Judge — May 12, 1894 — page 16: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This is an eight-panel satirical narrative about a temperance advocate whose anti-alcohol lecture backfires. Deacon Stubbles delivers an impassioned temperance speech that ironically inspires the townspeople to behave wildly and recklessly—the opposite of his intended message. The comic satirizes temperance movements by showing how the deacon's own household descends into chaos, and concludes with him swearing off spring water (implying he'll turn to alcohol instead). The satire mocks both temperance crusaders' self-righteousness and suggests their messaging may be counterproductive, driving people toward vice rather than virtue. It's a common Judge magazine theme ridiculing reform movements as hypocritical or ineffective.