Life, 1890-04-10 · page 9 of 18
Life — April 10, 1890 — page 9: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Explanation for Modern Readers This Life magazine page (page 213) contains humorous sketches and dialogues satirizing everyday life and social pretension. **Top section:** A poem about spring with illustrations of birds and weather, establishing seasonal themes. **"One Freeman in Gotham":** A dialogue mocking class consciousness in New York. A proud parent brags about his boxer son's fighting abilities, while an "Old Friend" suggests he should train him as a pugilist instead. The satire targets working-class aspirations and social mobility anxieties. **Lower sections:** Brief comic vignettes about misinformation sources ("His Source of Information"), weather gossip, and train robbery etiquette—poking fun at how ordinary people spread rumors and misunderstand current events. The overall point: satirizing common urban foibles, class pretension, and the gap between people's actual knowledge and their confident assertions about public matters.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
* LIFE: 213 “IT’S AN ILL WIND THAT PROFITS NOBODY.” TheRobiy comel SN Cie of yeare Oud they wef eek that Spring Shere 4 But Rebiy sf yo Sooner 4 tee PoosS teat a hal get rpatterd myed ONE FREEMAN IN GOTHAM. UIET CITIZEN: Yes, that’s my boy; don’t look much 16) like me, does he—six feet high, strong as an ox, brave as alion? I've had him trained by the biggest prize-fighters in the country, and he can handle half a dozen thugs and plug- uglies with one hand. My goodness! You haven't brought him have you? 2 Oh, no. But we live in the lower wards of New York, and I desire that he shall be able to vote as he pleases. HIS SOURCE OF INFORMATION. CMe: Well, we have a cold wave at last. Mrs. Cumso: Cold wave! Why, it’s positively warm to-day. Cumso: I thought so myself till I read what the Signal Service had to say about it. KNEW HIS BUSINESS. RAIN ROBBER (fo passengers tn Pullman): Be not alarmed, ladies and gentlemen, what few valuables you have left you are welcome to. I would be obliged, however, if some gentleman would direct me to the porter's quarters. # EAN? Why, Brown is so mean that should he be for- tunate to reach Heaven, he will kick because there is no fire there.” comicbooks.com