Cheering

“ Half-way up the cheering section sat a little group of freshmen, hot and excited, hoarse and heroic. At every fresh demand from the cheerleader they strained their tired lungs to new excesses of sound. ”

“ This was no dream. These people at whom he was smiling, these people to whom he was bowing, mechanically, right and left, were actual, real. This roar of cheers meant something. It rang true. It was genuine. It was sincere. These cheers, repeated, over and over again, never ending, had a new, deep, unmistakable personal note, which he had never heard before. This was no half-hearted, perfunctory enthusiasm. These people were glad to see him. They were cheering—him. And they meant it! They were—his people. ”

“ There is ever something cheering in the aspect of all around at this period of the year; something bright and joyous in the country, when old Hymns "with his icy crown," seems to wield his severe sceptre and pervade the scene; when cottage and castle, lake and forest,—all are bound down by the sharp and biting frost. The good fellowship of the world seems then more rife, and Christian feeling and brotherly love to prevail. Perhaps, the good cheer enjoyed, and expectation of more to be enjoyed, openeth the heart of men. ”

“ The genial smile, the kindly greeting, the cheering word, all these and a thousand other gracious impulses, are, of course, but the first instinctive movements of the social feeling. And from these we move onward over a vast field of action, to the very farthest point reached by the higher charities of Christianity. ”

“ The poor man had evidently had some tragedy in his life which had warped his outlook. He needed cheering—we all needed cheering; proverbially the surest way of cheering yourself is to cheer other people ”

“ The effect of the indulgence of this human affection is a certain cordial exhilaration. In poetry and in common speech, the emotions of benevolence and complacency which are felt towards others are likened to the material effects of fire; so swift, or much more swift, more active, more cheering, are these fine inward irradiations. From the highest degree of passionate love to the lowest degree of good-will, they make the sweetness of life. ”

“ Such are only a few instances, of the cheerful-working-ness of great men, which might, indeed, be multiplied to any extent. All large healthy natures are cheerful as well as hopeful. Their example is also contagious and diffusive, brightening and cheering all who come within reach of their influence. ”

“ If the audience had done less than justice, surely it made ample amends. Every one was on his feet. Every one was moving, shouting, gesticulating. A dense crowd of cheering men were round the four travellers. 'Up with them! up with them!' cried a hundred voices. In a moment four figures shot up above the crowd. In vain they strove to break loose. ”

“ The cheering at Bill upon the following Tuesday must be recorded, inasmuch as it has, indirectly, bearing upon our story. It will be guessed that the enthusiasm, the uproar, the tumultuous excitement were even greater than on a similar occasion some fifteen years before. ”

“ The change in sentiment begins to show, and the farther we go, I suppose, the less cheering we will hear, until finally we will get where the cheers will all be for the other fellow, and we will find ourselves among foes instead of friends. ”

“ The cheer was an utterance of the most enthusiastic joy—in which every individual in the crowd appeared to have had a voice—the discomfited cuirassiers excepted. It was the true English “hurrah,” springing from the heart of a people—ever ready to applaud an exploit of bold and dangerous daring. ”

“ Cheer
It's a mighty good world, so it is, dear lass,
When even the worst is said.
There's a smile and a tear, a sigh and a cheer,
But better be living than dead;
A joy and a pain, a loss and a gain ”

“ GLAD and joyous and sweet is the Blissful lovely Cheer [1] of our Lord to our souls. For He [be] holdeth [2] us ever, living in love-longing: and He willeth that our soul be in glad cheer to Him, to give Him His meed. And thus, I hope, with His grace He hath [drawn] , and more shall draw, the Outer Cheer to the Inner Cheer, and make us all one with Him, and each of us with other, in true lasting joy that is Jesus. I have signifying of Three manners of Cheer of our Lord. The first is Cheer of Passion, as He shewed while He was here in this life, dying. ”

“ Think of the influence of a smile: the smile of welcome when we call at a friend's house; the smile of recognition when we meet him in the street; the smile of pleasure which the speaker sees in his audience; the smile of satisfaction in one to whom we have done an act of kindness. By the very expression of the countenance we can influence others, make their life more pleasant or more painful. There are those who by the sweetness of their demeanor are in a household like fragrant flowers. ”

