davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-05-12
DR. JOHNSON AT THE PLAY

hearted with no courage for that ex, ploration. The language is beautiful Irene is 'illustrious maid" bright maid,' flair daughter of perfection" The bring. CTS of the bowstring address her cere- moniously:
 We come, bright Virgin, though relent-
 ing Nature
 Shrinks at the hated task, for thy de-
 struction.
 But the play was not the thing. One would almost consent to be dead hun dred years in consideration of seeing the Great Bear in side box, brilliant and self-conscious "in a scarlet waist coat, with rich gold lace and gold laced hat" Even Garrick playing Macbeth In all the red magnificence of British major general can harly have been more engaging than the doctor on that night. Garrick, Barry, Mrs. Cibber, Mrs Pritch- ard. kitty Clive-"a good thing to sit by; she always understands what you say" and she loved to sit by the doctor, who always entertained her-what is the un. dying charm and magic in these kind old names? Of the potatdo-stabbing Mrs Siddons one doesn't think that way. Mrs. Pritchard was delightfully."- Fotheringay-
 sh. She knew only her part in Mac beth" she talked of her "gownd." Well. Garrick himself, and presumably Johnson, said "shupreme," "shuperior," after the Lichfield manner.
 Is punch compounded now anywhere on the face of this cracked and parching earth? Even in imagination it must be wicked to think of Garrick taking the doctor off, squeezing lemon into a punch bowl, with uncouth gesticulations. Hooking around the company and calling out, Who's for poonsh?" According to the honest doctor, the Lichfieldians spoke the purest English. One hears then pro- nouncing there' to rhyme with fear and emitting "once" as "woonse." One likes to think of MT. Stanton, who has a company of players at Lichfield, wait ing on the doctor and having a glass Of wine with him. One likes to think ol Partridge judging Garrick's Hamlet. One likes to think of Foote's saying of Gar rick that he would start out from his house with the most benevolent inten- tions, and be frightened out of them by the ghost of half-pence. One likes ito think of Doctor Johnson, who would suf- fer nobody but himself to abuse Garrick. saving of him, "He has given away more money than any man in England If ali Garricks fame and wealth and social success had happened to the doctor, he says, q should have had couple or fellows with long poles walking perore me to knock down everybody that stood in the way" Then there is Davy's de- lightful domestic economy. One hehrs him at Peg Wellington s-Peggy, like Kitty, fever young and fair"-compialn- ing that the tea is too strong, "red as blood.'' It is not what MT. Walkley writes, or what anybody writes, about these old names and figures that the reader cares for. The mere mention or them sets the properly stored memory and fancy at work, or rather releases It to nlav: and one wanders at will through that dead 18th century London which ll more living than the actual London osi May 1919.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-05-12
LUKE M'LUKE SAYS

Marriage seems to be about the only thing that will scare some men into behaving themselves.
 Many a flat dweller is thinking or limiting to his wife that nice house with nice dry cellar would be great place to move into before July l.
 A mother simply has to worry. Seven months in the year she is worrying Tor fear the children will catch a cold. And the rest of the time she is worrying for fear they will get heat prostration.
 A man is willing to admit that there may be brighter people in the world thar he is. But he will also admit that he has never met them.
 Some liars manage to get by. But unless you can remember every word that you said yesterday it is safer to stick to the truth
 The stork is a smart old bird in some ways. But he will insist on bringing dozen children to the man who can't support two.
 Some men lose their memories be- cause of sudden shock or a blow on the head. And others lose them as soon as they borrow s5 from you.
 Ever notice that the man who has had cold all winter and hasn't got rid of it yet can give youabout 40 sure cures for a cold?
 And if an old-time Indian chief had an installment plan rug on the floor of his tepee we'll bet that his squaw would have made him go outside to smoke the pipe of peace.
 The truth of the matter, girls. is this: A single woman believes what she wants to. A married woman be- lieves what she has to.
 When man minds his own business and keeps his nose clean other men stand around and wonder what makes him so lucky.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-05-12
TN HOTEL LOBBIES
 AND ELSEWHERE
VerftabIc Fairylnnd

