Judge — December 7, 1907 — page 13: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This is a **Victorian-era etiquette satire** depicting a couple in an intimate moment beneath mistletoe on Christmas night. The illustration shows a man and woman in close embrace, with the man appearing to kiss the woman's forehead or face rather than her lips. The poem, credited to Lorena W. Sheldon, poses a mock-serious question about proper romantic conduct: is it appropriate to kiss a girl under mistletoe on Christmas? The satire lies in the faux-prudish questioning of *where* one should kiss—the forehead, cheek, and curls—versus the lips, which the speaker suggests as the obvious alternative. This jokes about Victorian social conventions around courtship and physical affection. The "proper place" title sarcastically invokes propriety while the poem's structure builds to the cheeky punchline: "What's the matter with her lips?"—implying the speaker's real point is that lip-kissing is actually the natural, desired outcome.