Judge, 1896-10-10 · page 5 of 16
Judge — October 10, 1896 — page 5: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page from Judge (an American satirical weekly) contains multiple short humor sketches mocking various social situations and character types circa early 1900s. **Key sketches:** - **"Couldn't Return Without Them"**: Satirizes materialistic daughters—a young woman claims she needed to buy engagement rings during a wilderness trip, mocking both female acquisitiveness and courtship customs. - **"Against His Convictions"**: A tramp refuses legitimate work as a sandwich-man because newspapers are "the only advertising medium"—mocking both vagrant logic and newspaper advertising's prominence. - **"Ground for Divorce"**: Absurdist humor about a marriage ending over a husband refusing to lace his wife's bicycle leggings—satirizing both trivial marital disputes and the new "bicycle craze." - **"Modesty"**: A military general claims credit for winning the Civil War, then admits he did almost nothing—mocking false military heroism and self-aggrandizement. The remaining sketches involve rural/working-class characters at "Plug Crossing," using dialect humor (then common) for slapstick situations. **Overall**: Judge's humor targets materialism, dishonesty, pretension, and social absurdities through exaggeration.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Mudge ECHOES. LONE in the dusk I can hear a replying, When low swings the bat and the white ow! is flying. All day ‘tis a laugh my love gives to my sighing ; Alone in the dusk I can hear a replying. nae COULDN'T RETURN WITHOUT THEM, Father—"\ had no idea your summer trip would cost so much.” Daughter— What could you expect? You sent me to a wilderness, so I was obliged to buy my own engagement-rings.” AGAINST HIS CONVICTIONS. Citisen—" There's plenty of work for an able- bodied man to do. Why don't you apply for position as a sandwich-man?” Tramp —"\W’s agin me convic- tions, De newspaper is de on'y adver- tisin’ medium.” GROUND FOR DIVORCE. S4QN WHAT ground does Mr. Ricketts base his application for divorce?” “ His wife insisted upon his lacing up her bicycle leggings.” AVAILABLE EITHER WAY, MODESTY Heten—"* He is extremely reticent about his family.” + *GENERAL,” said the spokesman Hex rroruer—"* Hum—must be a good man of bad i family or a bad man of good family. You had best encour- of the bevy of ladies who had age him.” just been introduced to the distinguish- eaving. ed military man, “we consider it a Pat" Phwat are yez lookin’ fer, great honor to meet one who did so much for his country in the great rebellion.” Mike (lighting the third match): * “Ladies,” the: adres whak | aid was ing. I—er—was but a very small patch _dhropped a match here, an’ it's thot hard toimes are Ladies.” the general bowed, “ what I did was nothing er—was but a very pa cropped s fasteh bere an) ts tht hard tole are on the seat of the war. hunt fer it.” Jehu Barker of Plug Crossing orders his first “rum-omelet. A twenty-six-years’ growth of whiskers “* Say, you smart Aleck ! you kin have this here hell- gone up in smoke, fire an! brimstone, quick.” Aleck ! A local item from the Plug Crossing Advocat. T'm goin’ t’ git out o' here pretty dan the next morning. comicbooks.com