Life, 1884-10-02 · page 3 of 16
Life — October 2, 1884 — page 3: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Page Analysis: Life Magazine, Page 185 **The Cartoon:** The illustration shows two women on a beach with a parasol. The caption "She Dotes Upon His Very Absence" presents a satirical exchange between a rector's wife and young Mrs. Montague Brown. The wife complains her husband left for town again, noting she thought his greatest charm was his absence—a cutting joke about marital discord. **The Poetry Section:** Below are three poems about tennis and romance: "A Love Game" describes a young woman learning tennis while flirting with a man, "L'Envoi" makes wordplay about tennis and courtship, and a final attributed piece by "Captain Kidd." The page satirizes Victorian courtship rituals and marital relationships through humor about leisure activities and gender dynamics among the upper classes.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
SHE DOTES UPON HIS VERY ABSENCE. Rector’s Wife (to young Mrs, Montague Brown): WHAT! YOUR HUSBAND HAS GONE TO TOWN AND LEFT YOU AGAIN FOR ANOTHER WEEK! A NICE WAY TO TREAT YOU! I THOUGHT YOU SAID HE WAS SO CHARMING. Mrs. M. B.: SO 1 DID, AND 1S NOT THAT HIS GREATEST CHARM ? A LOVE GAME. She was a pretty and frank coquette, And her wrist was round as she tried to play, But never a ball could she touch—and yet She tossed with her racket his heart away. Serve and return were one that day ; She missed till her dainty check grew red ; He won the set, as a bold youth may, But the little maid won the game—they said! HE was a pretty and frank coquette, He was a lad in his Freshman year, And they stood on the lawn by the tennis net, With nobody by to see or hear ; The sun was bright and the sky was clear, As he foolishly bent his tall young head, And whispered the rules in her list’ning ear— For she did not know the game, she said. L’ENVoL. She was a pretty and frank coquette, Such are the chances of war, I fear, And her ripe lips met in the sweetest pout, At tennis, when people at odds are set, While over her eyes the arch brows met And one is a lad in his Freshman year, As she studied the meaning of “in” and “ out"; And one is a pretty and frank coquette ! And half in shyness and half in doubt BLE. M. Questioned, with low voice highly bred, What this and what that were all about For she did not know the game, she said. Felo de se—Captain Kidd.