Life, 1889-12-19 · page 7 of 18
Life — December 19, 1889 — page 7: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Page Analysis: Life Magazine, Page 345 **"Love Laughs at Locksmiths"** (top cartoon): A woman in elaborate Edwardian dress stands at a doorway, suggesting a romantic or illicit rendezvous. The title plays on the common phrase, satirizing the idea that love (or infidelity) cannot be prevented by physical locks or barriers—a commentary on social hypocrisy regarding courtship and discretion among the wealthy. **"Among the 400"** describes high society at the opera, mocking the pretensions of New York's elite ("the 400" refers to the city's most prominent families). The text satirizes their materialism and fashion-obsession, particularly regarding jewelry and mimicking royal fashions. The remaining sections include brief comic dialogues ("First Cigar," "A Foolish Virgin," "Misunderstood") and book advertisements—typical Life magazine filler content.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
oe “LOVE LAUGHS AT LOCKSMITHS.” Blush pink, deep cinnabar—and then no change was Save that the air had in it sense of wings, ‘Till suddenly the heavens were all aflame And it was morning.” The whole effect of the poem suggests a rare old picture from which the dust and cobwebs have been brushed, revealing deep tints, strange figures in the costumes of other days, and a “dowie” tragedy. One who is alert for echoes perhaps will hear now and then something that recalls Keats and “The Eve of St. Agnes” as: “From room to room the wind went shuddering On some vague, endless quest, now pausing here To lift an arras and then hurrying on To some fresh clue, belike.” NEW BOOKS. A*% OF GOOD WISHES. Wustrated by Mrs. J. Pauline Sunter, New York: F. A. Stokes & Brother. . The Calendar of the Nations, Watercolor designs by Maud Huinphrey. New York: F. A, Stokes & Brother, The Landscape Calendar, New York: F, A, Stokes & Brother. The Queen of the Adriatic. With colored illustrations. New Vork: F. A. Stokes & Brother. Basil Morton's Transgression. By Marquise Clara Lanza, New York: Minerva Publishing Company. Jn the Garden of Dreams. Poems by Louise Chandler Moulton, Boston: Rob- erts Brothers. A Midsummer Drive Through the Pyrenees, By E. A. Dix, M.A. New York and London: G, P. Putnam's Sons. How to Cook Wives, New York and Loodon: G. P. Putnam's Sons. MISUNDERSTOOD. NODGRASS (¢0 Groce Those apples I got from you were not half bad. GROCER (cheerfully): I'm glad you liked them. “Yes; only about a third of them were bad.” Droch. 345 AMONG THE 400. 5) AT 2 recent meeting of the Society for “eal the Suppression of Intelligence Mr. J. Lawd McShallister was elected president amid great enthusiasm, Mr. F. Seymour Howard (formerly F. S. Howard) is well. Visitors in the city should not fail to see the opera, not so much for the music, but to see the people in the boxes. It is a beau- tiful sight, and a nice programme will be given you in order that you may know the names of the occupants of each box. Do not be afratd to stare as much as you wish, for they like it. They are a little conscious, perhaps, but asa rule they are very happy. All the jewelry is rea The English royal family were very much flattered the other day by reading in an American paper that the brides- maids at a certain wedding in New York wore frocks of pink crépe, embroidered in silver, and wore pink ostrich plumes in their hair, after the fashion of the bridesmaids at the recent wedding of the Princess Louise.” IRST CIGAR: Where are you going ? SECOND CIGAR: Out. A FOOLISH VIRGIN. He (after a tif): So YOU PERSIST IN BREAKING THE ENGAGEMENT ? Mature Fiancée: CERTAINLY ; WHAT DO YOU TAKE ME FOR? He: AvOUT FORTY. BETTER THINK IT OVER; IT MAY RE YOUR LAST CHANCE. comicbooks.com