Life, 1887-12-15 · page 3 of 16
Life — December 15, 1887 — page 3: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Analysis of Life Magazine Page 343 The page contains two distinct elements: **Upper illustration**: A clock-face design with figures and a poem titled "Sweet Youthful Days!" The image appears to be sentimental rather than satirical, depicting cherubs or young figures near clock numbers, accompanying nostalgic verse about youth passing away. **Lower section "An Interview"**: A satirical conversation between a Life correspondent and James Russell Lowell about his recent return from abroad. The correspondent teases Lowell about whether England or America is superior. Lowell defends America against Englishmen's assumptions of superiority, humorously noting that calling something "American" in England is considered insulting. The satire targets Anglo-American cultural snobbery and nationalist pride of the era. The piece is signed by Carlyle Smith.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
AN INTERVIEW. LIFE'S special correspondent, upon reading in the papers that his great-uncle’s old friend, Mr. James Russell Lowell, had just retuned from abroad, walked over to Boston and thence to Southboro to interview the gentleman and talk over the old days when his great- uncle was the Damon to Mr, Lowell’s Pythias. The ex-diplomat received the correspondent kindly for his great- uncle's sake, no doubt, and expressed great gratification that the great-nephew of his old friend should come so great a distance to see his great-uncle’s great friend. “ How do you like America?” I asked. “Chawming, chawming. To be suah, it is not England, but it is Americah ; and aftah all, England is not Americah, so that it is not surprising, aw, to discovah that Americah is not England.” “ Quite so!” replied the correspondent. “Indeed, if England ware Americah I should probably have been an, aw, Englishman, and Englishmen would have been Americans, in which case things would have been quite as bad as they are at pre- sent when an American can only be an Englishman in mannah—a most trying state of affaiahs to one who is a Briton at heart, doncher- know,” “To be sure,” said the correspondent. friend the Prince ? “That is a question which I had rathaw you had put to anothah. My opinion for publication would be that Albert Edward is looking very well, but ia private ife I am disposed to think him too, aw, fat to be called beautiful.” “No doubt,” returned the correspondent. “And how is your dear Ss’ EET Youthful Days! so surely fled, Once gone from us, so surely dead, What held ye that ye took away ? Whence hied ye that ye could not stay ? What lacked ye that I never said These lines to ye in Time his stead : “Stay, stay with me, for I do dread Too early turning bald or grey, O Youthful Days! Stay on, and let them sow who may, Wild oats from morn to night—all day ! But stay with me—Have we not read There nothing is more marked ill-bred Than hustling off from one this way, Sweet Youthful Days!" “L might say that if the Prince ware as slim as his chawnces of getting his mothah off the throne his personal appeahrance would be greatly improved.” “And Her Majesty, too, I suppose, is fat, fair, and forty 2” “Not quite so, Rathah say stout, sour and seventy—that is, that is my opinion to the great-nephew of my great friend your great- uncle, If you ware a reportah for the press, I should say that Her Majesty is still the same gracious lady that she was before the Jubilee.” “Why did you return to America, Mr. Lowell? We had fondly hoped—ah, that is, we had been led to believe that you were going to stay abroad for several years?” “Quite so. Yaras. My original intentions ware something of that naitchah. But "—here the ex-diplomat seemed embarrassed— ‘+ well, you see, anothah Boston gentleman came ovah, and I found myself—it humiliates me to confess it—but he came with a belt of gold, set with diahmonds and rubies, whilst I went with no belt, no diahmonds, no rubies, and, aw, he gradually usurped my position as the leading American in London. I found my name had been removed from most of the lists and that of Mr. Sullivan substituted, and to make a long story shawt, I was—" “ Knocked out?" queried the correspondent. * Quite so!” replied Mr. Lowell. ‘The correspondent then took leave of his great-uncle’s great friend and betook himself gratefully home. N.B.—To save Mr. Lowell from the possibility of trouble and annoyance, the correspondent takes this opportunity to deny the authenticity of this interview. Carlyle Smith comicbooks.com