Judge, 1888 · page 40 of 69
Judge — 1888 — page 40: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains four separate satirical cartoons and jokes typical of late 19th-century humor: **"Ad Infinitum"**: A Black dialect joke mocking religious/philosophical ignorance—a child asks what supports the rock the Earth sits on, leading to absurd infinite regression. **"His Great Good Luck"**: A classical reference joke: Bacchus (Roman god of wine) survived the biblical flood because he was too drunk to notice, satirizing the protective power of intoxication. **"Just the Thing"**: A working-class man sees a "Wanted: Old Iron" sign and applies, assuming he qualifies—likely a dig at aging laborers or obsolescence. **"A Model Husband"**: A wife jokes that her husband's "secret" to making her happy was literally keeping it secret from her—satirizing failed marriages and male evasiveness. **"On Their Washington Trip"**: Hotel guests discuss polishing copper coins by chewing hard, conflating effort with value—possibly satirizing tourist foolishness or economic naïveté. The humor relies on wordplay, class stereotypes, and situational irony typical of Judge's era.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
GOOD THINGS AD INFINITUM. , dat de world ain't a flyin’ ‘round in de ssibam my opini er on a rock. air like a pin-w - Ye -yes, doninie, dat may be, but what does dat rock set on ?” “ Another rock, in course.” + Well, an’ what does dat one set on?” “ Bruver Whi n't as’ sich jackass 1 queshuns. way down, fo’ shuah Dey is rocks all de HIS GREAT GOOD LUCK. When Bacchus was saved from the flood, you will mark That he was not of those with old Noah in the ark— His grand vice it was saved him, although you may doubt it— He was so very drunk he knew nothing about it. A woman predicted that the falls of Niagara would run dry on the 15th of August, and now she vindicates herself with the excuse that there was too much water to permit the experiment. FROM JUDGE. JUST THE THING. . OLp Rust veTeraN—+T'll apply for that situation at once.” A MODEL HUSBAND. Mrs. Brown was endeavoring to console her young married daughter who was weeping over her husband’s short-comings. “What could I do, my dear? _ I married you to Ernest because he swore he had the secret of making you happy.” “True! m-m-mamma! it was a se-se-se-sccret, and he's k-k-k-k-kept it.” There will presently be a bathing costume without lock, stock or barrel, as they used to say of a certain kind of imaginary gun; and by that time “Clara Belle” will be so happy that she will not be able to contain herself in one of them. ON THEIR WASHINGTON TRIP. Horex cugst—"Chew real hard, Kate. It makes them dimuns sparkle like new coppers.” comicbooks.com