Life, 1887-01-20 · page 11 of 16
Life — January 20, 1887 — page 11: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Analysis of Life Magazine Page 39 **"The Ins and Outs of Temperance"** (top cartoons): These satirize the temperance movement's hypocrisy. The left panel shows a preacher endorsing temperance while a pastor wrestles with "de sperrit" (the bottle) in the dressing room—suggesting clergy practice the opposite of their preaching. The right panel depicts a man drinking from a bottle labeled "lemon soda," mocking how temperance advocates disguised alcohol consumption. **Theater review**: Text praising Wallack's revival of "The School for Scandal," mentioning actors John Gilbert, Kyrle Bellew, and Annie Robe. **"Too Much Weather"**: A husband jokes that weather forecasts are useless, blame-shifted to the "Third Avenue elevated railroad"—likely referencing how the elevated rail's construction disrupted weather patterns or was a convenient scapegoat for urban problems. **Remaining brief jokes** ("Identification," "Where?") are unrelated vignettes about mistaken identity and restaurant confusion. The page reflects late-19th-century American urban satire focused on moral hypocrisy and modern annoyances.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
THE INS AND OUTS OF TEMPERANCE. ‘“BRUDDERIN, WE HAB WID US DIS MAWNIN’ A 'STINGUISHED | ‘POSTLE OB TEMP'RANCE. HE HASE CONSENT’T TER OFFER A FEW REMAHKS, WHYLES YO’ PASTOR GOES INTER DE DRESSIN’ ROOM FER TER WRASTLE WID DER SPERRIT BEFOH DE REGULAR SARMON.” doing that ourselves, we ought to be delighted to have so able and intellectual an assistant as Mr. Brander Matthews. * * * HOSE who enjoy a good play, well acted, should not | fail to attend the revival of “ The School for Scandal” | at Wallack’s. It may be doubted if this perennial comedy | was ever more completely and adequately put on the stage, or more perfectly acted in its leading characters. able Szr Peter of the venerable John Gilbert has lost noth- ing of its old-time strength, and the charming vivacity of | Kyrle Bellew, as Charles Surface, wrings plaudits from those | even who are disposed, as a rule, to quarrel with the young | gentleman's methods. Miss Annie Robe is an engaging Lady Teazie, in all but the great screen scene, wherein she does not seem quite at her ease—as, indeed, who would under the circumstances ? The perfection of the leading réles makes it a matter of won- derment that Mr. Wallack should allow the minor characters | to fall into incompetent hands, for that there is.a painful amount of stickiness prevalent among the lesser lights of the | Wallack company, is fully demonstrated at this performance. The costuming of the piece is tasteful and appropriate, and the effect of the whole performance is widely different from that which has been unfortunately e# reg/e at Wallack’s for the past few years. — TOO MUCH WEATHER. IFE: What are the weather probabilities for to-day, | dear? HuspanD (consulting the paper): Northwesterly winds, | with snow, followed by copious showers from the Third Avenue elevated railroad. The inimit- | “(DIS YER YAINT STRIC’ HOSPITALITY, BUT HIT’S SOUN’ COMM’N SENSE, WHEN DAT YAR TANK IN DE PULPIT IS ’ROUN’. ““DE LAS’ TARM HE PREACHED HEAH, DIS CHILE DID'N MAK OUT TO GET BUT MIGHTY LITTLE.” IDENTIFICATION. | «6 M™ your friend Skips, yesterday, and took a drink with him. Nice fellow!” “Couldn't be; Skips is on the road: What did he drink?” “T’ll swear to it! He drank lemon and soda.” “That settles it. Twasn’t Skips.” WHERE? ““Ma’M, YOU SAY YOUR CHECK IS TEN? WELL, THESE CHECKS CALL FOR NINE AND ELEVEN— YOU'LL HAVE TO MOVE—!” a . os comicbooks.com