Judge, 1915-04-24 · page 12 of 24
Judge — April 24, 1915 — page 12: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This story satirizes young men of leisure and their romantic entanglements during what appears to be the World War I era. Reggie, an idle young man, loses his girlfriend Olivia to his own father, Jonathan Rundell, who is portrayed as vigorous and cavalier despite his age. The satire targets Reggie's lack of purpose: he romanticizes enlisting in the war as an escape from romantic disappointment, but his father outmaneuvers him by offering Reggie a job at "Universal Supply Company" (likely war-related industry) conditional on marrying Olivia. This compromises Reggie's noble military intentions. The joke mocks both generational attitudes and young men who prefer dramatic gestures (enlisting) to productive work. The caption "Good Advice for Anybody—Don't be a grape and hang with your own bunch" suggests Reggie should have acted independently rather than passively following his impulses. The "bowl that cheers" likely references alcohol's role in male socialization.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
THE BOWL THAT CHEERS as much ceremony as some men employ in fixing the combination on a safe. ‘Anything else?’’ asked Reggie, a little apprehensive. “How many girls are you going with now?"’ m giving most of my spare time toa young lady I hope to marry— Miss Olivia Roland."* “Huh! She's too good for you, son. What'll you marry on—idle- ness?’’ And Jonathan turned away in dis- gust. Although his momentum had been great, Reggie really had slowed up quite a bit in deference to his feeling for Olivia. He had asked her to marry him, and she had postponed decision. Now he planned to ask her again. Calling her on the phone, he tried to make a date for the next evening’s opera. She said she was going that night with some one else, and he was so surprised he became dizzy. Gaining comparative equilibrium, Reggie determined to get a view of his rival. He engaged a loge and groped his way to it in semi-darkness as the lights went down for the curtain. His heart leaped to his mouth when the light disclosed Olivia scated beside Jonathan Rundell. She was a vision of beauty, and Jonathan, old as he was, as- sumed the airs of a cavalier. Reggie rose in a trance, the maid helping him into his topcoat, and rushed out of the theater. He walked the streets until wearied and arrived home an hour after midnight, just as his father, whistling. entered. Happy old man! “I see you've cut me out, dad,"’ said Reggie, with a gulp. “And I'm going away."’ “*Where?"’ “To England or France or Germany— anywhere that I can enlist."" **You don’t care what uniform you wear, so long as you can fight?"” “No.” “But, of course, you'll go up and bid Miss Roland good-by before you sail?’’ Reggie turned without reply- ing. He would see Miss Roland and say something sarcastic about January and May, or the sacrifice of youth to age. Olivia admitted Reggie at once the next morning, although his call was unconventionally early. She was all smiles. Her loveliness in a morning gown made him feel faint. “IT have an answer to your proposal,’’ she said, with no embarrassment whatever. ‘‘It depended upon a proposal made to me last night by your father. She waited. Reggie was un- able to speak. He would liter- ally rush to death when he got a chance abroad. “*Your father wants to make you a working director in the Universal Supply Company on condition that you marry,’’ continued Olivia. ‘*He's very kind, isn’t he?’’ Reggie laughed mockingly. “Why, Reggie!" cried Olivia. Reproach was inhereyes. Never before had she called him Reggie. He looked at her for the brief- est part of a moment in a daze. Then his desire to become a soldier somehow got lost among a lot of kisses. Good Advice for Anybody “Don’t be a grape and hang with your own bunch,"" READING BETWEEN THE LINES