Judge, 1890-12-06 · page 32 of 52
Judge — December 6, 1890 — page 32: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page centers on a sentimental poem contrasting a homeless man's misery with wealthy families' holiday cheer. The tramp observes Christmas celebrations—bells, feasts, family gatherings, romance—from outside, emphasizing his isolation ("My dog and I—we have no friend"). The satire targets both class inequality and Victorian sentimentality about poverty. The accompanying comic vignettes mock various social pretenses: a woman rejecting mistletoe customs by offering only her veil to kiss; a child preferring to be a snake-charmer's assistant over a respectable profession; a woman repeatedly showing the same Christmas gifts to friends year after year (implying either poverty or vanity). The overall message critiques holiday hypocrisy—the wealthy celebrate abundance while the poor suffer—and deflates romantic/genteel social conventions through crude humor. Nathan M. Levy's illustrations emphasize the tramp's degradation and the gap between classes during Christmas.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
CHRISTMAS JUDGE THE TRAMP AT CHRISTMAS. TIE YEAR is coming to an end, But none to me a greeting send, (My dog and I —we have no friend.) Ml. How light of heart most men appear, I do not blame them if they sneer, (I'll have to tramp again next year.) T hear the sound of Christmas bells As I pass by the homes of swells, (Great Caxsar ! how their cooking smells !) r I see the lights on C The tables heaped wi (Content I'd be with bread and cheese.) The young and old are full of cheer, Well may they be since home is near, (I Aad a home — forgive the tear !) vi eS Their gayeties they never cease, For them companionship and peace, (While I'm tarned o'er to the police!) IX. Go, go, and make thy lordly bow, Present t On downy beds they lie—ah me, ‘Their dreams are full of ecstasy (The sky's my only canopy.) VIL I see the lovers meet, and sigh, gifts, incautious thou ! (Thou'lt soon be ** broke,” as 1 am now.) Sing at her feet thy little lay, He steals a rapture from her eye, Go wild since thou hast heard her “yea,” if I steal, a“ copper” ’s nigh.) (We all shall turn to common clay.) Well, as the se Cl May they have naught their souls to tr «LILI ah (A fool here wants to treat — good-by r Ms NATHAN MM, LEVY, y ; \ il “WouLby’r you dance, Miss Splinte g ARN ‘ 1 “Wood uae! on in my lif shoe dance? Ob, I can’t join you in that. I never had a pair NO MUSIC IN HIS SOUL. Mrs. Nortos (finishing a ballad make a prima-donna. Many and man refusing to sing at home.” : You're different from me. ‘They used to put me to sent to bed for HALF A LOAF. Mr, Jones—"I've caught you under the mistletoe, Miss Smith, and I'm entitled to a kis Miss Smith — Oh, | don’t believe in such foolish customs ; but you may take my veil and press your lips against that portion of it that generally rests on my mouth.” PLENTY OF STOCKINGS TO HANG. Mrs, Brown —* Would you like to be that: snake-charmer we saw in the dime museum ?” Little Johnnie—" No, ma. Vd like to be the little girl with the four legs.” DEAD-SEA FRUIT. Bessie —" Miss Oldgirl showed me all the presents she : 1c gs Bane UN RRL" received for Christmas. ; *BLEMUER SéEK"—" Kattlin’ riggin’! but them fellers * Jessie — She has been showing them to me regularly every year for I don’t know how long.” Cnorus oF MATE OF 1 spree, ain't they ? comicbooks.com