T wish to express my heartfelt gratitude for the generous treatment which I received in Birmingham on my visit here with the 167th infantry" said Chaplain Emmett P. Smith at the Tutwiler on Saturday night
 Tt was worth all that went through to know that the regiment in which and royalty entertained The Magic City deserves it's name, for as I rode around Highland avenue it seemed to me as if fairies overnight had con- verted it into a veritable fairyland.
 Tt was the most beautiful picture that my eyes have ever dwelt upon, and while I served on the battle scared front of northern France, I also am just back from the famous Rhmeland, and I do not hesitate to say that the residence section through which the parade passed in the after noon is the most picturesque in any city either in America or the old world.
 Tt was genuine revelation to me, the staff and the men; but while the homes were wonderfully attractive, the yards beautifully kept, the scenery enchanting. the loveliest pictures in the enchanting frame were the radi- ant maidens whose white dresses, pink cheeks and flashing eyes captivated one and all as they pelted us with sweet smelling flowers.
 Our visit here has been like dream or beauty, and it is with a heavy but grateful heart that I am leaving to- day, for it was my wish to have fol- lowed the day of glory with a Sun day prayer in Birmingham, asking the creator who made the city beautiful to hold in the hollow of his protect ing hands the people who so lovingly are carrying out the spirit of the Mas ter ir ministering to the visitors with in its gates"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-05-12
France Lost 58 Per Cent
 Of Her Young Men In War


 M CC0RDING to statement made SN by Capt. Andre Tardieu, head of the Franco-American war commits sion, France lost more than half of her young men in the war. Captain Tardieu gathered statistics regarding the number of French soldiers between the ages of 20 and 31 who lost their lives, estimated at 5S per cent.
 This is another striking illustra- tion of the sacrifices France made to hold the German armies at bay. Practically all the nations available manhood was under arms, or connect ed with the army in some capacity, and the fact that more than half of her most effective soldiers died is proof that France was literally ''bled white" That is no idle figure of speech.
 A single item in her account against Germany, 5S per cent of her young men fallen in battle or dead of wounds, would justify France in her determination to obtain security for the future. In the meantime, Ger many, beaten but still arrogant, talks of the next war.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-05-12

From the New York Times
 TN the Fortnightly Review Mir. A. B.
 walkley, the dramatic critic, writes = of Johnson and The Theatre" sup plementing Boswell with other authori- ties. Forty years ago, sir the doctor told Bozzy when revisiting Lichfield in 17I6, q was in love with an actress here, Mrs. Emmet, who acted Flora in Hob in the We'll " Johnson married Mrs. Por- ter in July. 1735. Hob was revived at C6vent garden in March. Two successive passions" says MT. Walkley, ''in about as many months" Boswell did not know what Mrs. Emmet's figure or manner was. Dr. Johnson's taste in figures or in act ing was more than curious Mrs. Porter, his dear Tetty or Tetsey, we know as very fat with swelled cheeks, Of florid red, produced by thick painting and the liberal use of cordials; flaring and fantastic taste in her dress and af- eral behavior"
 One can imagine the burst of laughter with which Garrick's imitation of this ex- cellent lady used to be accompanied. He had known her first at Edial, near Lich- field, where he was one of the three pupils of the doctors academy. The young rogues used to peep through the door to see the doctors awkward and tumultuous demonstrations of affection. If Davy never knew much Latin surely it was the doctors fault. Johnson never could see or hear we'll He seems tc have had certain instinctive bad taste in acting as in poetry. He ascribed a "courtly vivacity'' to certain player or Sir Harry Wildair, a standard character of Farquhar and the 18th century, "the most vulgar ruffian that even went upon the boards" according to Garrick. But the doctor, it is to be remembered, was good enough to instruct Garrick in em phasis and elocution, to teach him how to say the commandments: Thou shalt not bear false witness Of course the emphasis was wrong. The doctor was usually wrong That is one reason why we like him.
 For the next 10 years nothing is heard of Johnson's playgoing. Perhaps he was too poos to pay for his seat in the pit. though one would suppose that some or his literary friends would have got him a pass; and by 17H Garrick was famous. Dr.. Johnson had brought tragedy from Lehfield About every writer, every scholar, every gentleman of the Temple. not forgetting MT George Esnond War rington, wrote a tragedy in the 18th cen tury. Garrick kindly produced irene at Drury Lane, not without sharp quar- rels with the author about cuts ana alterations. There were cat-calls before the first performance in 1749 and the au- dience yelled Murder! Murder" when Mrs. Pritchard "whs to be strangled upon the stage, "and was to speak two lines with a bowstring around her neck" True to the old classical tradition, the house would not allow Medea to be slaugh- tered in the presence of the people. Mrs. Pritchard had to walk off the stage alive, and in the long run of the play, nine nights. she was strangled off stage. "Only a few intrepid explorers now read Irene through says MT. Walkley. They don't know what they miss, the rant
The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-05-12
,rcpo DIALECr IN LONDON

