The Psalmist Truly Says that "A Merry Heart Maketh a Cheerful Countenance."
THE LESSON—That the wearing of a gloomy countenance is unpardonable and that "the smile that won't come off" is the kind that ought to come on.
Laughter is catching. The following chalk talk will capture an audience and bring genuine smiles as nothing else, perhaps, in this book. It has been prepared for that purpose. While it is arranged here as especially appropriate for the beginning of the new year, it may be used with varying applications on many other occasions.
The Talk.
"There is a good deal of consolation in the words of Cowper, who truly declares that
"'The path of sorrow, and that path alone,
Leads to the land where sorrow is unknown.'
"Nevertheless, most of us ask for as little real sorrow as possible while we are treading the pathway that leads to eternal peace.
[It is advisable to begin the drawing of [Fig. 17] at this point, and continue the talk as the picture develops. It is suggested that the eyes be drawn first, then the mouth and nose, and, finally, the outer portions. It adds to the effect, too, to stop drawing at this point, allowing the people to study carefully the dull, gloomy expression of the face. Then, as if to put on the finishing touches, draw the lines of the forehead. These, of course, are the lines of the nose and mouth of the reversed face, but the audience will not suspect the 'trick' until it is revealed.]