Life, 1892-07-07 · page 11 of 14
Life — July 7, 1892 — page 11: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Life Magazine Page Analysis This page from Life magazine contains several distinct humor pieces: **Top section:** Two historical engravings commemorate anniversaries—a July 5, 1872 military review and a July 9, 1851 gold discovery in New South Wales. **Center right:** "A Natural Mystery" depicts a haunted house scenario, with dialogue suggesting supernatural occurrences (piping sounds, whistling) that the previous owner left unexplained, likely a plumber's unpaid bill. **Left side:** Two brief comedic dialogues—one between an Old Doctor and Young Doctor about managing dying patients, and another between First and Second Ditto characters debating whether cold baths are beneficial English custom. **Bottom right:** "Old Phelan" interrogates "Paddy" about his employment and a missing worker ("Squire Briggs"), culminating in a dark joke about dynamite in muffins—likely referencing 1880s Irish dynamite campaign violence.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
JULY 5. 1872. REVIEW OF 14,000 MEN BY THE QUEEN AT ALDERSHOT. JULY 9, 1851. A SHEPHERD IN NEW SOUTH WALES DISCOVERS A MASS OF GOLD WEIGHING 112 POUNDS. oO" DOCTOR: No, sir. I never have a patient die on my hands — never. Younc Doctor: you manage it ? OLp Doctor: When | find a man is going to die I get him to call a specialist. How do IRST CHAPPIE: I say, Barney, do y' take a cold bawth in the mawning now ? SECOND DITTO: No; I don’t take it cold any more, old chap. I tried it for a time, but it disagweed with me so very much that I stopped. There's so many other English things one can do, you know. A NATURAL MYSTERY. “ JOUN, WE MUST RENT ANOTHER HOUSE,” “Wry?” EVERY NIGHT I CAN HEAR GHOSTLY SIGHING AND WHISTLING, TO COME FROM THE PIPES, AND I BELIEVE THE PLACE LD PHELAN: What is yer workin’ at, Paddy ? Pappy: Oi ain't workin’; I quit. OLD PHELAN: Where was yer workin’? Pappy: For Squire Briggs. OLD PHELAN: What did yer get ? Pappy: A dollar and a half a day. OLD PHELAN: Wet and dry ? Pappy: Yis. OLD PHELAN: Why did yer quit ? Pappy: The Squire called me a domd fool. OLD PHELAN: An’ yer got one fifty a day, wet and dry, and yer quit ? Pappy: Oi did. OLD PHELAN: Then yer were a domd fool. ef OW did you lose all your teeth? Been in a fight?” “No. I gave Bridget, the cook, notice to leave, and she put dynamite in the muffins this morning.” comicbooks.com