To him laughter was a solvent of the difficulties of life, — a gentle, universal balm to soothe the blows and rubs and stings that even the stoutest shoulders must receive from the buffeting of com mon toil, and above all, from the immense effort to set right the tangled tissues and the unhinged framework of this ever lastingly imperfect world in which we live. To Lincoln laughter was not a ges ture; it was' a point of view.