Judge, 1902-03-08 · page 7 of 16
Judge — March 8, 1902 — page 7: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page from *Judge* contains six separate humorous vignettes satirizing various social situations and character types common to the era. **"Ahead of the Game"** mocks a con artist who borrows a dollar against a coat, suggesting he's scheme-savvy. **"Hooked"** plays on marriage anxiety—a woman worries a rival has "caught" a wealthy bachelor (Mr. Pickerel), using fishing metaphors. **"Go-as-You-Please Punishment"** depicts a burglar forced to walk a crying baby at dawn—suggesting this domestic torture worse than prison, satirizing parental exhaustion. **"Octopussed"** uses the octopus as a metaphor for an embrace-loving suitor with "a hundred arms." **"The Head of the Family"** suggests wives, not husbands, control household decisions—a common joke about female domestic authority. **"The Hard Part"** depicts a drunk struggling with Lenten sobriety, worrying about the "forty nights" of temptation. The final scene shows a man retrieving his pawned coat, having paid interest rather than warehouse fees—demonstrating working-class financial desperation and scheming.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
AHEAD OF THE GAME. ‘Srrancer—" Will you lend me a dollar on this coat?" “Yes: sure | will.” HOOKED. Miss Pixe—" Oh, dear! if some one hasn't got before me GO-AS-YOU-PLEASE and caught that rich young Mr. Pickerel.” PUNISHMENT. , OCTOPUSSED. ‘ePID paterfamilias spD LOVE to be the shoot the burglar octopus.” he found in the house ?” “Wh “Nol Much worse than that, He made the man walk up and down with the baby till break of dawn !" HIS MODEST YEARN. Soiled Spooner—" One ving about me—1 don't want de earth.” Seldum Fedd—* Don't, “He has a hundred arms, and I'd like to use them all hugging you." sIsthatso? Well, it’s sinful wasting time wishing for the impossible instead of making the best use of opportunities you now have !" Then he rose to the occasion and octopussed, hey 2" Soiled Spooner—"Nabt Gimme de land an’ I'll let de water severely alone.” THE HARD PART. Cobwigger — "Do. you think you could keep sober the forty days of Lent?” Old soak—"1 might, but I'm not so sure about THE HEAD OF THE FAMILY. the forty nights.” He— And now 1 suppose I'll have to ask your father's consent Not at all. Just ask mamma. 2 “Rachel, look here—a dollar for dot fine coat! Look at it." e'll take care of papa.” % want to get my coat back. Here's your dollar, SrRanceR (two hours later) with three cents interest. “ But vat did you put it In for? ‘Strancer—"Oh. they wanted to charge me ten cents for checking it at the depot, and this 1s cheaper.” A GLORIOUS FEAST. *Rastus—"' My goodness, what a chicking! Don't I jist wish I'd ‘a’ lived den !"* comicbooks.com