£10 FOR A SMILING FACE.

Press, Volume LVIII, Issue 17472, 5 June 1922, Page 9

£lO FOR A SMILING FACE.

l'O THE EDITOR OF "THE TRESS.'' j Sir,—Time was—say a hundred years ago—when a. mercer in Cheapside, London, could be eeen any day standing at the door of his shop in a leisurely fashion smiling and bowing to passersby. People then seemed to have time to smile, as they had time for some other habits which are going out or fashion Of course there are some people who, by temperament, cannot give a smile, and it is hopeless to look tor one from them juet when one expects it: there are also others who apparently regard it as undignified, if not a breach of etiquette, to allow the face to get wrinkled with smiling or hearty laughter. Most people., however, unless weighted with sorrow or trouble of some kind, smile or laugh as they feel prompted,. and a few, thank Heaven, smile, and do it beautifully, because they cannot help it 1 It must have been the latter class of people that a London editor was in search of when he recently offered £lO for the first smiling face met in the streets of London,' and it is gratifying to learn that "as many as ten were judged worthy of tho prize." It is generally admitted, however, that the vast majority of faces met in the great metropolis are strained and anxious, but that too often no great effort is made to keep the buoyant, hopeful heart that easily ripples into a smile." In a book written by' Dr. Lapthorn Smith, he says: "When I pass down our crowded streets and see many thousands, of men hanging about from four till six in the afternoon, and note the unhappy expression on their faces, I feel sure that very few, if any, of them, will ever be happy and useful from Bixty to ninety." As I believe that the subject of "smiling," both from an ethical as well as from a psychological point of view, is a most important one, I should be glad indeed if some of your readers who are interested would deal with it. Somo people will no doubt readily point out the commercial value of smiling, but I am more deeply concerned about its ethjeal value. Every one of us should smile, and if we did our land would soon become a perfect paradise to live in Why should not our young people at school be taught the value of it? Here is a nice subject for our professor of education.— Yours, etc., KEEP ON SMILING.