Judge — September 20, 1902 — page 3: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Counter Confidences: Judge Magazine Satire This page contains three short humorous sketches satirizing wealthy Americans and social pretense: **"A Costly Filling"** mocks a millionaire who demands expensive dental work—gold or amalgam—revealing vanity masquerading as necessity. **"Putting It to the Test"** depicts Mrs. Harcee trying to trick a milkman into adulterating milk to test its quality, suggesting the wealthy's paranoid distrust of servants and tradespeople. **"An Absent-Minded Admission"** shows a patron complaining to a milkman about winter deliveries, inadvertently revealing he hasn't paid his bills—a joke about wealthy debtors' shamelessness. **"The Proper Spirit"** features a woman unconcerned that her deacon sent her inferior peaches, caring only about the "spirit" of the gift. The recurring theme mocks the hypocrisy and moral weakness of the affluent classes.