Life, 1885-06-18 · page 4 of 16
Life — June 18, 1885 — page 4: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Analysis of Life Magazine Page 340 The page contains mixed content: a poem titled "An Idyll of June" about a middle-class household preparing for an evening party, and right-column brief satirical items about contemporary figures. The cartoon illustration labeled "Pictorial Shakespeare" shows a figure in period costume lounging in a chair—apparently mocking theatrical productions or actors of the era. The text items reference specific individuals: Lord Wolsley (military figure), Jeff Davis (likely Jefferson Davis), and John L. Sullivan (famous boxer being cast in classical theatrical roles). Other items joke about newspaper editors, government positions, and obscure civic matters. Without identifying specific dates or events, the overall tone suggests fin-de-siècle American social satire targeting politics, entertainment, and public figures of that era.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
AN IDYLL OF JUNE. HE front door now is boarded up, The pictures all are netted, The wailing cat on the back-yard fence Invokes the muse unpetted, The butler holds his matinée With help from cook McCarty, The waitress and the chambermaid, Now give an evening party Unto the baker, butcher-boy, And others of the neighbors, Who form that little coferse, Le cercle de Bejabers. The grand piano groans aloud, The gas-bill grows apace, And of the wine that once was there The cellar shows no trace. The drawing-room that once did hold The bluest blood—and thick Is now the happy meeting place Of Bridget and of Mick. All this is sure to happen when The old man can afford To ante up the wherewithal To take the folks abroad. . . * HE compositor who made the title, “ Oscar Weide on the Perfect Gown" read “ Oscar Wilde, or the Per- fect Clown,” did not come so far out of the way after all. . . . RECENT dispatch announces that Akrobat has been ceded to Russia. The Ameer need not feel badly on this account, as the acrobat that cannot jump back to his original position is a failure and not worth having. . . * EFF DAVIS thinks the country is going to “eternal smash.” If it does, one consolation remains: Jefferson will have to g0, too! * . * CINCINNATI paper says “ Hell by any other name is just as hot.” This is, no doubt, official. . . . ORD WOLESLEY has been created a Knight of the Order of St. Patrick as a reward for services in the campaign against the Pahddi. HE songs of the incarcerated Fish with which we are frequently treated, are ‘very like a whale.” * . * A STATEN ISLAND school teacher has just launched a yacht which he has christened * Rattan.” It is a sort of Birch-bark, . * . AN Englishman who wins the Derby is courted by every one and is the envy of all his kind. In this country a man can win a dozen Derbies and a silker on an election, and yet be no greater than his fellow citizens. . ° . PICTORIAL SHAKESPEARE. A SAILOR'S WIFE HAD CHESTNUTS IN HER LAP. —AMavbeth. * rs . OHN L. SULLIVAN is learning to pose under a Boston master of the ballet. He will appear as the Gladiator, Ajax, Hercules at Rest, and some others. We suggest that he also give the “Tired Bostonian,” “Bacchus,” “ Brute-us,” and “ Sock-rates.” . . . R. ROSWELL P. FLOWER is now after the Gu- bernatorial nomination. If he fails in this he has the consolation of knowing that the Board of Aldermen and Salt River Boat are still open to him. . . . | ee scientists tell us that the number of stars seen by the naked eye is not more than 1,500. The exact number visible to the eye clad in a full dress suit has not yet been determined.