From the Montgomery AoVerlisoi.
 The Kansas City Star is disgusted al the British interpretation of negro a,a, lect-as indeed, it should be- seeing 'ns
 axample to which the Star calls at'eii'io''
 From a London comic paper:
 .srhat coon swanks as if he'd got pieh's of money" ,,,, ..Why, sure." answers the other mn
 sot brudder play in jazz band Tn Lon don. - still we would not say that the Bri'is' write any poorer negro dialect than any American who has not lived several years in the south. We know of no excep.lo' to inc rule-writers or speakers who haV' not lived in the south for several year are more eomical as interpreters or nesi' l sneech of the kind that is usually quo'e' than the dialect itself. And yet nesr' dialect fresh from the till, quoted eo'
 rectly. is always pungent, whether huno' ous or pathetic.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-05-12
CANDY REPLACING LIQUOR

New York Correspondent Pittsburg Dis
 patch.
 New York business men are preparing to keep abreast of the times when the country goes dry. Many who formerly enjoyed their whisky and soda after the days work or their dry martini before dinner already hhve sworn off" to try to get used to it before July 1. And it is we'll known that a man begins to crave for more sugar than his diet customarily includes when he "swears off" Realiz- ing these things, at least one business man in the Wall street district intro- duced a new form of treating" friends or other business men who visit his of flee. The time-honored box of cigars is still at their disposal, but there is an addition to the office equipment in the form of large box of bonbons. "Have cigar" this man urged when an &C., quaintance dropped in on him yesterday And" drawing the bonbons from his desk, have you gone dry yet? Have a bonbon before we start talking business
The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-05-12

Ole Hanson is kept busy these days denying that he ''blew up." The hapless reporter usually gets the blame
 # # The tunult and the shouting dies, and now comes the tedious work of getting all the salient facts into history.
 x $ < It Is announced that Holland will givo up the Kaiser to the allies And doubt less with ill-concealed joy.
 x x # With his best girl in easy reaching distance, the average soldier can dispense with public entertainment
 # # x The frigidity of May has caused the temporary internment of Panama hats and Palm Beach suits.
 # # # Kerensky is in Paris, but merely as a spectator of drama in which he has ceased to play part
 < # < Josephus Daniels has started home bringing with him the memory of having hobnobbed with royalty
 # x j. Birmingham's city commissioners sub init with rare fortitude to the ordeal Of being photographed
 x + # The ten commandments still have H considerable lead over the fourteen points,"
 % x E A lap at time, the United States navy is forging across the Atlantic.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-05-12
Glad To Visit Roanoke

am just back from my trip in east Alabama" said pr. James D. billiard
 had heard grent deal about the progressive little city of Roanoke. but was not ready to find it such a hustling place. It is full of active and big hearted men and consecrated and culture l women. It is place which believes in churches and schools and I had a sym pathetic and appreciative audience when spoke on denominational education A canvas of Clay county is being made for the endowment funds for the Howard and the Judson. and I am confident that the amount asked will be raised.'
The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-05-12
Birthday of Bank


