Life, 1885-12-10 · page 14 of 34
Life — December 10, 1885 — page 14: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page presents a romantic poem with accompanying illustrations satirizing female inconstancy. The verse, attributed to Virgil's line about women being "always variable and changeable," depicts a woman mocking a departing horseman with apparent indifference, yet the accompanying image reveals her true emotional state—her hand trembles on her dog's neck, her eyes betray sadness, and she sighs deeply. The satire targets the contradiction between women's outward behavior (flirtation, dismissal) and inner feeling (genuine attachment). The final lines suggest social commentary: she claims love is "too old" for modern times of "Greed and Gold," implying that materialism and changing social values have corrupted romantic sentiment. The dual illustration—showing both the departing lover and the woman's concealed emotion—emphasizes the gap between appearance and reality, the poem's central irony about feminine nature.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
A. D. 1885. “*Varium et mutabile semper femina."— Virgil. IGHTLY she mocked him with jest and quip, ~ Anda curl of her red, disdainful lip; Lightly she laughed, as he rode away In the golden gleam of a dying day. Spurring his steed with a tightened rein At the sound of her gay Auf wredersehen, And cursing the cruel Fate that set His heart at the feet of a vain coquette. But the restless hound she held in check Felt the hand that lay on his shaggy neck Quiver and stir, while the shadows grew Dusky and dark in the tremulous blue Of her April eyes, and a weary sigh Broke unawares in her airy cry: “ Aye, these are the times of Greed and Gold, And Love is a fashion too old—too old!" MEW, comicbooks.com