Life, 1892-11-10 · page 9 of 16
Life — November 10, 1892 — page 9: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Explanation for Modern Readers This page from *Life* magazine contains three separate satirical pieces about professions and social pretension. **"Too Much Promise"** (top) depicts a social gathering where Mrs. Dangle introduces Miss Penne to various "promising" young men—a lawyer, artist, and note—with the clear implication that these men are failures or frauds despite their reputations. The satire mocks how society invests hope in young men who never deliver. **"Professional"** (bottom) contains three jokes satirizing professions: lawyers "plunder," doctors "pillage," a careless doctor causes injury, and a dying husband worries about medical bills while his wife casually remarks she could marry the doctor. The humor targets professional greed and incompetence, particularly medical practitioners' financial exploitation of vulnerable patients.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
TOO MUCH PROMISE. Mrs. Dangle, the hostess, who is on the outer edge of the inner circle: MY DEAR MiSs PENNE, HAVE YOU MET EVERYONE? Have You MET MR, SHINGLE, THE RISING YOUNG ARCHITECT, AND MR, CHEATEM, THE PROMISING LAWYER? AND HERE COMES MR, PALETTE, THE CLEVER YOUNG ARTIST WITH A FUTURE, ARM IN ARM WITH MR. WARBLE, THE RISING YOUNG POET, Miss Penne: Yes, 1 WAVE MET THEM ALL, MY DEAR MRS, DANGLE; AND NOW, IF YOU WILL BE SO Goop, I SHOULD LIKE TO MEET A FEW MEN WHO ARE ON THE DOWNWARD TRACK. PROFESSIONAL. THe professions live; no wonder, For, in every town and village, The lawyer lives by plunder, And the doctor lives by pillage. MALL BOY: Hurry up, Doctor! A fellow ‘round the corner fired loose with his fist and hit a book- agent an awful lick on the cheek. Doctor: Where is the book-agent ? “Tt ain't the book-agent that wants you. It’s the fellow that hit him.” tf HE HUSBAND (on his death bed): My darling, when 1 am gone, how will you ever be able to pay the doctor's bill ? THE WIFE: Don't worry about that, dear. If worst comes to worst, I can marry the doctor, you know. “A LIFE FOR A LIFE.” comicbooks.com