Life, 1888-04-05 · page 5 of 20
Life — April 5, 1888 — page 5: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Political Satire: March Commentary This Life magazine page satirizes early 20th-century European and American political crises. The elaborate border illustrations reference: - **"Saint Patrick's Day"** and **"The Mourning"** (left side): Likely Irish-American concerns, possibly related to independence movements or immigration issues. - **Central text** criticizes multiple governments: France "bottling up her firebrand," Germany's unstable succession, and a chief-justice death affecting America's highest court. - **Ingalls and Hewitt** references (right side): Likely American political figures involved in disputes over flag protocol and French-Irish relations. The bottom panel shows figures in period dress, suggesting diplomatic or political turmoil. The overall tone mocks governmental incompetence and international tensions of the era, though specific names and dates require additional historical context to identify precisely.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
ITH even more than usual bluster March has gathered himself to his leonine fathers. The White Lady of the Hohenzollerns has appeared to old Kaiser Wilhelm, and another kaiser, himself mor- tally stricken, reigns, to whom the same fatal spectre must soon appear. * * * RANCE has bottled up her firebrand, but if the next German emperor, who must so soon succeed the one'who has but just grasped the sceptre, lets loose the dogs of war, Boulanger may be expected to break his bonds. * * EARER home death has claimed the chief-justice of our highest court. * * * NGALLS has exaggerated the handi- work of the Creator by making a greater ass of himself than usual; and Mayor Hewitt has the courage—or the dys: pepsia—to trample upon our un-American practice in refusing to allow a foreign flag in honor of a Frenchman canonized by the* Trish to fly from the City Hall. comicbooks.com