Judge, 1903-06-20 · page 16 of 16
Judge — June 20, 1903 — page 16: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This six-panel comic from Judge magazine (1903) mocks a poet's hypocrisy. The story follows a vain writer ("the Bard") who is robbed and beaten by a vagabond. Near death, he renounces poetry, praising the practical skill of healing. A well-dressed stranger appears, offering aid with makeshift crutches. The Bard celebrates this "good Samaritan," only to discover the helper is a pill-seller (patent medicine hawker)—a profession the Bard considers beneath him. He furiously rejects the assistance, calling the man a "base pill-carpenter." The satire targets literary snobs who romanticize poverty and suffering while simultaneously looking down on working-class professions. The Bard's sudden contempt for the pill-seller—despite moments earlier praising any healer—reveals the hypocrisy of bohemian attitudes. The title's punch: "You couldn't blame him" suggests readers should sympathize with the insulted merchant, not the ungrateful poet.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
1. Eprrorn—" Pc from this news-fous | ais ape your hide! didn't I tell you to keep away 3. THE BAnD—" Ab ings upon you! With what may | ever pay you?’ Tue uNKNowN—" By nothing, dear sir; nothing. With crutches cut from yon thicket for you, we will soon be on our way.” 5, Tus unxnowx—"' Ah, you speak of poetry? This ts indeed fortu: ‘Why, fust this morning | dashed off a triolet. Allow me to read it" —— COPYRIGHT 1903 BY JUDGE COMPANY CF NEW YORK. YOU COULDN'T BLAME HIM. 2, Tue nar>—' Broken in body and spirit, henceforth I renounce the profession of letters. But who approaches? ‘The gods grant It be a good Samaritan who may bind up my wounds."" | ) al) aaa < 4. Twe sano—"' Yes, kind sir; the art of healing ts indeed the greatest. ‘Would that | had embraced it rather than the one I have just renounced — that of poetry."* 6, Tue saro—'*Avaunt, thou base pill-carpenter! That such as thou should presume to cultivate the aol Bah!" Sackett Withelms Litho & P.¢ Co Rew York comicbooks.com