Life, 1889-07-11 · page 11 of 16
Life — July 11, 1889 — page 11: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Analysis This page from *Life* magazine contains humorous sketches and satirical commentary on social manners. The main narrative concerns "Laocoon," a clergyman who becomes the subject of ridicule when given a silver dollar as a gift. He's mocked by the "elite of the Trojans" (society's upper class) for examining the coin too literally—checking if it's genuine by biting it, an outdated or lower-class behavior. The satire targets pretentious social attitudes: those who consider practical verification "defective education" represent snobbish elitism judging working-class customs. The accompanying illustration shows a couple in an interior setting, captioning concerns about marital jealousy and female virtue—typical Victorian-era anxieties about marriage and propriety reflected in *Life*'s regular commentary on domestic relations.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
25 MAKING THE BEST OF IT. man) gave him a silver dollar, and replied that he should bite it to see if it . were genuine. “1,” continued Laocoon, with an appropriate gestéve, more like biting this gift of the Greeks than bringing it into Troy.’ thereupon he hurled his spear at the horse. The élite of the Trojans were deeply shocked. Some said that it was not dignified in a clergyman to repeat small-boy jokes. Others thought it showed a defective education to make such an anachronism about the silver dollar. While still others thought it exceedingly bad form for him to show so much excitement and fling his spear about in that reckless fashion. Laocoén, however, kept on exhorting the common people to burn the horse. Two prominent pillars of his church remonstrated with him, and threatened to go over to the Baptist church across the way if he did not quit his undignified exhorting, but it was of no use. Laocoén continued, and had almost turned the minds of the multitude to his way of thinking, when two enormous sea serpents appeared. They wound their sinuous way toward Laocoon, and told him that if he didn’t stop talking and mind his own business they would give ¢ to him. Not at all dismayed, he merely winked at the sake and said he'd had ‘em before and they couldn’t get that gag off on him, Thereupon the smallest snake swallowed Laocoon. “THE marriage relation is a trying one, says The World. So it is, contempo- rary, and no judicious person would have anything to do with it if it were not for the fact that the single state is one of trial also. Say what you will of the fire, its steady glow is often a vast relief after the demnition sizzle of the frying-pan. HE man who makes the fewest words go furthest is the telegraph operator. He; 13 YOUR HUSBAND JEALOUS, Mrs, Swirt? She; \NpeED, NO! HE MAS ALL THE VIRTUES,—FatTH, Hope and CHarity! THROUGH THICK AND THIN--t-h-i. (So they adjourn to the conservatory.) comicbooks.com