Life, 1888-01-26 · page 5 of 16
Life — January 26, 1888 — page 5: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Page 47 of Life Magazine - Analysis This page contains several brief satirical items typical of Life's humor section: **"At the Museum"** shows visitors at what appears to be a natural history museum examining mummies and papyri. The humor derives from Jack's innocent question: if mummies come from preserved humans, what do papyri become? The joke plays on the child's literalist misunderstanding of the word "papyri" (ancient Egyptian documents made from papyrus plants) as if it were a creature that transforms, like "mummies" do. The other items are brief verbal jokes about Greek philosophy, Boston weather, insomnia, and waiter etiquette—typical ephemeral humor of the period requiring no specific historical context beyond general knowledge of classical topics and domestic situations.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
oh al OF COURSE. HE Greeks used to con- sider, as I have been told, The bow and the arrow as father and son ; If such be the case, a fact equally cold Is that a bullet’s the son of a gun, TOO BOLD. ISS SMYTHE: I hear that Mr, Flush pro- posed to you last night. Miss VAN DYKE: Yes, the forward thing! Miss S.: I don’t see any- thing very bad about that. Miss V. D.: Why, this is Leap Year! WORSE THAN THE CLIMATE. DITH: What a dread- fully trying climate you have here in Boston! Is it the east wind that chaps your lips so? Maup: Oh, no; I've been taking some lessons in Vola- piik. WAKEFUL TOO LATE. IGGINS: They say that since Gagley failed he’s been troubled dreadfully by insomnia. WIGGINS: Just like him. He never was wide awake at the right time. AT THE MUSEUM. PROVERB FOR A WAITER Jack's Mamma (wishing to be impressive): JusT THINK, JACK; THIS WAS SOME LITTLE BOY’S 6¢7 JD HERE'S many a tip Ma"™ "twixt the cup and Jack (after some moments of intense thought): 1F THE MAMMAS TURN INTO MUMMIES, WHAT DO the lip.” THE Papas TURN INTO? PUPPIES? NO USE TO HIM. OOK AGENT (fo one of the “several times” a million- aire lumber “Barons” of Michigan): Let me show you, sir, the New American Encyclopedia— LuMBER: No; never mind. I am very busy to day— AGENT: But it will surely require little time to examine— LuMBER: No, no; I tell you I am very busy!—And if I 2 weren't I couldn't ride one of the infernal things anyway. % WREHIRT = aaah: Laid on the table. The speaker of the house OFTTIMES it gives a man a cold chill to get “fired.” comicbooks.com