BY THE WAY

If nonsense is to wisdom near alliedand truth is often spoken in a jest, whichare facts known to very casual observers,there is much more than the passinglaugh to be derived from such a collectionof anecdote, repartee, and pleasantryas that gathered together in this volume.

For some years the Public Ledger ofPhiladelphia, and earlier the PhiladelphiaTimes, before the two journals wereunited, have offered premiums for contributionsto a column of jests called "TalesWorth Telling." With the permissionof Mr. George W. Ochs of the PublicLedger, the best of these are nowcollected and published in permanent formfor a wider audience in the belief thatthey will be enjoyed beyond the confinesof the newspaper's community and forlonger than the day for which it is madeand serves its purposes.

There is much Americanism in these"Tales." They have the flavor of oursoil; the relish of our nationality. Whilesome are plants of foreign growthremoved to our atmosphere in which theyhave taken on a new appearance, thereare touches of human nature andcharacter in all of them.

If all these anecdotes seem not to beequally laugh-provoking, it is the fate ofanecdotes. They are meant for differentminds; they have different objects. Ifany shall teach a lesson, or point a moralwhile it at the same time fetches a smile,its purpose will not be lost.

Such humor, springing, as it does, fromthe people, much of it being caught atfirst hands from those who invented it tobe transcribed for the newspaper in whichit first appeared and now to be preservedin this volume, illustrates many importanttruths in our American character. Letthat not be forgotten! "Show me anation's humor and I will show you itscivilization," is a sentiment worthy tobecome a proverb. There is hope for theman or the race of men which is giftedwith the sense of humor if the mind andlips remain clean and reverent.

The Chinese can read this book as wellas our occidentals. It can be perusedbackward or forward and will need noindex or table of contents. It can betaken all at once if time and taste call forit, or it may be confidently opened bythe skipper and skimmer of books whotravels hither and thither and assails hisliterature only at vulnerable points. Itmay perhaps be taken up a second time,when, reader, if some of these storiesseem to be old friends, you must becertain not to chide and revile this littlevolume, but complimen

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