Judge, 1899-02-25 · page 22 of 22
Judge — February 25, 1899 — page 22: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This six-panel comic depicts Mr. Weeprop's alcoholism and his wife's intervention. The husband drinks liquor to aid his nap; his wife, observing his "awful habit," devises a scheme. While he sleeps, she apparently applies something (likely a strong-smelling substance) to his face—possibly mustard or similar irritant. He wakes violently sneezing ("Wow!"), and his wife uses this moment to extract a promise: he'll quit drinking permanently. The satire targets both alcohol addiction and domestic remedy-culture. The joke rests on the wife's "genius"—using physical discomfort as shock therapy to cure his vice. By the 1890s-1900s (Judge's era), such temperance themes were common, though the comic's tone is lighthearted rather than preachy. It reflects period attitudes that women's "wit" could reform men's moral failings through cunning rather than argument.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
IL. hog Weepror—“ Oh, there's Pipe drinking that horrid liquor again. L Mr. Wezprop—"' There's nothing like a small drop of the ‘ stuff’ before ‘* ful habit ! taking a nap. Ob, that I could break him of that aw! Mas. Werpror—" A woman's wit to the rescue! Now, we'll see what does when he wakes up.” VI. Mr. Wrrpror—"! Wow! Lookat that! It's gone tomy nose. Wow! Wow!" Mr. Wezprop—"* I'll promise, my dear—and this holds for good !” COPYRIGHT 699 BY ARKELL PUBLISNIEG COMPANY OF NEW YORK. Sackett Wiel Litho & Pg io Kew York HOW A LITTLE GENIUS WELL APPLIED WILL WORK WONDERS. comicbooks.com