Life, 1891-02-19 · page 11 of 14
Life — February 19, 1891 — page 11: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Explanation for Modern Readers This LIFE magazine page satirizes urban versus rural life through a dialogue between a "Country Mouse" and "City Mouse." The Country Mouse fears theater ticket-gouging and robbery by city criminals. The City Mouse counters that New Yorkers face their own dangers—being robbed by those wanting to avoid the stigma of appearing "stingy." The lower cartoons mock Victorian-era health fads: one shows a man unsuccessfully attempting an old-fashioned exercise regimen; another depicts him buying a "Guide to Health and Manual to Physical Culture" and practicing its prescriptions, ultimately achieving his goal—death (suggested by the gravestone). The satire targets contemporary obsessions with fitness advice and self-improvement literature as ultimately futile.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
THe CounTRY Mouse: Well, I guess I'll go to one of the theatres where they protect the public. I could stand the extra fifty cents, but I do hate to be swindled. THECITY Mouse: Sodo I, uncle, but you know I'm a New Yorker, and New Yorkers have no sand in their crops. We are afraid that if we ever objected to being robbed by any one who wanted to rob us, some body might say we were stingy. ONE MORE UNFORTUNATE. : THOSE HORRID SMYLER GIRLS ARE IN THAT SLEIGH. IT's NOT GENERALLY KNOWN, HUT, CLARA, THE ONE IN WHITE [8 GOING TO MARRY LORD DUNCASTLE PURELY FOR SPITE. He: FROM spite? ‘She: Ves; SHE WAS VIRTUALLY JILTED BY HER FATHER'S COACIIMAN. INGLEY: Why, old man, what makes you look so gloomy? You haven't had a falling out with your wife, have you ? Binco: Worse than that. With our servant girl. PERSUADES A FRIEND TO POINT A DIDN’T- KNOW -IT-WAS-LOADED REVOLVER AT HIM, BEHIND THE BATt—His apology for a tail. BUT THE FRIEND PROVES A BAD SHOT. hb — Bur aT LAST HE BUYS “A GutvE TU TRYS THE OLD-FASHIONED PLAN, BUT HEALTH AND MANUAL TO PHysicaL CuL- ACHIEVES HIS PURPOSE: WITHOUT SUCCESS, TURE,’ PRACTICING ITS PRECEPTS— comicbooks.com