In some individuals the risibles lie so near the surface that you may
tickle them with a feather. In others, they are so deeply imbedded in
phlegm, or so protected by the crust of ill-humor, that a strong
thrust and a keen weapon are required to reach them.
A laugh is in itself a different thing in different individuals. Some
persons laugh inwardly, unsocially, bitterly. It is a pure grimace on
your part when you join in their merriment, unless you are superior to
the fear of ridicule. On the other hand, there is a laugh of so
contagious a nature, that you are irresistibly moved to sympathy while
ignorant of the exciting cause, or out of the sphere of its
influence. You will laugh loud and long, and afterwards confess that
you had not the least gleam of a funny idea, all the while.
You doubt the power of the sympathetic laugh? Come with me into the
nursery. Here is a rosy little horror, a year and a half old. Sit down
and take him upon your knees. Hold his dimpled hands in yours, and
look steadily into his roguish eyes. Repeat a nursery rhyme, no matter
what, in a humdrum recitative; he is sober, and very attentive.
Suddenly spring a mine upon him with a "Boo!" His "Hicketty-hick!"
follows, and his eyes begin to shine. Repeat the experiment.
"Hicketty-hick!" again, more heartily than at first, with the baby
encore, "Adin!" The same process awakens the rapturous little pearls
again and again, and you are quite in the spirit of the thing
yourself. Now for a more ecstatic burst. You purposely prolong his
suspense; he is all atilt, expecting the delightful surprise. You
drawl out each word; you drone the ditty over and over again, till
every tiny nerve is tense with expectation. "Boo!" at last, and over
he goes, in the complete _abandon_ of baby glee; his cherry lips are
wide asunder, his head hangs powerless back, and the "Hicketty-hicks"
burst tumultuously from his little, beating throat. And _you_, sir;
what are _you_ doing? Laughing, I declare, in full roar, till the
tears run down your cheeks. You catch the boy in your arms, toss him,
almost throttle him with kisses, and so enhance the merry spasms, that
mamma, who has a philosophical instinct with regard to excited nerves,
and dreads the reaction, comes to the rescue.
Let me introduce you to another effective laughter. You shall not hear
a sound, yet you cannot choose but laugh, if she does, quiet as she is
about it. See how her shoulders shake,--and look at her face! Every
feature is instinct with mirth; the color mounts to the roots of the
hair; the curls vibrate; the eyes sparkle through tears; the white
teeth glisten; the very nose and ears seem to take a part; like
Nourmahal, she "laughs all over," and while you wonder what the joke
may be, you are laughing too.
Do you feel dismal, or anxious? You should hear L. tell a story. She
is one of the very few who can undertake with impunity to talk and
laugh at the same time. Look and listen, while she describes some
comic occurrence. There is no unladylike, boisterous noise, but
musical peals of laughter come thick and fast; and faster and thicker,
preternaturally fast and thick, come the words with them. And yet each
word is distinct; you do not lose a syllable. And I should like to see
the man who can resist her, if she chooses he should laugh, even at
his own expense.
There is an odd sort of power, too, in the gravity with which B.
tells a humorous anecdote. He invariably maintains a sober face while
every body is in an agony of laughter around him. Just as it begins to
subside, the echo of his own wit comes back to him, and, as if he had
just caught the idea, he bursts into one little abrupt explosion, so
genuine, so full of heartiness, that it sets every body off upon a
fresh score.
Nothing so melts away reserve among strangers, nothing so quickly
develops the affinities in chance society, as laughter. A person might
be ever so polite, and even kind, and talk sentiment a whole day, and
it would not draw me so near to him as the mutual enjoyment of one
heartfelt laugh. It is a perfect bond of union; for the time being,
you have but one soul between you.