Life, 1893-08-03 · page 11 of 18
Life — August 3, 1893 — page 11: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Analysis of Life Magazine Page 75 This page satirizes medical ethics and quackery. The main dialogue concerns a Scotsman being pressured into undergoing an unnecessary surgical operation by a charlatan posing as a doctor. The humor derives from the victim's resistance—he correctly recognizes he's being defrauded and won't submit to the procedure. The accompanying illustration captioned "BUT THE STRAP WAS WEAK" shows a patient on what appears to be an operating table strapped down, with the strap failing—a visual punchline about the incompetence of the fake medical practitioner. The satire targets fraudulent doctors who performed unnecessary procedures on unsuspecting patients, a common 19th-century concern. The Scotsman's skepticism and refusal represent common sense against professional deception.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
- LITRE: 75 falsehood, sir. I can hardly find it in me to excuse my employers, or you either, sir.” “+ 1'm not doctor enough for this.” “You may tell my employers that I am in the best of health and have a plentiful understanding of humor. To prove it, now, I'll tell you the witticism that was in Punch. It was in 1854. ‘Why is my boot equal—” The bogus doctor had started to fly. He was impelled from the door into the street. Mr, MacPherson closed the door and chuckled : “ L wonder whom the joke is on.” The other man shuddered in his turn, but he looked relieved when he found the Scotchman’s memory had a flaw in it. ‘t Come,” he said rather sternly, ‘ We may as well begin.” “You're surely not expecting—" “Oh, yes, indeed. But it’sa simple operation, It can be performed without your knowing it, and we hope that after it is done you will be able to laugh at all the bright thiogs that are said in your place of business, and even to say some yourself, Just think of what you have missed,” ** But I shall resist “What, the joking ? “* | never was more serious.” “But, then, you never were anything else but serious. Come, sir, a little excision of the pia mater to secure liberty for the duller obligato and a little traction on the humerus—that's all.” *Tnever will submit to it, sir. I'll have in the police. My em- ployers are taking a most unwarrantable course, sir, 1 was not hired for purposes of veevisection, Besides, who could understand such jokes as they make in that office?” ‘*Ha, ha! That's not so bad, for a Scotchman. Now, if you will lie down on this table for about ten minutes and breathe through this sponge you will soon be able to do better. I will call my assistant.” “No, no! I'll not allow it, This is outrageous.” “You refuse?” * Absolutely.” ** Then I may as well confess that this was all in fun.” ** What was in fun, sir ?” Why, this—my coming here—my proposing to have an operation ‘on you—it’s all a joke.” “* What is a joke ?” “Why, as I said, this whole thing. Iam no physician. The case there is full of comic papers.” ** How dare you come here on such a piece of pretence ?” “Your friends in the office said to me yesterday, ‘Saunders Mac- Pherson was never known to take a joke in his life. Now you go and make one so plain that he can’t help seeing it.’” “Then why didn’t you do it, instead of coming here and threatening and worrying 2” “+ But that is the joke, I tell you.” “What is 2?" ** Of all the dull——see here: You'll have to submit to that oper- ation after all, ** But you said you were not a doctor. You have told a deliberate BUT THE STRAP WAS WEAK. fetVERY SS comicbooks.com