Evening star., 1925-05-25

I The only reply is that I do not ex-
| pect to cure anything or any one
not even my self. We are all just learn
ing as we go along. =
@ + = =
The smile occupies the place it de-
serves in the worlds literature
''Cervantes smiled Spain's chivalry
, away" succinctly said Byron.
| In THE Christmas Carol" Dickens
gave one of his inimitable pictures
| when he wrote, "In came Mrs. Fezzi-
wig. one vast, substantial SMILE
| Mrs. Fezziwig must have looked
something like Lewis Carroll's famous
Cheshire cat, whose smile from ear to
ear perplexed sweet Alice In Won.
| derland.
The last thing that cat was willing
| to give up. it must be remembered,
was it's smile. -
Bret Harte' In one of his famous
poems, not as much read today as for
merly. perhaps, spoke of the China
| man with the smile that was child
| like and bland"
Pope. with his usual inclination to-
ward the weak points Of huma nifty,
said. Eternal smiles his emptiness be-
| tray"
Lord Chesterfield told his son that a
| gentleman never laughs uproariously,
! but always contents himself with a
smile. No one should take Lord Ches-
| terfield too seriously of course.
Hartley Coleridge painted fair lady
| indeed when he said. Her very frowns
are fairer far than smiles Of other
! me idens are" The world has long
| forgiven him for that slander on the
| rest. of the sex.
| Even severe Milton in that dull
| work, Paradise Lost" spoke of "a
smile that glow'd celestial rosy red.
| loves proper hue"
| Scott in his "Marmion" portrayed a
| common enough situation when he
| told of a lady with a smile on her
| lips and tear in her eye" SO close
to laughter lie tears, as some one has
| said.
! Who has more .delicately drawn a
picture of a smile than Rabindra nath
| Tia gore, with his beautiful question:
THE smile that tiickers on baby S
| lips when he sleeps-does anybody
know where it was born?"
| Man has been called the laughing
animal, but ne might more appropri.
ately be termed the smiling animal, !"
since the ability to smile is a refining
of the propensity to laugh.
There are many on the Laughing
Slue, as rope phraSed 1t, many VINO
are willing-nay, anXious-to join in
| laugh at the expense of others if
| only they can keep the laugh from
| being turned on themselves.
Smiling is a more delicate manifes-
| tation of this distinguished trait. A
| laugh is often coarse, q smile is more
| likely to be kindly.
The laugh, per Sc, may be hurtful:
the smile, in itself, usually Is friendly.
| We speak OF friendly smile, but
seldom OF friendly laugh. 1t is the
| smile we value most in life-therefore.
the writer's have done well TO mention
| 1t.
This good smile, it is interesting to
| note, is spoken of in the main by com.
| paratively modern authors within the
past 800 years. Offhand. / do not
recollect a single instance of an old
writer speaking of a smile.
| Life was warfare indeed; literally
daily fighting. in the early days OF
mankind. There were great laughs
at enemies. cruel jests at others and
| few kindly smiles.
As life, generally speaking, has
grown better in more fortunate lands
the number OF smiles has increased
and il behooves us, the modern guar
dians of this treasure, to make the
most we can of what has been in
trusted to us-the ability to smile.