Life, 1893-01-12 · page 5 of 16
Life — January 12, 1893 — page 5: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Analysis of Life Magazine Page 21 This page contains three separate humorous pieces: 1. **"A Serenade—En Deux Langues"**: A French serenade written by someone named Harold (a Harvard graduate). The joke involves the contrast between romantic French verses and Harold's preference to write it in French rather than English for a French woman. 2. **"He Hoped Not"**: A domestic dialogue joke where a woman asks a man if he thinks they share similar tastes, given that his mother rejected him 24 years ago. The humor relies on implied insult. 3. **"A Successful Musician"**: An anecdote about a soldier in the Southwest who reports sick but refuses hospitalization because he plays bass drum in the regimental band. The surgeon eventually excuses him from duty rather than lose the musician. The page exemplifies early 20th-century Life magazine's blend of satirical humor, romantic comedy, and observational military anecdotes.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
- LIFE: IN FOR “Hey, JIMMY, WOT'S DE MATTER WID YER? YER A LOSIN’ DE CHANCE OF YER LIFE-TIME! HERE'S DE TEACHER WOT KI US BOTH IN YESTERDAY GONE CLEAN THROUGH THE ICE! AIN'T pis A PuDDIN’ 2” IT. 21 A SERENADE-EN DEUX LANGUES. H AROLD, having graduated in French at Harvard, re- solved to write a serenade to a fair French demoiselle for whom his love was uncontrollable. course, to write it in French. Here it is: He preferred, of Sous le maple, mort de night, Avec le lune beams shining through— Ecoutez-moi, mon hapless plight. Je vous aime—qui lovez-vous ? Je plink les strings de mon guitar. C'est bien froid—J ‘am nervous, too Dites-moi, dites-moi, ce que vous are? Je vous aime—qui lovez-vous ? Tu es si belle, je veux vous wed. Mon pére est riche, comme riche est you ? Bonne nuit, adieu—J ‘ai cold in head. Je vous aime—qui lovez-vous. Tom Halt A SUCCESSFUL MUSICIAN. T at an army post in the Southwest, garrisoned by colored soldiers, the following amusing incident occurred. Sick- call is sounded daily about eight o'clock A.M., and immedi- ately afterwards all soldiers*who are sick report to the post- surgeon for treatment. One morning a soldier, who by the way was a member of the regimental HE HOPED NOT. She: OW, YES, MAMMA AND | HAVE MUCH THE SAME TASTES. MY MOTHER? He (an old widower): 1 AGO. Horr NOT, Your MOTHER REJECTED ME TWENTY-FOUR YEARS band, reported to the post-surgeon. When asked what ailed him, he said : “You see I have a very bad fever- blister on my mouth; I don’t want to go tothe hospital, but I belong to the band, and I thought if youcould excuse me from playing my instru- ment for a few days 1 would be all right.” The surgeon looked at the man and could hardly repress a smile, There was no doubt about it, Private Jones’ upper lip displayed a fever-blister of the first magnitude. “ Very well I will mark you excused for three days." Time passed and the doctor thought no more about it until a couple of days after, the adjutant asked him why Jones was marked “excused.” The doctor replied that he had excused him from playing his instrument on account of his sore mouth.“ Well. doctor,” said the adjutant, “what instrument do you think he plays ?" “Why, some sort of a horn, I sup- “No, doctor, he doesn't play ahorn. He does play the bass drum.” Since then Private Jones not only plays the bass drum, but pose, Do Tou THINK 1AM LIKE he also has the credit of having “played ” the doctor comicbooks.com