Judge, 1891 · page 35 of 69
Judge — 1891 — page 35: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains three separate comic strips satirizing working-class and immigrant life in America. **"Keeping Up Appearances"** mocks social pretension: An Irish laborer (Kilkillen) who's earned money from a contract now buys his wife jewelry to appear prosperous. His wife insists the diamonds are Brazilian to seem refined, while he worries about appearing Irish or English rather than wealthy. **"The Laws of Elasticity"** jokes about a tramp's resilience: A vagrant gets hit by a club but bounces back elastically (like rubber shoes). The cop and officer discuss the tramp's durability with dark humor. **"A Broken-Up Tryst"** depicts a courtship interrupted by class anxiety: A young man warns his Irish girlfriend that her father would violently disapprove of their relationship if he discovered them courting, threatening "murdah." The page collectively satirizes immigrant anxieties about assimilation, class mobility, poverty, and parental authority—typical Judge magazine humor targeting Irish-Americans and the urban poor.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
FUNNY THINGS FROM JUDGE. KEEPING UP APPEARANCES. Kilkillen has done well on the last contract, and is blowing Mrs, Kilkillen off yor some jewelry. KiKiten (spasmodically)—"* Fer the love o' Hiven, Meezy, di MxS. KILKILLEN (fo salesman)—"' Vure sure thot th'—er—ah, diamints do be brogues! Lave the feller t'ink we're Irish, ‘r English, wan or the othe rale products av th’ Bhrazilian mines, don’chenose ?* THE LAWS OF ELASTICITY. Rasy Mike, THE TRAMP (as the club flies over the City Hall)—'* Dem shoes Orricee GRrocax—" Wait'll yez see me knock th’ soles aff him Jaanude-ot careprlag mabberr Me Cop A BROKEN-UP TRYST. Miss Cotey—* Ef my ole fahder knowed yo" wuz co'tin’ me, Gawge Simsor: “Fo! massy’s saik, pop, doan’ kick um ‘gen! Yo'll hab murdah on yo’, 1! doan’ fink whad he'd laike it.” suah comicbooks.com