The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1909-05-16
mr.. opp" by Alice Hagan Rice. (Cen
turV Coz

"Mr Opp" by Alice Hagan Hlce. NCen-
fury Coz - -
write 81 worse. sen. 81 I s companion
voIune TO that heretofore referred 10
in this department, a pook entitled ne
Mystery of the Kitchen, Or VINO sat IN
the Pie" 1t would, be really 1t would De.
the nroner thing to say How charming'
How delightful and much or that sort
of thing. -. -
And for why? Simply on account or
Mrs Wigs, to whom we have, II woul1
annear that we have surely paid suf-
icient tribute not only in pulling one
forelocll whenever the book is mentioned,
hut enough of the coin of the realm (as
II is said for Alice Hogan Rice TO
start a chain of banks or something or
other -,
Mrs. Wiggs was, and no doubt is. all
right When the publishers threw
sandy, at us we all took a long breath
and sat as steady in the BOAT as CIR
cumstances would permit :.
Now come forth, Mr.. OPP, and II
Won are still loyal to Mrs. Wigs, ready
to kow-tow, you will say Mr.. D. Web
ster Opp is first rate. Strictly matter
of personal taste, this question or oookss
anyway.
Mr. Opp enters the book with bright,
new grip full of shoe samples, bril-
liant clothes by which he is perpetually
ecliDsed and an optimism which would
he absurd, were 1t not pitiful. In a lit
tie stagnant Kentucky town Mr.. opp
finds his half-sister, Miss Kippy, In dire
need of his help and he gives up his
Career to take care of her. Ii must
he understood that Miss Kippy had mad
a long illness in her 18th (unluckD year
which had left her with the face and
| mind of a little child.
Mr. Opp operating (beg pardon) in this
little town; never losing heart; never get
ting up (until the end, of course) suffi-
eient courage to ask his sweetheart to
marry him is the optimist of all OPP
| timists. Mr.. Opp is bombastic egotistic
| and ridiculous-lf you hadn't known Mr..
| Opp for a number of years there is no
means of telling what you might say
Mr.. Opp was-but he was very kind and
very good and II any reader loves Mr..
| Opp, he does so as much for Oppie' s
| absurdiness as for his accomplishing sac
riflces.
The other characters including Hinton
| the writer, who became blind; Mrs. Gusty
and Nick, a lad with aspirations toward
newspaper work; Miss Jim who announces
her prosperity by appearing in the plain
est of garments in lieu of the frills and
| furbelows, which had fallen to her from
wealthy relatives, are all pretty we'll done
-but-all the time you are reading this
book, MIR. OPP" you are holding converse
| with yourself, so to speak, and agreeing
Sure, this is a great book-didnt the
author of Mrs. Wigs write it. Ger
| tainly"
The Illustrations by Leon Guipon are
splendid for they were drawn by an artist
! who realized his obligations not only to
the reading publis insofar as to read tht
| book he was illustrating. but he has made
| Mr.. Opp more readable which was
very kind thing to do. OF course If you
belong to the Mrs. Wigs cult, you won
need any illustrations.
Having done his full duty to Mrs. Wigs
to say nothing of Lovey MANIPULATING
even read all through Sandy lin tn,
language of T. e. Powers the cartoonis
Never again. this reviewer respectively
| declines to enthuse over "Mr. Opp" H,
tried to- But nothing doing. Honesty ii
the best policy.
"Civics and Health" by William H. AL
len. (Ginn e. Coz
The plan followed in this treatise is real
ly a fine one. The author starts with
chapter on health as a civic obligation
and follows this with the seven motives
and what he calls the seven catch word
of health, describing things which are
natural aid to the enforcement of law.
These seven catch words are instinct
display, commerce, anti-nuisance, anti
sum- pro-slum and rights
The physical welfare of children a
school is the next chapter taken up b,
Mr. Allen and in connection with this h
discusses the qualifications and health o
the teacher, the eyestrain of the children
ear trouble, nervousness dental santa
ton, catching diseases and the play AM
physical training
The author of this really notable bool