Judge, 1924-05-10 · page 7 of 36
Judge — May 10, 1924 — page 7: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Analysis of This Judge Magazine Page This page satirizes **pretentious literary ambition**. The main story, "Real Elegance," mocks writers attempting cosmopolitan, multilingual fiction by mixing languages (French, German, Hindi, Spanish) into a deliberately absurd romantic narrative. The protagonist, narrating in broken polyglot style, recounts an encounter with a woman on horseback using laughably mismatched vocabulary ("fjord," "samovar," "agrégola") to sound sophisticated and international. The joke: **contrived "world literature"** is pretentious nonsense. Judge's satire targets American authors desperately inserting foreign words and settings to appear cultured. The secondary cartoons mock **successful phoniness**: a poet lies about working late while actually at clubs; a government official cynically asks what he'll "get out of" an investigation; a wealthy man pays off a failure with lunch rather than genuine help. Overall, the page ridicules social pretense, false sophistication, and the gap between appearance and reality in early 20th-century American society.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Reau Evecasce AT have real too many of these er nevels where the characters fifty-fifty By hoand: French, or Engh and somethingelse. 1. loo. must write one! This shall be tray in the spirit of the Limes —universal, international! The ever solicitous Parkinson placed the steaming samocar before ime oa fempus fugit were heres Tre marked, as he poured the beverage. “Uyh, Sahib.” Wwe replied, “The season deed tarde!” “Who is this pulehra fraulein coming np the path?” P queried "AN that is the file of a neight rd agricola.” Ihe responded, annoyed, “TE told all strangers to milite blake. “Bon tag 1 seled her, as she came closer, and noting that she was in riding habit, added, “Where is your equus?” “Left her on the chemin, by the steppe, near the fjord.” “Wot you sit down and have some ¥ 2" T asked. “Teh will have some thé, ves. but cannot sit down. TE have been riding for some heures She smiled coyly. “AL Dchuekled, “you are very tender.” She joined in’ the laughter, playfully bringing her erop down across the pons of my T cried, spring: ing to my feet.” “Dunnervetter!” she quivered, “rows have a temper!” She threw herself palpitating into. my arm “ANS D sighed, “do you Liebe me a poco?” Smith's crabbed, rich old uncle is dangerously ill with the “Atta boy she whispered, “ste semper sleeping sickness. ye Tue Artist I ‘te TURNS out successful fiction, And T envy him his art; There is really no denying That he plays a clever part. Though he spends most. of his evenings At the club or at the plays. Wifie hears how work detains him, And she falls for what he says. E.D. Kk. Leaping QuesTiONS Government Official (before the investigation) What are we going to get out of it? “Sir, could you give a dime to a failure?” , ; pane lett bs meas ne “I'll do better than that. Have lunch with me. I'm tired of listening to OW are We ZOIns tO. ;Beb Os the yawp of my successful friends.” we