Life, 1893-10-12 · page 5 of 18
Life — October 12, 1893 — page 5: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Page 229: Life Magazine Sketches This page features "Sketches at the Fair: Along the Midway Plaisance"—cartoon vignettes from what appears to be a world's fair (likely the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, given the "Midway Plaisance" reference). The sketches depict fair-goers and attractions in humorous situations. Below are dialogue vignettes featuring characters like Uncle Abner Grayneck witnessing a balloon ascent, and various exchanges about fair experiences. One sketch mocks a psychologist ("Mind's his business"), while others contain light social humor about war injuries, hotel safety ropes, and rhyming challenges. The satire targets fair crowds, eccentric visitors, and contemporary social foibles rather than specific political figures. It's primarily entertainment-focused rather than political commentary.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
ELAS” SKETCHES AT THE FAIR. ALONG THE MIDWAY PLAISANCE, THE VISION. NCLE ABNER GRAYNECK and his excellent wife were driving townward with decorous slowness, un- aware of the fact that this was the afternoon upon which M'lle Nymphie Fewclothes, the daring Queen of the Air, was to make her thrilling balloon ascension and parachute jump. Happening to raise his eyes, Uncle Abner was not a little startled to behold the xronaut’s trim figure, dwarfed by the distance but clearly outlined against the sky, dropping earth- ward like a plummet, nearly a quarter of a mile away to the right. “Great Tunkett, Polly!" he ejaculated, in an excited voice. “The—the end of the world must surely be at hand. There is an angel fallin’ straight down from Heaven !" “Angel!” snorted Aunt Polly, scornfully, after gazing at the apparition for an instant. “It is nothing in the world but one of them nasty cigarette pictures fallin’ down from somewhere. You whip up them horses, Abner ! I'm ashamed of you, sir, and at your time of life, too!” MIND's HIS BUSINESS—The psychologist. THE FIRST STEP. HAVE begun to plan my yacht,” Said Chollie Ferguson. “+ T've worked so hard I've really got The wine list nearly done.” “ YNICUS: Why do you draw a pension? OLD Boy: For injuries to my health, contracted during the war. Cynicus: Ah, yes! 1 heard that you became wind- broken at the first battle of Bull Run. D AUBBER: matter ? SCRIBBLE: I’m trying to think of a rhyme for Valkyrie. You look blue, old man, What's the RS. WALDORF: In our hotels the guests are well cared for. In every upper room there is a rope for escape in case of fire. CounT DE BARBERE: Ah, that is most amusing. wish he can use it also as a skipping rope. If be comicbooks.com