Judge, 1904-02-27 · page 4 of 16
Judge — February 27, 1904 — page 4: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This six-panel comic strip depicts "Nervy Nat," a character portrayed with exaggerated Irish features (top hat, prominent nose), attempting to impress a woman named Bedelia through flattery and courtship. The humor relies on ethnic stereotyping common to early 20th-century American satire—presenting an Irish immigrant as bumbling, delusional, and socially awkward. The gag progresses from Nat's clumsy compliments ("Irish beauty") through escalating chaos: Bedelia rejects his advances, he becomes increasingly aggressive, culminating in physical violence where he's struck with what appears to be a frying pan. The satire targets working-class Irish-American stereotypes, presenting romantic failure through slapstick violence. The "jollier" reference (title) likely means a street laborer, reinforcing class-based mockery typical of Judge's satirical approach to immigrant communities.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
L Nexvy Nat—"‘Ah, my Irish beauty, I know you'll pity a weary trav- eler by the kind sparkle of your bonnie blue eyes. A friend of mine told me there lived a beautiful lass in this mansion, and | came to see for my- self. The sight of your face has given my poor heart courage to ask you for a bite and a sup.” Bevetta—"' Go on wid yez, ye blarneyin’ shpalpeen! _ Is it thryin’ to turn a poor gurl’s head, yez are, wid yure pretty spaches? Come in an’ Of'll see phwat Oi kin git yez."” 3. Bevetta—“* Whisht! “Tis the footshtips av th’ missus Oi do be hear- in’ comin’ down th’ back shtairs. Glory be! phwat'll Oi do wid yez ?”° Nervy Nat—'* Curses!" Nervy Nat—" ‘Twould make the poorest fare fit for a king, Bedelia dear, to receive it from your shapely hands. Out upon me for a scurvy knave if | thought not so!"* epeLia—"* Shure, it's a fool Oi am to be sittin’ here listenin’ to yure divil's own flatthery ""—— - 4. Bevetta—"' Hurry, darlint, an’ git into th’ toob! Her hand is on th’ dure-knob."” Nervy Nat—"I will, Bedelia. But heaven knows this unmanly skulking is very foreign to my fearless and open nature." sar aD, Flag ye 6. Tue sissus—'| want all the faucets turned on to-night, as the paper says the water will be turned off all over the city, and we mustn't be with- out water."" Nervy Nat—"‘By the great falls of Nlagara, not including Hot Springs, Arkansas, any death but: this! Boil me alive in champagne, or even cooking-sherry, if you will, bt for the love of common decency get me out of this!" NO. 13.—NERVY NAT AS A JOLLIER. comicbooks.com