Judge, 1895-10-12 · page 5 of 16
Judge — October 12, 1895 — page 5: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
The page contains three distinct pieces: **"The Gayety Girl"** is a melancholic poem by John Goady Gregory mourning a deceased theatrical performer known for her wild, carefree lifestyle and romantic escapades across London, New York, and Cape Town. The verse suggests she died by suicide, questioning why her "sprightly spirit" broke despite her glamorous life, and laments how she's already been replaced by another performer. **"The Professional Stoop"** is a brief visual gag about a bicycle accident victim, with a child misinterpreting the injury as evidence of exceptional cycling skill. **"Avoiding Decision"** is a racist cartoon depicting a tug-of-war referee at a contest between African American teams who avoids declaring a winner by instead awarding victory to whichever team sustains the most serious injuries—broken bones, black eyes, and injuries. The dialect and caricature reflect the deeply offensive racial stereotyping common to this era's "humor."
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
THE GAYETY GIRL. GERTIE, the gayety girl, is dead. Never again will she toss her head And sing her song, with its risque refrain, And flutter and fascinate—never again. Young and pretty and wild and bad, What a whirl of a life she had! How like a fairy, in tulle and tights, She danced in the blaze of the dazzling lights, And queened it over each lordling beau She met in the wine-room after the show ! London knew her, and Gotham, too ; And Capetown,. Over the world she flew, And where she traveled the blues took flight— ‘And prudence—and it was gayety night ; Gayety night, with never a thought OF words like'** duty or * wife” or ** ought.” All of her levity vanished quite— For the morgue has never a gayety night— She lies on a slab, like a lump of lead, A beautiful suicide, early dead. Why did her sprightly spirit sink? Had the girl a heart? Did she stop to think ? To-day, at Capetown, in skiliful haste, Are busy fellows with brush and paste ; And the bill-boards bright to the gaze unfurl ‘The name of another gayety girl. JOM" GOADBY GREGORY. Remar seo WO conte SEATS THE PROFESSIONAL STOOP. SMALL Boy—‘* Oh, mamma, what a great bicycler he must have been AVOIDING DECISION AT THE BLACKVILLE-DARKTOWN CHAMPION TUG-OF-WAR CON’ Mr. BLAvEs (the referee)—"* Dis tug o' wah am too even toe award a decisyun ! and as dere am a heap ob outside money on de issue, I feels mahse'f called on toe cut de rope — —and award de contest toe de team dat kin show up de leastest ob brack eyes, broken arms, laigs, noses, an’ cracked shin-bones.” (Great cheers above general anathemas and groans.) comicbooks.com