Life, 1887-08-11 · page 4 of 16
Life — August 11, 1887 — page 4: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Analysis of Life Magazine Page 74 This page contains satirical commentary and poetry on summer themes rather than a single political cartoon. "The Poets on Summer" features verses by Thomson, Dryden, and Goodale celebrating the season. The small illustration labeled "Making Game of Him" shows a figure in a rural/pastoral setting, likely accompanying one of the summer poems. The right column contains brief satirical notes on contemporary issues: Austrian court scandals, Lord Tennyson's poetry, overworked Custom-House Inspectors, and commentary on Queen Victoria as a "political economist." There are also jabs at Jay Gould's wealth, Republican census policies, and General Boulanger's daughter becoming a nun. These are typical *Life* magazine items—quick political and social jokes rather than extended political cartoons, reflecting late 19th-century American satire and current events.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
THE POETS ON SUMMER. THOMSON. TT! the lightened air there trembles A higher lustre, Heat toys with the thermometer. And tries to bust her. . . . DRYDEN. UR summer such a russet livery wears, As in a garment often dyed appears; But when ‘tis go in the shade ‘The starchéd collar doth wilt and fade, And man doth hate this hue of russet, And speaks of summer but to cuss it. . . . GOODALE, RIGH Tesummer is crownéd with roses, Deep in the forest Arbutus doth hide ; The sun peels the skin off our noses, As on the hot pavements we gloomily glide. MAKING GAME OF HIM. . . . VICTORIA is a political economist as well as a private one. At her suggestion economy is tu be blended with art on the new coinage, and the motto “ Hont soit gui mal y pense” will appear thu Honi Soit Qui Maly Six—Pense. “ ONCEIT,” says Ruskin, “may puff a man up, but never prop him up.” This shows why conceit is not considered proper. WHE the poet said the wind was blowing free, he probably referred to what in nautical parlance is known as a “ dead-head wind.” HE bank cashier of the period does not seem to think anything less than half a million worthy of his steal. . * . HEN we consider that the Austrian court is not only Vienna born but Vienna bred, we do not wonder that it should seem more or less crusty. . . . HE rumor that Lord Tennyson wrote “ Britons, Hold your Own,” while crossing the Channel, gives an ad- ditional significance to the poem. . . . HE Custom-House Inspectors are greatly overworked. This business of looking after other people's duty is very exhausting, . . R. JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL, who is now in Eng- land, will probably keep Lent next season by return- ing home. > HE first question Empress Victoria asked when she was introduced to Buffalo Bill was, “Is he receipted? "It may be inferred from this that Punch is one of the Crown Prints. HEN we think that Jay Gould is worth $100,000,coo is it not surprising that he has not been able to scramble into the United States Senate? . * * HIS is the season for icebergs, but the Battenbergs are still under control. E hope that when Congress begins its fatal work again it will consider the ways of a Tennessee dog that V eats tacks, and be wise. Reduce the tackses. . . . Ts possible reason that the Republican party is against the taking of the census, lies in the rumor that there are fifty thousand more veterans of the G, A. R. this year than there were in 1880. There ought to be a high tariff on those veterans who sustained serious injury after the war. > . . ENERAL BOULANGER'S daughter is to become a nun, The daughter of a baker would more naturally become a donne, it seems to us. . . . HE Anarchist will doubtless take anything he can lay his hands on, but it is safe to leave a bath unguarded. He'd never take that. comicbooks.com