Life, 1884-08-07 · page 3 of 16
Life — August 7, 1884 — page 3: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# "Jolly Old Boston in the Country" This cartoon satirizes the social pretensions of wealthy Bostonians visiting the countryside. Two fashionably dressed women are depicted on a seaside porch; one stands adjusting her hair while the other sits. The dialogue mocks their complaints about heat and discomfort despite being in a supposedly cooler location. The joke targets Boston's reputation for cultural snobbery. The women expect country life to provide relief from city heat, but one suggests Boston's "six Bostonians" would make any place feel hot—a dig at Bostonians' self-importance and presumed arrogance. The accompanying poem "A Superstitious Note" is unrelated satirical verse about romantic attraction, signed F.D.S. The satire reflects turn-of-century American attitudes toward East Coast elite pretension.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
JOLLY OLD BOSTON IN THE COUNTRY. First New Yorker: OH! THERE’S THE DINNER BELL! How I DO DREAD THAT HOT DINING ROOM! Second New Yorker: HoT? WELL—YES—I SUPPOSE IT IS HOT IN SOME PLACES. BUT COME TO MY TABLE IF YOU WANT TO BECOOL. THERE ARE SIX BOSTONIANS THERE. IT’S LIKE DINING IN A REFRIGERATOR. A SURREPTITIOUS NOTE. HEN I see you in your cart, How it makes my pulses start ! And my palpitating heart Seems to stop For a minute, then begin An accelerated spin, And I hear a buzz within Like a top. Who you are, I do not know; When I saw you, months ago, It was in the glare and glow Of a ball, Tripping lightly down the dance ; How I coveted a chance Just to win a word or glance In the hall ! Opportunities don’t come Very often in the hum Of a hundred voices, some Sharp and shrill ; And that everlasting “ must” With a brief negation thrust On its heels, alas! was just Meant to kill. Etiquette is of no use When it does not introduce, So I think that I ’ll cut loose, And be true To my heart's deep undertones, And explain that I am known ’s Mr. C. Adolphus Fones.— Who are you? comicbooks.com