Life, 1886-04-08 · page 4 of 16
Life — April 8, 1886 — page 4: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Analysis of Life Magazine Page 200 This page contains literary commentary and social satire rather than political cartoons. The "Query" section discusses Shakespeare and the Morgan art collection, correcting misconceptions about wealthy collectors—suggesting that owning expensive art doesn't confer cultural sophistication or social standing. The "In an 'L' Car" dialogue satirizes New York theater audiences complaining about declining stage quality and indecent costumes. The speakers worry theaters have become "scandalous" with actresses wearing insufficient clothing and risqué plays unsuitable for families—reflecting early 20th-century anxieties about theatrical morality. The small illustration labeled "O! Coward Conscience" depicts two figures on a street, likely illustrating a moment of moral discomfort or hypocrisy, though the specific reference remains unclear without additional context.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
(FOR BOSTON PHILOSOPHERS.) HEN Shakespeare said That “men are Aprils when they woo” Could he have made A recondite allusion to Imply that, being Cupid's tools, All loving swains are April fools ? H.ELW. E wish to correct a popular error. The purchasers of the Morgan collection are still at large and there seems to be a general feeling that they should be taken care of. Now, this is a mistake. They are not dan- gerous. The fact of a man having more money than brains and taking a boastful delight in paying thousands of dol- lars for a—well, a tin dipper, for instance—does not con- stitute him an enemy of society. If that dipper is to him a peachblow dipper, he has a per- fect right to prefer it to his own money. If he enjoys going several thousand dollars better on a picture in which Mrs. Morgan herself was outrageously swindled it by no means follows that he has the instincts of a murderer. The ass is not a malevolent animal. . . * WO New Yorkers alighted from a street-car at the Grand Central, the other day, and one said to the other : “ By Jove, that was a beautiful girl who got in last. was n’t she ?" “Yes; she's a stranger in the city.” “ How do you know ?” “She said ‘ thank you’ to the man who gave her his seat.” “O! COWARD CONSCIENCE.” City Official, advancing: ‘PEARS TO ME THAT POLICEMAN 'S WATCHIN ME RATHER CLOSE. Guess I'LL RISK IT, THOUGH, (Policeman dreams on.) Because it 's Lent. . * . N exchange says: “ Monopolies are reaching out further and further with alarming rapidity.” The same may be said of bustles. . . . LI PERKINS is to write the life of Tom Ochiltree. It will be a valuable addition to the fiction catalogue. * . HE inside works of the sausage, tra-la, Have nothing to do with the case. AEHNE now realizes the force of the quotation: “ There is a time to prey and a time to weep.” . * * A MAN may smile and smile and be an Alderman. IN AN “L" CAR. “? ORNING. Anything in the papers to-day?” “Read this controversy going on in the Herald about the degeneracy and impropriety of our stage?” “Yes, saw something about it, and it's true, too; things are in a shocking condition.” “I should say so! New York's getting to be worse than Babylon!" “Why, I did r't know Babylon was a tough place; I was down at the Argyle there last summer and did n’t strike any- thing but mosquitoes.” “O, not the Long Island Babylon—the one in the old country ; you must have heard of it—Daniel in the lion's den, an’ all that, you know. But now, do you know, our theatres are getting so bad that a man don't dare to take his wife or children to them! It’s scandalous ! downright scandalous !” “You ‘re right ; things are getting fearful. No play can succeed that ‘s got any clothes on; nothing but tights! and it 's hardly fit for a man to see, let alone his family! 0, it’s dreadful, awful!” “Yes, it is fearful; and talk about tights! why, do you know, there 's a play at one of our best theatres where the actresses don’t even wear trunks! 0, it 's too bad, too bad!” “Good gad! you don’t say so! Not even érunks/ Well, well! we'll have to see that, sure pop! Let's go this evening ?” 3 “O, I've seen it, but I don’t mind going a——" “Rector street! Fur’s we go!” RK. ‘comicbooks.com