A MAKER OF MIRTH

New Zealand Times, Volume LIII, Issue 12619, 2 December 1926, Page 11

A MAKER OF MIRTH

HOW THE TRICK IS DONE LORD DEWAR’S REVELATIONS STEADY FLOW OF EPIGRAM / ~ “When Charles I. mounted the scaf fold in Whitehall he turned to his broken-hearted courtiers before placing bis head on the block and said to comfort them: ‘My friends, this is what comes of not advertising in the local papers.’ ” Quips like this one, flowing in an easy stream, have made Lord DeWar the most famous after-dinner speaker. in London. Here is anothei Dewarism; “The motor-car to-day makes many men remember that home 19 where the mortgage is to be found.’’ ! Henry Ford himself could not have put ’ it more neatly. Or dip into his speech at the recent dinner to South Africa's bowlirig team. It shows Lord Dowr.r as an explorer with a sense of humour, ,:a oort of Leacockian du Chaillu. This curious amalgam of advertising, motoring and big game hunting is the source from which Lord Dewar sprays hie after-dinner audiences with such freshening streams of humour that London has been forced to coin the adjoc* [ tive “Dewaresque.” Here is a handful of Dewarisms picked at random: — “The American who wrote ‘Home. I Sweet Home,’ lived for fifty years :n ‘hotels, so he ought to know.’’ “It is not what a man stands for that counts. It is what he falls for." [ “Most men don’t wake up to find j themselves famous. i They usually j dream they nre famous and then wake ; “p.” . Avoid the man who will not stop to see a dog-fight. He has lost all •interest in life.” “When a judge makes a mistake itbecomes the law of tho land. When a ' plumber makes a mistake he charges twice for it. When a doctor makes a mistake he buries it. When a preacher makes a mistake nobody knows tho difference.’’ ' “There are two classes, those wno work and those who explain how won, is done,” | ‘ 'No matter what you do, someone always knew you would.” I A TRACE OF CYNICISM “We are told we are hero to help others. If we are here to help others, I often wonder what tho others are hero for.” “Many a man sets out to leave footprints on the sand of time and only succeeds in leaving fingerprints at Scot- ,■ land Yard.” . “Tho world is governed by customs i and habits. Yon must have observed | some men from force of habit trying to blow the froth from the top of a glass of water. I once knew a retired dairyman who said that from force of habit he never could look at a bucket of water -without feeling an irresistible desire to put some milk in it.” “Talk is. cheap until it gets into love letters.” “A Scotsman is never at home unless he is, abroad.” None of these Dewarisms indicates anything more of Lord Dewar himself than his wit, his gift for aphorism, his trace of cynicism. The man is a far more serious phenomenon. He is no longer a Scotsman on the make. He is made. Harry Lander himself has not been a more colossal success. “Annie Laurie’s 1 ’ popularity is a shy violet compared to the world-wide popularity of the product of Scotland to which the family name of Dewar is attached. aphorisms with a punch Of all the stars in London’s afterdinner aky Lord Dewar is easily the brightest. A-. visitor hunted him up the other day to ask him how he dees it. ' One wall of his little office was occupied by a painting of some Sandy MoNab whose Highland dress was redolent of the heather. The other walls were occupied by paintings of old London inns with the long-distance mail coaches arriving and leaving. The fourth wall was a window opening to the London of 1926. “Anybody can do it who has a sense of humour, ’ ’ Lord Dewar said. He has a mannerism of speaking out of the corner of his mouth. “All you need to do is to pack your humour into as few words as possible. An aphorism with a punch in it is all that is necessary.”