Life, 1892-03-17 · page 13 of 18
Life — March 17, 1892 — page 13: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page combines **advice column responses** with **satirical commentary** and cartoon illustrations. The advice section mocks various reader inquiries with tongue-in-cheek answers—a staple of Life's humor. Notable responses include: - A jab at David B. Hill (a prominent 1890s Democratic politician), sarcastically suggesting he won't become President - Mockery of rejected manuscript submissions - Cynical commentary on the Fifth Avenue Stage Company's treatment of old horses The main narrative describes **Mr. Burgess**, a pompous social climber obsessed with shaking hands with famous and powerful people—a recognizable type of Gilded Age social-climber. The humor culminates in the joke that he shook hands with a corpse at a funeral, satirizing his indiscriminate hand-shaking compulsion. The bottom cartoons illustrate courtship scenes with double-entendre dialogue about seating arrangements and happiness. Overall, the page reflects Life's satirical focus on **social pretension, political figures, and romantic comedy** of the 1890s era.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
I SEND TO IT COMES BACK. RS. F. E. L., Philadelphia: Your letter enclosing $9.35 for the Fresh Air Fund has been received. Formal acknowledgment will be made in Lire of June gth, 1842. Anxious DemocraT: No, David B, Hill has not yet been sworn in as President of the United States. There is a possibility that he won't be. CONTRIBUTOR: It went into the waste-paper basket. One of the first steps towards succeeding in literature is to know enough to enclose a stamped and addressed en- velope for the return of manuscript. Rev. D.B. In opening a jack-pot it is customary to bet the limit FirtH AVENUE: We have no data at hand, but the h Avenue Stage Company is now conducting a series of experiments to show how long a pair of broken down horses can continue to draw a heavy stage before they will drop dead. Marie: In proposing to the young man it is not necessary to go down on your knees. That custom is obsolete. Tell him earnestly that you love him, that it will be your highest aim to make him happy, then place your arm about his waist and tell him in-a general way what your financial condition is and what provision you can make for his future. order and is not calculated to set the East River on fire, but his actors present it in an even, smooth way that shows careful training and good stage management. Not to have failed comes very near being success in an undertaking like Mr. Pitou’s. In stronger plays his company may establish its right to a place on the metropolitan stage. Metcalfe. M®: BURG is a pompous, consequential old gentleman, with a mania for shaking hands with distinguished people. He had shaken hands with all the crowned heads of Europe and most of the Presidents of the. United States, as well as the Governors of all the states and territories. He never missed the opportunity to shake the hand of any famous general or statesman, author, actor, or pugilist whom chance threw in his way. One day two friends of this gentleman were discussing a funeral which had been held the day previous. “ By the way, 1 saw Burgess there,” said one. “Yes,” said the other.“ Did he shake hands with the corpse ?” THAT HAT AGAIN. He: How nappy I SHALL BE SITTI YOU, TO-NIGHT. . She: INDEED? He: YES, SO MUCH BEHIND YOU. HAPPIER THAN IF I saT comicbooks.com