Judge, 1913-02-22 · page 5 of 24
Judge — February 22, 1913 — page 5: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page from *Judge* magazine presents "Little Anecdotes of George Washington," attributed to humorist Horace Dodd Gattey. The illustration depicts an elegant interior scene with formally dressed figures, likely representing Washington's era. The text includes three anecdotes about young Washington: "His First Words" (speaking to his nurse about Virginia's beauty), "A Prophetic Retort" (responding to Virginia's governor about future leadership), and "The True Version" (addressing the famous cherry-tree legend). The satirical intent appears to be mocking the *mythologization* of Washington through unreliable historical sources. By labeling sources as "Most Unreliable" and progressively debunking famous Washington legends, *Judge* critiques how American folklore sanitizes and romanticizes founding figures. The page parodies hagiographic treatments of Washington common in the era.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
RAW RECRUITS REQUIRE THE MOST ATTENTION Little Anecdotes of His First Words. I" WAS the day after his birth that the future Father of His Country, along about five o’clock in the afternoon, spoke his first words, He had been sitting all day gazing out of the win- dow upon the beautiful Virginia landscape, drinking it all in with manifest pleasure, when, suddenly turning (o his nurse, he inquired, “Pardon me, Dinal United States out there “Lordy, no, Marse Jawge!'’ replied the aged mammy. “Dey ain’t no such place as de United States yit, honey. Dey ain’t likely to be, neider, fo’ some years to come.’’ Good!" said the infant, with a deep sigh of relief. ‘That will give me some little time to prepare myself for the arduous duties which await me as first President of that glorious re- public.’’ Thus we see that, even as an infant in arms, the great pa- triot was impressed with a profound sense of his responsibility. he observed quietly, ‘‘but is that the George Washington. Culled from the Most Unreliable Sources Available. By HORACE DODD GASTIT. A Prophetic Retort. The Governor of Virginia, at a time when Washington as a mere youth ventured to remonstrate against the injustice of a certain decree, turned fiercely upon the young man and inquired, **And who the dickens are you, sir?’” With a cold, but courteous bow, the young Virginian, draw- ing himself up to his proud height, frigidly replied, “‘Nobody in particular just now, but for the future, sir, somebody in general.’’ The haughty emphasis on the word General, it is said, sent a cold chill running up and down the Governor's spine, which it required seven mint juleps and six bottles of port to relieve. The True Version. There have been many versions of the cherry-tree episode, but none of them as yet told has been wholly accurate. The story as it really happened was that Washington as a boy really did cut down a young cherry tree on his father’s preserves, us- comicbooks.com