Judge, 1924-03-22 · page 8 of 36
Judge — March 22, 1924 — page 8: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# "The Story of the Cat That Came Back" This humorous tale mocks romantic distraction and absent-mindedness. Maybelle intends to bury her dead kitten at sea but becomes so enchanted by a boy named Charlie on the ferry that she forgets—twice. She carries the wrapped package around all day, finally burying it in the backyard that evening without checking its contents. The punchline: the "kitten" has mysteriously become a two-pound porter-house steak, implying someone substituted the package while she was distracted by romance. The moral, "Cast not your cats upon the waters," is a joking inversion of the biblical phrase about casting bread upon waters. The page also includes a social note mocking "Porch Climber"—slang for social climbers seeking status—and a brief joke about a woman artist suing for "non-support," playing on alimony humor common to the era.
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Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
The Story of the Cat That Came Back A AYBELLE toiled—more or less—at 3 N an office in the city but dwelt among the hills across the river there- from. ‘Thus it was necessary that she make a morning and evening trip on the ferry. Now Maybelle had a wee kitten of which she was very fond but the kitten developed some mysterious feline sick- ness and died. This occasioned an out- burst of tears from Maybelle and a declaration that the kitty would be buried in the back yard with impressive ceremony. This was followed by a declaration from her father that it wouldn't. No! He put his foot down and wouldn’t stand for it. She decided to bury it at sea on her crossing by ferry the next morning. So she did the poor little thing up in a neat parcel and set out to perform the solemn rites. On the ferry she encountered a boy friend, Charlie, that she had met at a dance the previous Saturday night. He was such a swell talker and fascinated her so completely that she forgot all about the burial ceremony until she was off the boat. Thus it was necessary to carry the package to the office with her and post- pone the ceremony until the trip home in the evening. But again she met the handsome Charlie on the ferry and again he ex- erted his fatal charm, to the end that she forgot the poor kitty completely. In fact their absorption in each other was so great that they both very nearly forgot their packages, barely remember- ing to pick them up at the last moment. They reluctantly parted after arrange- ing a date. for Grown-ups So it was necessary to bury the kitty in the back yard after ail. Fortu- nately the irasible father hadn't yet re- turned. She found a nic that he kept his old cigars in and lined it prettily with blue silk and taking a hatchet and a fire shovel went out in the yard to dig the grave and conduct the funeral. She finally completed the grave. She brought out the coffin and the package. Shedding a few tears she started to unwrap the package and lay the body of the poor kitty in its pretty little box. The kitty had mysteri- ously turned into a two-pound porter- wooden box house steak. MORAL—Cast not your cats upon the waters. PLS. Charlie didn’t call. Hf. L. Morrer. In THE VILLAGE Uptown—That girl seems wedded to her art. Downtown—Um. Well, it’s about time she sued it for non-support. Social Note—Mr. and Mrs. Porch Climber formally opened their new home, Blackjack Manor, Monday night. The French windows on the second to their many professional friends. floor were thrown open comicbooks.com