Judge, 1904-08-13 · page 5 of 16
Judge — August 13, 1904 — page 5: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page from *Judge* magazine satirizes a common social awkwardness: a hostess who consistently forgets people's names. The humor relies on her repeated failure to remember "Mr. Smith," despite his patient corrections. She keeps substituting wrong names (Jones, Brown, Perkins, Black) and elaborately justifies each mistake through tangential anecdotes about "Mr. Ollingham" and his "memory-system." The satire targets two things: the hostess's rudeness and vanity (she's more interested in demonstrating her memory techniques than actually listening), and the social pretense that characterizes upper-class gatherings. The cartoons above illustrate the absurdity—one shows a beggar tipping his hat, the other a coastal scene titled "His First Sea-Bath," unrelated to the main story but typical of *Judge's* mixed content format. The joke's effectiveness depends on recognizing this as relatable social behavior—the etiquette violation of forgetting a guest's name—rather than referencing specific contemporary figures.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
the anvil ereens ind he—— Mr. Smith- ot quite right—it's Smith.” “Certainly it is, How silly of me! I might have known it. But that was just the way with Mr. Ollingham and me. 1 was forever forgetting his name and calling him something else. 1 hope, though, that I will keep your name in my mind perfectly, Mr. Brownstone "—— “ My name isn't Brownstone ; it's Smith.” “Now, wasn’t that funny? 1 was thinking of a silversmith who lived ina brownstone house, and A GOOD TIP. stumps. SHE MIGHT HAVE KNOWN IT. SHE had met the young man but half an hour before, and the hostess had asked her to make herself agreeable to him. “TL have been so anxious to meet you, Mr. Jones ly. “So many people have spoken of you that "— “Pardon me; my name is Smith,” he interrupted. “To be sure—I might have known it. You must pardon me. You know names are the most difficult things in the world for me to re- member. Now, there was Mr. Ollingham, who was down here last week. You remember him, do you not, Mr. Brown? He said he had met you "—— “ My name is Smith, please,” he said hurriedly. “Smith? Mr. Smith—yes, of course. I might have known it. But I was telling you about Mr. Ollingham. You remember him—tall, dark man, who wears his h something for the magazine: about his name, Mr. Perkins ” “It is Smith, you know.” “ How dreadful of me! known. she said bright- ir long and writes short stories, or docs doesn't he? It was the strangest thing Of course it is, Mr. Smith—I might have Mr. Ollingham and I were talking about how hard it is for some people to remember names, and he said he was just like I am. But when one meets a great many folks, you know, Mr. Black". “But my name “1 might have known. E cuse me, Mr. Smith. Now, Iam going to follow Mr, Ollingham’s plan of memory-culture and not forget your name again, When I try to think of your name I shall think of a blacksmith, or a silver- smith "— Or an adsmith, or a joke- smith.” Now, don’t poke fun at me, Mr.—Mr. Blacksmith, Silversmith, Jokesmith — Mr. Why, the memory-system doesn't help me. Don't interrupt me; let me start over again. Now, the blacksmith —what does he do? That's the way to go about it. You see, you have to think of something, and that makes you think of something else, and so on, until you come right up to the word you want. The blacksmith hits the iron on LirF-GUARD “Say, Jim, if yer want a good smoke always foller one uv dem long-nosed fellers. Dey t'row away de biggest that made me think your name was Brownstone. It is Smith—I might have known it. But Mr. Ollingham impressed upon me the benefits of his memory-system so thoroughly that I cannot but be- lieve it will work all right once I get practiced in it. Now, every time I think of memory-systems I think of Mr. Ollingham ; so when I try to think of your name Iam going to think * Memory—Olling- ham—Smitten,’" * But I'm not Smitten—I'm Smith.” “Tmight have known it. Pardon me again,” she smiled, blush- ing. “When I thought of George—er—Mr. Ollingham, I unconsciously thought of—of the other word lips 2” It is Smith,” he repeated sadly, rising. «1 might have known it.” “Of course you might. But will you convey my congratulations to Mr. Ollingham?” And he ma Later the hostess asked her, mith 2 * Do you mean that Mr. Smithers I was talking to this morning 2” “No. He is Mr. Smith, the son of old Mr. Smith, the ironmonger, le his adieus. Carrie, how did you get along with and they are fabulously wealthy. Don’t you remember he is the young man I said Thad picked out for you 2” “Smith! 1 might have known it.” A BURNING QUESTION. CAN any one tell why a blamed old hen, With plenty good land of her own, Won't stay there and scratch to her heart’s content And let other folks’ gardens alone? HIS FIRST SEA-BATH. Mr. Spriccs (of Nevada)—'* Where was the wreck?" Wot wreck? Dere hain't bin no wreck."* Mr. Spriccs—" There must have been a ship with a cargo of salt went down hereabouts. Why, the water's comicbooks.com