[Copyright, 1904]
The Bobbs-Merrill Company
To JENNIE SHALEK: housewife,
who, in my hour of drab and dreary cooklessness, when my heart fainted, and tragedy impended, sent her four fair daughters to my aid, with an ancient Hibernian curio destined to eke out a livelihood at my expense; who knows the true inwardness of this tragic topic, and who would gladly lend a willing hand and an unwilling cook to any sufferer, I gratefully dedicate these simple, plaintive dialogues.
ALAN DALE
New York City,
September, 1904