Judge, 1918-03-16 · page 9 of 38
Judge — March 16, 1918 — page 9: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
**"The Tardy Visitor"** depicts a woman waiting anxiously for a visitor in freezing weather. The punchline—"It was the steam"—suggests she mistook steam (likely from a radiator or heating system) for an actual person arriving, making her emotional relief absurd and humorous. **"Their Perspicacity"** satirizes rural folk wisdom. Mr. Gap Johnson boasts his children are naturally intelligent without formal education. He recounts how they "tar-and-feathered" the baby by covering him in molasses and leaves—a reference to the violent mob punishment historically inflicted on unpopular figures. The joke mocks his pride: the children's "cleverness" is actually dangerous foolishness, yet he celebrates it as innate wisdom. Both pieces rely on period-appropriate rural dialect and stereotypes typical of Judge's satirical humor targeting rural Americans.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
iS) = Drazen by Cacvert Sati The Tardy Visitor By T. AV day she had been seated at the window wait- ing for the expected visitor. A frozen landscape alone greeted her, for it was bitter cold without F, Mrtenete VENEERING a pole and were parading him round and round the house, and him a-yelling bloody murder in three lan- guages. All in the living world I’d done to learn ’em that trick was to take’em over to Tumlinville to see them there I. W.W. fellers and icy within. and drew her shawl closer around her. She shivered slightly every little while The wind shrieked loudly with threatening gusts and the sky was sullen with clouds. But presently a gentle tapping aros into a mighty clamor and then wa welling soon Il. The girl turned her head eagerly, a faint flush overspread her face and a gentle warmth stole over her. She gav deep sigh of relief, all the tense lines vanished like magic from her glance and she became radiant; expected caller had arrived. Their Perspicacity By Tue Arkansas “W°VE got the smartest dad-burned bunch of children in seven states!” triumphantly - asserted Mr. Gap Johnson, of Rumpus Ridge, “T don’t have to learn ’em nuth’ saturate wisdom by look- , ~- ingon, Tuther day I heered a hooraw out in the yard, and sa’ntered out after a while ¢ what was coming off. And, blamed if the rest of the kids hadn’t took Rowdy, the baby, and emptied a jug of molasses over him, rolled Ark. they just nacher’ly se him in the leaves, put him a-straddle It was the steam. for the long nN; to Mr. of out the engine develops’a new knock!” tar-and-feath- ered and rid on rails!” Drawn by Saxrorp Tousey ovice—“ Confound it, I got stung with this car. Every time I go