Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-04-01
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES Z. TRACEWELL.

minds that there Is something undig-
nif1ed about smiling and Laughing as
such.
At the other end of the human scale,
it seems to them, stands the free
laughing, uproariously laughing man or
woman of the lowest levels Of society.
They may have been witness some
time of mad burst of merriment. Per-
hapS they were going through poorer
section Of the town and CHANGED to see
a group of men and women engaged in
such horseplay as for such types re-
lieves the monotony Of life.
Without stopping to think of the dis
parity between the conditions Of life
Of themselves and the hearty laughers,
they blamed the latter for tightening
their lives as best they could, and
brought the matter home to themselves
by resolving never to 80 burst forth in
laughter.
Those men and women who have
reached q certain placidity Of counte-
nance, words and actions, no doubt
have achieved the maximum wisdom of
mankind, although they may have ar
rived at this happy result entirely by
chance.
Their calm temper is the perfect
background for the words and actions
of their lives. Such love as they show
in words and deeds Is perfected by its
contrast with the placid demeanor
when love is not present. Their anger
stands out like thunder cloud.
Everything they do and say Is made
more effective because it is a differ
ence from their perfect marking time.
Life often is nothing more Compared
with memorable action, mighty words.
great part Of an average life is but
standing still.
What many have to learn is that
this standing still may yet be perfectly
full Of love, happiness, and, above ALL
dignity.
He also serves who stands and
waits" In these and other notable
words the poets of mankind have at
tempted to show the place of the
quiet ones. II they sometimes seem to
have failed, 1t is largely because the
opposition has made such q noise
Every one knows how q couple of rowdy
families in an otherwise quiet neigh
borhood Of home-loving people can
nevertheless give o roughneck tone to
the community.
Is it not astonishing how few really
Sad-faced persons one meets? Perhaps
better descriptive phrase would be
grave-faced. We do not mean sternness
Of countenance, exactly, yet nearer that
than gayety.
The ideal, it would seem, is the
dignity OF the tiger at the ZOO. Walt
Whitman said he loved to look at AMI
mails, they are so noble and dignified,
and seem so sure Of their right to be
on earth. Not one, he said, whined
or complained. or felt sorry for itself,
the whole world over.
Perhaps If they had self-conscious-
ness, as men have IL, millions of them
might feel very sorry for themselves,
and rightly, too.
The Whitman thought, however,
stands. The brutes, our brothers of
field and forest. never smile. because
the smile Is the essence Of deception,
and the creatures are made honest by
God.
This thought, II carried further,
would involve US In q theological dis
pute, 30 we draw back hastily, wishing
only that more people would smile less,
and less people would smile more, If the
reader gets what we mean.
The smile Is the mark of a man, un-
doubtedly but It would better fulfill its
divine mission If IL always meant what
it seems to mean. Too many smiles
make Jill deceitful creature, we don't
care what Jack says about it.