Life, 1888-01-19 · page 3 of 16
Life — January 19, 1888 — page 3: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Analysis of Life Magazine Page 31 **"This Bit of Lace"** (top): A sentimental poem by Samuel Williams Cooper about a preserved piece of lace from a lover's garment. The accompanying illustration shows a couple and man examining the cherished item. This reflects Victorian-era sentimentality about romantic keepsakes and lost love. **"In Janiveer"**: A brief humorous poem about winter's harsh conditions. **"The Iconoclastic Spirit"**: A short satirical note mocking Dr. John Hall's campaign against Santa Claus, predicting similar attacks on other American icons (the Chinese Wall, Berry Wall). This lampoons excessive reformist zeal. **"The New Cathedral"**: Satirizes Episcopal Church leaders debating how to spend surplus funds on a cathedral, when the money could address poverty and church debt instead. **"One Better"**: A humorous illustration and caption about competing exaggerations regarding household expenses.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
-*LIFE- THIS BIT OF LACE. HIS bit of lace.I rescued from the floor, Ere dancing feet had marred its dainty grace ; What vandal step from my love’s vestments tore This bit of lace? IN JANIVEER. HE bitter cold doth nip the ear, The price of coal’s exceeding dear ; ‘The trees are clad in garments sere, And icy-cold’s the frothing beer, In Janiveer. THE NEW CATHEDRAL, HE Protestant Episcopal Church needs a Cathedral in New York City about as much as the average dog needs two tails. A much grander edifice of good deeds could be con- structed with the million or more dollars that are to be invested in this special bit of pomp and vanity. If our Episcopal brethren are at a loss as to what to do with the surplus, let them look through their ranks and see what can be done in the way of paying off church indebt- edness; of raising hospitals, and perhaps the salaries of the rural clergy. The writer of this paragraph on a recent occasion over- heard a heathen acquaintance remark that, as between pugil- ism and the pulpit, he would choose pugilism every time, since its devotees receive more of the good things of this world than the priests of the Church even hope for in the next. This was an extravagant expression, no doubt, but it possessed the germ of plausibility for which'the treasurers of the Church may be held largely responsible. She whirled away within my foe's embrace ; Ah ! did she know I madly should adore This tiny fragment through all time and space? She married him, I swore ; And now my wife says, laughing in my face, “Tis only Hamburg edging, nothing more, This bit of lace.” I ne’er would wed, Samuel Williams Cooper. THE ICONOCLASTIC SPIRIT. R. JOHN HALL is crusading against Santa Claus, and Carter Harrison, ex-Mayor of Chicago, writes from China that he is disposed to doubt the existence of the Chinese Wall. Next thing we know they will be saying there is no Berry Wall. ONE BETTER. - “OQ Maub, WHAT DO YOU THINK? MY CANARY BIRD HAS LAID A EGG!” : “THAT AIN'T NOTHIN’ MUCH; MY PA LAID TWO STAIR CARPETS wi ERDAY |” comicbooks.com