Life, 1887-04-21 · page 4 of 16
Life — April 21, 1887 — page 4: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Analysis of Life Magazine Page 218 This page contains brief satirical commentary rather than political cartoons. Key items include: **"BY THE WAY" section**: Humorous observations about William Kissane (appears to be a contemporary figure), with jokes about baseball, literature, and politics. **"PICTORIAL SHAKESPEARE"**: A small sketch showing two figures in period dress with the caption "OH! THAT THIS TOO, TOO SOLID FLESH WOULD MELT."—*Hamlet*. This is a visual pun illustrating the famous Shakespeare line. **Other quips**: Commentary on topics including Republican Party politics, literature standards, Prohibitionism, and a Brooklyn murder case (the Lyman S. Weeks case), blending social satire with current events. The page exemplifies Life's style: quick-hit humor mixing high culture references with topical commentary for educated readers.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
THE GUILTY PARTY. HO struck Billy Patterson? To know it you'd fain; Draw hither thine ear, Tt was William Kissane. Who wrote the“ Breadwinners?"” You'd guess it in vain ; But it’s very safe betting ‘Twas William Kissane. And who sunk the Oregon, Deep in the main? Her side was knocked out By William Kissane. And ‘' Beautiful Snow" Will always remain A shaft monumental To William Kissane, Well, who is Kissane, This sinner and saint? Oh, some say he’s Rogers, And some say he ain't. . . . ET'S see, didn’t the Republican Party have a little trouble over some “ my dear fisheries" about two years ago? . . . O, John, a lady-bug is not so called because of her quist, modest ways, but because of the chromatic gorgeousness of her bonnet. . . . T is probable that the Last Lay of the Minstrel will not be widely different to the same old lay we have been given by the minstrels of the last seven and a half centuries. . . . M are not satisfied. . . . ATTI-NICOLINI: Our regular subscription price to artistes of your standing is $75.00 per annum. We come high, Madame, but as the poet said, “‘ We must be had.” . . . HOSE who know him say that Mr. Dockstader, the minstrel, is not as black as he is painted. . * . CHICAGO missionary nearly converted an anarchist last Sunday, but he inadvertently hummed the hymn, “Go to that clear flowing Fow-hown-tain, where you may wash and be clean,” and the anarchist returned to his evil ways. AN is go per cent. water, and yet the Prohibitionists HE reason why so many of our young men are fine baseball players is that many of them have been brought up on base hits. . . . N EVER look a gift mule in the heels. . * * PJ ARPER'S BAZAR is instructing the young idea on How to live on $s00 a year. The average youth of to-day lives about a week on $500 a year. | . . . Te is a great heeler, but not much of a politician. * . . PICTORIAL SHAKESPEARE. “OHI THAT THIS TOO, TOO SOLID FLESH WOULD MELT."— Hamlet, * . . OBOGGANING is not very good sport in the months without an r. . . . UR standard literature is the best literature; our stand- ard music is the best music; but our Standard Oil | painting wears a dark aspect. It is painted very black. . . . R. HAMMOND prefers the name “Syggignoscism ” to that of “ Hypnotism,” meaning the agreement of one mind with another mind. We wish the recent aldermanic jury had suffered syggi- gnoscismatically. . . . HE Coroner's Jury, in the case of Lyman S. Weeks, who was recently murdered by a Brooklyn burglar, has returned the verdict that the shooting was done by an unknown man. It is a great relief to know this, and if the Rahway murder can be brought home to the same person, much will have been done to restore confidence in our police. comicbooks.com