 IL was very real pleasure for me to Visit the Bank of Ensley Saturday upon the occasion of the birthday of that bank Ing house, said Culpepper Exum yes- teroay The bank held open house and received many visitors from the most prominent people in the district.
 One of the most interesting things to me was the magnificent floral offerings which were sent to the bank by friends. They were beautiful and filled the entire lower floor. One of the very best of all was design made for the First Bank of Fairfield by Mrs. Kelly the florist at Ensley. The design was wheel of prog ress with 20 spokes representing the 20 years of the Bank of EnsIey and the hub was the hank from which the spokes rad ated The spokes were done in a beau- tiful red flower while the hub and the outer rim of the wheel was done in white flowers It was about three feet in diam eter and beautiful in the extreme. It was perhaps the most admired of the flowers sent to the Bank of Ensley and I am sure ~ Woo NSiy SiS dppTCCht6u. ln6 Bank of Ensley has rendered the Bir- mingham district very full and benefi- cial service since it's foundation It's growth has been very remarkable and I feel sure that it will continue to grow and prosper. Its new banking house offers greater facilities and therefore bet ter service My friend Erskine Ramsay, president of the bank has certainly se- lected two mighty fine men to have active charge of the affairs of that bank in the person of Bob Chadwick vice president and Sam King the cashier"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-05-12

when the country went dry. However, if they place much dependence on the Presidential frame of mind when MT. Wilson gets home, they are, to say the least, grasping at straw.
 Wartime prohibition is a passing phase of the national drouth, and even if it were repealed, America becomes la bone-dry nation by constitutional amendment next year.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-05-12
WHERE TT BELONGED

From Punch.
 An amateur authoress who had SUD- mitted a story to a magazine, after wait ing several weeks without hearing from the editor concerning it, finally sent him a note requesting an early decision, as she stated "she had other irons in the fire.'
 Shortly after came the editors reply: Dear Madame: l have read your story and I should advise you to put it with the other irons"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-05-12
Hornce wiIkerson Back

T am just back from Washington. !" said Horace Wilkerson, "and while it is not oyerrun as it was during the war. and one can get hotel accommodations without trouble, I can state that war prices still obtain, for the proprietors have not forgotten how to charge. I also had my first experience with the luxury Nx as l bought a few presents to bring home with me, and to be perfectly frank | did not get much joy in paying it.''
The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-05-12
Hears From Son In Coblenx

1T heard recently from my son James, who is a lieutenant in the 76th field artil- lery part of the Third division" aaid A. w. Nelson. He wrote from Cobenz on April 19. and told of his meeting with Watson Andrews who had recovered suf- tlciently from his wound to rejoin his regiment It was just a post card show ing his division. Now that the war is over can't help but wishing that he was on this side of the Atk
The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-05-12
Proud of Colonel Screw.

''I ran up to meet my friend Colonel Screws and to witness the great parade, . said Clayton Tullis, the prominent hard~ ware man of Montgomery, land it was good to see and to know that the gallant
 commander of the Fighting Fouyth' WIS once more back on his native heath Alabama is proud of him and of his ia. nous regiment The parade was truly wonderfully and I will always be glad that got to witness it.''
The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-05-12
WE'LL SOON KNOW
Cincinnati Enquirer.

From the Cincinnati Enquirer.
 When Clemenceaus famous assef- t;on. .It's a good peace reaches the rrn;+ad States Senate will it be Borah or Lodge who will offer the ameho ment substituting the negative Tor the affirmative?
The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-05-12
When Rasputin Visited
 Grand Duke Nicholas

M N interesting story is told in a A cable dispatch from London, re- garding Grand Duke Nicholas, who was reported dead number of times, but is still hale and hearty.
 Lieutenant Colonel Napier, who was formerly head of the British military mission with the Russian army in the Caucasus, and was on the Grand Dukes staff, says the notorious monk Rasputin appeared one day at the Grand Dukes headquarters and ex- claimed, 'sDo you know who I am? ?"
 Nicholas asked, "Who are you 2" q am Rasputin," replied the monk. sRasputin, are you?" said the Grand Duke. 'Wen, am going to have you aogged this time, and if you come Aere again I will have you hanged"
 Colonel Napier declares that Raspu- tin was immediately flogged and states further that Nicholas was the only man in Russia who would have dared to order the Czar's favorite to De punished.
 Whether this story is authentic or not, and disregarding one improba- bility, the fact that Nicholas must have known the monk because of the tatter's close association with the i'm perial family, we prefer to believe that it is true. Nicholas is the one Romanoff who might have issued such m order. He was one of Russia's greatest military leaders and has the excellent personal qualities that should be associated with his rank.
 Many conflicting stories have been bnld about Rasputin and the power he 4 alleged to have held over the Czar and Czarina, but enough is known of him to prove that he was one of the most despicable scoundrels and i'm posters who has ever played an un- savory role in history. No inconsid- erable part of the corruption which drought about the downfall of the Ronnanoffs is attributed to him,
 * a #
 Placing Dependence
 In Wilson's Good Humor 1.-THE liquor interests are hoping H that President Wilson will return from France, probably sometime next month, in such cheerful frame of mind that he can be induced to re- yoke wartime prohibition and give expiring John Barleycorn a new lease of life.
 Resolutions adopted at the closing session of the National Retail Liquor Dealers association, at Atlantic City ask their sympathizers to "assist 1T fighting national prohibition, since thu issue was promulgated in the absence of 2,500,O00 voters, many of whom made the supreme sacrifice in blood. protest against such fanatical propa ganda as prohibition emanates from.
 The liquor dealers were quick t. make capital out of the ''heroes" wh' died for John Barleycorn's sake, al though our soldiers probably had al idea they were fighting for somethin, entirely different. There is an ele ment of humor in the liquor men' sclicitude for soldiers who were ava.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-05-12
* * 2

