Life, 1887-10-27 · page 7 of 16
Life — October 27, 1887 — page 7: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Analysis The cartoon depicts a theatrical or operatic scene with elegantly dressed figures in what appears to be a box seat. The caption attributes dialogue to "Mr. Hunter" and "Miss Rood," with Hunter saying "Hands that the rod of empire might have swayed" and Rood responding "Or waked to ecstasy the living lyre." These are literary quotations (likely from poetry), suggesting the cartoon satirizes theatrical pretension or affected cultural refinement. The figures appear to be upper-class attendees at a performance, possibly mocking their artificial sophistication or romantic posturing. Without additional context about who "Mr. Hunter" and "Miss Rood" represent, the satire seems directed at generic social pretension rather than specific political figures. The humor likely appealed to *Life* magazine's contemporary readers familiar with both the literary references and the social types being lampooned.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
MUN , fu i nn { ATA ST ae Mr, Hunter (with much feeling) : Miss Bond: T in our present half-civilized state there must be books. The undeveloped man requires them as a stimulant for his weakness—as an infant cries for milk. And if we must have books, then let them be happy—like Stockton’s “The Hundredth Man.” There is too much invalidism and sentiment in the closing chapters, but all in all, it is wholesome. Perhaps the man who makes us laugh is as much of a benefactor as he who sells us a warm coat, for honest laughter warms the very soul! We shall leave it to Macenas for a just judgment. If so, then Macenas should share his millions with our kindly humorists. But never a cent should go to the man who writes an unhappy or disagreeable book. He should be condemned to sit alone in a dungeon with his own grim visions. . * * HERE is plenty of pleasure also in such a book as “ The Isles of the Princes" (Putnam), by Hon. S. S. Cox. It is a record of travel and rest in a strange land—the Teminiscences of a man who has always tried to see the bright side of life, and as a consequence has generally found it, and with it hosts of friends. Such a man is equally at “HANDS THAT THE ROD OF EMPIRE MIGHT HAVE SWAYED.’ ‘“OR WAKED TO ECSTASY THE LIVING LYR home in Prinkipo or Washington. He has told his experi- ences while Minister to Turkey in a frank, unaffected, serene style which charms the reader. * . . HE readers of Mrs. J. H. Walworth’s “Southern Silhou- ettes,” in the Zvening Post, will be glad to know that they have been reprinted in a neat, substantial volume by Henry Holt & Co. These sketches are “not the work of the imagination, but are actual outlines of actual entities.” Droch, + NEW BOOKS - THE Game of Euchre, By Joba W. Keller, New York: Frederick A. The Theory of the Modern Scientific GameZef Whist. New York: Frederick A. Stokes. Knitters in the Sun. By Octave Thanet. Boston: Houghtoa, MiMin & Co. Leth Hayteed's Trip to New York, Wastrated by Coultaus. New York: Excelsior Publishing Houre. Report of the Fire Department of the City of New York, New York: Mania'h Keown. Kaleotah : The, Adventures of Jonathan Romer, The zugda Edition. Illustrated by, Fredericks. Putnam's Sone The Isles of the Princes : or, the Pleasures of Prinkipo. By Samuel S. ‘ox. New York: G. P. Putaam's Sons. By Wm, Pole. By W. S, Mayo, M.D. New York: 'G. comicbooks.com