Judge, 1918-01-05 · page 7 of 28
Judge — January 5, 1918 — page 7: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This story-cartoon satirizes romantic class barriers in early 20th-century America. Major Audray, now a gentleman officer, has forgotten his humble origins—his father was a plumber. When a young plumber arrives to fix his house plumbing, the Major's daughter Beatrice chats with him and finds him genteel and ambitious (studying to be a mechanical engineer). The satire's point: Cupid (love) doesn't respect social hierarchies. Despite the plumber's lowly trade, he's intelligent and respectable. Beatrice's friendly, unguarded conversation with him suggests romantic possibility—threatening to a family that has climbed socially and now looks down on plumbing as "vulgar." The "errant marksman" title implies Cupid's arrows will strike unpredictably, potentially uniting Beatrice with someone her snobbish parents would consider beneath her station, much as the General initially opposed the elder Audray's suit.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
XUM CUPID, THAT ERRANT MARKSMAN By J. 4. yALDRON HERE is no guiding Cupid’s arrows. He is a senti- mental freebooter, a surpriser, a satirist, a comedian, a tragedian, and a normal and reasonable marksman by turns. Lieutenant Audray had shown such aptitude for the military game that he became the protégé of General Hall- worthy. He also won the General’s daughter, in spite of a momentary opposition to his suit from her mother. And now, as Major Audray, with a charming daughter of his own, Be: trice—this before the great war broke, while the military estab- lishment of the country was small—he was living in New York having been detached from a western post to awai i in the cast. He had forgotten the significance of his position as it related to his modest beginning. Plumbing is a vulgar vocation. It is grimy, and it has a definite tendency toward chicanery even in its best circum- stances. Yet there is money in its ful practice. The plumbing in the Major’s house suddenly needed atten- tion. A plumber was sent for to fix it. The Major had an im- perative engagement at the Club, and his wife had arranged a shopping tour with another major's wife. There was specula- eS fi “She smiled at him, bidding for reconciliation.”” tion that the plumber—whose habits usually are dilatory and filled with repetitive errands—might not reach the job before one or the other returned. But a young plumber appeared promptly, and Beatrice was summoned by one of the servants to direct him to his work. This plumber, aside from the advantage of youth, seemed less grimy than most plumbers. He kept his face clean. And his face was something to conjure with. Beatrice, curious about all domestic processes, had also an industrial curiosity. Plumbing interested her. And it had an interesting exponent. She asked the young plumber’s name. It was John. “You aren't going to be a plumber all your life, are you?” she queried. John was wiping a joint and she wondered at his deft ipulation, “Of course not, Miss. I’m just plumbing to pay my way through college. And I'm almost through. I’m going to be a mechanical engineer.” “Isnt that splendid! Well, it’s work all right They had a wonderful chat, unhindered by conventions. And