The Smile

Those who realize the extent of a smile's effect, and who know the secret of its beauty and what it works in souls, are few; and fewer still are those who feel its presence or go in search of it. I am one of those who did not value it at its true worth until the following incident took place: a little girl, shabby in dress and thin of body, was in the habit of standing daily beside her door to greet a group of workmen on their way to their work. Every morning, whenever the transport wagon passed, you would find her in the street, bareheaded, raising her hand in greeting to those simple folk as they went along their way. It was not to be expected that that rough band would return her greeting or take any notice of her. Then it happened one morning that the workmen did not see the little girl on their way, and after inquiring about her they learned that she was ill. Only a few days went by before the workmen's wagon stopped at the door of that beloved little one, and the workmen left her a beautiful toy as big as herself, showing their appreciation and their thanks for her sweet smile and her kindly greeting every morning: for all their great poverty, they had taken care to gather a sufficient sum from their earnings as a reward for what had been one small source of their happiness — one whose existence they had not felt until they lost it.

Many are the women who forget the beauty of a smile upon their faces, believing that a look of indifference or of weariness does not touch their beauty. And beyond that, the smile is a healing balm for a deep wound. It stirs even hearts turned to stone; it is the best encourager of everyone parted and far away, a wholesome nourishment, and a great consolation to grieving hearts and aching breasts. Laugh, and the world laughs with you — and of this there is no doubt, for the laughing face is the sign of a merry spirit that looks out upon the world through that feeling of its own, drawing near to the world when it draws away, and feeling its love for it however hard and rough it may be. The smile is beauty upon the face of its bearer; so wear it always, my friend, dear reader, that you may add beauty to your beauty and sweetness to your charm.