Life, 1888-12-20 · page 12 of 14
Life — December 20, 1888 — page 12: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# "Visiting in the Country" - Life Magazine Satire The top cartoon depicts a con man's trick: "Toddler" bets a victim $50 he can't hit a barn door with a revolver at five paces. After securing the bet and witnesses, Toddler measures the distance and then sets the door *edgewise*—making it nearly impossible to hit. It's a scam relying on the victim's overconfidence and the trickster's dishonesty. The page's text below discusses President Cleveland's domestic scandal—pre-election rumors about his personal life. The author (E.S.M.) satirizes Cleveland's political enemies who spread these rumors but then feign moral offense when asked to defend them publicly. The comparison suggests these opponents are like "Toddler": they set up unfair conditions, then act victimized when called out. The "Old Song" cartoon ("Will You Remember Me?") appears separately, likely unrelated satire about forgotten promises or aging concerns.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
VISITING IN THE COUNTRY. Mr, S.: TODDLER 18 A MIGHTY MEAN MAN, THAT'S WHAT TODDLER 181 WHY, WHAT HAS HE EVER DONE TO you? Mr, S.: BET ME $50 THIS AFTERNOON THAT I COULDN'T HIT A BARN-DOOR WITH A REVOLVER AT FIVE PACES, TAUNTED ME INTO BETTING HIM, GOT ME TO PUT UP THE MONEY, MEASURED OFF THE FIVE PACES IN THE PRESENCE OF A LOT OF WITNESSES, GAVE ME A REVOLVER LOADED, AND THEN SET THE DOOR UP EDGEWISE! suit us better—Henry Watterson. The coming man of '92 may recognize Mr. Watterson’s fitness for the English mission. . . . ITs HERE jis nothing more amusing than the \. straight faces with which the enemies of Mr. “ Cleveland scold certain of his friends for denying the truth of the pre-election, house- to-house stories of his domestic shortcom- ings. The pretense that these stories can /? only be alluded to with hushed voices, and the if must not on any account be seen in print, is phenomenally absurd. If the stories were true, the less said about them the better; but, as it is, to deny them in a proper manner seems mere justice. The number of per- sons who want to think as ill as they possi- bly can of the President, is very large, and it is instruc- tive to hear them grumble at being undeceived as to any OLD SONG. unpleasant theory they have formed about his character. ELS. M. “WILL YOU RE-MEMBER ME?” comicbooks.com