Life, 1890-12-25 · page 41 of 51
Life — December 25, 1890 — page 41: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
The cartoon depicts a dog progressively expending energy against a post or pole—sitting calmly, then increasingly agitated, until finally exploding in a burst of frantic activity. The title suggests the joke: excessive exertion leads to comic exhaustion or self-destruction. The accompanying text presents three anecdotes mocking incompetence and absurdity: 1. **The Justice of the Peace story**: A corrupt rural magistrate awards damages against a railroad for killing a cow, despite evidence the cow trespassed. When questioned, he admits he sided with the plaintiff because the company should have posted a warning sign—even though cows can't read. This satirizes judicial corruption and rural logic. 2. **The Reverend and Colonel**: Dark humor about a widow so difficult that even heaven would suffer her presence. 3. **The Messenger Boy**: A biblical reference comparing lazy messengers to vinegar and smoke. The page primarily functions as a **satirical humor magazine**, with the Gorham silverware advertisement as secondary commercial content. The satire targets rural justice systems, corrupt officials, and social pretension.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
LIFE: 27 A SAD RESULT OF TOO MUCH ENERGY. In support of the well-estab- lished rule that a justice of the peace always. finds for the plaintiff—that is, for the man that brings ** grist to the mill" —may becited a cause that was tried some years ago in Mary- land, The action was against arailway company for killing the plaintiff's cow on the com- pany’s track, The testimony was all in favor of the com- pany, tending overwhelmingly to show that the cow had **no business" on the track. After the hearing the magistrate promptly decided for the plain tiff. The company's attormey was greatly surprised andasked his honor upon what grounds he could arnve at such a deci- sion, Ie said in reply, that the company was negligent in not putting up a sign-board with Lookout for the Loco- painted on it “But the cow could not have read it," said the aston- ished attorney ‘ery true,” said the majes- ty of the law, ‘but it would have been much worse for the company if a person had been killed, and under all the ciccumstances the company ts getting off easy. Judgment for plainti “You must cheer up. Remember that everything is for the best. You must not grieve. Just remember that your wife isin heaven, where there is everlasting peace," said the Reverend Miggles to Colonel Snowfer, who had recently lost his wife. The Colonel shook his head, and replied sadly: “<1 wish [could think so, but I can't. ‘There may have been peace in heaven before she got there; but you know what sort of a woman she was.” ‘THe messenger boy dates back to Solomon's time: Vide Proverbs x., 26: ‘As vinegar to the teeth, and A man can easily have his as smoke to the eyes, so is the sluggard to them that send him."—Hoston Courter. owe way by/not wanting i= x, GOR HAM MBG. CO., SILVERSMITHS, SOLID SILVERWARE. R recently completed works at Providence, R. 1, are regarded as the most perfect and extensive plant for the manufacture of Silverware in the world, and include all of the latest improved machinery, much of it peculiar to this establishment. Our corps of employees outnumber any similar establishment in this country or in the world. Its capacity is for two thousand employees, and we are enabled by these increased facilities in every depart- ment to produce unlimited novelties in our line. Our stock now contains the largest and most varied assort- ment of Silverwares ever presented, and at no time has it been so complete and well filled with novelties from inexpensive to the most elaborate and artistic. GORHAM MFG. CoO., Broadway and 19th Street, NEW YORK. comicbooks.com