"No, sir, ye can't tell me that a good deal iv wurruk is good f'r anny
man. A little wurruk is not bad, a little wurruk f'r th' stomach's sake
an' to make ye sleep sound, a kind of nightcap, d'ye mind. But a gr-reat
deal iv wurruk, especially in th' summer time, will hurt anny man that
indulges in it. So, though I don't sympathize with sthrikers, I
congratulate thim. Sthrike, says I, while the iron is hot an' ye'er most
needed to pound it into a horseshoe. An' especially wud I advise
ivrybody to sthrike whin th' weather is hot."
DRUGS
"What ails ye?" asked Mr. Dooley of Mr. Hennessy, who looked dejected.
"I'm a sick man," said Mr. Hennessy.
"Since th' picnic?"
"Now that I come to think iv it, it did begin th' day afther th'
picnic," said Mr. Hennessy. "I've been to see Dock O'Leary. He give me
this an' these here pills an' some powdhers besides. An' d'ye know,
though I haven't taken anny iv thim yet, I feel betther already."
"Well, sir," said Mr. Dooley, "'tis a grand thing to be a doctor. A man
that's a doctor don't have to buy anny funny papers to enjye life. Th'
likes iv ye goes to a picnic an' has a pleasant, peaceful day in th'
counthry dancin' breakdowns an' kickin' a football in th' sun an' ivry
fifteen minyits or so washin' down a couple of dill-pickles with a
bottle of white pop. Th' next day ye get what's comin' to ye in th'
right place an' bein' a sthrong, hearty man that cudden't be kilt be
annything less thin a safe fallin' on ye fr'm a twenty-story building ye
know ye ar-re goin' to die. Th' good woman advises a mustard plasther
but ye scorn th' suggestion. What good wud a mustard plasther be again
this fatal epidemic that is ragin' inside iv ye? Besides a mustard
plasther wud hurt. So th' good woman, frivilous crather that she is,
goes back to her wurruk singin' a light chune. She knows she's goin' to
have to put up with ye f'r some time to come. A mustard plasther,
Hinnissy, is th' rale test iv whether a pain is goin' to kill ye or not.
If the plasther is onbearable ye can bet th' pain undherneath it is not.
"But ye know ye are goin' to die an' ye're not sure whether ye'll send
f'r Father Kelly or th' doctor. Ye finally decide to save up Father
Kelly f'r th' last an' ye sind f'r th' Dock. Havin' rescued ye fr'm th'
jaws iv death two or three times befure whin ye had a sick headache th'
Dock takes his time about comin', but just as ye are beginnin' to throw
ye'er boots at th' clock an' show other signs iv what he calls rigem
mortar, he rides up in his fine horse an' buggy. He gets out slowly, one
foot at a time, hitches his horse an' ties a nose bag on his head. Thin
he chats f'r two hundherd years with th' polisman on th' beat. He tells
him a good story an' they laugh harshly.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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