Cheerfulness as an Asset IN THE world we shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer, said Jesus in one of his last conversations with the twelve disciples. Solomon compared cheerfulness to medicine. And another saying, found in Rays collection of English proverbs, assures us that a man of gladness seldom falls into madness. There is an American admonition to the effect that all the worlds a camera look pleasant, please. If we are cheerful and contented, all nature smiles with us; the air seems more refreshing, the sky a clearer blue, the trees a brighter green, the snow a purer white, the mountains, in their majesty, a little more gracious and inviting. Cheerfulness, elicits good cheer from associates just as the grouch of a confirmed pessimist dashes cold water on the warmest of hearts. Joyfulness is the mother of all the virtues, runs a German proverb, first uttered by Goethe. It means contentment in the one who has it, gives encouragement to those who lack it, makes darkness endurable, illness less irksome, company more congenial and religion less forbidding than it was in puritanical times. Cheerfulness is sweet on the face of infancy, winning in the words of childhood, appealing in the manners of adults and a counterbalance to old age. How much easier it is to smile than to frown when the road is smooth and the load is light; how much better it is to laugh across the rough places than to weep over them; how much easier it is to keep ones sorrows out of sight when they are hidden behind a smile, The scowl, the frown, the cross retort, the grudging compliment, the malicious comment what confessions they are of failure, of inferiority, of disappointment, of morbidity, of meanness! The Baldovan Asylum for idiots in Scotland (1854) was the first institution for the feeble minded Kings College and Hospital, London The College was founded in 1829, the Hospital in 1839. Lord Lister here taught and perfected his system of antiseptic surgery. Other great men affiliated with the College and Hospital were Sir Thomas Watson, John Ayrton Paris, Sir William Fergusson, Sir William Bowman. The most indecent exposure in civilized circles is the constant exhibition of a crabbed soul or a shriveled heart. There is little excuse for cultivating infirmities. The begger who whines professionally at every kitchen door, and displays some revolting sore or deformity, deserves a better reception and more sympathetic treatment than does the man and woman who, with food to eat and clothes to wear and a place to sleep, bemoans his fate and fills the air with lamentations. Times may be hard, the outlook gloomy and obligations unbearable; crying will neither help nor bring any but temporary relief. Nobody will give permanent employment to wailers and gnashers of teeth. Nobody wants them around, although circumstances sometimes torment friends or relatives with such afflictions. Everybody has troubles of one kind or another. If all gave voice to complaints the world would sound like a vast pen of squealing pigs. If all gave way to every grief the land would be covered with the water of woe and the earth would be habitable only by ducks and geese. Tears are worthy and sacred, but shouldnt be shed on everyones neck. Smiles are always in order. There cannot be too much cheerfulness in the world. Even in scenes of woe and bereavement, where levity would be offensive, cheerfulness is appropriate and consoling.Cheerfulness is not expressed by an ironical grin or a silly simper. It is often heard in a hearty salutation. To hear a friend, an acquaintance, or even a stranger say good morning in a frank, genial tone, is a tonic for feelings of depression. In a strange city, or a foreign land, merely hearing some voice utter those two words serves to banish ones feeling of isolation and make the day worth while. There is a kind of inspiration in such a greeting, respectfully smilingly spoken, that really makes the morning a good one and presages a pleasant day. Cheerfulness is more of a grace than a gift. It can be acquired and developed and beautified, until it is one of the most valuable assets to existence, precious to the one who possesses it, priceless in the home and beneficial to mankind as far as its influence may radiate. As a universal trait it would make the universe brighter and the world a better planet on which to live. Be wiser than other people if you can, but do not tell them so. EARL OF CHESTERFIELD. WARNERS CALENDAR OF MEDICAL HISTORY