Judge, 1904-04-30 · page 5 of 16
Judge — April 30, 1904 — page 5: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a comedic strip featuring "Nervy Nat," an apparent detective parody, hired by an Irish immigrant woman (Mrs. Hogan, characterized by heavy dialect) to find her three-month-old son. The satire mocks both incompetent detective fiction and nativist stereotypes of Irish immigrants. Nat confidently pursues a false lead—a man carrying a sack—certain he's found the kidnapper. After a dramatic "arrest," they discover the sack contains only kittens, not the baby. The "villain" reveals he was merely trying to drown the cats. The joke's layered absurdity—a three-month-old couldn't have wandered far, the detective's overconfidence produces zero results, and everyone ends up equally ridiculous—satirizes both melodramatic mystery stories popular at the time and perhaps Irish stereotypes through exaggerated dialect humor common in Judge's satirical approach.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
ba »% Mrs. Hocan—"' Wurra, wurra! me little Tim is afther bein’ deducted, an‘ him only t'ree mont's old. Yez hov a koind mug, sor, an‘it's prayin* fer yez Oi'll be if yez'll help his poor mither foind th’ lolkes av him.”” Nervy Nat—" Madam, your judgment of me is correct. We will start on the trail at once. I'm afraid he has been in bad company and has been led astray; but we shall find him, never fear.” _ —) Nervy Nat—* Come right along, Mrs. Hogan, and don't be offended if | don't converse. 1am evolving a theory as we go along.”” Mrs. Hocan— Glory be to goodness! Divil a wur-rd will Ol shpake if yez'll foind Tim.” 3. Nervy Nat—"'Hal we have struck the scent. In yon sack, on the shoulders of that man, is your Timothy. He is alive, for the sack wrig- gles. We will noiselessly creep upon him and seize the miscreant before he has time to accomplish his fell purpose, which is evidently to drown your infant son, Come!" Mrs. Hocan—" Waow, waow! The bloodthirsty divil! Save me b'y—save me darlint Tim!" MU | 4 Nervy Nat—'* Villain! I've got you red-handed with the goods. If you say anything it will be used against you in court; and if you don't say anything it will also be used against you. Come on, Mrs. Hogan; here's Tim in the sack. I'l hold the fellow while you open the bag and give the y air.” Mrs. Hocan—" Howld him! Don't let him eshcape, th’ murderin* shpalpeen!"* Mrs. Hocan—“' Bad ‘cess to th’ lot av yez! ‘Tis no Tim at all, at all—'tis a flock av kittens! Divil take th’ boonch av thim!"* Nerve Nat—" By Jove! they do look remarkably like kittens.”* ‘ake that, yez omadhoun! fer takin’ a poor, crazed mither on sich a woild-dook chase!" ‘Tue vittain—'' Swat him a dozen fer me, old lady, fer chokin’ de life out uv me when | was tryin’ ter kill a pesky bunch uv kittens an’ not hurt- in’ nobody !"* Nervy Nat—' Hit me one or two good ones for myself, Mrs. Hogan! I'm too soft-hearted,"* NO. 22.—NERVY NAT ON THE SCENT. comicbooks.com