The titles of Webster's cartoons reflected the different situations, as in
Our Boyhood Ambitions and
Bridge. In 1924, he moved to the
New York World and soon after added
The Timid Soul featuring
Caspar Milquetoast, a wimpy character whose name is derived from
milk toast. Webster described Caspar Milquetoast as "the man who speaks softly and gets hit with a big stick". The modern dictionary definition of
milquetoast (meaning a very shy or retiring person) comes from Webster's cartoons. In 1927 Webster trained himself to draw left-handed in three months after a severe case of arthritis impaired the use of his right hand. In 1931, the
World folded, and that same year,
Simon & Schuster published a collection of
The Timid Soul reprints. Webster then went back to the
New York Tribune (now known as the
New York Herald Tribune), where he then launched a
Timid Soul Sunday strip. He alternated his various features throughout the week: Caspar Milquetoast was seen on both Sunday and Monday. Youth's glories (
The Thrill That Comes Once in a Lifetime) and the downside (''Life's Darkest Moment
) appeared on Saturdays and Tuesdays. On Wednesday, The Unseen Audience
offered satirical jabs at radio. How to Torture Your Husband (or Wife)
was published each Thursday, and the week ended with Bridge'' on Fridays. During the 1940s, Webster lived at Shippan Point in
Stamford, Connecticut. His assistant, Herb Roth, took over when Webster died in 1952. When Roth died the following year, the series came to an end with the last new drawing appearing in the
New York Herald Tribune on April 4, 1953. == Cartoon automation reference ==