Judge, 1904-12-31 · page 5 of 21
Judge — December 31, 1904 — page 5: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This comic strip satirizes rural courtship customs through "Nervy Nat," a scheming vagrant who stumbles upon a farmhouse and exploits its inhabitants' shyness. The humor targets the social awkwardness of rural American couples: Joshua and Matildy have been "sparking" (courting) for eleven years without progressing to engagement, despite living together and clearly interested in each other. Nat manipulates the situation—breaking in, offering unsolicited advice about romance, and shaming Joshua into action. The satire mocks both the couple's paralytic timidity and Nat's presumptuous meddling. The strip reflects urban attitudes toward rural life as backward and emotionally repressed. References to "Nansen and Peary" (Arctic explorers) and "Central Park" anchor the story in the early 1900s. The punchline rewards Nat's interference with promises of food and "hard cider."
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Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
1. Nervy Nat—"' The kind of existence I've been leading lately would make the simple life look like a Bacchanalian orgy. Everything friz and nothing doing. I've been waltzing in this beautiful, gol-darned snow for two days—feel as if | had Nansen and Peary sawed to the bone on ex- ploring. Now, some one has hospitably left that door open in yonder farm-house. Nervy's compliments, ard he will be tickled to accept.”” (Qe) | ads} \ Hee, 1. AT : f 3. Maritoy—" Come in, Joshuay, an’ set down. Ma an’ pa hez gone t' bed, an’ we kin jes’ set here ez long ez we like.” Nerv Nat—"' Well, by squash! I've let myself in fora large evening on the flat of my manly chest, It's an awful tight fit under here, too. I'll have to get them to put me into an envelope and mail me back to town, T'll be so flat when I get out of here." Nervy Nar— Some one is approaching In brogans, Me for the shel- tering shade of this hug-bench. I'll lay low till all is again qulet on the Potomac, then I will hunt around for the larder. 1 know of a quiet and unfrequented spot in my anatomy where there would be an old-fashloned welcome to a half of a fowl and a shower of hard cider 4, Manoy—"" Hez yer pa got thet Baltimore heater mended in yer set- tin'-room yit, Joshuay ?”" Josnuar—"' No, Matildy; he ain't hed time yit. ‘Sides, it's ben tew all-fired cold t’ go out t' git th’ solder.”” Nervy Nat—‘ Now, can you beat that? Conversation as she is con- versed in our rural districts!" And both sitting as far away from each other as they can. S'pose this has been going on for years—and the mush-head with the high-water pants over there hasn’t the nerve to clinch, Vii fix ‘em."” 5. Nervy Nat—"'Step forward, please, and hold fast! Well, it's about time you got to work, Joshuay. ' What you've needed all this time was a business manager. You ought to come down some warm June evening and take a stroll through Central park. You'd have a chance to see the experts—you with your solder and your Baltimore stoves! You're a couple of bum amaieurs."" 6. Josuuay—' Wa-al, by gosh, sir! I'm much obleeged t" yer fer th’ tip. We've ben sparkin’ fer nigh onter "leven years, an’ | ain't hed th’ grit do what yer done fer me. You've gotter be my best man at th’ weddin’.” Maritor—'* Joshuay, how you dew talk!"" Nervy Nat—"'Put it there, Josh! We'll call it a square deal if you will Introduce me to a young and innocent chicken and a beaker of that larynx shellac known as hard cider." NO. 55S.—NERVY NAT AS A COURTSHIP ACCELERATOR. -