Life, 1888-12-27 · page 14 of 43
Life — December 27, 1888 — page 14: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains four separate satirical pieces mocking upper-class pretension and social change: **"An Explanation"**: Two wealthy men discuss why waiters lack self-respect. The joke is that men wearing formal evening dress before 6 p.m. (socially improper) cannot expect respect—the implication being that class-conscious servants judge their employers' social incompetence. **"Their First Experience"**: Brief humor about cats encountering night-keys (skeleton keys), playing on the phrase "every Thomas cat carries a night-key" (a period expression). **"Furbishing Up the House"**: A wealthy but unsophisticated "Hayseed" and his wife consider buying a Rosa Bonheur painting solely because it depicts horses—mocking rural social climbers' ignorance of art. **"The Reign of Law"**: A divorced couple reunites; when he dramatically confronts her about their broken vows, she dismissively threatens to call a policeman, citing "the nineteenth century." The satire targets modern divorce law, suggesting it undermines romantic drama and traditional male authority.
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Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
* LIFE: AN EXPLANATION. D® PEYSTER: Deah boy, why have waitahs.so deuced little self-respect ? Is it tips, 1 wonder ? Van Horn: Tips are right enough, old man; but no fellah that regulahly weahs evening dress before six o'clock can maintain his self-respect. Every Thomas cat carries a night-key. THEIR FIRST EXPERIENCE WITH THAT SORT OF The —: Yes, YES, THE OLD STORY; HE'S BEEN DOING THE SAME THING FOR THE LAST FIFTY YEARS, AND I'VE BEEN KEEPINO A PLACE FOR HIM EVER SINCE! FURBISHING UP THE HOUSE, se HAT painting,” explained the art dealer to Mr. Hay- seed and his wife, “is the work of Rosa Bonheur, and is called ‘ The Horse Fair.’ “By gum!” said Mr. Hayseed to his wife, “I'm a good mind to buy one if it don’t cost too much. How thet picter would please the children!" THE REIGN OF LAW. OULDERING fires were consuming him when he met her—his lost one—at a party in Chicago, and his eye burned with the blue glare of a lamp-wick from which the sap of the oil of human kindness has utterly dried. “Ha!” he cried, “you left me—you w-who p-p-promised to love me until d-d-d—" “Yes, until divorce,” she re- plied, calmly. “Now, don’t be SO ridiculous, or I'll send for a po- ‘A >— liceman. Please remember that this is the nineteenth century.” comicbooks.com