Judge, 1891-12-05 · page 17 of 52
Judge — December 5, 1891 — page 17: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contrasts two dance scenes as social satire. The top illustration romanticizes an 18th-century formal ball—"polished floor," "powdered heads," "brilliant ball"—with accompanying verse nostalgically celebrating genteel courtship and propriety. The bottom illustration, captioned "The Virginia Reel at Grandma's, 1891," mockingly depicts a contemporary rural dance scene. The accompanying dialect verse (credited to J.S. Goodwin) humorously captures backwoods colloquialisms and rough behavior—dancers calling out instructions, references to "soaped" violin bows, and the boast that a physically attractive man "allus gits th' daisiest an' purtiest gal." The satire targets the gap between America's idealized past and crude present reality: 100 years of supposed civilization have produced not refinement but rustic vulgarity. The contrast between formal language/imagery above and vernacular dialect below emphasizes how far contemporary rural America has allegedly fallen from genteel standards.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Wa Ye Olden Dance, 1791. KET tb, OLDER times! Ob, bappy days, Wiitb flowing locks and buckled sboe, ~ eS Be Waben poutb and age were blended all! The men were gallant —damsels gay; Tbe polished floor, the dancing maze, The everewelcome children, too, The powdered beads, the brilliant ball. Tripped merrily the nigbt away. The joyous laugb, the winsome glance, The tender touch, the loving smile ; Wibo bas not known them in the dance, The past, tbe present, all tbe while? le down! git a slicker move on! Pi monkey-shines a spell. (Chune up that FE. string) Now mp down ! Rack agin, ky : ce doin’ well. Feller with a phiz on him fit t’ cap a tomb (Bear down, hard, Bill! Bet yer your bow's soaped !) Allus gits th’ daisiest an’ purtiest gal in th’ room. J. 8, COODWIN. comicbooks.com /