The third volume of Marshall P. Wilder's ten-part anthology presents a cross-section of American humor from the turn of the century, drawing on dialect, verse, and short fiction. The table of contents lists works by well-known figures such as Samuel L. Clemens, James Russell Lowell, and Oliver Wendell Holmes, alongside lesser-known contributors like Opie Read and Wallace Irwin. The selections range from the rural vernacular of James Whitcomb Riley's 'Little Orphant Annie' to the urban satire of Gelett Burgess's 'The Bohemians of Boston.' Wilder's editorial hand is light, allowing each piece to speak in its own voice, whether through the exaggerated dialect of Artemus Ward or the polished wit of Carolyn Wells.

Dialect as a Comic Tool

Several pieces in this volume rely on dialect to establish character and setting. In Myra Kelly's 'Morris and the Honorable Tim,' the immigrant boy Morris speaks in a heavy Yiddish-influenced English: 'Teacher, yiss ma'an,' and 'I'm lovin' much mit you.' The author uses this broken English not merely for humor but to highlight Morris's vulnerability and the cultural gap between him and the Irish-American school inspector, Mr. O'Shea. Similarly, James Whitcomb Riley's 'Little Orphant Annie' employs a rustic Hoosier dialect: 'An' the Gobble-uns 'll git you / Ef you Don't Watch Out!' The dialect here is rhythmic and musical, serving the poem's folkloric tone. Charles Godfrey Leland's 'Hans Breitmann's Party' uses a German-American dialect: 'Hans Breitmann gife a barty— / Where ish das barty now?' This piece, written in a phonetic approximation of German-accented English, was a popular comic staple of the era. The dialect in these works is not uniform; each author tailors it to a specific ethnic or regional voice, making the humor inseparable from the language itself.

Satire of Social Types and Institutions

Several selections target social pretensions and institutional absurdities. In Thomas Bailey Aldrich's 'Our New Neighbors at Ponkapog,' the narrator observes a new house being built and reflects on the owner's taste, noting that the structure is 'set well back from the road, among the trees, as if the inmates were to care nothing whatever for a view of the stylish equipages.' The satire is gentle, aimed at the affectation of rural simplicity. John Kendrick Bangs's 'The Genial Idiot Suggests a Comic Opera' mocks the formulaic nature of comic opera plots. Frank Crane's 'Wamsley's Automatic Pastor' imagines a mechanical clergyman, satirizing the mechanization of religion. The humor often arises from incongruity: a pastor that runs on gears, or a 'genial idiot' who proposes absurd ideas with earnest logic. These pieces reflect a broader cultural skepticism toward institutions and social roles, a common thread in American humor of the period.

Comic Verse and Wordplay

Verse forms a substantial part of this volume, ranging from lighthearted rhymes to more elaborate wordplay. Carolyn Wells contributes several short comic poems, including 'Maxioms' and 'The Two Automobilists,' which rely on puns and concise wit. Wallace Irwin's 'A Letter from Home' and 'The Rhyme of the Chivalrous Shark' use narrative verse with a humorous twist. The latter tells of a shark with gentlemanly manners, a parody of chivalric ballads. James Whitcomb Riley's 'A Dos't o' Blues' and 'The Tree-Toad' employ a folksy, sentimental humor. The verse often plays with form: John James Davies's 'A Ballade of the "How To" Books' uses the ballade structure to mock self-help literature. These poems demonstrate that humor in this period was not confined to prose; the rhythmic and rhyming constraints of verse provided a framework for punchlines and comic timing.

Regional and Ethnic Humor

The volume showcases a variety of regional and ethnic voices, reflecting the diversity of American humor at the time. 'Arkansas Planter' by Opie Read offers a Southern perspective, while 'Southern Sketches' by Bill Arp (Charles Henry Smith) presents a Georgia cracker persona. Artemus Ward's 'The Tower of London' and 'Uncle Simon and Uncle Jim' represent a Yankee humorist traveling abroad and commenting on local customs. The Irish-American experience appears in Myra Kelly's story, where the Honorable Tim O'Shea, a school inspector, displays prejudice against the Jewish immigrant Morris. The humor here is tinged with social commentary, as O'Shea's 'well-developed sense of humor' involves creating distress for Teacher. These pieces do not shy away from ethnic stereotypes, but they also reveal the tensions and sympathies of a multicultural society. The reader should approach these works with an awareness of their historical context, as the humor often relies on exaggerated dialect and caricature.

This volume offers a snapshot of American humor before World War I, when dialect and satire were dominant modes. Readers interested in the evolution of comic writing will find precursors to later traditions, from the tall tale to the one-liner. The anthology's structure—short pieces by many authors—invites browsing rather than consecutive reading. Pay attention to the editorial choices: Wilder includes both canonical and obscure writers, suggesting a desire to represent the breadth of American humor rather than a single school. The humor may feel dated in places, but its linguistic play and social observation remain sharp.