Life, 1887-02-10 · page 4 of 16
Life — February 10, 1887 — page 4: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Page 74 Analysis This page from *Life* magazine contains several satirical pieces about contemporary society: **"The Professor at the Breakfast-Table"** mocks academic pretension through dialogue about a professor's aversion to certain bread rolls—likely satirizing overly refined or affected behavior among intellectuals. **"The Gentlemen's Riding Club"** jokes that the club's employees are swindling it, with the ironic note that gentlemen naturally know nothing about business matters. **"The Difference"** is a brief comic dialogue contrasting how city dwellers (who navigate streets on both sides) differ from rural folk (with cows in the middle). The scattered aphorisms mock seasonal affectations and high-brow pretension. The page primarily satirizes middle and upper-class social conventions and intellectual vanity rather than addressing specific political events or identifiable figures.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
SEASONABLE THOUGHTS. OW be wary, Lest too airy, Be the garments on your back In February, Pneumoni-a re- Sumes his place upon the track. * * * AN EARLY SPRING POEM. Hot-house Variety. D the Sprig the yong bad’s eds he frequedtly prodoudces ed, For the Sprig is just the tibe for idfluedza of the head. * * * PISCES. [To be Read to Slow Music.) USH! Hist ! See the slush, Sniff the mist. Snow Doth flow, And gently ebb. ee # 'Tis Feb. THE DIFFERENCE. Girl; AIN'T THAT YOUR FADDER COMING ? Boy: No, 11's YER OWN! Girl: How CAN YOU TELL? Boy : COS YOUR FADDER TAKES UP BOTH SIDES OV THER STREET, AND MINE LIES CLOWN IN THER MIDDLE. THE PROFESSOR AT THE BREAKFAST- TABLE. “cc H, Mrs. Fogg,” said the Professor, placing the biscuits in front of him, “I never ignore your rolls, whatever else I may do.” “Indeed, Professor, your words charm my soul. As the | poet says, ‘Every ear is tickled with the sweet music of applause ;’ but I have noticed that there is one of my rolls for which you seem to have a chronic aversion.” “And that is, my dear madam ?” “The pay-roll,” responded the landlady, with a smile that reached over and tickled the solemn boarder so that he laughed. * * * | “JQ? HE GENTLEMEN’S RIDING CLUB has been badly swindled by its employés. This is hardly surprising, for you “cawnt expect a gentle- man to know anything about business, ye know.” * * * RS. GOWN-TROTTER was a charming amateur actress; so there is a strong possibility that as a professional she will be atrocious. * * * HE REV. HENRY WARD BEECHER refuses to decry the fashion of high bonnets. We see now that Mr. Beecher goes to church on Sundays for much the same reason that the ladies in his congregation | attend. * * * T is our candid opinion that Mr. Fawcett should consult an oculist. His I's will give out very soon if he does not do something. * * * GPEARING of the possible cruelty of Bismarck in forcing a war ona peaceably disposed people, the 77mes’ cor- respondent says: “ Bismarck may or may not be anxious to shine as a humanitarian, but his first duty is to conserve the future of the empire he has created.” Now, small boys and newspaper writers should not use big words that they do not understand, and we would request the 7Zmes correspondent to consult his dictionary concerning the word “humanitarian,” and then tell us what it has to do with the present situation in Europe. This same correspondent speaks of Sir Michael Hicks Beach as being the only “articulate ’ member of the British Cabinet. Lord Salisbury has always keen known to be an exceed- ingly stiff creature, but we never suspected that his lordship was devoid of joints. comicbooks.com so