Life, 1884-03-20 · page 5 of 16
Life — March 20, 1884 — page 5: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Life Magazine Page 159 Analysis The illustration depicts a scene from a theatrical or literary work: Charles Montague de Poorville confronting a young girl, asking if she'll tell her sister he's present. The girl (Maud) refuses, saying her sister is occupied with "Mr. Batchelor Cruces" and her mother forbids interruptions before bedtime. This appears to be a humorous domestic scene—likely from a contemporary play or serialized story—satirizing social conventions around courtship and family propriety. The exchange plays on the awkwardness of unwanted suitors and parental control over young women's social interactions. The accompanying text discusses contemporary novels and literary criticism, suggesting Life magazine's role in reviewing and satirizing popular entertainment and cultural trends of the era.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
ARIS is nothing if not sensa- tional. M. Meissonier paints Mrs. Mackay’s portrait ; $65,000 i | | \7 ANN ee —a bagatelle. Lady doesn’t like picture; cremates it. Tableau ; red fire. Grand chorus of Mahl- sticks. Gaudlots man pitches in ; calls Meissonier a dodo. Great painter objects to dodo ; wants to fight, but too old. Gau/oisman ready to fight all the family. Agony of Meissonier. Fine old Roman father: Sacrifice my cheeild! Never! I apologize. Shake. Music. Grand pas de deux, Meissonier, and Gaulois man. Ballet d’ action (whatever that is), Mahlsticks and Fabers. Calci- ums. Tableau all round. At back Mrs. Mackay sits upon the ashes and glares. Curtain. Our friend Mrs. Malaprop hopes Lord Tennyson D’Eyn- court won’t make his maiden speech in the House of Lords and Commons in examiner verse, unless he has plenty of dactyls and spondulics on hand BREECHES of promise—“ Trou- sers in six hours.” Fast and loose—The man about town. HERE ? © Abvillecler Charles Montague de Poorville: Wit. YoU TELL YOUR SISTER I AM Maud: Wet, 1’D LIKE TO OBLIGE YOU, ONLY SHE'S IN THE BACK Is the caterpillar the propaga- tor of the butterfly ? PARLOR WITH -Mk. BATCHELOR CRESUS, AND MAMA SAYS IF I INTERRUPT THEM I MUST GO TO BED WITHOUT MY SUPPER. mould is which to cast dull narrative. Aldrich once made a great success of a story written in the form of letters—but mediocre talent should beware of it. It must* be admitted, however, that the letters of Miss Dolly Oglethorpe in this novel are bright and entertain- ing, though frothy reading. She and her friends move in the Empyrean of Washington society, and through their eyes no glimpse is caught of vulgar lobbyists, Bonanza Senators or Texas Congressmen. The only plebeian introduced to us is redeemed from her station by marrying a Count, of the Austrian Legation. Per- haps the optimism of this novel is one of the indirect effects of Civil Service Reform. * * * HE latest Leisure-Hour novel is “Called Back,” by Hugh Conway. The titles of the chapters would make a Chicago head-line editor green with envy. Can the melodramatic West equal these ?—“ Drunk on Dreaming ;” “A Black Lie;” “A Hell Upon Earth ;” “A Terrible Confession”? If it can, we will .the gems of this collection are the following : read the novel asa penalty for our lack of faith in Chicago talent. * * Sa model of the head-line art, we would refer Mr. Conway and our Western friends to an ex- citing volume just published, called “A Manual of Re- vivals ; Practical Hints and Suggestions from Histo- ties of Revivals and Biographies of Revivalists.” Among “The Management of Disturbers and Rioters ;” “ The In- trusions of the Feeble-Minded and the Insane ;” “Some of the Evils Incident to True Revivals ;” “Shall we join the Reapers or not?” These themes are now under careful consideration by Lire’s de- praved Scientific Editor, the cruel inventor of the “Cat-Battery.” * * pores MILLER is about to issue a novel on the manifold plan, which will be published sim- ultaneously by a number of papers under the title “Sealed unto Him.” It deals with Mormon Life. comicbooks.com