Judge, 1919-01-18 · page 5 of 34
Judge — January 18, 1919 — page 5: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# "Lest We Remember" by Harry Irving Shumway This is a humorous short story about married life, illustrated by Gordon Ross. The main cartoon depicts a couple at dinner, with the caption referencing the husband "Rupert" stuttering when questioned by a minister. The satire concerns the selective memory of married couples regarding embarrassing wedding-day moments. The story suggests that while men cannot discuss their weddings in detail, wives perpetually remind them of awkward incidents—in this case, Rupert's stutter during the marriage ceremony. The joke plays on the contrast between a man's desire to forget embarrassing moments and a wife's determination to preserve them in memory. It's gentle domestic satire about marriage, memory, and gender dynamics typical of early 20th-century Judge magazine humor.
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Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“Why, Rueert, Dox’'r You Rememper How You Stutrereo Wien tHe Minister AskeD You Questioys? Lest We Remember By Harry Irvinc Suumway Illustrated by ERY few men remember any of the details or events that transpired on their wedding day. They recall the anniversary every year,—late, be- cause they are reminded of it. But to give a detailed account of what happened from reveille to taps, on the day of days, is an impossibility. Most men are married once, just the same as they are born once and die once. They are equally unconscious generally on all three of these days. What a pity that on this trio of red letter days, so fraught with interesting things of life, that a man can’t tell us how he feels, his thoughts and so on. Think of what a thrilling document a man’s first day on earth would be, his fresh unbiased opin- ions and comments. And of the day he goes out we learn very little; he slips away into the next world and can tell us nothing of wha sees. This is sad, but it seems an especial shame that a man cannot tell us about his marriage day. Gorpvon Ross He is very helpless that day. He even has to get somebody, no more able-bodied than he is himself, to carry the ring for him, feeling it too much of a burden to an already tottering constitution. He gets another man to escort his coming wife down the long strip of Axminster. He can’t do anything for himself; doesn’t even dress himself right. It is a long day, at least a long one to be enveloped in a mental haze. No man ought to wander around doing such important things with his mind at half- mast for one whole waking day. But he can’t help himself. The girl in the song who waited at the church should not have blamed the missing candidate, because he knew not what he did. In after life his wife tells him many little things he did that are absolutely fresh items to him, things he learns for the first time. “Why, Rupert,” she says, “don’t you remember how you stuttered when the minister asked you questions?” “No, did 1?” “Why, Rupert, you never seem to re- — —- comicbooks.com