BEGINNING THE DAY-I thank Thee, Lord, for this multitude of people by whom I am surrounded from those at my side whom I love as myself, unto those afar whom I do but see. Their songs and their sighs are mine. 0 make my heart tender and large to beat in all these lives. For Christ's sake, Amen.-H. M. E.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-05-12
BIRMINGHAM LEADS.

From the Anniston Star.
 Birmingham has again gone aneau U. Atlanta. Alabansl still leads. The Magic City has justified her name.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-05-12

Of the next war.
 x x x
 Record of Lynchings
 In Southern States
 e AVS the Pittsburg Dispatch .0 "The Birmingham Age-Herald takes exception to some criticisms in the Dispatch characterizing lynchings as a southern trait. The Alabama edi- tor says the north is just as bad. Let him take the figures on lynching for the past thirty years for proof"
 The Dispatch's editorial was headed, "South Yields a Little," and commenting on the fact that southern delegates were induced to attend a convention in New York to discuss the lynching evil, surmised in a facetious way that few people in this part of the country believed that there might be two sides to the question. This was the attitude to which The Age-Herald took exception. The Age Herald did not say that the north was as bad as the south, but did say that there was no difference of opinion in the north and the south regarding mob violence, that is among the bet ter element of both sections.
 As to the lynching record of the south, The Age-Herald published an editorial few days ago using the statistics quoted by the Dispatch, showing that Georgia leads all the states of the union in the annual num- Der of lynchings, with Alabama in fifth place.
 If Count Won Brockdorff- -Rantzau kept his seat when replying to Clemenceau's s address because of his physical condi- tion," well and good, but we can't help suspecting it may have been partly duo to Teuton contumacy.
 # * #
 A New York correspondent tells of a business man who keeps a box of cigars and box of bonbons in his desk for vis- itors. That's nothing new. only in the past the bonbons were offered to feminin& visitors.
 The last-minute success of the Victory Loan may be regarded as another illus tration of the old saying, which isn't true however. that the darkest hour is just before the dawn.
 Judging from the speed with which sol dier- laden automobiles traversed thu streets of Birmingham Saturday night Let's go" is still a popular slogan ir khaki circles.
 * * E Facing the prospect of a dry nation bibulous persons are going into prelimi nary training on the water wagon, st they can bear up during the drouth. x # * Mr. "Strangler' Lewis wonders wh! he can't defeat the pestiferous Pole However, Mr. Lewis win have anothe chance to redeem himself. The terms of the peace treaty make i ] unlikely that Germany will start out t' look for trouble at any time within thu next 50 years
 | The murderous captain if a U-boat | now sojourning in the Tower of London where it behooves him to make his will 1 * !. * | Another reason why we find it easy t, admire Grand Duke Nicholas is the re port that he once had Rasputin flogged
 * * * 1 In the meanwhile it may or may no be worth while to note that Victor Der ger is still on the government payroll i a * #
 Now, indeed. must we think" says tn Cincinnati Enquirer. Observe the wrin kled fronts congressman are wearing l # * | completed at the psychological moment t be dedicated to our returning heroes.
 z E z Congress is never at a loss for some thing to talk about, but the peace treat promises to be choice morsel.