Judge, 1912-06-29 · page 11 of 25
Judge — June 29, 1912 — page 11: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a humorous illustrated poem rather than political satire. The image shows a mermaid in classical dress interacting with a lobster in a seaside setting. The poem is a playful moral tale: a flirtatious mermaid ("apt coquette") encounters an amorous lobster ("gay old thing"). The narrative warns that whether on land or sea, youth and pleasure attract suitors—and just as fish pursue the pretty creature in the ocean, so too will "lobsters" (slang for foolish or lecherous men) pursue women wherever they congregate. The concluding line is deliberately cut off in the OCR, but appears to deliver a satirical punchline about where such men congregate. This is mild Victorian-era humor playing on the double meaning of "lobster" as both the crustacean and a derogatory term for males who pursue women.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
THE MERMAID AND THE LOBSTE A mermaid and a lobster met, A chorus fish with dainty wings On land or sea, ‘tis all the same— And straight began philanderin Leaped from the sea at what ensued, Where youth consorts and pleasure whirls ; The mermaid was an apt coquet And Johnnies, winged, in leading string, Birds, beasts and fishes play the game— The lobster was a gay old thing. The pretty creature quick pursued, You'll lobsters find where there are § JAW comicbooks.com