Life, 1887-07-14 · page 12 of 16
Life — July 14, 1887 — page 12: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Life Magazine Page 26 Analysis This page combines light humor with darker social commentary typical of early 20th-century American satire. **"On a Dance Programme"** is a romantic poem by Arthur W. Gundry about an awkward suitor who breaks a woman's fan while nervously trying to propose. The humor lies in his repeated self-deprecation ("I'm not a dancing man," "I'm not a fluent man") culminating in rejection—he's left holding only the broken fan as a memento. **"The Power of Caricature"** shows six cartoon panels depicting an artist drawing a portrait in sunlight, with the final image increasingly exaggerated/distorted, illustrating how caricature transforms reality. **"Safe from Prosecution"** is biting political satire: a Dakota man returns from a lynching unafraid of arrest because the judge and district attorney participated in the mob violence—exposing the complete breakdown of law enforcement in lynching contexts. **"A Hopeless Case"** mocks the *Philadelphia Ledger*'s editorial quality by suggesting a child's broken kite is made from it. The page juxtaposes frivolous romance and mild visual humor against serious commentary on American lawlessness and justice system corruption.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
26 “EBEE = ON A DANCE PROGRAMME. THE POWER OF CARICATURE, W E sat it out upon the stairs— I'm not a dancing man— ‘They played the brisk ‘ Mikado” airs, I trifled with her fan The fateful words were hard to say— I'm not a fluent man— I would begin with something gay, A pun, about a fan. It would not come, that little joke— I'm not a punning man— The moments flew ; I clutched, and broke Her dainty feathered fan. “The cost of it?" I thought, dismayed— I'm not a moneyed man— The band the final figure played: I figured on that fan. The dance was over, and she rose— I'm not a ready man— But seized the moment to propose— That I should mend her fan. I thought it out upon the stairs ; She—took some other man— And I have with me for repairs, A broken heart and fan. Arthur W. Gundry. T'S a Cody when Buffalo William gets left in London. HEN Richelieu said the pen is mightier than the sword, he meant pen and not paste-pot and shears. OUNG ladies at the sea-shore find that on Saturday evenings the “ fish” bite the most freely. SAFE FROM PROSECUTION. Av KOTA citizen had returned from a little lynching affair and his wife was badly frightened. “Aren't you afraid of being arrested and tried for murder?” she inquired. . “No,” he said, “the judge and district attorney were among those who had hold of the rope. A HOPELESS CASE. HAT'S the matter, Bub?” inquired a Philadelphia citizen of a little boy who was crying. Mrs. WILKINS HAS A HUSBAND WHO WAS A CHROS- “My k-kite won't fly,” sobbed the lad. ' IC “KICKER,” SO SHE TRIED AN EXPERIMENT IN OW, - et | in examininy it, “it is made o! HORSE-TAMING UPON THE “BRUTE” WITH A RESULT Ww ell, ue wonder, said the gentlemai b- s ALMOST MIRACULOUS. the editorial page of the Ledger.” comicbooks.com