Judge, 1901-11-30 · page 10 of 18
Judge — November 30, 1901 — page 10: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page from *Judge* magazine contains multiple satirical pieces. The main story, "Si Perkins's Final Thanksgiving," tells of a wealthy California businessman who, despite his success, remains obsessed with recreating his mother's mince pie. The satire critiques American materialism and consumerism: no amount of wealth satisfies Si's longing for this childhood comfort. He eventually dies from eating the pie his chef finally produces—a darkly comic moral about how excessive desire, even for simple things, can be destructive. The accompanying illustrations include "Casey at the Bat" (the famous poem), "Golf Football" (satirizing sports), and "Sure Death at Home" (a fox seducing a turkey, likely mocking naive optimism). The overall message: American prosperity hasn't brought contentment; wealthy men remain trapped by nostalgic wants. The frontier/Western setting emphasizes this critique of American character.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
% CASEY AT THE BAT. piece of pie like my mother used to make on Thanksgivin’ day." “ Firs’ he used to git Mis Perkins to try her han’ at makin’ that kind of pie every Thanksgivin’, but fin'ly he said, «'Tain't no use, Ell'n; you SI PERKINS’S FINAL THANKSGIVING. 6eTTO HANKER after somethin’ else when you've got enough is vitiatin’ an’ demoralizin’, ifnot worse,” said the man from the occident.” The eastern man, who felt that it was impossible to get enough, agreed with him. “The regret- ted demise of Si Perkins is a case in pint,” the west- ern man continued, Si come to Chi- nese Camp ‘long in the early ‘fifties an’ started to sellin’ house- hold necessities, an’ as the licker he give out was good, he did well. But no matter how well he did, he fre- quen'ly used to sigh an’ say, ‘I allers have one great unful- filled want, an’ that’s a SURE DEATH AT HOME. Innocent Miss Turkey—"' Ah, Mr. Fox, it is so kind of you to take me home to your pleasant family, away from those horrid men.” mince pie like my mother used to make.” GOLF FOOT-BALL. See how many kicks you can go around In, DIDN'T WANT TO DIE. “* What's the meaning of that wild lock in your eye?” "Shh! I'm trying to work the insanity dodge."* mean well an’ your intentions is “At las’ I will have pie like my mother “+ How'd she Inake it?" says the chef. + Well, there was meat an’ some cabbage, an’ some other things that I didn't ‘zactly ‘dentify.” “The dinner that day was dished up in style. Fin'ly the chef sent it in. When Si took the firs’ bite he jus’ rolled his eyes up to the ceilin’ an’ says, ‘Atlas’! My appetite ain't quite the same as it was, but it's all right—an’ his smile got peacefuller, an’ he et each bite ‘zif it was ambrosier. “After he'd finished two pieces he sent for the chef an’ says to him, lookin’ very grateful, «I want to congratulate you. The pie was li—like’—— “Them was Si Perkins’s las’ words, forhedrop- ped back an’ never breathed agin. The crowner’s jury returned this verdict : * Died from gittin’ what he wanted. His constitution had changed.’ “That's why I say, that hankerin’ after some- thin’ when You've got enough is vitiatin’ an de- moralizin’, Pore Si!" And again the eastern man agreed with him. Aud: WATERHOURE. honor'ble, but you can’t do i “Si kept on prosperin’ an* after a while he employed a cook, an’ every Thanksgivin’ day he'd set her to work try- in’ to make a mince pie like his mother did, but she couldn't ‘complish it more'n Mis Perkins could; so Si give that up. “Well, his riches kept ‘cumulatin’ an’ at las’ he hired a chef, but ‘twas hard to tell whether the chef owned Si or Si owned the chef, Then he leaned back in his office chair an’ said, made !—an’ he heaved a deep sigh of peace. Then he looked up the chef an’ says to him, *Thanks- givin’ is comin’ on, an’ I want some Proressor Toad (the bug-collector)—" Darn these in- fernal children! They've gone and eaten my rarest specimen of melolontha-vulcaris.”” comicbooks.com