at
mosphere.
II she thinks. talks. and lives the
beauty and doctrine OF happiness. Is
ready to smile and ready TO cheer. up
goes the tone Of the whole family. and
home is a word with beautiful meaning.
But IL she goes about solemn. dark.
and unsmiling. then alas. and again alas,
for the luckless family.
Because II is only the occasional fam
lily that has the grace. the courage. or
the strength to rise higher than its head.
Afraid to Smile.
Nobody on the outside knew just
what was wrong. but there was home
not so long ago where everybody seemed
afraid to smile. And II was not be-
cause everybody wanted 10 keep away
from the beautiful well-spring OF cheer
fulness. but you see, the one who really
held the smiles of the family in the hol-
low OF her hand had grown too sour.
too tired. too something. 10 make any
effort at all.
She was essentially the head of the
house." and everybody knows that
where there is an out-and-out head
things that are good and things that are
bad are pretty apt to receive their in
spirstiOn right there. And in this case
they certainly did. for on the few occa-
sions when she felt bright and compan-
iOnable II seemed that a heavy pail had
lifted. and the entire family was quite
well and very happy. indeed. thank you
But il did not last long, and when her
solemn face and solemn air were in
evidence as usual, back came the