Life, 1890-04-24 · page 3 of 18
Life — April 24, 1890 — page 3: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Analysis of Life Magazine Page (Volume XV, Number 382) This page contains several humorous sketches and dialogues typical of early 20th-century satirical humor: **Top Left**: A dialogue between a "Tramp" and "Secretary of State on Pennsylvania Avenue" mocks class differences—the poor man asks for money while the wealthy official refuses, dismissing him as a beggar. **Center**: Architectural sketches labeled "In Olde Seville" and "On Murray Hill" appear to contrast old European versus modern American settings, likely satirizing contemporary architectural tastes. **Bottom**: The poem "How times are changed" nostalgically contrasts old romantic traditions (Spanish serenades, moonlight) with modern courtship, referencing contemporary song titles like "McNally's Sunday Pants." **"Not a Bad Bargain"**: A coal merchant and iceman haggle over pricing, a working-class economic joke. The overall tone reflects period-specific concerns about modernization, class, and changing social customs.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
STON. NES. fornia. ure ASE, DE. O., VOLUME XV. HE HAD NO FELLOW FEELING. T RAMP (meeting Secretary Blaine on Pennsylvania Avenue): Isn't this Mr, Blaine ? Mk. BLAINE: I am the Secretary of State, sir. What do you want? Tramp: Mr. Blaine, I'm out of money, and I thought you'd be the very man to help out a poor fellow as you'd been through this sort of life yourself. Mr. BLAINE: I never give money to people like you, and I am not aware that I was ever a tramp ora beggar. sir. TRAMP: I beg your pardon, Mr. Blaine. I have been misinformed. Somebody told me that when you were making tariff speeches, you begged the question from Maine to Michigan. A NEW NAME FOR IT. GG R. GOULD, how is your canal stock, to-day ?” “T have no canal stock, sir.” “TI beg pardon; my mistake. For the moment I imagined that the large amount of water in your rail- ways had converted them into canals.” WONDER OF WONDERS. AS Barnum any new curiosi: ties at his show this year: “Yes, He has some lemonade there that actually tastes of lemon.” “ “AGE BEFORE Beauty.” E OW times are changed, since gay gallants, With mask and moonlight to enhance, First made my tender strings to thrill ‘Neath Spanish donna’s window sill. Such songs they sang as ‘* Just One Glance " In those old days of sweet romance— I would they were existent still. How times are changed ! For Maudie leads me such a dance— Midst Gotham’s male inhabitants, She strums me with indifferent skil While they yell out in chorus shrill Songs like *McNulty’s Sunday Pants,” How times are changed ! | On-Merray- Nill. NOT A BAD BARGAIN. (OALMAN : Tcan’t give you any more than fifty cents a hundred weight. IcEMAN: All right, if you let me weigh it on your own scales. comicbooks.com