Judge, 1912-09-21 · page 7 of 24
Judge — September 21, 1912 — page 7: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
The top cartoon satirizes moral prudishness. A man and woman stand by a dam; when he romantically remarks on the water's beauty, she pedantically corrects him—the word "obstruction" sounds less suggestive than "flows." The joke: extreme propriety polices even innocent language to avoid *appearing* improper. The main story, "One Night," mocks romantic idealism meeting practical reality. A poetic young man takes a prosaic woman on moonlight walks, attempting to share appreciation for nature's beauty. She repeatedly misses his point, deflating each observation with mundane comments (about dancing at hotel hops, wanting ice cream instead of appreciating scenery). He retreats dejected to his room. The satire targets romantic sentimentalists and the gap between their lofty aspirations and ordinary human indifference. Both pieces critique excessive idealism—whether moral squeamishness or romantic fantasy—colliding with prosaic reality. Minor items include an unrelated joke about fat men and two one-liners about pessimism and Mormons.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
SHUN EVEN THE APPEARANCE OF EVIL. Robert—"Ob, isn’t the water pretty as it flows over the dam ?"" Purson—'‘*You should say ‘obstruction,’ Robert.'’ O E WAS a very poetic and impres- sionable youth, and, though she was a very prosaic maid, there was some- thing very attractive about her and he often asked her to accompany him on moonlight walks along the country lanes. He was sometimes nettled at her interruptions, but, lost in reverie as he often was, he allowed her to prattle on until he recovered: the thread of his discourse. They were crossing bridge over a creek, when he said, “Don't little bridge’’-—— “Yes,"’ she interrupted; “bridge is a great game. I often play with Mrs. Van Duser as my a small you admire a partner’’--— As she gossiped on, he became lost in meditation. Coming to a broad river, they paused at the margin and he exclaimed, “How wonderfully entrancing this is! Just to see the gleam on the waters! Don’t you like the moonlight dancing’’—— “Yes,"’ she chimed in; ‘‘danc- ne igh ing in the moonlight is so fine! I attend all the hops at the hotel, and there, on the broad, open platform’’—— He betrayed no disappointment at her lack of interest in their surroundings as they stood by the edge of the stream, and he wandered on with her into the open country. They lingered by a low A CURE FOR PESSIMISM. If you think you have troubles just watch a fat man trying to pick up something. t « stone wall as he said, impressed by the scene‘ ‘ ‘‘How wonderful is Nature in all her aspects! How inspiring the lofty trees and the grassy levels! Is it not a boon to get away from the city’s heat? I pine so for the country zephyrs! Do you not feel a yearning in you for a cool"’. “Yes,"’ she said; “I'd ever so much like to have an ice’’—— And sadly he took his way back with her to the hotel, and ere long he disappeared into the narrow confines of his room, to get what comfort he could from his poetic musings. —Nathow M. Lawn. Disillusion. To know his pie is mud Shocks not the child, although It strikes man with a thud To find his cake is dough. A Real Hero. First bachelor —‘‘What's your idea of a hero?” . Second bachelor—*A Mormon."" comicbooks.com