The age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1897-1902, 1898-11-27


in quality. The next nearest comparison
that can be made between the humor Oh
Lever and that of the creator OF MI
Dooley is with the former 1t was hatlFe'
while with the latter it is natal.
1t is a humor as kindly and genial as the
character of the Archey road philosopher
himself. while the pure Celtic wit Is so tenn
pered by Judgment that it never leaves
sting nor a heartache, nor subjects the
stricken to painful embarrassment.
tbs president and his cabinet, whose Of
fetal acts sometimes call forth the adverse
comment of the philosopher. read his ef-
fusions with as keen enjoyment as II they
were an elaborate defense OF adminlstra-
tive policy. 1t is no more a breach OF eti-
ouette nor does it shock official dignity TOT
Mr. Dooley to allude to the executive as
Mac than for him to refer to the lieuten-
ant of the polls as loot
From the tall pedestal of philosophy the
statures of men look much the same
"Mr. Dooley will be successful because 1t
is an innovation in literature, because I
amuses and people want to be amused pc
cause of the rich perfection OF It's uia,ee.'
which appeals to great mass OF reaoe,S'
because 1t depicts phases OF real NE, l,ie
simple lowly, but knowing and innocent
life of the Archey road, where, as MI
Dooey says:
You can hear all the various accents of
Ireland, from the awkward brogue OF the
Landowner to the mllu anu uiay N<i+No-
bethan English of the southern freshman,
and Al the exquisite variations to be heard
between Armagh and Bantry Bay, with the
difference that would naturally arise from
| substituting cinders and sulphuretted ny
! drogen for soft misty air and peat smoke.
| Here also you can see the wakes ana the
| chrstenings, the marriages and funerals,
| and the other fetes of the oil country
| somewhat modified and darkened by Amer
| lean usage. The Banshee has been heard
many times in Archey road. On the eve
| of All Saints Day it is we'll known that
here alone the pookies play thricks in cab
| bage gardens. In 1893 it was reported that
| Malachi Dempsey was called "by the other
| people," and disappeared west of the tracks,
| and never came back.
| A simple people. "S'mple, say yes!' re-
marked Mr.. Dooley. Simple like tn air
or the deep sea. Not complicated like
watch that stops whin tn shoot iv clothes
| We got it with wears out. Whin Father
| Butler wr-wrote a book he n,ver finished.
| he said simplicity was not wearin all We
| had on ye'er shirt front like a tin-horn
| gambler with his di mon stud. An tits so.
"Mr Dooley'' will be successful because
there has been no book Ike 1t, or even near
ly like 1t. since the publication in compact
form of the Nasty letters. Nasty wrote in
dialect, and made humor and irony the
bows wherefrom to shoot his savagely
pointed political arrows. But the crcum-
ference of his field of effort inclosed only
politics, while Mr.. Dooley. in kindly but
none the less effective way, ranges from
pole to pole in the variety of his topics.
Probably there can be no better qualifca-
tion of the Dooley papers than was given
them by friend of the author, who called
them editorials in dialect" And they are
editorials that will live, and that in later
years you will take happiness in re-read-
ing and counsel your children to do the
same. H. H.