Life, 1888-10-11 · page 3 of 14
Life — October 11, 1888 — page 3: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Page 199 Analysis: "Life" Magazine Satirical Content This page contains several distinct satirical pieces typical of early Life magazine humor: **"Impression de Monte Carlo"** (top left): A poem mocking the gambling culture and social chaos at the famous casino, with an accompanying skeleton illustration representing Death/fate. **"More Culture"** (top right): A brief sketch satirizing pretentious social gatherings, where a woman invites a man to bring "music and hard gloves"—likely mocking affected cultural pretensions. **The remaining stories** ("Why He Thought He'd Wait," "He Should Have Begun Earlier," "Money Enough, But No Fun") are domestic humor pieces about courtship, dentistry, and financial propriety—common Life magazine fare targeting middle-class social anxieties. The accompanying illustration shows a magazine office scene, satirizing the publishing business itself. The overall page reflects Life's focus on mocking social pretension, leisure-class excess, and Victorian courtship conventions.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
*-LIFE- IMPRESSION DE MONTE CARLO. Y antic fate in order set, Behold the crowd at life's roulette, That hazard at the play ! Rich, poor; staid matrons, laughing girls ; Saints, sinners; youths with clustering curls, And men with beards of gray. No time to ponder, test or choose ! Who stops to think must surely lose The chance to play at all. The awful wheel is whirling—‘' Fattes, Votre jeu, messieurs,”" nor hesitate, While spins earth's flying ball. One stakes on politics—he’s bold ! One, love—poor fool, the grave is cold ! One dreams that fame is sweet. You, bright eyes, yearn to storm the town ; You, pale face, crave the martyr’s crown. Ab, well, the years are fleet. Eheu, fugaces! Vow they fly In earth's great starlit lottery ! Some dance and others pray, Till Death, the croupier, with calm, Impassive voice, announce : “* Mesdames, Messieurs, le jeu est fait.” +, Arthur Mark Cummings. LAGGING zeal" is all right in some people, but not in a trackman who fails to signal danger. RITING for the magazines is a business that always yields big returns. kD Pe AN EXPLANATION. Mfrs, New Lucre: SUSETTE, A FRIEXD OF MINE INFORMS ME THAT, ON LAST WEDNESDAY EVENING, ABOUT EIGHT O'CLOCK, SHE MET YOU WALK- ING IN THE PARK WITH MY HUSBAND. Is THIS TRUE? Susette (indignantly): Non, Madame! Ett €€S NOT TRUE; ON JURSDAY EVENING, ABOUT TEN O'CLOCK, IT VAS Mrs. G. Panhandel Lightweight: AW! AWFULLY GLAD TO SEE Mr, BRING YOUR MUSIC AND HARD GLOVES. KNOX—sO VERY KIND AND CONSIDERATE OF YOU TO WHY HE THOUGHT HE'D WAIT. ENTIST: Mr. Doppenheimer, you won't feel me pull the tooth. The gas will make you insensible. You won't know what's going on. DOPPENHEIMER: Ish dot so? Well, I dinks 1 coomes to-morrer. DENTIST: But why not let me pull it to-day? DOPPENHEIMER: Well, I don’ yoost know how much monish der wash in my pocked-book. HE SHOULD HAVE BEGUN EARLIER. E had passionately declared his love. “ You are too late, George; too late,” mur- mured the girl. “Too late?” he exclaimed with an agonizing cry. “Ts it possible that you love another?” “No, George; but it is nearly twelve o'clock, and I hear papa at the gate.” MONEY ENOUGH, BUT NO FUN. HAT would you say, young man,” he re- marked, solemnly, “if I should tell you that I have never gambled, drank liquor, smoked or indulged in any vicious habits whatever?” “T would say, sir,” replied the young man, “that you must have a comfortable bank don’t know the proper way to spend ccount and comicbooks.com