Judge, 1923-12-22 · page 6 of 36
Judge — December 22, 1923 — page 6: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Analysis of Judge Magazine Page The main illustration, drawn by Anton Otto Fischer, depicts a winter scene with two men and oxen outside a cabin. The caption quotes dialogue about clearing snow so an elderly woman can reach the woods—a domestic scenario illustrating rural hardship. Below are two text sections: "Wa'al, Chet, how's things up your hollow?" and "Pretty bad," which continue this rural theme with vernacular dialect humor typical of Judge's era. The second piece, "Precedent" by Edwin Balti, is a literary commentary criticizing Geoffrey Chaucer's *Canterbury Tales* for insufficient plot variety and comparing his work unfavorably to Faust and Shakespeare. This represents Judge's frequent cultural criticism aimed at educated readers. The page lacks overt political satire—instead offering rural humor and literary critique representative of early 20th-century Judge content.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Drawn by ANTON Otto Fiscuen. “Wa'al, Chet, “Pretty bad. chair steady instead of standing there with her mouth open waiting for you to fall. After receiving the wife’s invitation to quit talking to her like she was a scrub- woman, and nobody knows how she slaves and strives, and, sniff-sniff, what does she get out of it after all, resume your attack on the tree. Balance yourself as un- steadily as possible from your high point of ambush, then vigorously thrust out one arm with the determination of catching the tree by surprise, grabbing it around the neck and choking it into submission while you fasten the star to its topmost tip. After falling twice, tie the star to one of the lowest branches and remark that it looks better there, anyhow, HE SAME general plan of attack be followed in binding the tree with strings of colo: tinsel and electric light wires, extreme care used in order that, upon standing | survey your unhandiwork, you may mu have bunched the electric bulbs on ie side and assembled all the celluloid balls and other thingamajigs on the oppe site branches. After informing the wife should ng how's things up your hollow?” Say, it takes me half an hour a day to shovel a path so the ole woman can get in the wood.” in your usual plain language that you'll be hanged if you'll disrobe the tree and re- dress it in order to make the decorations look halfway decent, call loudly for the toys and junk that go under the tree, let's go, [can’t stay here all night, who in thun- der started this fool custom, anyhow? et al and et cetera, and answer the suggestion to hush up, the children are awake, with the gurgled threat that you'll be hanged if Santa Claus gets in the house next year without a carload of dynamite and a young cyclone. After arranging dolls, games, toys, elec- tric trains and roller skates around the hase of the young Sequoia, bump against one of the branches, make the tree totter, step on a roller skate in an effort to calm the shivering cypress and then crash to the floor, taking care that the tree falls buttered side up. After the wife has assured the kids that Santa Claus ha fallen down the chimney, and chased them back to bed, ask her for the love of Mike to help lift the forest off you, refuse to make any editorial comment upon her complete review of all you don’t know about putting up anything without wreck- +5 Oo FISCHER Ase ER, ing the house, decline to answer her polite | inquiry as to whether you ever did any thing right in vour life and then, suffering in silence, clear away the débris and put the darn tree up again and decorate it exactly as she tells you to. FBS Precedent by Edwin Rutt Ws Grorrney Cuavcen spread his stuff, And wrote his “Canterbury Tales,” He couldn't pilfer plots enough. He thought he'd have to rob the mails Since writing was his stellar forte, Just what to do he didn’t know; So he sat back and sipped his port, And borrowed from Boccaccio. And we who play with rhymes and words. should steal from Faust or Lear I don't see why those critic birds Should rise and tear us ear from ear. Since C er cribbed his plots a bit. And Shakespeare did it, say the notes: For any critic must admit ‘That those two bennies knew their oats. comicbooks.com