The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-03-08
-Ho, said MT. Hen V V /" messy, twlnty-
 wan days to Saint W Pathrick's day"

"Ar-re ye keepin' Lent?" asked MT. Dooley.
 q am," said MT. Hennessy. T put tn pipe back iv tn clock day befure yisterdah night. Oh, but tn las whiff iv tn ol' clay was plisint. Are ye keepin' Lent?"
 q am that" said MT. Dooley. I'm on'y smolIin' me seegars half through an take no sugar in me tay. Tn Lord give me stren'th to last till Pathrick's day. I'm keep in Lent but I'm not goin' up an down tn sthreet tellin' people about 1t. ain't amy prouder iv keepin' Lent thin am iv keepin' clean. In our family we've always kept 1t. 1 raymimber seein' me father tuck away tn pipe, cork up tn bottle an put it in a thrunk with something between a moan an cheer an begin to find fault with tn wurruld. F'r us kids Lent was no gr-reat hardship. It on'y meant not enough of something besides meat. 1 don't raymimber much about it excipt that on Ash Winsdah ivrybody had smudge on his forehead; an afther awhile tn house begun to smell little iv fish an about tn thirtieth day tn eggs had thrown off all disguise an was jus plain yellow eggs. aG
 ''Yes sir in our family we all kep' Lent but me Uncle Mike. He started with tn rest an fir day or two he wint up an down tn road whippin' butchers. Twas with gr-reat difficulty, Hinnissy, that he was previnted firm march in into tn neighborin' saloons an poorin out tn sthrong wathers on tn flure. Err short distance me Uncle Mike was tn most pious man I have iver met At such times he organized tn Uncle Mich ael Good S'ciety an wint ar-round inityatin mimbers. To hear him talk about nine o'clock on Ash Winsdah mornin' ye'd think he was jus goin' into tn arena to fight line befure tn onholy Ro- man popylace. He'd take down 'Th Lives iv tn Saints an set r-readin' 1t with a condescindin' smile on his face like a champeen athleet goin' over tn ol' records. Oh, yes,' he seemed to be sayin', they were all r-right, very good in their day, no doubt, but where wud they be now? They'se no min tion iy Saint Jerome goin' without his smoke an haven't had a pipe iv tobacky since twelve o'clock las Choosdah night an here it's nine o'clock Winsdah mornin'. Thin he wud look casully to'rd tn back iv tn book to see whether p'raps something mightn't we been put in about him at tn last moment an thin he wud throw it down an say to himsilf: '"Th' Lives iv th' Saints" f'r eighteen hunderd an fifty ain't out yet an's march savagely firm th' room, kickin' his nieces an nevvews as ' he wint. At four o'clock in tn afthernoon he was discovered be me father settin' on a saw horse in tn woodshed, puffin' away at a pipe with a bowl like a small stove that he'd took away firm a German, an singin' to himsilf.
 But me Uncle Mike though a gr-reat warryor in his day an tn soul iv s'ciety was not model fir long-distance Christyan champeen. He started with tn rest iv us but he always pulled up lame. Tn throuble with him an tn throuble with tn rest iv Us is that we expict to be canonized in time to show tn brief to tn family at dinner. So I say don't go ar-round cillybratin' Lent. expict Father Kelly will sind down tn Father Macchew Fife an Dhrum Corps to serenade me be- out iv me tay an put in twice as much milk. When tn postman comes to tn dure with th' usual line iv bills an love letthers firm tn tailors, me