Judge, 1909-02-13 · page 14 of 20
Judge — February 13, 1909 — page 14: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains three distinct satirical pieces typical of Judge's social commentary: **"He Stuck"** (top right): A domestic drama where a man deflects his girlfriend's direct question about whether she's his only love. The satire targets male evasiveness and romantic dishonesty—he uses flattery and emotional pressure ("Unless you trust me, you cannot really love me") to avoid answering honestly. The title's double meaning (the glue factory reference in the preceding dialogue) suggests he's stuck in his own web of lies. **"Her Smile"** (left): A sentimental poem mocking romantic excess and clichéd expressions of desire, presented with an elegant illustration of a woman in an elaborate gown. **"A Cruel Test"** (bottom): Satirizes the "helpless feminine" archetype—the young woman who acts timid and vulnerable to appeal to men's protective instincts. Judge mocks both the performance and male susceptibility to it, noting men find such artificiality "sweet" and "truly feminine" while women recognize it as calculated silliness. The page satirizes gender dynamics, romantic pretense, and period attitudes toward femininity.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
’ HE STUCK Clancy" Oi hov a job, Norah It's at th’ glue factory this toim Mrs. Clangy—* Thete’s no reason why ye shouldo't stick to this one As for the man in the case, he was but what's the use?-—he was the man in the case. He propose pted, and the silence which fol- lowed was, we will assume, that customary under similar circumstances, One of the softly shaded lamps in the rooms was lighted, but only « Philadelphia lawyer would have found it out, It was a modest, ing. lamp, and neither he nor she had any fault to find with its pr Presently she raised her head—what does it signify where it was?—and for the time that evening asked him a question, which per- haps no man has ever been called upon to answer before. If we are wrong, we shall be glad to be corrected. . This is what she asked him. ‘ Tom, dear, am I the only girl that you ever loved?” He looked at her reproachfully. ““Why do you doubt me so, darling? How many times must I tell other woman has ever had one thought of , Sh ly through him, “1 do, indeed, want to believe you, dearest, but” He pressed her close to his beati he cried ardently, “Ah! Bet-Peg-Polly, why this ceaseless doubt- ing? It is unworthy of you, dear. Unless you trust me, you cannot really love me, dear."” “ Why is it so hard for me to believe you?” and she anxiously searched his eyes. ** How can I tell, my own?’ he murmured, HER SMILE. = She had a smile that was divine, a T drank it as a man drinks wine. I placed my lips at that red cuy And longing, thirsting, drank it up— I kissed her smil ¢ A CRUEL TEST. HE LOOKED about nineteen, but she couldn't have been, for her S dearest friend said ‘ she would never see twenty-five again."” She was one of these timid little things with the baby stare and path on working overtime. She also had that helpless, frightened little air about her, very much as if she pected a big, woolly bear suddenly to appear on the scene and gobble her up, and she hoped you would protect her. If you were a woman, you smiled superciliously and looked at another woman, and mur- mured, “ How silly!’” But if you were a man, you thought, ‘* How sweet she is! How truly feminine!” You also wanted to tal “ in your arms and comfort her, and tell her the other wom A SPEAKING EXPRESSION. ‘ down quick cats and » only jealous, and not to bother her dear little First skater—“ Golly! you v2 OE eee Second skater—* Luck 1 didn't go thro about it, and—oh, well!—to take her in your arms and comfort her. Frat hau "Yeo, and iodgiee bp the expréssion ‘of your lace when You were always sure that that was the one thing you wanted todo. you struck, it must have been pretty hard luck." comicbooks.com