Life, 1887-01-13 · page 3 of 16
Life — January 13, 1887 — page 3: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Analysis of Life Magazine Page 17 **"A Terrible Threat"** (top cartoon) depicts a dramatic domestic scene where a son announces he'll seek "some foreign clime—England most likely" to escape his father's reproaches and restore the family's reputation. The father and other family members react emotionally. This appears to satirize the Victorian melodramatic trope of the disgraced son fleeing to England as the ultimate shame-remedy—mocking both family scandal narratives and the period's emigration patterns. The remaining content includes humorous short items: poetry about slush in winter, jokes about men's fashion (paper collars, satin neckties), and witty observations about regional courtship customs. An illustration shows fashionable young people with canes, captioned as the "newest thing in carrying canes." The overall tone is light social satire targeting contemporary manners and fashions.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
A TERRIBLE THREAT. FAREWELL, FATHER, I CAN STAND YOUR REPROACHES NO LONGER. I WILL SEEK SOME FOREIGN CLIME— ENGLAND MOST LIKELY, AND ONCE THERE I SHALL SEARCH FOR A WIFE AMONGST THE NOBILITY,’AND THEN— OH, MY DEAR SON, ANYTHING BUT THAT! HAVE SOME CONSIDERATION FOR YOUR POOR MOTHER AND SISTER, IF YOU HAVE NONE FOR ME. I FORGIVE you. COME, COME TO MY ARMS! (An affecting tableau occurs.) APROPOS OF THE SEASON. HY doth ye ancient citizen Thus wildly clutch the air? Why squirmeth he so horridly, So picturesquely swear? Because ye little sphere of slush Hath smote his neck kerwhack, And now in icy rivulets Doth trickle down his back ! - Whim Miller. REPLENISHING HIS WARDROBE. OUNG GENT (2 furnishing store): 1 want to get a box of paper collars, fifteen an’ a half inch, an’ a satin neck-tie, DEALER (affably): Yes, sir; all right, sir; and how is every- thing over in Boston? NDER the heading, “Men and Things,” the Boston ” Herald has something to say about Mrs. James Brown Potter and English society girls. THE NEWEST THING IN CARRYING CANES. \ K J HEN trying to catch the ear of a St. Louis girl, you | should use both hands. THE STYLE WITHOUT THE FATIGUE. comicbooks.com