Life, 1885-07-09 · page 11 of 16
Life — July 9, 1885 — page 11: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Explanation for Modern Readers This 1885 *Life* magazine page contains two satirical pieces: **The Correspondence Section** mocks aspiring authors' entitlement. J. Hampden Jones submits a manuscript to "Pedantic Monthly," demanding publication terms while threatening to let them freely criticize if they refuse. The editor's response is brutal satire: he claims a goat ate the manuscript and died from it, sarcastically praising Jones's "boundless contiguity of cheek" (audacity), and sends back "brickbats" (insults) instead of payment. The joke targets writers who treat editors with arrogance while lacking proven talent. **"Sketches by the Sea"** is a visual pun. The four cartoon panels show a seaside artist claiming to catch fish and create "sketches by the sea"—but the wordplay reveals he's actually drawing or exaggerating his catches rather than honestly depicting them. This satirizes artistic pretension and the gap between claimed and actual accomplishment, likely referencing New Jersey's coast as a popular sketching destination for artists. Both pieces ridicule creative professionals' overconfidence.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
CORRESPONDENCE. EDITOR PEDANTIC MONTHLY : EAR SIR—I have sent you by express to-day, C. O. D., the manuscript of a novel which I would like to have you examine. It is the first thing I ever attempted in the literary line. You will find that the MS. has some very strong points, and that it attains a degree of literary Jineness not often achieved by an Am- erican novel. You can publish the novel as a serial, provided we can agree upon terms. If we do not make a trade, you are at liberty to freely criticise the work, either in your literary notices, or in a private letter to myself. Please let me know what you think of my style, and advance something in the way of a prophetic forecast of my liter- ary future. Yours, with great respect, J. HAMPDEN JONES. OFFICE PEDANTIC MONTHLY, June —, 1885. J. HAMPDEN JONES, Esqr.: DEAR S1R—Your letter and manu- script were received about two weeks ago. As to your literary future, I can- not venture a prediction. You may make your living by the pen, provided you raise the right kind of hogs, and always sell on a buoyant market. Your letter indicates that you would make a good drummer—if there is any virtue in a “boundless contigu- ity” of cheek. Your MS. was devoured by a goat before I had time to notice it. The goat got ahead of me in noticing it, It may afford you some gratifica- tion, however, to learn that the goat is dead. He did not survive the repast two hours. I made a post-mortem conjecture about the goat's death, and concluded that the “strong points” of your MS. were more than he could stand. I sent you by express last week, C. O. D., a box of brickbats for which I had no use. Please ac- cept them as a trifling token of my sincere regard. Believe me, with the compliments of the season, your obedient servant, EpITOR PEDANTIC MONTHLY. “Yobb dear carry 2 my ara ij fatiqued.’ hiveg dress Gwactous no. dea’ boy. nevah bathe’ SKETCHES BY THE SEA. HE Artist with his fish and line, From purling brooks doth fetch The two small trout he caught himself, And some he did n't ketch. He.then runs down onto the coast, Well known as New Jersey, And catches daily what he calls His s —ketches by the sea.