Life, 1883-06-28 · page 7 of 17
Life — June 28, 1883 — page 7: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Analysis of Life Magazine Page 305 The page contains two distinct sections: **"A Last Philharmonic"** (poem by Edward J. Stevenson): A romantic poem about a failed courtship, where the speaker recalls an intimate moment with a woman who rejected him. The accompanying illustration shows two figures at a window—likely depicting the scene described. **"Proverbial Philosophy"** (attributed to Mors-Vivens): A collection of satirical aphorisms mocking human nature and society. Examples include cynical observations about hunger, womankind, dancing, doctors, and the devil. These are gentle social satires typical of Life's style—witty critiques of everyday human folly rather than specific political targets. The page reflects Life's early 20th-century approach: combining romantic/sentimental poetry with biting social commentary.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
A LAST PHILHARMONIC, YES. tricky rose! You hang your head Now that the fun and fiddling’s over. And so might I, if I were bred To play the deep-dejected lover. Sole rival all my afternoon ! You knew my pique would not diminish, And since I've picked my quarrel soon, You try to wither, ere I finish ! Close underneath her pretty chin, I watched you nestling, so demurely, Twice you'd a battle with your pin— Ambitious of kiss-stealing, surely, You pressed your fresh leaves to her throat, Sceming to flout me with each petal, Till, through my Melton overcoat, You pricked my heart—a very nettle ! Great gods! What ails a fellow’s head Just when he wants to think his brightest ? —It sickens me—the things I've said ; The stupidest, meanest, tritest. What eyes she had! So blue, so clear ; They baulk me, like a very ninny. Dying to whisper—just once—“' Dear |" I stammer, ‘* Do you—like Rossini ?” What made her clasp you in her glove The whole time that they played that Largo ? Vouchsafe to you those looks of love On which mine should have laid embargo ? And when I ventured on that speech About our “‘ meeting in Vienna,” She blushed, and dropped you past my reach ; For once I wished flowers in—Gehenna ! Well, well—small use to vent my wrath, And blame you for my weak endeavor ! Ah, ‘tis a mortifying path That lover treads who is—not clever ! She let me steal you, thorny taunter ! So I'll forgive you with this look— Yes, kiss you—and, as home I saunter, Slip you inside my pocket-book,. Epwarp J. STEVENSON. Hap the Garden of Eden been located at Nia- gara Falls, the expense of an angel and a flaming sword at the gate would have been saved. One regularly ordained hackman at the gate would have kept the whole world out of the garden until Jay Gould and the Vanderbilt family came along. And after they went in, nobody else would care to go. Peters: Miss! ir I DON’T GET THIS AGGERWATIN TRAIN FIXED I'LL HAVE A fil/ Miss Blossom, dryly: NO DANGER OF my HAVING ONE, PETERS, PROVERBIAL PHILOSOPHY, UNGER is the best sauce, hence street-boys are natu- rally saucy. Many men have many minds, but one woman frequently has more than all of them. They who danct leave the host to pay the fiddler. What cannot be cured supports the doctors. Speak of the devil, and he is ‘sure to call for copy. A fair exchange would ruin the stock market. There’s many a smoke with no tobacco. Mors-VIvens, comicbooks.com