Judge, 1914-10-24 · page 12 of 24
Judge — October 24, 1914 — page 12: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains three distinct satirical pieces: **"Unique" (top cartoon)**: A salesman peddles mass-produced bracelets to a wealthy woman, falsely claiming each was "given to the Empress Josephine by Napoleon Bonaparte." The satire targets both nouveau-riche vanity—the desire to own items with aristocratic provenance—and commercial dishonesty. The joke: these "unique" pieces are being sold in bulk, exposing the contradiction between the claim of exclusivity and the reality of mass production. **"Extenuating" (middle): A Black defendant attempts to evade charges of animal cruelty by claiming his insults were directed at his wife, not the mule. The racist dialect and crude stereotyping reflect the period's offensive comedic conventions, treating the defendant as inherently foolish. **"A Diplomat" (bottom): A head waiter's non-answer joke—he'll serve whichever dish the guest ordered, regardless of what was actually ordered. Light satire of restaurant deception and indifferent service. The dominant theme: exposure of pretense, fraud, and dishonesty in consumer culture and social interactions.
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Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
nize in style with his own, If they went yachting, they were the envy in this detail of all others who were yachting; if they attended the races, such was their splendor of racy attire that many good bets were lost by others through inattention to odds and horses; and if they went to church, the Jingses caused congrega- tional wryneck and embarrassed the preacher. There was one sometimes modish activity, inherited from remote times, in which Jings never had indulged, and he longed to distinguish himself at it. That was hunting. He broached it to Mrs. Jings, and even brought Master Jings into the plan. After long study of paraphernalia and discussions with his tailor, Jings, Mrs. Jings and Master Jings were properly equipped for it. One of the club personages with whom Jings was sportively intimate, by virtue of the money lost to him, had a demesne, and Jones assumed ; ~ UNIQUE that it abounded in game. He was Salesman—That bracelet, madam, is unique. It was given to the Empress Josephine by Napoleon invited down to it for a wee! with Mrs, Jings and Master Jings. Bonaparte. We are selling a lot of them this season. Jings intimated that he would like to hunt. His host politely overlooked this nomination by Jings of his own amusement and directed him to a neighboring moor, which, with a contiguous wood, he thought might furnish mild sport. When Jings, Mrs. Jings and Master Jings appeared in regalia everybody gasped, and when they had ventured forth everybody laughed. After some hours Jings, Mrs. Jings and Master Jings re- turned. They had repeatedly fallen into murasses and as repeat- edly rescued one another, and were covered with diverse muds and burrs. Jings had a jackrabbit. He had shot a cow, it is true; but he had to pay for that. And at the particular clubs frequented by his host, as well as at other clubs, Jings there- after inspired rude laughter upon his every appearance, until he forwarded resignations and thus removed a highly appreci- ated source of mirth. Was Jings discouraged? Nay. He still would be an aris- tocrat, and, aided and abetted by Mrs. Jings, began it all over again, for in a metropolis even a fool may find places in which he may rejoice in his folly. Extenuation oo WELL, Bulginback,’’ severely began Squire Ramsbottom, “*you are charged with cursing your mule ina loud and boisterous manner in the public highway, and further abusing the animal by hitting him with a brick. What have youto say for yourself?” ““W'y, sah, yo’ honah, 0’ cou’se, I says, ‘Not gui!*, .’ uh-kase dat’s p'intedly what I is,’’ replied the citizen of Senegambian descent, who lounged in front of the bar of justice. ‘‘Yassab, I’s too smaht a pusson to "buse a good mule dat-uh-way. I was ‘dressin’ dem salubrious remahks to muh wife, what was in de waggin and dodged when I th’owed de brick at her.'’ A Diplomat TWICE ANSWERED Guest (calling head waiter)—Is this chicken or veal pie? Marie~ No, French. Head waiter—Whichever you ordered, sir. Amelia—Is your busband domestic ? comicbooks.com