Gladdest

This is the gladdest I've seen him since his mother died. He'd been in a funk for so long and, God, I was so worried about him.

I believe there are few who have not, even in their gladdest hours, felt how nearly gaiety and sadness are allied; a shadow steals over the spirits, like a cloud over the moon, soft and subduing, perhaps transitory, but not the less dark for the moment.