Life, 1886-12-30 · page 7 of 19
Life — December 30, 1886 — page 7: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Analysis of Life Magazine Page 417 This page contains three distinct pieces: **Top Comics:** Three panels depicting what appears to be a Christmas narrative—people realizing a situation, revels in "Halls of the Montezumas" (a military reference), and friends dining quietly elsewhere. **"'Neath the Mistletoe":** A sentimental poem about kissing a young girl under mistletoe, emphasizing her youth and innocence. **"Getting Things Mixed":** A brief dialogue joke where a stranger claims to live in "Wanamaker" (likely referencing Wanamaker's department store in Philadelphia), confusing the citizen who thought he meant a place. **"A Relief" and "Near-Sighted":** Text pieces satirizing social pretensions—one about Lord and Lady Colin's honesty, another mocking "Mrs. Haxton" for her presumed vanity at a ball, discovering she's actually looking in a mirror. The page exemplifies early 20th-century American humor: sentimental, class-conscious, and gently mocking social pretension.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
KISSED her ’neath the mystletoe, She was so young, so sweet, so fair, With bright blue eyes and golden hair : The world may talk —I do not care — In fact I’d like them all to know I kissed her neath the mystletoe : Nor do I think she seemed too bold, But added rather to her charms, When round my neck she threw her arms, ‘And whispered soft her small alarms ; For she was only five years old, And feared, it seems, her nurse might scold. B. GETTING THINGS MIXED. ITIZEN: Are you a resident of New York, sir? STRANGER: No, sir, I live over in Wanamaker. CITIZEN: Wanamaker ? STRANGER: Yes, where John Phila- delphia has that big store, you know. A RELIEF, T is pleasant to think that after all Lord and Lady Colin didn’t tell the truth about each other, and that they are both highly honorable people who would be a credit to any society. R. JACOB SHARP wants to be tried in some other county where he is not known as Jake. We are afraid the only impartial jury obtainable for Mr. Sharp will consist of wooden Indians-and Philadelphia. Journal- ists. High revels are held in the Halls While our friends take their Xmas of the Montezumas. dinner more quietly. NEAR-SIGHTED. Mrs. Hauton, who feels that she has condescended.in coming to the Newgold's ball: EXTREMELY ORDINARY PEOPLE HERE: COMMON LOOKING WOMAN OVER THERE, AND WHAT A DRESS SHE HAS ON! Suddenlyidiscovers that she is facing a mirror. comicbooks.com