Life, 1890-02-27 · page 7 of 18
Life — February 27, 1890 — page 7: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Analysis of Life Magazine Page 121 This page contains three humor items and a portrait section. "Not Worth a Tear" and "The Real Reason" are brief joke exchanges about domestic life—a wife upset about rats eating her cake, and a character named Abou Ben Adhem questioning alphabetical name ordering. These appear to be standard domestic humor, not political satire. The main content is an extensive article about **Mark Twain**, praising him as an American humorist who, despite his good looks, is valued more for his "winning ways" than appearance. The article mentions his notoriety from "Innocence Abroad" and references his role in satirizing American imperialism and wealth. The accompanying photograph is captioned "Life's Gallery of Beauties, No. 30: Mark Twain," presenting him as a cultural figure worthy of the magazine's attention.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
was in much need of regeneration... . It is asafe prophecy to say that for many generations to come his influence will be strongly felt in fiction.” Droch. NEW BOOKS. JOS UAL, BY, Georwe Ebers. New York: W. S. Gottsberger & Co. Annals of the Earth. By C. L. Phifer, Chicago: American Publishers’ Association. The Skipper in Arctic Seas. By Walter J. Clutter- buck, London and New York: Longmans, Green & Co. A Handbook of Florida. By C. L, Norton, Lon- don and New York: Longmans, Green & Co. NOT WORTH A TEAR. OUNG WIFE: Oh, John, the rats have eaten all my angel cake! HUSBAND: What! All of it? YOUNG WIFE: Every piece. I feel like crying. HUSBAND: Ob, pshaw! Don't cry overa few rats. THE REAL REASON. Ar BEN ADHEM (fo the angel): Why .doth my name lead all the rest ? ANGEL: Because we arrange them alpha- betically. MARK TWAIN, MA8« TWAIN, who is perhaps better known under his nom de plume of “Samuel L, Clemens,” is not so old as some of the jokes he has put in his recent books, having been born in 1835, He first gained notoriety by the publication of a work called ‘‘Innocence Abroad.” This was ex- cluded from the United States mails on account of its anarchical and atheistical teachings. The sub- sequent plucky fight made by Mr. Twain, which resulted in bringing on the War of the Rebellion and the seating of Rutherford B, Hayes in the presidential chair, will be readily recalled by our readers. Mr. Twain is one of the few American humorists who have been seduced from the pure paths of their lofty calling by the attractions of wealth, His en- ergetic spirit could not brook the inglorious ease of the former calling, and he voluntarily took on him- self the pangs and sorrows of a millionaire’s exist- ence. His latest publication, ‘‘ The Decadence of an American Humorist,” is now being inflicted on the American public by as accomplished, persistent and bashful a legion of book agents as ever visited Egypt in the days of Pharaoh, Personally, Mr. Twain is a handsome blonde of the African type. He is loved more for his winning ways than his good looks, and has repeatedly re- fused to be elected keeper of the Hartford dog pound, although the voters of that city would have made the election unanimous, In public speaking Mr. Twain uses a rapid utterance, which makes him the despair of stenographers. Among the humorous productions which have given him fame, and are to be found in every library, are Webster's Diction- ary,” ** Pilgrim's Progress,” “Rand and McNally’s . Railway Guide,” “The Congressional Record” LIFE'S GALLERY OF BEAUTIES. No 30. (208 volumes) and ‘* The Anatomy of Melancholy.”” MARK TWAIN, __comicbooks. Se SE RT