Judge, 1918-10-26 · page 13 of 32
Judge — October 26, 1918 — page 13: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# "A Reminiscent Encounter" - Explanation for Modern Readers This is a WWI-era short story (not a satirical cartoon) about two men—Captain Bender and Danver, his former chauffeur—who unexpectedly encounter each other in the ocean after their transport ship, the *Turtle*, is torpedoed near Ireland. The dramatic irony is that Danver had run away with Bender's wife before the war, humiliating him. Bender enlisted partly out of shame rather than patriotism. Now, after surviving combat in France and a German U-boat attack, Bender finds himself face-to-face with the man who wronged him—both literally in the water, both survivors. The story's point appears to be about how wartime trauma and survival can put personal grievances into perspective. The illustration shows them in the water amid wreckage, about to have an awkward reunion. This is sentimental fiction rather than satire, reflecting post-WWI American literature's interest in soldier experiences and redemption.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
HE Turtle, a returning transport empty as to human freight, except that it was carry- ing back to some western Atlantic port a number of Yankee soldiers who, after service in France, had been picked from various commands as instructors‘of fresh American levies, was torpedoed in broad daylight near the Irish coast. At the moment the convoying destroyers were almost out of sight, combing a troubled sea in the rain. Bi the guilty submarine paid the penalty. The second shot from a stern gun served by Navy men blew the Hun to Davy Jones’s Locker with all on board. The captain of the Turtle had superintended the lowering of boats, and in the last one to take the water was looking about for those who had leaped overboard at the first alarm. Captain Bender, of the A. E. F., had been one of the latest to come on deck. After assuring himself he could be of no use on the Turtle, which was settling forward, and clad only in trousers and shirt, he adjusted a life-preserver and jumped into the sea. ‘The captain had enlisted as a private early in the A Reminiscent Encounter By J. A. Wa.pron Illustration by Lawrence Fe ows war through humiliation caused by the clopement of his wife with his chauffeur, a chap named Danver. His service and promotion proved that he would have enlisted later anyway. Men enlist sometimes for reasons unrelated to any flag. The personnel of the Foreign Legion—among the bravest of soldiers—has offered a multitude of motives. Captain Bender had not lived happily with Mrs Bender. He had been sporty, and she had been flirtatious, and they had no particular liking for each other. But when a man’s wife clopes with his chauffeur he doesn’t like to face friends, no matter if the episode does not touch him vitally As Captain Bender rose from a submerging wave and was balancing himself buoyantly, another man bobbed up in front of him with a pipe in his mouth. It was his former chauffeur, Danver. When shipwreck follows the hardships and haz: of a campaign in France a man’s mind must be some- what blunted as to antedating domestic troubles. Yet at once a reminiscent picture came to Bender’s mind. “Hello! That you, Danver?” he asked. ards comicbooks.com SE