Life, 1885-01-08 · page 3 of 16
Life — January 8, 1885 — page 3: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Analysis of Life Magazine Page 17 **"A Step Upward"** depicts a fashionable salon scene where well-dressed society figures gather. The caption notes this illustrates "the newest thing" in *beau monde* (high society) "doings" showing "advance toward a higher civilization." **"I Care Not, Fortune"** is a poem about stoic acceptance of fate's reversals, attributed to H.V.S. **"The Comet and the Animals"** is an Aesop's fable parody where various animals debate the nature of a newly-appeared comet. Their disagreement—tree, rabbit, mule, goose, goat, and ass each propose different explanations—escalates into anger. The moral teaches that "a great deal depends on the point of view," satirizing how people interpret the same phenomena through their own limited perspectives and biases.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
A STEP UPWARD. THE NEWEST THING. WE FEEL IT A DUTY TO KEEP OUR READERS INFORMED OF SUCH DOINGS OF THE beau monde AS SHOW ANY ADVANCE TOWARD A HIGHER CIVILIZATION. “1 CARE NOT, FORTUNE.” | THE COMET AND THE ANIMALS. Sae viat atque moveat fortuna tumultus ; NUMBER of animals were discussing a large new Quantum bine imminuet.—Horace, comet that had appeared in the sky, and various opin- F Fortune smiles on me to-day ions were expressed as to the probable nature and constitu- And wooes me in her gentle way, tion of the heavenly visitant. The Bear thought it was a bee- Begone dull care and sorrow ! tree, and gave elaborate reasons for his opinion. The Rab- I'll hob and nob in royal ease bit was equally sure that it was a cabbage patch. The Mule And drain my goblet to the lees— had not fully made up his mind, but was inclined to the opin- What care I for the morrow ? ion that it was a stack of hay. The Fox thought it was a flock of geese. The Goat was willing to bet ten cents that it If wanton Fate should push away was a nice, tender basket. The Ass was convinced that it The gadabout, why bid her stay ? was a clover lot, with the gap. A heated discussion followed, I'd grieve not—no, nor sorrow. the animals became very angry, and some of them forgot the The skies may frown, the sun may shine, mild requirements of civility and good breeding. I puff my pipe and sip my wine, MORAL :—This Fable teaches that a great deal depends on If deep in debt, I borrow. H.V.S. \ “the point of view.” comicbooks.com