And they said to him, "No, we wish to learn how to laugh again; we have forgotten how, and we are going to the Land of Laughter."
"You will regret not going with me. See if you don"t," he said, and he left them in quite a huff.
And they walked again, many days, and again they met an old man. He was tall and imposing-looking and very dignified. And he said:
"Where are you going so fast, little boys?"
"We are going to the Land of Laughter," they said together very seriously.
"What!" he said, "that is an extremely foolish thing to do. Come with me, and I will give you power. I will make you great men; generals, kings, emperors. Whatever you desire to accomplish will be permitted you."
And they said politely:
"Thank you, very much, but we have forgotten how to laugh; and we are going there to learn how."
He looked upon them haughtily, without speaking, and disappeared.
And they walked and walked more days; and they met another old man. And he was clad in rags; and his face was thin; and his eyes were unhappy.
And he whispered to them:
"Where are you going so fast, little boys?"
"We are going to the Land of Laughter," they answered, without a smile.
"Laughter! laughter! that is useless. Come with me and I will show you the beauty of life through sacrifice, suffering for others. That is the only life. I come from the Land of Sacrifice."
And they thanked him kindly, but said:
"We have suffered enough. We have forgotten how to laugh. We would learn again." And they went on; and he looked after them wistfully.
They walked more days; and at last they came to the Land of Laughter.
And how do you suppose they knew this? Because they could hear, over the wall, the sound of joyous laughter--the laughter of men, women and little children.
And one sat guarding the gate, and they went to her.
"We have come a long, long distance; and we would enter the Land of Laughter."
"Let me see you smile, first," she said gently. "I sit at the gate and no one who does not know how to smile may enter into the Land of Laughter."
And they tried to smile, but could not.
"Go away and practise," she said kindly, "and come back tomorrow."
And they went away, and practised all night how to smile; and, in the morning, they returned. And the gentle lady at the gate said:
"Dear little boys, have you learned how to smile?"
And they said: "We have tried. How is this?"
"Better," she said, "much better. Practise some more, and come back tomorrow."
And they went away obediently and practised.
And they came the third day. And she said:
"Now, try again."
And tears of delight came into her lovely eyes.
"Those were very beautiful smiles," she said. "Now you may enter."
And she unlocked the gate and kissed them both, and they entered the beautiful Land of Laughter.
Never had they seen such blue skies, such green trees and gra.s.s; never had they heard such bird song.
And people, men, women and children, laughing softly, came to meet them, and took them in, and made them at home; and soon, very soon, they learned to laugh. All day they laughed, and even in their sleep. And they grew up here, and married, and had laughing, happy children. And sometimes they thought of the Land of Riches, and said, "Ah! well"; and sometimes of the Land of Power, and sighed a little; and sometimes of the Land of Sacrifice--and their eyes were wistful. But they soon forgot, and laughed again. And they grew old, laughing. And when they died--a laugh was on their lips. Thus are things in the beautiful Land of Laughter.
THE WEB OF CIRc.u.mSTANCE
CHARLES W. CHESNUTT
Some time, we are told, when the cycle of years has rolled around, there is to be another golden age, when all men will dwell together in love and harmony, and when peace and righteousness shall prevail for a thousand years. G.o.d speed the day, and let not the shining thread of hope become so enmeshed in the web of circ.u.mstance that we lose sight of it; but give us here and there, and now and then, some little foretaste of this golden age, that we may the more patiently and hopefully await its coming!
IS THE GAME WORTH THE CANDLE?
JAMES E. SHEPARD
A man"s life depends upon his emotions, his aspirations, his determinations.
A young man, somebody"s son, starts out with the determination that the world is indebted to him for a good time. "Dollars were made to spend. I am young, and every man must sow his wild oats and then settle down. I want to be a "hail fellow well met" with every one."
With this determination uppermost in his life purpose he starts out to be a good-timer. Perhaps some mother expects to hear great things of her boy, some father"s hopes are centered in him, but what does that matter?
"I am a good-timer." From one gayety to another, from one gla.s.s to another, from one sin to another, and the good-timer at last is broken in health, deserted by friends, and left alone to die. Thus the "man about town" pa.s.ses off the stage. When you ask some of his friends about him, the answer is, "Oh, John was all right, but he lived too fast. I like good times as well as anyone, but I could not keep up with John."
Was the game worth the candle?
Two pictures came before my mind: two cousins, both of them young men.
One started out early in life with the determination of getting along "easy," shirking work, and looking for a soft snap. His motto was, "The world owes me a living, and I am going to get mine." He was employed first by one firm and then by another; if anything that he considered hard came along, he would pay another fellow to do the work and he "took things easy." It was not long before no one would hire him. He continued to hold the idea that the world was indebted to him and furthermore, he arrogated a belief that what another man had acc.u.mulated he could borrow without his knowledge. He forged another man"s name, was detected, and sentenced to the penitentiary and is now wearing the badge of felony and shame--the convict"s stripes. Is the game worth the candle?
The other cousin started out with a determination altogether different.
He believed with Lord Brougham, that if he were a bootblack he would strive to be the best bootblack in England. He began in a store as a window-cleaner, and washed windows so well that they sparkled like diamonds under the sun. As a clerk, no customer was too insignificant to be greeted with a smile or pleasant word; no task was too great for him to attempt. Thus step by step, he advanced, each day bringing new duties and difficulties but each day also bringing new strength and determination to master them, and today that cousin is a man of wealth and an honored citizen, blessed, too, with a happy home.