Life, 1884-11-27 · page 7 of 16
Life — November 27, 1884 — page 7: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Analysis of Life Magazine Page 301 The cartoon depicts a figure fleeing a platform in apparent panic, illustrating a literary scene from classical studies. The caption "THE WHOLE SPEECH OF POOR ANGRY NARULLUS COMES BACK TO HIM" suggests this depicts a character from ancient Roman literature (likely Ovid or similar classical work) who has forgotten his speech while on stage. The accompanying text describes the embarrassing moment when the character realizes the verses won't come and observes the audience's discomfort—girls hiding smiles, teachers shuffling their feet. The satire humorously captures the universal anxiety of public speaking failure and forgotten memorization, common experiences in educational settings of the era. The exaggerated physical comedy of the fleeing figure emphasizes the mortification of the moment.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
- LIFE: “ Wherefore rejoice ? What conquests brings he home ? What tributaries follow him to Rome To grace in captive bonds his chariot wheels ! Ye blocks, ye stones, ye worse than senseless things! Knew ye not Pompey? Many a time and oft——” What did they do “many a time and oft?" Something about “ battlements and chimney-tops” and “triumphs and | Pompey,” but what, oh! what ? Tommy totters to the platform, trying to catch on to the missing verses on his way. Will they come back, when he gets to them in his declamation ? Ah, the terror of the situation! He is now upon the plat- form ; he has given that awkward jerk to his head which boys imagine to be a bow; he raises his hand in the “ Fourth Po- sition of the Orator " according to his Comprehensive Amer- ican Reader. He feels that he is stumbling all too fast through the verses he knows, but that rock ahead ! that “ many a time and oft” business ! 4 He sees that the universe is a blank to him after “Pompey.” He hesitates, he stops ; the verses will not come ; the room | seems to whirl around him ; he hears Jamie’s shrill, spiteful laugh ; he sees the little girls put their fans up before their faces to hide their smiles, and he hears the teachers and dis- tinguished guests in the front seats, uneasily shuffle their feet. THE WHOLE SPEECH OF POOR ANGRY MARULLUS COMES BACK TO HIM, It is all over! He yields to the inevitable and, giving another jerk of his head, precipitately leaves the platform and tushes out of the room ; and as he runs down the stairs the whole speech of poor angry Marullus comes back to him as clear as daylight, even to the final exhortation of the Romans to prayer, and he hears faintly through the door the voice of the next speaker in declamatory cadence : “Ti ram ti dim ti dim dim, Ti rim ti dim ti dim.” VERY graceful custom, and one calculated to excite public interest in otherwise unimportant events, is to attach the prices of wedding presents to the objects on exhi- bition. 301 A NOVEL ENTERPRISE. | EVERAL English capitalists, it is rumored, have re- cently taken out letters of incorporation in this country for a “ Blighted Affections Insurance Company,” with limited liabilities. The object, our informant states, is to guarantee the affections of lovers, or, in cases of blighting, to offer suitable pecuniary compensation, Its advantages are mani- fold. Pecuniary compensation is grateful to a wounded spirit ; the law recognizes its justice, and continual cases of breach of promise testify to its popularity. But then the public exhibition of heart-strings involved, and the publication of gushing correspondence in the newspapers, have their little unpleasantnesses. This company will avoid all that. There will be no publicity. The compensation will be liberal, and the security undoubted. The form of application is said to be somewhat as follows : The Blighted Affecticus Insurance Company, Limited. I. What is your sex ? II. What is your dona fide age ? II. How many years have you been at this age ? IV. What is the present object of your affection ? V. State if either of you have been blighted before. which, and why, and generally how about it. VI. Say if your family have:suffered much from blight. VII. State the greatest number of blightings to be covered by this assurance. VIII. Fill in the value set’ upon your affections, IX. Also the value present object sets upon them. X. State if sane, and (if possible) get a friend to state so too. XI. Testimonials from bereaved and blighted— If so, This system, it is claimed, has worked to perfection in England where, owing tothe large amount of cold potatoes consumed during the past year, love has experienced consider- able wintry weather. One young gentleman of family, while attending church one Sunday morning, fell violently in love with a lady who was not only the wife of a church warden but possessed seven lovely daughters and a complete file of twins. When he dis- covered this the unfortunate lover was inconsolable, until he found that some considerate friend had taken note of his passion and purchased a policy ina Mutual Rejection Association in London, in his name, whereby he netted the neat sum of £10 5s. and 6d., which by connoisseurs is considered a fair com- pensation for the average blight. It is needless to say what a priceless boon such an enter- prise would be on this side of the water, where so many dis- consolate lovers are daily driven to suicide or politics, and where the cruel father, ferocious bull dog, and small brother do so abound. HOSE never to be pleased persons who are indulging in their annual growls about the cost of carrying the mails should reflect on the cost of carrying the average fe- male, and be happy. comicbooks.com