Life, 1888-03-22 · page 5 of 16
Life — March 22, 1888 — page 5: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Page 163: Life Magazine Content Analysis **Top Cartoon ("A Delightful Phenomenon"):** Shows a social scene where Miss Tattleton suddenly announces it's raining, prompting De Spoonville to hastily rise, wanting to go outside—contradicting the typical Victorian-era expectation that ladies would avoid rain. The humor lies in the reversal: De Spoonville uses the rain as an excuse to escape indoors, suggesting he wants to avoid the women's company. **Bottom Story ("The Crow and the Farmer's Dog"):** A fable where an old crow justifies eating bones by claiming worldly wisdom and age grant him dignity despite being a vagrant. The moral explicitly states "This Fable is not for the young," suggesting satirical commentary on how the elderly or destitute rationalize questionable behavior through appeals to experience and wisdom. The accompanying illustration shows domestic figures in a relaxed interior scene.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
A DELIGHTFUL PHENOMENON. Miss Tattleton (entering suddenly): 1S RAINING, GIRLS! De Spoonville (hastily rising): YOU WILL EXCUSE ME. DON'T YOU KNOW, IF IT’S RAINING girls, THE CROW AND THE FARMER'S DOG. N old Crow basked in the wintry sunshine on the bough of a leafless tree just outside the barnyard fence. With blinking eyes he watched the Farmer's Dog at his dinner of bones, and waited for a chance to steal some of the remains. The Dog raised his-eyes. “Be off!” he cried. “What do you want in the neighbor- hood of good and respectable birds? You are a vagrant and good-for-nothing.” “ may not be very good,” calmly replied the Crow, “but I have managed to reach a prosperous old age, which is more than can be said for the unfortunate and worthy turkey whose bones you have just devoured. The truly good die young. A little worldly wisdom doesn’t hurt us in the race of life.” And hastily snatching up a bone he vanished in the frosty air. : This Fable is not for the young. I WANT TO BE OUTSIDE, ““AND, JOHNNY, WHAT PARTICULAR PLEASURE DO you DENY YOURSELF DURING LENT?” Johnnie: VVE STOPPED PUTTING PENNIES IN THE BOX FOR THE_HEATHEN, comicbooks.com