Life, 1889-08-01 · page 10 of 16
Life — August 1, 1889 — page 10: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Analysis of Life Magazine Page 66 This page combines two unrelated satirical sections: **"Scientific Hints on Sea Bathing"** offers tongue-in-cheek advice, including absurd tips like presenting a copy of *Life* magazine to a shark to make your escape. The humor relies on mock-serious tone applied to ridiculous situations. **"Mrs. Menage" dialogue** shows a domestic scene where a servant reports excessive advertising in newspapers. Mrs. Menage dismisses concerns about poor families affording Cook's excursions, sardonically noting that even Chicago—compared to a bragging frog—pales beside St. Louis's boasting. The satire targets American civic pride and commercial advertising's pervasiveness in 19th-century newspapers. The illustration depicts period-appropriate domestic servants and furnishings.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
HINTS ON SEA BATHING. By “ Lire’s” Doctor. 1. Invalids, particularly in the northern states should not indulge in surf-bathing between the first of November and the first of March. 2. The best time for the bath, if you have no bathing- suit, is between 9 P.M. and 4 A.M. 3. Bathing before breakfast is not recommended, unless you have been out all night with the boys, 4. Never neglect to protect the head while in the water. A silk hat should not be used for this purpose as it attracts the sun’s rays. 5. In case you are seized with cramp while in the water, rub the affected part vigorously for ten or fifteen minutes with chloroform liniment. Many valuable lives might be saved every year if this advice were more generally followed. ATTRACTIVE, He: Gooo Heavens, DoroTHy! THERE ARE MILLIONS OF FLIES IN THIS ROOM. OF WHAT USE IS THAT FLY-PAPER ? She: WHY, THERE ARE SOME DEAD FLIES ON IT, I'm SURE, He: Yes, BUT EVERY OTHER FLY IN THE COUNTY HAS COME TO THEIR FUNERAL. WHAT YOU USUALLY FIND AT THE MOUNTAIN RESORT. 6. Children should never be permitted to bathe except in the company of their parents. They are apt to become nuisances and may require spanking at any moment. 7. Should you become sea-sick from the motion of the waves, repair to the nearest drug-store and give the soda- water clerk the usual wink. 8. Do not become frightened if you swallow a little salt- water. It is not poisonous even to bathers from the Blue Grass region. g. Ladies should not wear corsets when bathing, unless they happen to be corpulent and there are men about. to. Fast-color bathing suits are recommended for ladies who expect to wear décolleté gowns in the evening. 11, Practical jokers who think that the greatest enjoy- ment of the bath consists in ducking someone else, should not hold their victim's head under water more than five min- utes at a time. 12, In case you are seized by a shark, present him with acopy of Lire. When he begins to laugh, he will open his mouth and you can make your escape, RS. MENAGE (laying down morning paper in dis- gust): This catering to servants is going too far. Mr. M.: What now? Mrs. M.: All the papers full of advertisements of Cook's excursions, It’s ridiculous putting such ideas in their heads at a time when they can least be spared! [™> all right for Chicago, like the frog in the fable, to go on blowing itself up into a big city by the annexation of all the neighboring villages, towns, counties, states and territories, but St. Louis still laughs with ghoulish glee as it sees the Chicago ball club fifth in the race for the pennant. comicbooks.com