Judge — June 13, 1908 — page 10: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This is a six-panel comic strip following a character named Nat. The plot: a well-dressed man (Boatsman) has been romancing a woman (Geraldine) by ferrying her across a lake. When Nat arrives and throws a "wicked cigar" into the water, it creates chaos—people cry "Murder!" and fall in. The satire targets **turn-of-the-century courtship rituals** and male presumption. The "nervy" Nat disrupts a romantic moment through crude behavior (the offensive cigar), yet responds with mock-gallantry, offering to "chaperon" the distressed woman home while impudently asking if she has money for a chocolate sundae. The joke hinges on **class satire**: Nat's brash, poor manners and financial neediness contrast sharply with Boatsman's genteel courtship performance. The comic mocks both the artificiality of romantic posturing and the audacity of working-class presumption.