Judge, 1902-02-08 · page 7 of 20
Judge — February 8, 1902 — page 7: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This Judge magazine page contains three separate humorous sketches satirizing hotel and restaurant culture. **"How John Managed"**: An American tourist in a German hotel attempts to order mushrooms. When the waiter doesn't understand his English, John confidently draws a picture—intending to depict a mushroom. The waiter interprets the sketch as an umbrella and returns with one instead. The joke mocks American tourists' assumption that language barriers can be overcome through simple gestures or drawings, and highlights the comedy of miscommunication. **"But We Regret"**: A brief exchange where Prova Long pitches poetry to editors, comparing herself to famous poets ("Beautiful Snow"). **"At a Buffalo Hotel"**: A bellhop misinterprets "ante-room" (a waiting room) as "anti-room," then humorously asks the guest about their betting limit, treating it as gambling terminology. All three sketches rely on wordplay, mispronunciation, and miscommunication for comedic effect—reflecting early 20th-century American humor conventions.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
COUNTRY-PRODUCE QUOTATIONS FOR HOTEL MEN AND CLUB CHEFS. Live poultry, weak; dressed poultry, very steady; rabbits, dull: veal, quiet. HOW JOHN MANAGED. JT WAS two o'clock. John Jones and his wife were seated in the café of a hotel in a German city. They were hungry, having eaten The waiter stared. “L said mushrooms,” repeated John slowly, and raising his voice. nothing since breakfast time. + We will have mushrooms for one thing,” said John, who had been suddenly seized with a violent craving for this juicy fungus. “ But, my dear, they're not on the bill-of-fare, and you'll never be able to make the wait- er understand,” responded Mrs. John uneasily. “Oh, I'll manage,” replied her husband confidently. The waiter presently ar- rived and nodded a smiling as- sent to each item that John in- dicated on the bill-of-fare. “And,” concluded John, speaking in his native tongue, “1 want some mushrooms. Have you got them?" only P| mH \ | Hit Hi) BUT “WE REGRET," ETC. Prova Loxc—“'I heared dat poets is gettin’ big prices fer deir stuff, so jist size up dat little t'ing I dashed off an’ see if it is wort’ de price uva bed. ‘Beautiful snow, beautiful snow, beautiful snow—dis is _— {ula Bars AT A BUFFALO HOTEL Grancer—"' | am looking for the ante-room.” Beit-soy—"* All right, boss. What is your limit?" | welll The waiter looked distraught and shook his head. “Oh, well,” pulling a bit of paper and a pencil from his pocket, “if you don’t know what ‘mushrooms’ means, look here ; and he traced upon the paper what he believed to be a “counterfeit. presentment” of a well-developed, succulent mushroom, “Ach, ya, ya!" cried the waiter, nodding vigorously, and hastened away. You see, my dear, I'ma man of resources," John re- marked triumphantly to his wife. ny said Mrs. John hesitatingly as the waiter re- turned, bearing in his hand a large umbrella, which he ea- gerly presented to the couple. comicbooks.com