Life, 1885-09-10 · page 7 of 16
Life — September 10, 1885 — page 7: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Analysis of Life Magazine Page 147 This page contains satirical fables and biographical humor typical of early Life magazine. The cartoons appear to mock stereotypes and social pretensions: **Top panels**: Chapter XI depicts a steamship "Way-Kee-Long" in a junk, seemingly mocking Chinese vessels and immigration. Chapter XII shows chaos, likely satirizing Chinese laundry operations. **Middle panel**: "Sing Song Chinese Laundry" depicts the stereotype of Chinese laundry workers, a common target of American satire in this era. **Bottom section**: "Biographical Notes" contains witty character sketches of recognizable types (lawyers, fishermen, etc.), typical of Life's humor format. **"A Good Man"**: A brief dialogue mocking religious hypocrisy—the lawyer defends Grabb as "religious" while suggesting his piety masks opportunistic behavior ("keeps the Sabbath and everything else he can lay his hands on"). The page reflects Period American attitudes toward Chinese immigrants and social criticism through satire.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
FABLES FOR THE TIMES. THE ANGRY DOG. A” ill-natured Bulldog was one day trotting down a street when he saw another Dog lying in a yard on the grass. “Stop looking at me, you scoundrel!" exclaimed the Bull-dog. There was no response from the Dog in the yard. “T'll teach you how to ignore the presence of a gen- tleman,” cried the Bulldog, and leaping over the fence, proceeded to masticate the Dog in the yard, but broke by Way- Kee Lous in @ JUNK. = SAP TER AL —Finp Taking nd AMERCAT Steamer eS Specdeth fo SAN Francisco, hotly Porsved a? r= CHAPTER SO A TyPood vpretted Ss | ae Dokand Aerewnth Z| closet Be carcer of The Wait Kee lors ging, out most of his teeth before | — he discovered that it was a marble Dog. MorAL: A quiet man is not always harmless and an- gelic in a personal encounter. T is calculated that 100,- 000,000 tons of water per hour pass over Niagara Falls. Carefully compiled statis- tics also prove that 100,000,- | 000 tons of poetry are hourly written about the “ thunder- ing cataract.” This appears in- | credible, but when we remem- ber that the specific gravity of average poetry exceeds | that of lead we cease to doubt. “SING SONG © CHINESE LAUABRY. | BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES. BY A BIBLIOMANIAC, I E had a tropical fancy.—South. He could n't endure tight boots.—Bunyan. He seldom smiled.—S¢erne. Never did things by halves.— Thoreau. Not a slow man.—Swi/t. Nor a dullard.— Bright. A good fishing companion.— Hook. A poor bathing companion.—Cradée. A protest to the muses.—Kant. Never knew what it was to be short.—Long/ellow, An infallible mind.—Pope. A crustacean.— Shelley. A gritty author.—Sand. Handy around a beer keg.—Cooper. ag Evi nny A good man on the bench.— 7aylor, The burglar’s friend.—Bayle. Always late in catching the train.—Leighton. Worse than a “ full” man—Fuller. Suggestive of a vigorous search. —Hunt, Of no use without a key.—Locke, AV. S. A GOOD MAN. HEY were discussing the merits of Mr. Grabb, the lawyer : “TI don’t wish to say anything against his character, but ——" here the speaker paused. “Why, he seems a very religious man. He never swears, never drinks, keeps the Sabbath——” “Yes, he keeps the Sabbath and everything else he can lay his hands on.”