Life, 1887-03-24 · page 3 of 16
Life — March 24, 1887 — page 3: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# "A Ballad" - Life Magazine, Page 159 This page presents two romantic narrative poems illustrated with period engravings. The first (1776) depicts a Spanish gallant serenading a woman beneath her latticed window with guitar and roses—a classic romantic trope. The second (1886) contrasts this: a woman plays piano in a well-lit parlor while a gentleman watches, but the poem's punchline reveals the roses have wilted—"each one was wired." The satire critiques modern romance (1886) as artificial compared to historical authenticity. The "wired" roses represent manufactured sentiment replacing genuine passion. By juxtaposing the idealized 1776 scene with the disappointed 1886 version, the magazine mocks contemporary courtship as commercially packaged and inauthentic, suggesting nostalgia for supposedly more honest romantic expression.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
1776. ENEATH her latticed window, In Spain so far away, ‘The Gallant wooed his lady fair, With many a song and lay. And as he thrummed his light guitar, The lattice wide was thrown, And.a hand let fall a little rose— A sweet white rose— half blown. ‘The Gallant raised it to his lips, And swore, with eager breath, To keep the dainty little rose, And serve his love 'till death. 1886, In the brightly lighted parlor She sits, and plays away All sorts of college songs and glees, And many a negro lay. While he looks on in wonder, At the clever fingers’ skill, And he brings her some hot-house roses, Wrapped up in a paper frill. She took great pains to keep them fresh, For they were much admired ; But all were dead when morning came, Because —each one was wired. comicbooks.com