Life, 1891-10-08 · page 13 of 16
Life — October 8, 1891 — page 13: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains multiple humor sections typical of early 20th-century satirical magazines: **Top section**: A dialogue joke about a woman's age discrepancy—she claims to be 24, but her mother previously said she was 23. The punchline is that the mother was likely lying about *her own* age, not the daughter's, satirizing women's reluctance to admit their true age. **"Improved Proverbs"**: A collection of humorous twisted sayings mocking domestic life and social conventions—infidelity ("belated husband comes in by the window"), servant girl dynamics, failed investments, and drinking habits. These reflect turn-of-the-century middle-class anxieties. **"Heard in the Night"**: A child repeatedly asking for water while avoiding bedtime, threatening to get spanked so the mother will provide a drink afterward—satirizing childhood manipulation tactics. **"Thoughtful Nature"**: A wife jokes that God *must* have made men different from each other, otherwise women wouldn't remarry (implying husbands are distinguishably flawed). This satirizes marriage dissatisfaction. The sketches and text together constitute genteel domestic satire aimed at a middle-class audience.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
} {*: You say you are twenty- four SHE (frankl He: Whi yesterday that you were but twenty=- ): Yes, twenty-four. ‘our mother told me three, SHE: stood mamma. You must have misunder- She was probably telling you her own age. Hes WAVE YOU HEARD THE NEWs 2—YESTERDAY MORNING, MARY DAWSON JUMPED INTO HER FATHER'S. ELOPED WITH THE COACHMAN, SHER FATHER DO: He MAS ADVERTISED, * ALL WILL HE FORGIVE AnoUT IT? END BACK TILE HORSES, \ Ee IMPROVED PROVERBS. laughs best who does not laugh at a woman when she thinks there is a se in the room. is never too late to drink champagne. A rolling stone never “ gets there.” When a belated husband comes in by the window a flat iron is apt to fly out at the door, A bird and a bottle in hand is worth two boarding-house dinners anywhere else. Every man’s house is his servant girl's ‘astle. The race is not always to the horse you put your money on. A run in time saves the nine. ix:wuicn If at first you don’t succeed, lic. lie again. roy nat Tom Hall. TE A BLOWING MATCH. EDDY ATTEMPTS TO INFLATE LAND A TOY RALOON ATs PTS TO INFLATE TEDDY HEARD IN THE NIGHT. ce Ma: please gimme a drink of water: I'm so thirsty.” “No; you are not thirsty. (A pause.) “Mamma, won't “If you don’t turn over and (Another pause.) “ Mamma, Turn over and go to sleep. you please gimme a drink? I'm so thirsty!" go to slecp, I'll get up and spank you!” won't you please gimme a drink when you get up to spank me ?” THOUGHTFUL NATURE. ROWN : Itis said that God never made two men alike. Mrs. BRO N: Of course he didn’t, or you would never hear of a woman being married twice comicbooks.com