SOCIAL TOPICS.

Otago Witness, Issue 1901, 10 July 1890, Page 39

SOCIAL TOPICS.

By Cigabettb.

LAUGHTER.

" A short life and a merry one" is an expression we often hear, but it seems to imply that long life and merriment are inconsistent. Now why should that be 1 Is life so dreary that the more we have of it the more disgusted we get with it ? and can it be true that man is born to sorrow and trouble as the sparks fly upward ? If this be so, how can any of us wish fer long life 1 Ought we not either to wish to bid adieu to it in the heyday of youth and happiness, when earth seems an unexplored Eden, with Love's beckoning arms drawing us on, when the sultry summer days seem made for kissing, and we wake in the morning and feel there is no lot as happy as our own. No, it would indeed be hard to Bay farewell at such a time to this pleasant world; for, with all its wickedness, it is very pleasant, and we all want to go on living in it. Even the good people who are always abusing the world and its ways never seem very anxious to leave it. One of the things that makes life so pleasant is laughter. People who can enjoy a good hearty laugh have no need to complain of the world; it cannot be treating them very badly, and, as a rule, the laughterloving ones are seldom discontented. It is the lugubrious people that are to be" pitied — those who look on the dark side always, who wonder what they have done that they should be " treated like this" when any misfortunes come, who have no sense of the ridiculous, who, although not Scotch, can never see a joke and who remark to you •when anything very absurd takes place that they " don't see what you can find to laugh at that," or else in a high and mighty tone tell you that " Little , things please little minds," which by the way is not true, for it is the hardest thing in the world to amuse children without letting them get into mischief ; any ordinary woman will tell you that provided she does not belong to the Young Women's Christian Association. And talking of children, what a delicious thing their laughter is 1 How it seems to babble over with mirth; what paroxysms a two-year-old baby will go into, over "This little pig went to market," a game of "Peep bo," <( Creepy, crawly— creepy, crawly," or any equally idiotic nonsense. The beauty of laughter is that it is so unexpected. You never know when you are going to laugh, except that you are almost sure to in church. How is it that anything not strictly en regie that occurs (in church seems more ludicrous than at any other time 7 Perhaps it is because there is Jonly a step from the sublime to the ridiculous ; but it is quite true that if a religious dog trots up the aisle during divine service there is a giggle all through the congregation, or if j any one finds the sermon so soothing that he falls asleep and gives vent to occasional approving snores, there is sure to be some one close by convulsed with suppressed laughter ; or if any one gives an unorthodox sneeze we laugh. It is no use thinking of funerals, the butcher's bill, or anything equally disagreeable, it is perfectly impossible to restrain your risible faculties, the way is to take refuge in your handkerchief and a violent fit of coughing. There are several kinds of laughter — the jovial, side-splitting, hearty laugh, the inane giggle, and the cynical laugh, besides' the "hellish laughter" and the heavenly smile, which latter only, occurs in novels. But why it should be called " heavenly " is open to question. Do angels smile when they are not singing hymns 1 Cynical laughter is the most disagreeable, and, sad to relate, is most frequently indulged in by women. It is so easy to be sarcastic and witty at other people's expense. For instance, one woman says, "What a lovely complexion Miss A. has!" "Yes," says the other, " horroived from the rose — strictly artificial ones of course "; and goes on to relate how easy it is to transfer the dye from artificial flowers to one's own face. Of course everyone laughs, but wherein lies the mirth? It is nothing but a senseless cachination, full of envy, hatred, and malice— an all uncharitableness not worth the name of laughter. Girls between 15 and 16 are rather partial to the inane giggle. When fresh from school, they are supposed to be " standing with reluctant feet where the brook and river meet"; though as a rule they are anything but reluctant— in fact at times a little over anxious — for long frocks and lovers. But of all kinds of laughter the genuine hearty laugh is the most delightful; it is better than a whole chestf ul of medicines, and so infectious that everyone who hears it asks, "What's the joke ? " for they all want to join in it too. How hard it must be for the deaf people •when there is any fun going on and they .cannot catch any of it. Everyone who has ; a keen sense of humour should give thanks •daily, for how mush sunnier the world is to them than to those poor creatures who look upon life as a vale of tears and the world as a sphere made up for the reclamation of drunkards and distribution of tracts.

Children supply us with endless causes for laughter. They are full of quainfc remarks and questions. One small mite asks innocently. "Are God's eyes as sharp as grannie's?" another informs us that Baby has learnt two new tricks— she can blow her own nose and"say her own prayers 1 " There are always so many funny things occurring in life if we will only look at them in the right way. The pathetic and humorous are often side by side, and it is well that they are so, for when we can laugh over our misfortunes and find a comical side to our cares, we are gradually putting them behind us and learning to bear and to conquer our Fate. So here's to the laughter-loving soul ! May he always find something to laugh at and someone to join him! May his smile brighten all around him, and if "into his life some rain must fall," may it run off him like water of a duck's back. May he live to a green old age (though, by the way, "greenness is always supposed to belong to youth,") and when the "black camel that knocks at every man's door " kneels down at his may he be able to arise and meet Death smilingly.