Life, 1887-04-07 · page 13 of 20
Life — April 7, 1887 — page 13: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Life Magazine Page 197 - Satirical Humor (Circa 1880s-1890s) This page collects brief comic sketches typical of *Life* magazine's satirical format: **"Sublime Assurance"** mocks illogical reasoning—borrowing an umbrella during rain because it's raining is absurd. **"Captain Boyton"** appears to reference a public figure (likely Paul Boyton, a famous swimmer/performer of the era) with a pun on spelling his name. **"Just Came to Hanned"** is a light verse joke about a young man who squanders his land-purchase money on a fashionable poodle—satirizing frivolous spending and status-seeking through pets. **"Either Perjured Himself"** ridicules a courtroom witness who claims to have seen over a nine-foot fence while standing outside it—exposing obvious perjury through simple mathematics. **"How to Popularize Religion"** sarcastically suggests removing contribution boxes and sermons to boost church attendance, ending with a dig at choir quality. **Right-side illustrations** show a woman coaxing a pig with affected speech, mocking affectation toward animals. The tone throughout is genteel mockery of everyday human foolishness and pretension.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
197 SUBLIME ASSURANCE. «6 GAY, lend me your umbrella, will you?” “Why, it’s raining yet!” “ Well, that's the reason I want it.” APTAIN BOYTON should spell his name Buoyton. JUST CAME TO HANNED. HERE was a young man who had planned, To purchase a small piece of lanned, But he spent all his boodle In buying a poodle, Which every one told him was granned. EITHER PERJURED HIMSELF, OR HAD REMARKABLE FEET. “Now, you say, MR. KOLBY, THAT YOU STOOD OUTSIDE, AND, LOOKING OVER THE FENCE, SAW THE DEFENDANT HERE STRIKE MR, SMITH.” “Oh, mama! come and see ze dear ‘ittle “Yes, san.” tiney, tawnty ‘ittle piggy-wiggy.” “HOW TALL ARE you, Kory?" “BOUT FIVE FOOT SIX, SAH,” “THEN TELL ME, IF YOU PLEASE, HOW YOU COULD STAND AND LOOK OVER A NINE-FOOT FENCE ?” “I STOOD ON MY TIPTOES, SAH.” HOW TO POPULARIZE RELIGION. UCK thinks that doing away with the-contribution box would tend to popularize religion, and the Norristown Hera/d believes that the absence of the sermon might help. Both contemporaries speak truly; but we think the choir ought to go too. We won't say where they should go to, because no man is certain where he will bring up himself, and we hope to keep clear of the choir as long as we are alive or dead. WANTED TO KNOW THE TUNE. ISS BROWN: You say you have left college, Mr. Platt? Mr. PLATT (very dignified and with an atr): Yes, | am at present tutor to the Taylor children. SMALL BROTHER OF MISS B, (much interested): \ say, what can you foot ? RS. O’HOOLIHAN, commenting on the number of deaths that occurred this late cold season, remarked that there “were payple doiying neow that niver doied befoore!"” ‘*Boo-ooh! ooh! M-a-a-a-mar!" comicbooks.com