Life, 1887-07-14 · page 11 of 16
Life — July 14, 1887 — page 11: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Life Magazine Page 25 Analysis This page contains several satirical pieces typical of 1890s American humor: **"Fourth of July" dialogues** mock national character: an Englishman criticizes Americans for using firecrackers recklessly rather than respectfully (as the Chinese did to ward off evil), while Americans celebrate having "gotten rid of the devil"—a jab at American rowdiness. **"A Cold World"** presents a convict's dark joke about the legal system: he was imprisoned for expressing an "opinion" (his innocence), while the jury expressed the opposite opinion. The satire critiques arbitrary justice. **Yale vs. Harvard rivalry** section celebrates Yale's recent successes (boat races, football, money, graduates) while sarcastically suggesting Harvard President Eliot seek improvements abroad. Chauncey Depew, Yale's new honorary degree recipient, is positioned as an unbeatable asset. **"Unkind"** illustration depicts a young woman (Miss Jessie) greeting an elderly persistent suitor while redirecting him to see her grandmother, implying he's outdated—a gentle age-based humor common to the era.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
> LIFE: FOURTH OF JULY. NGLISHMAN: See here, fire-crackers were made by the Chinese to chase the-devil away, but you Yanks use them to raise the devil. YANKEE: Oh, no! we use them because we feel so happy to have gotten rid of the devil. Ox four desperadoes were killed in Kentucky during the month of June, and yet some people profess to believe that Kentucky is a bad State. “ A COLD WORLD. “cc HAT brought you to this place, my friend?” in- quired a visitor at the penitentiary of a convict. “A mere matter of opinion got me here, sir.” “Impossible!” “No, sir. I expressed the opinion that I was innocent, and the jury expressed the opinion that I wasn’t. It's a cold world, sir.” 25 HIS is Yale’s year. The boat-race, the baseball cham- pionship, the football ditto, $300,000 in cash, the biggest graduating class she ever had, the most sub-freshmen she ever had—these are some of the feathers in the cap that President Dwight tossed in the air when he got the news from New London. Perhaps the finest plume of the whole bunch is Chauncey Depew, her pretty new LL.D. President Eliot is abroad—like the schoolmaster of fiction —and no doubt is poking around after new attractions for his institution. He may learn in England a better stroke than Cook's; Krupp may teach him a swifter delivery than Stagg's; he may—doubtless’he 'will—be able to show more new graduates, more sub-freshmen and more money next year than Yale, but oh! can he match Chauncey? Chauncey Depew is a hard man to twin, but why don’t Harvard's overseers cable’ to Dr. Eliot to bring home a new set of legs for Jo. Choate? THE favorite hatter for Cardinals is Pope at number XIII. UNKIND. WILL BE DELIGHTED TO SEE YOU, YOu WILL FIND HER IN THE LIBRARY ACROSS THE HALL. Miss Jessie (to ancient and ‘oof admirer, who is always “dropping in”): AU! GOOD MORNING, MR. WILSON; GRANDMAMMA comicbooks.com