Life, 1891-04-23 · page 13 of 14
Life — April 23, 1891 — page 13: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains three separate humorous anecdotes typical of *Life* magazine's satirical format: **"The Amende Honorable"** mocks plagiarism and intellectual dishonesty. A woman confronts Mr. Sutton about whether his clever dinner remark was original. When he admits it was, she's shocked—implying the famous diplomat Talleyrand (18th-19th century French statesman) was himself a plagiarist. The joke turns on the irony of accusing a historical figure of stealing ideas. **"No Words Wasted"** presents a flirtation joke: a man tells a young woman's dog "I can bark pretty well myself" as a pickup line. She responds by dismissing the dog—a cutting rejection of his advances. **"A Mutual Bond"** is a family joke where young Tommy notes that both he and the minister are in the same situation: both have been warned against asking for seconds of pie. These pieces represent genteel, drawing-room humor typical of early 20th-century American magazines aimed at educated, middle-class readers.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
THE AMENDE HONORABLE. She: MR, SUTTON, THAT WAS A BRILLIANT THING YOU SAID AT DINNER—PARDON ME, BUT WAS IT ORIGINAL?” “It was.” “Is IT PossIBLe ?” “Mapamt” “WE: & ME—I DID NOT MEAN IT—YOU SEE I WAS NATURALLY A LITTLE SHOCKED TO FIND THAT AFTER ALL TALLEYRAND WAS A PLAGIARIST." 261 “T dunno,” said Chimmie. “* Mebbe he would.” “ D’you suppose dey'd kill me?” “Tdunno, You're only a newsie, an’ mebbe dey'd be so busy killin’ coppers an’ detectives dey wouldn't have time to kill you. But dere’s de extry out—come on, Gusty,” and the two boys raced off to the Sun office, NO WORDS WASTED. RIGGS: A friend of mine got offa bright thing the other day. He called on a young lady who had a pet dog she was trying to make bark, but the dog wouldn't, until finally she said, “ Fido, if you will bark for me I'll kiss you.” Then my friend spoke up and said: “I can bark pretty well myself.” GRIGG Ha, ha! What did the girl say? BRIGGS: Nothing. She simply sent the dog away. A MUTUAL BOND. RS. BINGO (fo the minister): Won't you have another piece of pie? THE MINISTER: Thank you, no, TomMy (who has been warned not to ask twice): 1 guess we are both in the same boat. Miss Minerva Emerson (from Boston): MY YOUTHFUL FRIEND, I HAVE MEANDERED FROM MY ROAD, AND IN ASKING YOU TO DIRECT ME I WOULD HAVE YOU REMEMBER chi responde presto, sa poco, THEREFORE REFLECT A BIT AND TELL ME IF YOU FANCY YOU COULD ACT AS CHAPERONE TO GUIDE ME OUT OF THESE LABYRINTHS; IF 80 ] WOULD HAVE YOU NOT FORGET THAT fidelt certa merces! Young Lady (from “the Bend"): WHat'R You Givin’ us? comicbooks.com