Judge, 1916-08-19 · page 13 of 28
Judge — August 19, 1916 — page 13: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This satirical story jokes about marital naïveté and infidelity. Two portly men meet on a train, each claiming they're traveling to Wide Beach to "surprise" their wives on Saturday. Both boast their wives are beautiful, modest, and industrious—yet both are conveniently making unannounced trips to the same destination. The humor relies on the reader recognizing the obvious implication: both men are likely visiting the *same woman*, unaware of each other's existence. Their cheerful obliviousness—describing themselves as "lucky guys" with wives who wouldn't expect them—satirizes husbands as foolishly blind to potential infidelity. The art shows two rotund men on a crowded train, with elegantly drawn women in the background, emphasizing the contrast between the men's mundane appearance and their confident delusions about their romantic situations. The satire mocks male gullibility and vanity.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
THE By Jo A INGENUOUS HUSBANDS 1LDRON wt blow fo aa a: ve for one , toward which several passen; started, Two fat men were in the van and made for it tandem. They ar- rived at their mutual destination as near neck and neck as two fat men can get in the aisle of a car. For a moment each hindered the other from taking the space next to the window, and they glared at each other, The glaring was brief, for fat men are good natured, and they burst into laughter. “Beg pardon,” said one, “but do you want the window?” “Not if you want it,” replied the other. “Well, we can’t both have it. Let’s match for it.” And coins were produced while passengers held by the blockade growled in varying voices and divers phases of impatience. The man who had proposed the gamble won, squeezed in, and the other followed. ‘Then they proceeded to get acquainted. “I'm going down to the shore to surprise my wife,” said the man who had won the window, “She don’t expect me until Saturday, and I know she'll be pleased to see me in spite of the tradition that no one loves a fat man.”” The other looked at him wonderingly, and then remarked: “Well, I'll be d—arned!” “What's matter?” “What shore?” “Why, Wide Beach.” “You're stealing my stuff!” “You don’t mean that you're going down to Wide Beach to surprise my wife, do you?” Can't there be two fat men with w at the shore, and can’t two fat men be bound on the same errand? I'm going down to surprise my wife. And she doesn’t expect me until Saturday! Shake They shoo! hands—and they also shook mutually with merriment. The man near the window looked out a moment thought- fully, “I'ma lucky guy,” he remarked.“ My wife's a young woman, and a beauty. More than that, she’s modest and industrious.” Same here,”’ was the laconic rejoinder of the other. “y Then we're both in luck. I was a bit averse to my wife's going down to the shore alone, for there’s danger in comicbooks.com