Mr. Dooley's Philosophy
arrows stickin' in us like quills, as Hogan says, into th' fretful
porcupine or we may be doin' a mile in five minyits flat down th' pike
that leads to Cape Town pursued be th' less fleet but more ignorant
Boers peltin' us with guns full iv goold an' bibles, but in th' pages iv
histhry that our childhren read we niver turned back on e'er an inimy.
We make our own gloryous pages on th' battlefield, in th' camp an' in
th' cab'net meetin'."

   "Well, 't is all r-right f'r ye to be jokin'," said Mr. Hennessy, "but
there's manny a brave fellow down there that it's no joke to."

   "Thrue f'r ye," said Mr. Dooley, "an' that's why I wisht it cud be fixed
up so's th' men that starts th' wars could do th' fightin'. Th' throuble
is that all th' prelimin'ries is arranged be matchmakers an' all they'se
left f'r fighters is to do th' murdherin'. A man's got a good job at
home an' he wants to make it sthronger. How can he do it? Be throwin'
out some one that's got an akelly good job down th' sthreet. Now he
don't go over as I wud an' say, 'Here Schwartzmeister (or Kruger as th'
case may be) I don't like ye'er appearance, ye made a monkey iv me in
argymint befure th' neighborhood an' if ye continyue in business ye'll
hurt me thrade, so here goes to move ye into th' sthreet!' Not that la-
ad. He gets a crowd around him an' says he: 'Kruger (or Schwartzmeister
as th' case may be) is no good. To begin with he's a Dutchman. If that
ain't enough he's a cantin', hymn singin' murdhrous wretch that wuddent
lave wan iv our counthrymen ate a square meal if he had his way. I'll
give ye all two dollars a week if ye'll go over an' desthroy him.' An'
th' other la-ad, what does he do? He calls in th' neighbors an' says he:
'Dooley is sindin' down a gang iv savages to murdher me. Do ye lave
ye'er wurruk an' ye'er families an' rally ar-round me an' where ye see
me plug hat wave do ye go in th' other direction,' he says, 'an' slay
th' brutal inimy,' he says. An' off goes th' sojers an' they meet a lot
iv la-ads that looks like thimsilves an' makes sounds that's more or
less human an' ates out iv plates an' they swap smokin' tobacco an'
sings songs together an' th' next day they're up early jabbing holes in
each other with baynits. An' whin its all over they'se me an'
Chamberlain at home victoryous an' Kruger an' Schwartzmeister at home
akelly victoryous. An' they make me prime minister or aldherman but whin
I want a man to put in me coal I don't take wan with a wooden leg.


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