Authors:

Better the last smile than the first laughter.

John Ray (1855). “A Hand-book of Proverbs: Comprising an Entire Republication of Ray's Collection of English Proverbs, with His Additions from Foreign Languages. And a Complete Alphabetical Index; in which are Introduced Large Additions, as Well of Proverbs as of Sayings, Sentences, Maxims, and Phrases”, p.330
Better the last smile than the first laughter.