Life, 1883-03-29 · page 5 of 16
Life — March 29, 1883 — page 5: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# "A Case of Conscience" - Analysis The cartoon depicts a moral lesson about childhood honesty. Uncle Jack questions Miss Bonnie about why she's selling lemonade for three cents when Charlie cuts his for five cents. Bonnie admits the puppy fell in her lemonade, so she's selling it cheaper—a transparent rationalization for watering down the product. The satire targets how children (and perhaps adults) justify dishonest practices through pseudo-moral reasoning. By claiming she's being "cheaper" rather than admitting to inferior quality, Bonnie exemplifies self-deception disguised as virtue. The scene shows Uncle Jack catching her in this contradiction, exposing how conscience can be twisted to excuse questionable behavior. The other poems on the page are unrelated literary pieces.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
A CASE OF CONSCIENCE. . Uncle Jack; \t 1s VERY GOOD LEMONADE, I AM SURE; BUT TELL ME, BONNIE, WHY DO YOU SELL YOURS FOR THREE CENTS A GLASS WHEN CHARLEY GETS FIVE FOR HIS? Miss Bonnie; WELL, YOU MUST N'’T TELL ANYBODY, UNCLE JACK, BUT THE PUPPY FELL IN MINE ANDI THOUGHT IT OUGHT TO BE CHEAPER, JUDKINS’ BOY ON THE MUD TURTLE. HE mud-turtle is not a beast of pray, but he dearly loves cat-fish bait. If a mud-turtle gits your big toe in his mouth, he will hang on till it thun- ders. Then he will spit it out like he was disgusted. The mud-turtle can swim and keep his chin out of water ef he wants to, but he don’t care ef he does sink. The turtle can stay under water till his next birthday, and never crack a smile. He can breathe likea grown person, but he don’t haf to, only when he is on dry land, and then I guess he jist does it to be soshibul. Always when you gee bubbles a-comin’ up in the swim- min’ hole, you can bet your galluses they’s a mud-tur- tle a layin’ down there, studyin’ up some cheap way to git his dinner. Mud-turtles never dies, only wheo they make soup out of ‘em. They is seven kinds of meat in the turtle, but I’d ruther eat jist plain burnt liver. Wuy do not the newspapers allow the “ political pot” to stop “commencing to boil?” Why not have the political gridiron begin to sizzle? Or the political kettle begin to sing ? drops, of course. * ALPHA,” LITTLE child-heart overfilled, Slipped into lisped song its happy hop: As quietly the twilight spread abroad . Its coal-gray shadows over hill and slope. Not dreaming that to-morrow might Some trace of bitter with its sweetness yield, He sang and sang: Would that it were to-morrow; Oh! would that it were to-morrow! And morrow, to-morrow, rang across the field. “OMEGA.” Afar there sat an old man by the way, His journey near its ending. Wearily He turned, and ‘neath his hallowed palm he scanned The far receding pathway, drearily. And as the night winds shook the barren boughs, T heard him crying in a thin, shrill tone— A broken strain—Oh, that 'twere yesterday! And sea and wind shrieked, Yesterday! And jeered him in their mocking monotone. Lutu WHEDON MitTcHeLL, Upon what should the Dude be fed? Upon dew comicbooks.com