'The duty of making others happy

We speak much of the duty of making others happy . No day should pass on which we do not . . .

put a little cheer into some discouraged heart,

make the path a little smoother for someone's tired feet,

or help some fainting robin unto its nest again.

This is right. We cannot put too great emphasis upon the duty of giving happiness and cheer to others.

But it is no less a duty that we should be happy and cheerful ourselves.

We have a mission to others — to add to their cheer.

This we cannot do, unless we have first learned the lesson of cheerfulness ourselves.

Nothing else in all life is such a maker of joy and cheer, as the privilege of doing good.