Life, 1888-10-04 · page 12 of 14
Life — October 4, 1888 — page 12: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Life Magazine Satire Page Analysis This page contains three unrelated satirical sketches typical of *Life* magazine's social humor: 1. **"Not Dangerous"**: A young woman casually mentions receiving a "flesh wound" at a social gathering (a "Van Duster soirée"), treating a serious injury as trivial gossip. The satire mocks upper-class women's casual attitudes toward violence or danger at fashionable events. 2. **"A Private Rehearsal"**: Children perform dangerous stunts (a dog in mouth, climbing) under adult instruction, satirizing negligent or reckless parenting among the wealthy. 3. **"Doing Him an Injustice"**: A man approaches for a favor, assumes he'll be asked for money (and preemptively refuses), then departs feeling wronged—satirizing the anxious social pretense and self-pity of the upper classes. 4. **Bottom sketch**: Three wealthy men play a game where a blindfolded waiter must catch one of them to receive payment for dinner. The joke: the waiter can't catch any, suggesting the privileged evade obligation. Overall, the page satirizes upper-class irresponsibility, hypocrisy, and avoidance of consequences.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
NOT DANGEROUS. ISS LULU (of Dakota): You are not looking quite your usual self to-day, Irene, and 1 see you have your arm bandaged ? Miss IRENE: Oh, it's a mere nothing. Simply a slight flesh wound, which I received at the Van Dus- ter soirée last evening. A PRIVATE REHEARSAL. “TAKE THE DOG BETWEEN YOUR TEETH, NELLY, AND CLIMB UPI” DOING HIM AN INJUSTICE. UMLEY (who proposes to“ strike" Brown for twenty dol- Jars): Brown, I'm in bad shape, and I want you to do me a favor. Brown: Anything, Dumley, anything, but lend you money; I'm hard up myself. DUMLEY (who sees his case is hopeless): Brown, did I ask you to lend me any money? Did I say a single word about money ? The favor I was about to ask is—but never mind—never mind— (goes off with a touching atr of having been misjudged). THESE THREE SWELLS” ARE ABOUT TO INDULGE IN A SUMPTUOUS DINNER, Eactt ONE WISHES TO PAY THE BILL, SNopns, TO DE- CIDE THE MATTER, PROPOSES THAT THEY BLINDFOLD THE WAITER, AND WHICHEVER HE CATCHES FIRST SHALL FOOT THE BILL, AND GIVE HIM A DOLLAR. ALL, INCLUDING THE WAITER, AGREE TO THIS, BUT—— HE MNASN'T CAUGHT ANY OF THEM YET. comicbooks.com