Life, 1887-08-25 · page 12 of 16
Life — August 25, 1887 — page 12: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Life Magazine Page Analysis **The Cartoon ("In a Bad Way"):** A tramp attempts to borrow a well-dressed man's clothes for a funeral, explicitly asking him not to follow because ladies are approaching—the joke being that the tramp plans to use the respectable outfit for some disreputable purpose, not an actual funeral. It's satirizing both class pretense and dishonesty. **Literary Notes Section:** This is pure satirical commentary on contemporary authors and literary figures: - Mocks biographer John Bigelow's "Life of Franklin" - Jokes that Tennyson's announcement he's stopped writing (taking a break) delights critics - References Robert Ingersoll (likely the agnostic lecturer) needing directions to Hades - Praises Queen Victoria's gift copies of "Leaves from the Highlands," sarcastically noting the extraordinary sales were achieved only through royal generosity **The Superstitious Note:** Mocks the "Thirteen Club" (an actual group that deliberately defied superstitions), suggesting a member's near-fatal illness from excessive food validates superstition—ironic humor about scientific skepticism versus folk belief.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
- LIFE: IN A BAD WAY. Tramp: SAY, YOUNG FELLER, I'D LIKE TO RORRER THESE CLOTHES FOK A DAY OR TWO TO GO TO A FUNERAL, Now Don't FOLLOW ME, FOR HERE COMES SOME LADIES ACROSS THE FIELDS, AN | KNOW YOU WOULDN'T SHOCK ‘eM. TRIBUTES FROM THE ILLUSTRIOUS. IFE appears to me too short.—Charlotte Bronté. Lie is divine.—Long fellow. One crowded hour of glorious Lire is worth an age without a name.—Scott, 1 will drink Lire to the lees.— Tennyson. Considering the unanimity of opinion as expressed by these great ones, we feel that we can afford to snap our fingers at Campbell, who was convinced that there is no man who knows LiFe well who would accept it again. We never cared much for Campbell, anyway. A NOTE FOR THE SUPERSTITIOUS. HERE is much excitement in the Thirteen Club, of Asbury Park. Their dinner was held on Friday even- ing, and one of the members who ate four green apples, lobster salad, mince pie, deviled crabs, pineapple, water- melon, ice-cream and buckwheat cakes, nearly died during the night. It is thought that the club will disband and tempt fate no more. . LITERARY NOTES. R. JOHN BIGELOW is in Paris putting the finishing touches to his * Life of Franklin,” Franklin put some finishing touches to his own life when ae was in Paris if he lived in truly American style while there. * . . DGAR FAWCETT'S novel, ‘The House at High Bridge,” has been brought out in paper covers for the silly season. . . . A RECENTLY published volume of selections from Virgil contains a map of Hades to accompany the sixth beok of the nied. Mr. Ingersoll should subscribe at once. It's very unpleasant to arrive at a strange place and not know the way around, * . . ENNYSON has been very disappointing for the last few years, but he has just written a line which delights his friends and carries consternation into the hearts of his critics. The line reads: T have lard down my pen for a while. * . * HE fact that Her Majesty presented all the crowned heads of Europe present at the Jubilee with a copy of ‘ Leaves from the Highlands,” has made a new edition necessary. The sale of the book has not been extraordinary, but the number of copies she has been able to give away has afforded Her Majesty great satisfaction. * . . R. HOWELLS calls himself “we” in his contributions to Har- per's Magazine. This does not alter the fact that Mr. Howells is a very singular individual, * . . E should fear to ask Mr. Saltus for a list of the best one hun- dred books if the volumes he mentions in “Mr, Incoul’s Adventures” are examples of his taste. T is not perhaps loyal to the Queen to say it, but we nevertheless do say that bad baseball is as much better than cricket as good baseball is better than any known game on the face of nature. STIGGINS NEVER LEFT HIS WINDOW OPEN AFTER THE FIRST NIGHT IN THE COUNTRY. comicbooks.com