Life, 1892-12-01 · page 12 of 14
Life — December 1, 1892 — page 12: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Life Magazine Page 320 Analysis This page contains three separate satirical pieces: 1. **Upper Left Cartoon**: A joke about inheritance. A man asks about "Ralph Hownow" mentioned in his uncle's will. The punchline: one million dollars went to charity, leaving Ralph essentially nothing—a satire on miserly wills and disappointed heirs. 2. **"Politeness" Section**: A brief humorous verse mocking overly formal Boston etiquette. A "Boston lady" pronounces "chrysanthemum" as "chrysanthe-madam" to avoid saying the word directly—satirizing affected propriety. 3. **Music Criticism**: A review of conductor Damrosch's concert criticizing the accompanying singers (Ludwig and Mrs. Belle Cole) for "singing down to their audience" with popular songs instead of serious concert material. The critic suggests suppressing encores and following conductor Nikisch's stricter standards—satirizing both pandering performers and undiscerning audiences who prefer lowbrow entertainment. The page exemplifies *Life*'s satirical approach to American social pretension and cultural standards of the era.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
(aw meer “Is THAT RALPH HowNow, WHO WAS MENTIONED IN HIS LATE UNCLES WILL? “YES; ONE MILLION DOLLARS WENT TO CHARITY, AND WHAT WAS LEFT OF THE ESTATE To RALPH,” DEED; AND WHAT teas LEFT 2” “RALPH.” POLITENESS. F strict ideas ever come, ‘That Boston lady had ‘em. She never said ‘* chrysanthemum,” She said ‘ chrysanthe-madam.” R. DAMROSCH'S third popular con- cert was given on Sunday evening, the 2oth, in the Music Hall. Mr. Damrosch's_ well- trained orchestra was assisted by Mr. Sherwood, pianist, who played with his usual bril- liancy ; also by Mr. Ludwig and Mrs. Belle Cole. The two latter made the mis- take of singing down to their audience, and treated them to popular airs, better suited to the concert hall of fifty years ago, It might be suggested to Mr. Damrosch that he follow Mr. Nikisch’s example, and suppress encores. But with an eager soloist on one hand, and a greedy public on the other, this may be difficult. However, it would be well to try it. comicbooks.com