“ The glad sound awakes a thrill of joy in many a heart. The children clap their tiny hands and laugh aloud in the exuberance of their mirth as bright visions of varied toys and rich confectionary flit before their minds. The sound of merry sports—the gathering of the social band—the banquet—all are scenes of joy. Shout on bright children, for your innocent mirth will rise as incense to Him who was even as one of you. The Son of God once reposed his head upon a mortal breast and wept the tears of infancy. ”

“ That same cheer, once heard, is not easily forgotten: there is not the faintest echo of anything joyous, or kindly, or hopeful, in its accent; one feels that it issues from the depths of hearts that are more than dissatisfied—through lips parched with a fiery longing and thirst for something never yet attained. ”

“ And are we to suppose that they were never led to give "one more" cheer, as they do nowadays? And have the LL.D.s of Cambridge—old Cambridge—yet to learn that the compound always implies the preëxistence of the simple, and that "a cheer" is, by logical necessity, the antecedent of "three cheers"? Can they fail to see, too, as "cheer" meant originally face, then countenance, then comfort, encouragement, that, before it could be used as a verb to mean the expression of applause, it must have previously been used as a noun to mean applause? ”

“ When by chance you have raised me to elysium by a friendly greeting, my pride is mingled with humility, and I depart as though God's blessing rested on me. Nor does the joy vanish without leaving a long track of light behind. ”

“ The cheer broke down into one universal sob; and brave, strong men, whose hearts might have been thought as tough as the oak planks on which they trod, turned aside to conceal their tears, or leaned against the bulwarks for support, as they wept like children. ”

“ And glorious peace upon these friends of mine!
[Pg 8]
[Pg 9]
Dear Lord, if some be rich, bid Thou them bear
Some joy this day to Sorrow and to Care.
If some be glad with living, bid them go
Afar or near and minister to Woe.
Bring love to every heart and let it fill
The cup of joy for each, and overspill,
And let the light of sympathy so shine
That none shall weep of all these friends of mine. ”

“ Let your faces wear the glory and the sunshine of a smile.
"Teach the symbol to your children, pass it down through all the years.
Though they know their share of sadness and shall weep their share of
tears,
Through the ages men and women shall prove their faith in Me
By the smile upon their faces when their hearts are trouble-free."
The good Lord understood us when He sent us down to earth,
He knew our need for laughter and for happy signs of mirth ”

“ No festive function, civic or social, is too solemn for her presence : to receive a guest or to felicitate a friend, to welcome a superior or to celebrate a jubilee, to solemnise a wedding or to initiate a child into learning—aye, at times, to reverence a spiritual head or to honor a religious reviver, her song is the te deum of thankfulness, her dance the exhilaration of enthusiasm. ”

“ Blessed are the happiness-makers: they represent the best forces in civilization!"
If refined manners reprove us a little for ill-timed laughter, a smiling face kindled by a smiling heart is always in order. Who can ever forget Emerson's smile? It was a perpetual benediction upon all who knew him. A smile is said to be to the human countenance what sunshine is to the landscape. Or a smile is called the rainbow of the face. ”

“ His pen! what humbler memories cling about
⁠Its golden curves; what shapes and laughing graces
Slipped from its point when his full heart went out
⁠In smiles and courtly phrases.
The truth half-jesting, half in earnest flung—
⁠The word of cheer, with recognition in it ”

“ Thus the sovereign voluntary path to cheerfulness, if our spontaneous cheerfulness be lost, is to sit up cheerfully, to look round cheerfully, and to act and speak as if cheerfulness were already there. ”

“ Trials untold assail with giant strength,
Good cheer! good cheer! soon ends the bitter strife,
And thou shalt reign in peace with Christ at length.
Through woe to joy! And though at morn thou weep,
And though the midnight find thee weeping still,
Good cheer! good cheer! the Shepherd loves his sheep;
Resign thee to the watchful Father's will.
—Rosegarten, tr. by Charles Timothy Brooks. ———
Talk Happiness. ”

