Life, 1884-12-04 · page 3 of 16
Life — December 4, 1884 — page 3: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Page 311: "Inconsiderate" - Life Magazine The cartoon depicts a domestic scene where a woman sits at a writing desk while a man stands nearby. The caption reads: "Buttons: Misses, will you please tell Mr. to stop ringing his bell, for Tom, who generally answers it, is out, and it annoys the cook." The satire targets inconsiderate behavior in upper-class households. The humor lies in the absurdity of the request: rather than simply not ring the bell themselves, the visitor asks the woman to relay a message asking someone else to stop ringing it—an unnecessarily convoluted and rude approach that ironically exemplifies the very inconsiderateness being complained about. The accompanying poems ("A Paradox" and an untitled piece) explore themes of aging and time's passage, likely unrelated to the cartoon.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
INCONSIDERATE. Buttons : MASSES, WILL. YOU PLEASE TELL MR. TO STOP RINGING HIS BELL, FOR TOM, WHO GENERALLY ANSWERS IT, 1S OUT, AND IT ANNOYS THE COOK. A PARADOX. | With me, at allegro rate ; With her a graceful dente— Now / am nearing thirty-eight And she is six-and-twenty, RECOLLECT how grieved I was When Cousin Amy married. I thought her very cruel because For, me she:had noc tarnied, I should be gratified to know She gave to my affection green How others, like my cousin, Encouragement in plenty, | A twelvemonth older only grow, For I was under seventeen | One year in half a dozen. And she was five-and-twenty. Oh, Chronos ! tell the secret me, The power superhuman That causes time with man to flee, But bids it wait with woman. Fair Amy is a widow now, Her sorrow fast outgrowing. ‘Tis very singular, I vow, The way the years are going. Harry B. Sairu.