Life, 1891-12-31 · page 35 of 53
Life — December 31, 1891 — page 35: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page concludes a serialized story about "Diana," a statue that apparently came to life. The narrative satirizes New York City's social problems: Diana wandered the city seeking "freedom" but found only depression (the statues in Central Park reference classical ideals versus urban reality). The story's resolution mocks how even her escape generated profit—through fines and hair-dye sales—and influenced Tammany Hall politicians. The sidebar cartoon shows a country visitor shocked at poor maintenance of statuary in a "fine building," likely satirizing the contrast between architectural grandeur and urban neglect common in Gilded Age New York. The bottom dialogue between "Mr. Marigeld" and a woman appears to be a separate society-page item, possibly mocking courtship conventions where strangers meet formally. Overall, the page reflects late 19th/early 20th-century American satirical humor about urban decay, commercialism, and social hypocrisy.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
* LIFE: long on top of the tower, that this was an agreeable change—she left the place. Heavy-hearted she wan- dered to Central Park, but the sight of the statues there depressed her still more. The lightening sky told her that dawn was near. With it must end her short quest for freedom. But Diana's experience had not been altogether use- less. The public treasury is ten dollars richer by Mr. Jerry Magnus’s fine, and the manufacturers of hair-dye draw a steady income from his desire to reg youthful appearance. Several Tammany leade the pledge on Christmas morning. Miss Effie Stranger (from the far interior): AT'S AX OUTRAGE, SIR, AN OUT THAT IN A FINE BUILDING LIKE THIS THEY KEEP THEIK STATUARY POOR REPAIR ! Astorpelt’s fiancé resolved to tell his fiancée no more falschoods, and the young couple decided to live in Brooklyn until their rich aunt should diz. * * * And Diana? The rays of the morning sun found her in her “old place, ever trying to turn towards her Olympian home, but ever turned away by the zephyrs = that Jove sends to keep her L. cyes from his misdeeds. Metcalfe. HE: But, Mr. Marigeld, really I hardly know you, as yet. He: That's just why | asked you, comicbooks.com