Judge, 1914-07-18 · page 7 of 24
Judge — July 18, 1914 — page 7: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a romantic office comedy satirizing workplace romance and male obliviousness. The narrative describes how Estelle, a competent secretary, catches the eye of J. Murgatroyd Montjoy, the office's obsessive accountant ("super-statistician"), who normally cares only for ledgers and figures. The satire targets Montjoy's emotional blindness—he's so consumed with bookkeeping that he cannot perceive anything beyond numbers until Estelle's presence directly affects his superior. The joke escalates through increasingly expensive romantic gestures (violets → American Beauty roses → orchids and opera), a Victorian trope mocking male courtship rituals. The cartoon illustrates the moment when the boss ("Old Cussem") discovers his employees' secret engagement, having been completely unaware despite the romance unfolding "right here, in my office." The title "Doves" suggests the cooing, innocent nature of their romance—a gentle mockery of office sweethearts.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Estelle’s accomplishments attracted the attention of the Cerberus of the cash and cred- its—one J. Murgatroyd Mont- joy—who had toyed with tallies and trial balances so assiduously that he had no eye for figures other than those i used in the mysterious science | of bookkeeping, and upon b whom the fairy-like figure of | a fluffy Flossie created less 4 interest than an indecipher- | able entry in the private ledger. However, J. Murgy could not help but notice the | Ki magic that Estelle’s work had a wrought in his superior, and Y | — as it is but a short hike from perception to performance, it | wasn’t many moons until the i] super-statistician was giving FR Estelle his most important if reports to transcribe—and then propinquity did the rest. At first it was a modest bunch of violets, discreetly | placed on her desk; then 4 American Beauties and the : drama; and, finally, orchids and the opera—and I want to say right here, Therese, that when a man gets to the or- chid-and-opera stage with you, it is time to study up on hymeneal haberdashery. Old Cussem was so en- grossed in business that he didn’t notice the pranks that Dan Cupid was playing in his office, and when Estelle ten- dered her resignation, to take z 3 effect the first of the follow- ing month, he nearly threw acataleptic. When he asked for an explanation and she confided in him that she was resigning to get married, he gazed at her in wide-eyed astonishment. “Who is the lucky Lotha- tio?”” he finally managed to ask. “Mr. Montjoy,” replied Estelle, blushing profusely. “What!” he roared. “Montjoy! And this has been going on right here, in my office!” And he pushed the button that summoned the super-statistician to his au- gust presence, “You rang for me, sir?’? queried Montjoy, entering. Old Cussem glared at him. “Mr. Montjoy,’’ he rasped comicbooks.com