Judge, 1918-01-12 · page 13 of 28
Judge — January 12, 1918 — page 13: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a satirical short story illustrated in *Judge* magazine. The narrative mocks the exclusivity and gossip culture of wealthy suburban enclaves near New York City. The plot concerns "Duxhurst," a fictional ultra-exclusive suburb so snobbish that residents won't even give directions to outsiders. A mysterious, well-dressed young woman named Miss Smart mysteriously moves into a vacant villa. Her unexplained presence and occasional male visitors spark intense speculation among the bored, scandal-hungry community. The satire targets two groups: the absurd pretension of exclusive suburbs that isolate themselves from "vulgar curiosity," and the hypocritical moralism of wealthy residents who eagerly generate rumors while maintaining a facade of respectability. The illustration shows Miss Smart entering what appears to be the conservatory—the setup for the scandal the story hints at but doesn't fully reveal.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
— > 2 Jd THE SCANDAL By Joa AT DUXHURST WALDRON “She opened a door leading ing suburbs. WO city clubmen were discu 2” asked one. ‘Mighty “Ever been to Duxhurst exclusive place.” “Just far enough from New York to be removed from vulgar curiosity, yet near enough to be in touch with metropolitan business life. And an ideal place for a week- end, if you stand pretension. Yes. I’ve been there— once.” “Then you know something of it. I’ve been there just as often. Ican’tassimilate it. But I asked because I heard a good story of the place yesterday.” “Why, Duxhurst is so exclusive that if a well-dressed party in a Rolls-Royce should by error invade its park-like grounds no resident, without a formal introduction, would indicate the way out. But what is the story?” Scandals, you know, may have involved a few of the residents of Duxhurst, but causes of reprobation could only ha’ been in relation to the doings of its elect in New York or else- where. There had been no social traducement or aspersion of a purely-local origin up to a few days ago. A secthing sensation ‘was caused there recently by the sudden and unheralded oc- into an empty consercatory.” cupation of a remote yet legitimately-located villa by a hand- some young woman unknown, The owner of the villa several years ago got on the wrong side of The Street. He disappeared with his family. In the settlement of his affairs it was found that the villa had been duly transferred by him to somebody before his crash. It had borne a sale sign for a time, but astonishment that it remained unoccupied had died down when the strange young woman appeared.” “Some possibility, 1 confess, in that situation.” “All that residents of Duxhurst could discover about this young woman through the exercises of a curiosity stimulated to the verge of seemliness was that she kept house alone, save for a perfect ménage, and that her name was Miss Smart. For some time even the butchers and bakers who monopolize Dux- hurst trade didn’t know that her baptismal name was Sarah.” ‘ah, ch? Well, that has a royal meaning.” “Not in Duxhurst, without authenticating documents. Whispering became a habit soon after Miss Smart’s advent. And it was rumored that she occasionally had men visitors. One day Miss Smart drove up to The Club and dropped in.” “What a club, ch? With the women eternally about!” comichooks.