Judge, 1889 · page 22 of 72
Judge — 1889 — page 22: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains two distinct comic features. The top section shows a rabbit's sequential reaction to annoyance—depicted in six panels showing increasing agitation and eventual retaliation—illustrating the proverb "he laughs best who laughs last." Below is a collection of folk aphorisms attributed to "Old Chocolate," presented in dialect. The piece appears to be a stereotypical representation of African American vernacular speech from the late 19th century, offering homespun wisdom about farming, human nature, and life's hardships. Topics include mule-driving, harvesting, honesty, and practical survival. The satirical intent is unclear without additional context, though the framing of folk wisdom through heavy dialect was common in period humor magazines, often reflecting—or reflecting upon—racial attitudes of the era. The attribution to "J. A. Waldron" suggests a specific cartoonist's work.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
BEST THINGS FROM JUDGE. THE ANNOYED RABBIT; OR, ‘HE LAUGHS BEST WHO LAUGHS LAST." OLD CHOCOLATE'’S JOCOSERIOUS CHAT. Nebbah wade whar de water's roily. Dat's a lively bone dat two dogs fall at. De lightah de load de contrar’er de mule. De man wid good truck nebbah stays long at de mahkit. De man dat ‘waits toe be asked toe cat offen goes hungry. = Dar er no fahm widout thistles an’ no life widout troubles. De happies’ songs come fom de man wid de emp'ies’ pocket Pompey cuff an’ Sambo_ kicks Pompey, an’ dz De fahmah stingy wid ‘is seed mus'tn’t grum'le ef de hahves’ am light. Some folk nebbah t'ink abo't w'at’s in de bowl twell dey see de bottom. toe sce yo',” ansahs wid a h eben we'en de dinnah er po’. yo’ cud ‘pend on de dog's bahk yo" might tell a tief fom an hones’ man. Hit er jis’ ez easy toe dye a black coat red ez toe tink ob makin’ a tief hones’. Yo'er boun’ toe blow hot broth an dahfo" blow hit befo’ yo’ bu’n yo" mi De hoss dat skittish dis mawnin’ am sobah ‘nuff aftah de dey at de plow. Dar's a deal ob time wasted in dickerin’ "tween “w'at'll yo’ gib?” an’ ‘‘w'at'll yo’ take?” J. A. WALDRON, comicbooks.com