Puck, 1877-08-22 · page 5 of 16
Puck — August 22, 1877 — page 5: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a sequential comic strip satirizing a woman named Miss Jones and her pet squirrel. The narrative follows a romantic misadventure: Miss Jones buys a "darling little squirrel" (panel 1), which attacks a man named Cupid—a pun on love interests (panel 2). She knocks down her lover (panel 4), and a man named Henneree attempts to woo her with balm (panel 6). The squirrel hides in her clothing while she pursues a suitor (panel 9), eventually escapes in a chaotic cloud (panel 10), and she triumphantly claims victory (panel 11). The humor relies on wordplay, physical comedy, and the squirrel as a comedic device disrupting romantic pursuits. The strip appears to mock both courting customs and women's unpredictability through exaggerated situations rather than targeting specific political figures or events.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
. Miss Jones—O rash and reckless “‘gir'l” | Has bought a darling little squirrel. i 6 i 2. A frisky thing but “dreadful stupid,” It makes this wild attack on Cupid. 4“ £7 2 3. And lays him low, sans doubt or dread, And plants himself in Cupid’s stead. 4. Not long he rests. Miss Jones’s lover Is next attacked, and most knocked over. 5. He rallies boldly, bravely, but His nose is taken for a nut, 8. But he forswears these tender tunes When something bites his pantaloons. Wy pee 9. He tries to fix his trowsers right While the squirrel hides in Lily-White. . At last,—in rage he darts from there, And one vast cloud fills all the air. 11, Elate with triumph, seated, lo! He now defies th’ advancing foe. 12, The lesson of this flight and fall ~ Is “trust no squirrel, large or small.” r comicbooks.com