Judge, 1917-09-01 · page 13 of 28
Judge — September 1, 1917 — page 13: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a domestic comedy depicting marital conflict. Mr. Bilbery has come home late, prompting his suspicious wife Kate to set a burglar alarm as a trap—triggering a police response that embarrasses them both publicly. The satire targets early 20th-century gender dynamics: Kate has been reading "Sophie Wise's Hints to Wives," a self-help advice column that apparently encourages wives to police their husbands' behavior and demand accountability for late hours. Bilbery dismisses Sophie Wise as "some old maid," while Kate weaponizes the advice to expose what she suspects is infidelity or deception. The joke relies on the era's tension between wives' limited power and their growing assertiveness. Kate's "revenge" backfires spectacularly—the very public humiliation undermines her goal. The cartoon satirizes both suspicious wives and evasive husbands, suggesting neither relationship strategy serves domestic harmony. The reference to hiring a Japanese butler reflects period attitudes about immigrant labor's perceived docility.
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Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
XUM A ROUNDSEO YT 4. WALDRON HE BILBERYS were at breakfast. There was a mutual restraint that promised to embarrass digestion. Bilbery, helping himself to another roll and look- ing sternly at Mrs. Bilbery, finally broke the aching silence. ‘I’m sure none of the servants did it,” he said, “for I was up early and have put them all through the third degree.” “Yes, A fine thing to do! My maid has gone, and you saw the butler’s face as he brought in the coffee.” “He has given notice. But I'll get a Jap butler. The Japs aren't so sensitive—or at least they cloak their feeling—and nothing of the kind is ever likely to happen again, unless ms He observed Mrs. Bilbery more closely. She was very nervous. “You must have done it, Kate!” “Well, I did do it!” She glared defiantly. “What for, pray? Setting a trap for your husband! Who put you up to fixing that burglar alarm so that I should send it off when I came in?” “Never mind who put me up to it! But I found out when you came in, didn’t I? I was bound to do that. I’ve kept awake nights too many times lately waiting for you!” So you were ready to summon half a dozen policemen. stir up the whole neighborhood from cellars to garrets, and make a show of us just to humiliate me!” REVENGE “TI didn’t think it would make so great a fuss. I just thought... ” “What do you think a burglar alarm is for? And I came within an ace of being taken to the station house! How are you going to make the neighbors believe it was just a jest—an experiment?” “Well, you are to blame, Horace Bilbery! If you kept decent hours nothing of the kind would have happened!” “Decent hours! I have had a bit of business to transact lately. Who in the world ever put you up to such an out- rageous thing?” “Nobody put me up to it. I just had an inspiration. I've been reading ‘Sophie Wise’s Hints to Wives’ lately, and almost everything she says bears out my suspicions of you, Horace!” “Did Sophie Wise recommend anything like a burglar alarm to surprise a husband?” “No. She simply said that a wife, if her patience is ex- hausted, and her husband doesn’t confide in her, should bring him to his senses.” “Well, you brought the police. Sophie Wise is no doubt some old maid who wants every woman who has a husband to be unhappy.” “Her aim, on the contrary, is to caution wives against their husbands’ deceits.””