Judge, 1914-02-28 · page 19 of 24
Judge — February 28, 1914 — page 19: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This humorous story mocks a naive woman (Mrs. Williams) who joins a poker game at a friend's house. She loses money she didn't realize she was gambling, blaming Mrs. Jones unfairly for winning while ignoring the others' roles in her loss. The satire targets early-20th-century upper-middle-class women who played cards socially but claimed ignorance about gambling's real stakes. Mrs. Williams wants to blame a single winner rather than acknowledge her own foolish participation—a pointed critique of self-deception and convenient scapegoating. The piece also gently mocks the "genteel" poker game itself: women explaining rules to her, the pretense that chips represent "learning" rather than genuine wagering, and the social pressure to participate. The joke exposes the hypocrisy of ladies who gamble while maintaining plausible deniability about doing so. The story fills the advertising-heavy page and reflects Judge's interest in satirizing middle-class social pretensions and gender dynamics of the era.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
The Chambered Banqueter Belag a Holman-like wail from bis sick-room. "Peed on less frequent banquets, oh, my stomach, As the swift season rolls! Leave the full-paunched past! Let each new winter, hungrier than the last, : Shot thee from sickness with a peace more vast, Till thou at length are free, Leaving thine healthy digestion blessing me. —Lestie H. Allen. Her Lesson in Poker «] NEVER heard of such a thing!’’ said Mrs. Williams to Mrs. Handy, ‘as they met in a downtown shop. ‘‘The nerve of some people is awful! I’ve al- ways been accommodating to Mrs. Jones, and she can’t deny it. And to think she would impose on me in that way! The idea!” “But,” suggested Mrs. Handy, “she wasn’t to blame alone, was she? The others had something to do with it, didn’t they?”” “Maybe they did; but Mrs. Jones was the only winner, and you can’t blame the others so much. Why, Mrs. Jones must have won ten dollars !’’ “Maybe I don’t exactly understand the matter,’’ said Mrs. Handy. “Well, it was this way: I never played poker before in my life. I just thought I would call on Mrs. Jones. When I got there, I found her and Mrs, Winkle and Mrs. Bloomer and Mrs. Hadley playing the game. “Mrs. Jones excused herself. She said that as the game was in progress, they couldn’t stop. So as I had done my shop- ping, I thought I would stay a little while and watch them play. They explained to me that the chips meant so much money, in different denominations, you know. “I saw Mrs. Bloomer take a ‘po! s they call it, with more than fifty chips in it, and I just remarked to Mrs. Jones that I wished I knew how to play poker. “At that she said, said she, ‘Why, you can come right in at the next deal and learn,” “So I pulled up a chair a little nearer, and they dealt me cards. One or another of them would give me a hint now and then as to what to do. When Mrs. Bloomer ‘stayed out,’ as they call it, she would come over and tell me my play. Some of them objected to this, but I was learning the game, you understand. And then when Mrs. Winkle ‘dropped out,’ as they say, she gave me a hint or two. “Mrs. Jones gave me a pile of chips at the start and told me they represented five dollars. I lost a few chips, and then Theld what they call ‘four aces’ and won abig pot. But it wasn’t long before I lost 'em again, and when the game was ended, Mrs. Jones took the few chips I had and said to me, said she, ‘You owe the bank four dollars, Mrs. Williams.’ “I didn’t like that, and told her so; but Every tov or Bitters be used best. CW. aL Afhollinaris “THE QUEEN OF TABLE WATERS.” the safe and satisfying drink. FRENCH LICK SPRINGS HOTEL, French Lick, Indiana. FOR HEALTH REST RECREATION for its palatial hotel, magnificent baths, and sunshine, ‘and the medicinal sports may be enjoyed at all seasons, WRITE FOR ILLUSTRATED BOOKLET OF FULL INFORMATION. FRENCH LICK SPRINGS HOTEL CO., - + + FRENCH LICK, INDIANA, Economy is a watchword of the thrifty. That's one reason so many prosperous people use Pears’ Soap. There’s no waste about it. It wears out, of course. On eale everywhere In answering advertisements please mention JUDGE. It will be appreciated. comicbooks.com