“ I can imagine no moment more propitious for the pleading of your cause, than one snatched from the confusion and excitement of such an hour, when the heart is made suggestive by strains of music and peals of laughter and sounds of gaiety and gladness everywhere. ”

“ You just hurry up a little, and I'll show you the sunshine-man this morning. It's foggy and cold, but if one look at him doesn't cheer you up so that you'll want to whistle, then I'm no judge of human nature. ”

“ It is this character of cheerfulness that so much endears the flower to us; as it brightens up our hedgerows after the dulness of winter, the harbinger of many brighter perhaps, but not more acceptable, beauties to come, it is the very [230] emblem of cheerfulness. ”

“ The cheerfulness, which at an earlier period of my life might have been a copious spring supplying my letters with a stream of pleasant sentiments and feelings, has been chilled even to freezing by advancing years, and yet, to do myself justice, though this may have dulled the activity and liveliness of my epistles, I think it has not cooled the kindly warmth of heart with which I write to my friends and least of all to my children. ”

“ Can anything on earth surpass it? Here we find the hearty handshake, the contagious laugh, faces bright with smiles, a free flow of talk. We see hilarity without vulgarity, wit that sparkles, but does not burn, as when a bright sally directed at some brother's foibles is met with a quick repartee. ”

“ What a blessing it is that, amidst the confusion of tongues, the language of kindness and courtesy is universally understood, and that a kindly smile on a savage face is as intelligible as on that of one's own countryman! ”

“ Then clash out a welcome,
Let all the bells sound, come,
To give her a welcoming proud and sweet.
How her blue eyes will beam,
And her golden curls gleam,
When the sound of our singing rings down the street. ”

“ Then, when all is done, put on a smile that expresses the finest that is in you, that compliments you for doing your best. And if, to this smile, you add all the kindliness that you can command, all the happiness that you can summon, your friends and your very own folks will declare you charming. ”

“ That would be tiresome perhaps, but how can one avoid a longing to be merry when one has constantly before one's eyes a crowd of merry folk, dancing, eating, drinking, singing, making soft eyes at one another, or shaking hands with all the warmth of the most sincere regard! Man is so expansive toward the end of a hearty meal! ”

“ With the cheer of day, a kindly nature and a new friend, it is easy to get in touch with a sympathetic chord. The mere thought of another human heart within touch, even a hundred miles away, would have eased the suspense of the silent void. ”

“ And as the light of the sun rejoices the heart of the beholder, so does light and cheerfulness upon one man’s face gladden the heart of him who looks upon it. Cheerfulness upon one man’s countenance brings cheer to the heart of those with whom he comes in contact. ”

“ Heaven has given us voices, brethren, with which to welcome and salute our friends, and if ever a long, long cheer should have rung from the heart, it was when the man who has done so much for all of us stood before us. ”

“ We ought always to be cheerful, and our joy should find expression in deeds of kindness and helpfulness to all with whom we come in contact. We ought to heed the words of Our Lord to His followers: "Be of good cheer!" ”

“ Twenty thousand eager voices, joining in one continued cheer, testified their readiness to follow the suggestion. ‘A long life has been devoted to your service,’ said I, ‘whose greatest pleasure has been created by the pleasures it has been enabled to diffuse. ”

“ Merry was myself, and merry could I sing;
With a merry ding-dong, happy, gay, and free,
And a merry sing-song, happy let us be!
Waddle goes your gait, and hollow are your hose;
Noddle goes your pate, and purple is your nose;
Merry is your sing-song, happy, gay, and free,
[105] With a merry ding-dong, happy let us be! ”

“ Staid, contemplative men, men with a prayer and a tune in them, press into this joyous throng, eager to clasp the bruised fruit of human desire and to claim kindred with these cheery fellowships. But, however varied the elements of the order, the members are constituted alike in this: they are hearty and laughter-loving; they are jolly and courageous. ”

“ The Value of Good Cheer.Indeed it is in the nature of things that good cheer is a great conciliator, that it fosters familiarity, and promotes a freedom of exchange between the guests, while the warmth of wine will often lead to the discovery of important secrets. ”