Life, 1886-01-01 · page 3 of 16
Life — January 1, 1886 — page 3: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# "Questionable" Cartoon Analysis This cartoon illustrates a debate about babies and childbirth. A proud parent asks an old bachelor, "How's that for a baby?" The bachelor replies skeptically that while babies might be worth bringing up, his limited experience suggests otherwise—and he suddenly shrieks in pain. The joke satirizes the disconnect between theory and reality regarding parenthood. The bachelor represents those (typically men of that era) who held romantic notions about children without hands-on experience. His sudden cry suggests a baby has caused him physical harm—likely kicking or pinching—undermining his cautious response. This reflects early 20th-century humor about the challenges of child-rearing and the naïveté of bachelors regarding family life.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
CHRISTMAS GREENS. ITH spicy pine and with cedar fine The walls of our homes are garnished, And the holly gleams till it almost seems As if it had just been varnished. There are wreaths and stars, there are ferns in jars, There are Christmas texts in places ; And the ivy twines its rambling vines All over the curtains’ laces. Trimmed with loving care, the tree is there; It looks like a tall green spire, And its candles wait, in solemn state, The touch of Promethean fire. But fairer to me than the Christmas tree, Though with beautiful things we wreathe it, Is the mistletoe bough that my heart loves now For the fruit that grew once beneath it. Bessie Chandler. A WORLD OF BUSTLE. HE Sun puts these two opportune conundrums : The big bustles that the women are now wearing, does their ugliness exceed their comicality ?. Why are they thus? It is not worth while to speculate whether they are more ugly than ridiculous. There they are. It is not pretended that they are handsome, or serve any useful purpose, except that they keep women's skirts off their heels. If this is an office important enough to give them aright to be, it ought to get them a permanent position, but it is notorious that they are matters of caprice, and that presently their place shall not know them any more. As to why they are thus, it is only safe to say that they are due to some feminine sentiment about being be- hind in the fashion or conversely. That they are no new thing is attested by the oldest records, as witness the observation of the astute Bildad in the book of Job— “Though thy beginning was small, yet shall thy latter end greatly increase.” Equally pointed is the verse of Edward Fitzgerald, written half a century ago, in which he names Sweet Nea as exceptionally charming : Because she’s got those long, soft curls, I've sworn shall deck my goddess ; Because she 's not like other girls, All bustle, blush and bodice. Not even the esteemed Su can bind the sweet influ- ences that come from Paris, or loose the bands of Worth. Be patient contemporary. This, too, will pass away, but it will not pass the quicker for your hurry. TOCKS may fluctuate, the silver dollar may decline, fortunes may be won and lost, and commercial crises may come and go, in this world of change and sorrow; but it is a day of decidedly wintry temperature when Nicolini does not step up to the altar and get married again. QUESTIONABLE. Proud Parent: How's THAT FOR A BABY? Old Bachelor: WELL, MY EXPERIENCE WITH BABIES IS LIMITED, BUT I SHOULD THINK THIS ONE MIGHT POSSIBLY BE WORTH BRINGING UP. (Suddenly struck with an idea.) WHY NOT TRY.1T? 867292 comicbooks.com