Judge, 1924-05-10 · page 25 of 36
Judge — May 10, 1924 — page 25: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a romantic comic strip depicting a man's heartbreak over a woman who has rejected him. The narrative follows his emotional deterioration as he realizes she has accepted another suitor ("she accepted me, Harry / she told me so / herself"). The six panels show him progressively devastated: reminiscing over her picture, confessing his depth of feeling, and eventually attempting suicide (the final panel shows him near a river marked "TO THE RIVER"). The satirical notes at bottom mock "cold-faced women" and reference a real incident involving someone named Gross who allegedly threw objects at his wife—contrasting domestic violence with romantic idealization. The adjoining advice column joke plays on nervous disorders, likely alluding to "St. Vitus's Dance" (a neurological condition). The strip critiques sentimental romance narratives while the contextual notes expose the harsh realities of period domestic relations.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
BIT BY BIT THEY WERE BREAKING HIS HEART hus, g r pictus If youve ever theres nol ca, 4 deen 1n love- another gal 7 0! youll understand, in dy world ‘ I never dreamed like her J hin I could care ) like this gaged, next well b Imairied, and chen. helfan They told how Gross once hurled a table Irrevocanir Decision “Has your little boy any nervous affections? knife at his wife, and once dashed a cup of asked Mrs. Stryver, biting her lips—New York coffee in her face hecause it was cold —New Evening World York Evening World “Bill is going to retire from business for uve * “Oh, I've heared him say that before.” In other words, is he fond of St. Vitus’s Cold-faced women—beware! “Yes—but this time the Judge said it.’ Dance?